Unturned California 2 Server Admin Guide (2026): Setup, Config, Mods, Performance

Unturned Guide • Updated Sep 24, 2026

Unturned California 2 Server Admin Guide: Setup, Config, Mods & Performance

California 2 is a curated Unturned map released on 30 April 2026. Smartly Dressed Games calls it the game's biggest and most content-packed map, built over more than six years and roughly six times the size of the original California. Unturned's average player count on Steam rose from 9,501 in April 2026 to 16,295 in May, the month after it launched.

This guide covers what a server admin needs to run California 2: the two Workshop items and the map name that load it, the Commands.dat settings that matter, where the save lives, the admin commands, and fixes for the problems servers actually hit.

Checked 24 September 2026 against Unturned 3.26.3.12, the curated map list in the game's own Status.json, and three live California 2 servers.

What's California 2 and why it matters for server hosting

Key facts from the official launch announcement:

Curated map: a community-made map distributed through the Steam Workshop, built by August, Clue, Nolam, Spebby, Sultan and Tiway.
Size: roughly six times the size of California 1, not counting its underground and secret out-of-bounds areas.
Content: several NPC safezones with more than 100 quests, and progression that continues past the first two tiers of the Deadzone.
Languages: the map's text is translated into Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian and Ukrainian.

For admins the practical consequence is simple: California 2 is not part of the dedicated server install, so the server has to download it from the Workshop, and there is far more world to simulate than on a small map like PEI.

1. Installing California 2 on a dedicated server

The game's own curated map list, Status.json, ships with every build and gives California 2 as Workshop file 3707778928. It also says the map requires Workshop file 3711646503, which holds the map's assets. A server needs both.

Add both IDs to the File_IDs list in WorkshopDownloadConfig.json in your server's folder:
```
"File_IDs": [3707778928, 3711646503]
```
Set the map in Commands.dat:
```
Map California2
```
The name is one word. It is the level folder inside Workshop item 3707778928, and it is what our live California 2 servers run.
Restart the server. It downloads both items on start. If a download fails or the map name does not match, Unturned loads PEI instead, so a server that comes up on PEI almost always has one of those two problems.
On managed Supercraft hosting, set the Map setting to California2 in the panel and restart. The server adds both Workshop items for you.

Save file location

The world saves to Servers/<instance>/Level/California2/ and player characters save to Servers/<instance>/Players/. On our three California 2 servers in September 2026 the world save was between 572 and 751 KB, so it stays small: the map itself lives in the Workshop folder and downloads again if it is lost. Back up Level and Players before every game update.

2. Server config differences for California 2

These are the Commands.dat lines worth deciding for California 2. The defaults come from the Unturned commands reference.

Command	Default	For California 2	Why
`Map`	PEI	`California2`	The level name inside the Workshop item
`MaxPlayers`	8	Start at 8, raise in steps	No official player figure exists for this map; measure CPU and memory at peak
`Mode`	Normal	Easy, Normal or Hard	Difficulty; your community's call
`Perspective`	First	First, Third, Both or Vehicle	Camera rules for everyone on the server
`Cycle`	3600	Longer if trips take most of a day	Seconds per day and night cycle
`PvE`	Off	On for quest-focused groups	Turns off PvP combat; the map's 100+ quests suit PvE
`Loadout`	Not set	`SkillsetID/ItemID/ItemID`	Items given on spawn; leave unset to keep the map's intended start
`Gold`	Off	Off unless you want Gold members only	Restricts who can join

Skill rules: California 2 sets some player skill rules in its own map config, for example Players.Lose_Skill_Levels_PvE at 0. Unturned 3.26.3.1 (5 May 2026) added a "Prevent Level Skill Overrides" option for enabling leveling and skills on maps that disable them. If your server's skill settings do not seem to apply on California 2, check this first.

3. Performance tuning for California 2

The launch announcement and the official server docs give no player-count or memory figures for California 2, so size a server by measuring rather than by a table.

Start at the default 8 players. Raise MaxPlayers in steps while watching CPU and memory at your busiest time of day.
Restart daily in a quiet hour. It is a simple habit for a long-running server and costs nothing when the world is saved first.
Keep the game updated for everyone. 3.26.3.1 fixed California 2's custom scope shaders when Dual Rendering is off, so a player on an old build can see problems the server does not have.

4. Mod and plugin compatibility on California 2

The launch announcement and the server docs include no plugin compatibility list for California 2, so treat every plugin and Workshop mod as untested until it has run on a copy of your save.

RocketMod: the dedicated server ships Rocket.Unturned in its Extras folder. Supercraft servers load it on every start, which is also what gives them automatic saves.
OpenMod: the official server docs cover it as an alternative plugin framework.
Workshop mods from strangers: Unturned 3.26.3.5 (30 July 2026) patched a remote code execution exploit found in a malicious server's Workshop mod, and 3.26.3.11 (3 September 2026) banned a Workshop file carrying another exploit. Install mods only from creators you trust.
Missing custom items: since 3.26.3.5, mods that show "missing Item GameObject" style errors need an update from their creator. Until then, those items can be missing from maps and servers.

For the full plugin list, see our Unturned plugin guide. For RocketMod install steps, see RocketMod installation. The official Unturned server hosting docs cover Workshop downloads, RocketMod and OpenMod.

5. Common California 2 server problems

The server starts on PEI instead of California 2

Either the Map line does not read exactly California2, or a Workshop item did not download. Check that both 3707778928 and 3711646503 are in File_IDs, then look in the server log for "Failed to download workshop item".

Skill settings do not seem to apply

California 2 sets some skill rules itself. See the skill rules note in section 2 and the "Prevent Level Skill Overrides" option added in 3.26.3.1.

Custom items or objects are missing

If this started after late July 2026, it is most likely the 3.26.3.5 security change: affected mods need an update from their creator. California 2 itself is maintained by its team, so check that the server downloaded the current version of both Workshop items.

Scopes look wrong for some players

3.26.3.1 fixed 2D scopes with Dual Rendering off on California 2's custom scope shaders. Players who still see it should update the game.

6. California 2 + admin commands cheat sheet

Unturned's standard commands work the same on California 2. Arguments are separated with slashes, not spaces, and cheat commands need Cheats enabled in Commands.dat:

/give [player]/[item ID]/[amount] gives a player items.
/teleport [player]/[player or location] moves a player.
/experience [player]/[amount] gives experience.
/vehicle [player]/[vehicle ID] spawns a vehicle for a player.
/day and /night change the time of day.
/save saves the world now. Run it before any risky admin action.
/kick [player]/[reason] and /ban [player]/[reason]/[duration] remove players.
/shutdown [delay]/[explanation] saves and closes the server.

The commands reference has no /spawn or /reset command. To start California 2 fresh, take a backup, stop the server, and remove Servers/<instance>/Level/California2. Removing Players as well resets characters too.

For the full reference, see our Unturned admin commands guide.

7. Backup recommendations for California 2 servers

Three backup tiers we recommend:

Hourly: keep the last 24 snapshots. Recovers from "I just deleted the wrong base".
Daily: keep the last 14. Recovers from "yesterday's update broke our save".
Weekly: keep the last 8, off the server. Recovers from "two weeks of bad data accumulated and we want to roll back".

Supercraft Unturned servers take automatic daily snapshots, and RocketMod saves the world every 15 minutes. Self-hosters can copy Servers/<instance>/Level and Players on a schedule; see backup & restore.

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