Dedicated server won't shut down

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    Hi, I am trying to transfer non-dedicated game settings to a dedicated Nitrado server, but am running into issues - can somebody help me out with this?


    Things are behaving as if the server keeps running and keeping its own version of the map in memory. The game doesn't seem to get unloaded. When I replace files with my local version, they get overwritten with the old content if I restart the server. Steps:


    1. Shut down server, wait 5-10 min.

    2. Rename SavedArks to SavedArks_old

    3. Copy files from local machine to server's SavedArks.

    4. Start the server and log in.


    Expected: Buildings and structures from local server show up.

    Actual: Building do not show up, I get the original server map with server's stored structures and characters. Old, pre-copy SavedArks files are restored.


    Is there a way to FORCE shutdown of the server and make sure the game is unloaded?

    This seems like a bug with Nitrado server control system, but I figured out a work-around. It's rather involved and annoying but doable. If you have a lot of time invested in your local server data, this will be worth the trouble.


    To copy over data from a local, non-dedicated server's SavedArks folder and restore all your structures and dinos on the dedicated server, do this:


    1. Launch the server and wait for about 30 min. The Nitrado system will generate a .gz file in the SavedArks folder with a server backup.

    2. Take note of the filename of one of the .gz files on the server.

    3. Rename your local file to match the filename from the server (without the .gz extension) - e.g. from TheIsland.ark to something like TheIsland_27.08.2020_00.15.32.ark

    4. Compress the file using a utility like 7-Zip into a .gz format (gzip compression). You should now have a compressed file with a name identical to the name of another file on the server.

    5. Copy the resulting .gz compressed local ark file into the server's SavedArks folder, overwriting the backup file on the server with the same name.

    6. Through the Nitrado dashboard select "Restore Backup" and restore the server from the file you generated in step 4.

    7. Restart the server when prompted.


    You can copy over the tribe and user data, which is much easier, since you can just copy the files directly. You may need to use admin commands on the server to take ownership of your structures and dinos, but that's about it.