Installing the 7 Days to Die game server
Updating your game server
Installing Required Mods
Configuring your server
Configuring RAT to connect to your Game Server
Starting Your Game Server
Connecting RAT to your Game Server
Click Settings -> Local Server (tab> -> Install /Update Server on the left.
In order to install the game server, you first need to have SteamCMD installed. If you have that already, simply set the folder location to the install.
If you do not, set the folder location you would like SteamCMD to be installed to, and then click the "Download & Install SteamCMD" button.
This should only take 20 seconds or so, depending on your internet connection.
Once that is installed, you can now install the game server.
Set the server path to the folder you want the game server to be installed it. The folder does not have to already exist.
Now select the game version, this is going to be either "Release" or "Latest Experimental", Release being the stable version of the game, and Latest Experimental being the most recent (and more buggy, but new features to play with) version.
Its your choice, but at the time of this writing, A20 is only available on the Latest Experimental setting.
Now click "Install / Update / Validate". You will see a command window open and SteamCMD will download and verify your game server installation.
Updating your game server
Click Settings -> Local Server (tab> -> Install /Update Server on the left.
Assuming you already have a game server installed, just click the "Install / Update / Validate" button and wait for the command window to close.
***!!! Before Proceeding with anything else, follow the below instructions for "Installing Required Mods" !!!***
Installing Required Mods
RAT requires Allocs Server Fixes mod to be installed before many functions will work.
Download the mod here: Server fixes – 7 Days to Die - Linux Server Management
Uncompress the file into your <gameServerFolder>/Mods
That's it.
Configuring your server
Click Settings -> Local Server (tab> -> Server Config on the left
If you already have configured a game server prior and have a serverconfig.xml file you'd like to you, click the "Import serverconfig.xml" button, select the file and your setting will be imported.
Set the Server Path to the game server installation folder. Everything else should be left as default unless you know you have a reason to change something.
Connections
Server
Set your game server port (default is fine usually)
Set your Game Name (This will be displayed on the game server browser and how people find your server)
If you want a password to be required to enter your server, enter it.
Telnet
Enabled: Make sure this is ON, otherwise most of RAT doesn't function
Port: Set the telnet port, this should be any available (not used by something else) value, default is fine.
Password: Set this to something unique, do NOT give this password to anyone
Show Terminal Window: ON (Leave this on until you're sure your game server is up and running, its good for debugging, etc)
Game Settings 1
Most of these settings can be left at their default values, change as you desire though.
World Generation
Game World Name: If you want to randomly generate a game world, select RWG. Otherwise select a preexisting game world from the dropdown.
Save Game Name
World Gen Seed
World Gen Size: This should be in multiples of 2048, max recommended size is 16384 (which the value, the longer it takes to generate the game world, and more for players to download)
Game Settings 2
Change however you wish
Backups
Backups are recommended, but get your game server running successfully first.
Configuring RAT to connect to your Game Server
Settings -> Server Connections
Server Display Name: Whatever you want, used in the titlebar of RAT, etc. Display purposes only
Auto Connect on Startup: OFF (For now, once your server is up and running successfully, turn this ON)
Auto Reconnect: ON
Use Server Settings: If you are running the game server on the same machine as RAT, selecting this will auto populate the required settings from your serverconfig.xml file
Host: The host/IP of your game server, if running the game server on the same machine as RAT, this should be "localhost"
Port: The telnet port the game server is running on (Again, this is the TELNET port, not the game port)
Password: The telnet password to connect to your game server.
Close the window (and click Yes to save)
Starting Your Game Server
The first time you start your game server, the world will need to be generated (if not using one of the prebuilt game worlds).
Depending on your machine hardware, this can take anywhere from 5-30 minutes.
Click Start Server
The "Server Status" light should turn green in a couple of seconds, this means that RAT has detected that the game server process has started.
A few more seconds afterward, you should get a terminal window popup (assuming you left this ON as suggested earlier in this document).
You will see a lot of things you probably don't understand start scrolling by, that's ok, you don't need to understand them. ;)
The key thing here, is to WAIT... wait until your server has completely started.
How do you know when that is? You're looking for a log entry that says "INF StartGame done"
The log will stop scrolling and you should see that about 20 lines up from the bottom.
Connecting RAT to your Game Server
Now that your server is up and running, you can connect RAT to it.
Click the "Server Connection" button in the upper left corner of RAT. That should connect and you should start to see data appear on the RAT Console tab.