The Front Server Not Showing Up or Won't Start? Fixes That Work

SteamCMD will not install the server

Use the dedicated server tool app IDs: 2612550 for Windows, 2334200 for Linux (SteamDB lists both as tools whose parent is the game, app 2285150). Use the tool IDs rather than the game's own ID (2285150).

A Steam forum thread reports Failed to install app '2612550' (No subscription) from anonymous SteamCMD logins, with a player relaying that the developers were looking into it. That thread is from players, not the developers, and may be out of date. Several current guides install anonymously and others log in with an owning Steam account, so if one method fails, try the other and then re-run with validate.

Make sure you have free disk space. References quote anywhere from 3 GB to 10 GB depending on what else is on the machine.

The server starts, but takes forever

The first start can take up to about ten minutes while the world initialises. Watch ProjectWar\Saved\Logs\ (or the console, if you added -log) rather than restarting.

If it stops immediately, one setup guide lists missing Steam client libraries as a cause on hand-built installs: steamclient.dll, tier0_s.dll, tier0_s64.dll, vstdlib_s.dll and vstdlib_s64.dll in ProjectWar\Binaries\Win64\. That is a single-source report, so only check it if the log points at Steam initialisation.

The server is not in the server list

Work through this in order:

1. Confirm the process is running and past initialisation. A newly started server takes a moment to appear.
2. Check the query port. One host's join guide states the query port (game port + 2 in the standard template) must be reachable from outside for the server to show up in the list.
3. In the game, open Servers, switch to the Dedicated Server tab, refresh, and type part of your server name into the search field. A misspelled name returns an empty list.
4. Make sure the launch line's -OutIPAddress is your public address on a self-hosted machine.
5. Allow TheFrontServer.exe through Windows Firewall and forward the ports on your router if you are behind one.

"Server Connection has expired" or players time out

The Pterodactyl egg's readme gives one fix for this message: allocate and open all of the server's ports in the firewall. The server uses four ports (game, beacon, query, shutdown service), so open all four rather than only the game port.

Also check that no two servers share a port. The Port, BeaconPort and ShutDownServicePort values must differ from each other, and from those of any other server on the machine. The egg's own startup command, as published, shows the query port number where the shutdown port should be, so compare your launch line with the ports you intended.

Config changes are ignored

• The path and name must be exact: TheFrontManager/ServerConfig_.ini, with settings under [BaseServerConfig]. If you use -ConfigServerName, the server reads the per-profile file instead.
• Restart after every edit. The server does not hot-reload the file.
• Values in the file take priority over the same setting on the launch line, according to the original community guide, so a flag that seems ignored may be overridden by the file.
• Keys must be spelled exactly, including the game's own typos such as ClearSeverTime.
• Some settings are read at world creation. Test on a fresh world if nothing seems to change.
• Do not use ?OfficialServer in the launch line. One host reports it makes NPCs spawn but not move; use ?DedicatedServer or ?Listen as in the standard templates.

Hosting with ChicagoServers? The The Front server hosting page lists what is included, such as free server backups and SFTP file access. Live support can look at the console with you if the log shows an error you do not recognise.

Password, admin and port-check basics

• Password: ServerPassword blank means public. Anything after the equals sign is the join password. Restart after changing it.
• Admins: ServerAdminAccounts takes 17-digit Steam64 IDs separated by semicolons, not Steam names or short IDs.
• Checking what is listening: on Windows run netstat -ano; on Linux, sudo ss -tulpn. You should see all four of your ports bound by the server process.
• Logs: ProjectWar\Saved\Logs\ on Windows, and the same path under the server files on Linux.

Players can join but the server lags

Hardware figures for The Front vary widely between references (some say 8 GB is enough to start, others warn it is thin under load), so check CPU and memory use first. Community launch templates also cap the server frame rate with -Game.MaxFrameRate=35. Then look at autosave: SaveWorldInterval is in seconds, with 150 to 600 given as the usable range, and LOW.MS suggests 120 for busy servers even though another reference lists 150 as the minimum, so test before relying on a lower value.

When asking for help, include the log from ProjectWar\Saved\Logs\, the game build, and your launch line with the password removed.

Frequently asked questions