Enshrouded: your enshrouded_server.json settings have no effect, the three causes

The short answer. A valid enshrouded_server.json that changes nothing almost always comes from one of three causes: the preset is not Custom (the game then ignores gameSettings), a duration is written in minutes while the file expects nanoseconds, or the file was edited while the server was running. Paste your file into the free validator: it catches the first two in seconds.

Would rather not edit a file? On a TickServ Enshrouded server, settings are changed from the panel and the server restarts with them on its next start. What follows explains why a hand-written file can seem deaf.

Cause 1: the preset is not “Custom”

The fine-grained gameSettings (player health, enemy damage, day length…) only apply when gameSettingsPreset is set to "Custom". With Default, Relaxed, Hard or Survival, the game applies its preset and ignores your values. That is what the documentation of the mornedhels/enshrouded-server image says: the other settings only work with the Custom preset.

The file is still perfectly valid, and nothing in the logs warns you. It is the most confusing failure: you change enemyHealthFactor, restart, and the enemies have not changed.

The fix: "gameSettingsPreset": "Custom". The validator flags it when it sees gameSettings under another preset.

Cause 2: durations are in nanoseconds

Day length, night length and the delay before starvation are not written in minutes. The file counts in nanoseconds: one minute is 60000000000.

Writing 40 or 2400 gives a value outside the bounds (2 to 60 minutes for both day and night). The validator recognises a value that looks like minutes and gives you the right spelling; the configurator lets you type minutes and converts for you.

Cause 3: the file, its location, the running server

• The file sits at the root of the server's install folder, next to its executable; the server creates it on first launch.
• Stop the server before replacing the file, then restart it: that is the documented procedure for this file.
• A misspelled key is ignored by the server. The validator flags unknown keys.
• The password at the root of the file is no longer read: the groups in userGroups carry the passwords (see roles and reserved slots).

And on TickServ?

A TickServ Enshrouded server's panel exposes part of these settings. As soon as a fine setting leaves its default, the difficulty preset switches to Custom automatically, so cause 1 cannot happen. Durations are entered in seconds and converted for you. The new setting applies on the next start. Your world is kept between sessions.

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