Where do my friends find the server?

Under Multiplayer, Join, in the dedicated servers list, by searching the name you gave it. They can also add the address to their Steam favourites.

Can I change the difficulty later?

A saved game keeps the difficulty it started with. Pick an empty save slot with the new difficulty and the server starts a fresh game there; the old slot stays on disk.

How do I get admin rights in the game?

Set an admin password in the panel and restart. Enter it as the admin password when you join, then use /kick, /ban and /save in the chat.

Does stopping the server lose progress?

It can. The game saves every 15 minutes while someone plays, not when the server stops, so type /save with your slot number in the chat before you stop it.

The Forest server from €5.00/month, in 60 seconds.

Name: The Forest server
Brand: 1up-servers
Availability: InStock

Survive the peninsula with seven friends on the official The Forest server. From Starter, 24/7 with anti-DDoS included.

Create a The Forest server From Starter · €5.00

×1.5on Free · 2 h of play a day · 24/7 from STARTER

New versions on release day
24/7
Low-ping regions

The ForestBeta

Nodes ready · start the first one

~24 ms

The Forest is in beta: you can create your server already, but we are still tuning its image and it may change without notice.

Guide · The Forest

Host a The Forest server

The Forest drops you on a wooded peninsula after a plane crash, with cannibals in the trees and caves under your feet: you chop logs, build a shelter and then a fortress, and go looking for your son in the dark. Endnight ships the dedicated server for Windows only, so on our nodes it runs in a compatibility layer, and Steam patches it on every start.

Each game lives in one of five save slots on the server. The game writes the slot every 15 minutes while someone is playing, and not when the server stops, so a stop loses what was played since the last save; an admin can type /save with the slot number in the chat first. Our backups copy the saves without the 1.7 GB game.

From an empty panel to your first camp

In the panel, choose The Forest and a plan of at least 3 GB.
Pick the difficulty: Peaceful leaves the cannibals out, Normal is the game as designed, Hard makes every fight costly.
Choose the save slot, one to five, and the player slots, up to eight.
Set a join password if the server is for friends only, and an admin password for whoever runs it.
Start the server. The first boot downloads about 1.7 GB; when the console prints End of Sequence, the island is open.

Bringing your friends to the island

From the main menu, players open Multiplayer, then Join, then the dedicated servers list, and search for the server name. Adding the address to the Steam favourites also works and survives renames. If you set a join password, the game asks for it before loading the island.

What you can change from the panel

Difficulty is read only when a slot starts a new game; a saved game keeps its own. To play another difficulty, pick an empty slot and the server starts a fresh game there, while the old slot stays on disk. Passwords and player slots are written into the server configuration on every start, so a change takes effect after one restart.

How much RAM The Forest needs

The island with nobody online settled at about 1.5 GB in our measurements. Every player, every base and every cave you open adds to it, which is why the floor is 3 GB and we suggest 4 GB for a full group. The 6 GB of disk holds the 1.7 GB game, the compatibility layer and your saves.

Running the island as the owner

The server has no remote console, so the panel console shows its log instead of taking commands, and the panel counts players without naming them. An admin joins with the admin password and types the commands in the chat: /kick and /ban with a SteamID, /save with the slot number, /restart and /shutdown.

When the launch goes wrong

A server missing from the list usually needs a minute more after End of Sequence, or the list filters hide it. If friends lose their progress after a restart, the last autosave was older than their play; save with /save before you stop. If the first start ends early, read the last lines of the console; a disk that fills during the download is the usual cause.

Versions

The Forest versions

latestDefault

Switch versions from the panel: we back the server up first and tell you what will be left behind.

Loaders

The Forest loaders and templates

VanillaVersion latestThe game exactly as the studio ships it.

Pick the template when you create the server: we install it, configure it and hand it over running.

Data

The Forest server data

Minimum RAM	3 GB
Recommended RAM	4 GB
Disk	6 GB
Port	Assigned to each server; the panel shows it
Free plan	Yes, with the hourglass
24/7 from	Starter · €5.00/month
Crossplay	No switch in the panel
Mods	No one-click catalogue
Templates	Vanilla

Requirements

How much RAM does your The Forest server need?

The Forest boots on 3 GB and has room to spare on 4 GB. This is the RAM each plan gives you and whether the game fits in it.

Up to 4 friends, no plugins×1.53 GBFREE
Up to 8 players with plugins4 GBSTARTER
Up to 8 players or mid-size modpacks8 GBPRO
Up to 8 players and several worlds at once16 GBSTUDIO
Heavy modpacks and large communities32 GBULTRA

FAQ · The Forest

Questions about The Forest servers

Yes. The Free plan asks for no card, and the panel shows what it includes before you create the server. To keep it up 24/7, Starter and the plans above it keep it running. On Free this game runs with the hourglass at ×1.5: your 3 h a day are 2 h of play.