Midnight Ghost Hunt Server Settings Explained (Modes, Bots, Maps)

A Midnight Ghost Hunt dedicated server has a short list of settings, all passed when it starts: the game name, password, starting map, game mode (4v4 Hunt, 6v6 Hunt or Darkness), region, bot difficulty, and optional flags such as -NoBots and -NoAutobalance. The ones that change how a night plays are mode, bots and auto balance. Below is what each does and the combinations that suit common groups.

The settings at a glance

All of them apply when the server starts, so restart after any change. Restarts take seconds, which makes switching modes between rounds of a game night painless.

Game mode

4v4 Hunt is the standard game: four Hunters sweep the building for four Ghosts hiding as props. When the clock hits midnight the lights flicker out and the Ghosts turn the tables. Hunters who die come back as Ghosts, so a lead can flip late. Eight players in total. This is the mode most people know and the best default for a regular group.

6v6 Hunt is the same rules with twelve players. It is louder and busier, with more props moving and more chaos at midnight. Pick it when your Discord turns up in numbers, or when you want bots to fill a bigger lobby. Larger maps like Mansion and Museum handle 6v6 better than tight ones.

Darkness cuts the lights for slower, tenser rounds. It suits groups that already know the maps well and want something scarier than the usual run and gun. Try it for a themed night rather than as the everyday mode.

Starting map

The -Map setting is where the server opens, not a fixed map for the whole session, since the game moves through maps as matches finish. Use it to start on something everyone knows:

• Mansion and Asylum are classic first maps for new players.
• Ghost Ship and Carnival are good for groups that want variety.
• Doll Factory and Mall are good once the group knows the basics.

Typing the name exactly as listed matters. A misspelled map name is a common reason a server fails to start.

Region

The region is a browser label. The in game Server Browser filters by it, and a server only appears to players filtering by the same region. Set it to where most of your players are, not where the server physically is. If players say the server is missing, this is the first thing to check, see our fix for a Midnight Ghost Hunt server not showing.

Bots

Bots fill empty slots so a lobby can start before everyone arrives, and keep teams level when someone leaves mid match.

-NoBots removes them entirely. Use it for scrims, tournaments or a full group who would rather wait for the last player than play with AI. On a 6v6 server with few people online, removing bots can mean nobody has a full team, so keep them on for public lobbies.

Auto balance

By default the game moves players to keep teams even. That is right for public lobbies. For organised play it can be annoying: friends who planned to play together get split, or a captain picks teams and the server reshuffles them.

-NoAutobalance turns it off. Pair it with a password so random joiners cannot tip the teams.

Password

A password keeps the server listed but locked. Keep it to letters, numbers, dashes and underscores, since spaces or symbols can stop it working. Share it in your Discord channel, and change it after a public stream if viewers saw it. For the general approach, see how to set a password on a game server.

Setups that work

Friends' weekly night (8 people)

-Gamemode="4v4 Hunt" -Map=Mansion -BotDifficulty="Auto" -password="tuesday_ghosts"

Big Discord event (up to 12)

-Gamemode="6v6 Hunt" -Map=Museum -BotDifficulty="Normal" -password="event_night"

Scrims or a tournament

-Gamemode="4v4 Hunt" -Map=Asylum -password="scrim_2026" -NoBots -NoAutobalance

Streamer viewer lobby

-Gamemode="6v6 Hunt" -Map=Carnival -BotDifficulty="Auto"

Leave the viewer lobby open or post a password on stream, and keep bots on so the lobby starts quickly.

Server size

Matches are short and lobbies are small, so this is not a heavy server. Four GB of memory covers a 4v4 group. A 6v6 or Darkness server with bots filling most slots most nights is happier with 6 GB, since every bot is simulated on the server. More than that is only worth it for long community nights with many map changes. Our guide on how much RAM a game server needs explains the reasoning.

Changing these on a hosted server

On a Midnight Ghost Hunt server from GamezServers, each setting above is a field in the panel: Game Name, Server Password, Server Map, Gamemode, Region and Bot Difficulty, with -NoBots and -NoAutobalance going in Additional Args. Change one, restart, and it is live. Auto Update keeps the server on the current build. If you are running it yourself, our Midnight Ghost Hunt dedicated server guide covers SteamCMD and ports.

FAQ

How do I turn off bots on a Midnight Ghost Hunt server?

Add -NoBots to the launch line, or to Additional Args on a hosted server, and restart.

What does Auto bot difficulty do?

It sets bot skill from the average player level on the server, so bots scale with the lobby.

Can I play 6v6 on a dedicated server?

Yes. Set the game mode to 6v6 Hunt for twelve players.

Does the region setting affect ping?

No. It only controls which browser filter shows your server. Ping depends on where the server actually runs.