Night of the Dead Custom Difficulty Settings for Dedicated Servers

To use custom difficulty on a Night of the Dead dedicated server, set Difficulty=Custom under [GameSettings] in LF/Saved/Config/ServerSettings.ini, then change the values in the [GameSettings/General], [GameSettings/Basic], [GameSettings/Advanced] and [GameSettings/Detail] sections and restart. Those detailed values are ignored on every other difficulty, which is the most common reason people think their changes did nothing. This guide lists the keys, what they control and a few combinations that suit real groups.

Why go Custom instead of a preset

The presets (Peaceful, Easy, Normal, Hard, Survival, Challenge and Legend) scale everything together. Groups usually want something more specific: harder nights but a gentler day, bigger hordes with stronger walls, or a long day cycle so a busy crew can finish building before dark. Custom is how you get there on a dedicated server.

Before you edit

Stop the server. The server can rewrite the file while it runs.
Take a backup. On GamezServers it is one click in the panel.
On our servers, set Difficulty in the panel to Custom. The panel writes Difficulty and the PvE or PvP mode into ServerSettings.ini at every start, so if the panel still says Normal, your file goes back to Normal on the next start.
Open LF/Saved/Config/ServerSettings.ini in the file manager or over SFTP.

Self hosting? It is the same file in your server folder. Our Night of the Dead hosting guide covers the [ServerSettings] and [SystemSettings] parts of the file, such as the name, password and save.

Night of the Dead, a zombie survival game

[GameSettings]: switch to Custom

[GameSettings]
Difficulty=Custom

Valid values are Peaceful, Easy, Normal, Hard, Survival, Challenge, Legend and Custom.

[GameSettings/General]: on or off rules

These are switches: 0 is off, 1 is on.

Key	What it does when set to 1
`NoWave`	No night waves at all
`NoZombieRespawn`	Zombies in the world do not respawn
`NaturalObjectRespawn`	Trees, rocks and other natural objects respawn
`SyntheticObjectRespawn`	Man made objects like cars and furniture respawn
`NoGeneratorTrouble`	Generators do not break down
`NoDeathResearchDrop`	No research lost when you die
`DropItemsOnExit`	Players drop their items when they log out
`Hardcore`	Hardcore mode
`NoTeamKill`	Players cannot hurt each other
`NoEnding`	The game does not end when the story finishes
`MODSelect`	Mode: `1` is PvE, `0` is PvP

MODSelect is the PvP setting, and it reads backwards to most people: 1 means PvE. On our servers it is the PVP field in the panel, which uses the same 1 and 0 and overwrites the file at start.

[GameSettings/Basic]: zombies and animals

Most of these values are on a scale that matches the sliders in the game's own custom difficulty screen, with the file listing a range of 0 to 100 for most of them. Higher means more health, more damage, more zombies or longer timers. The respawn times are in seconds.

Key	Controls	Example default
`NormalZombieHealth`	Light zombie HP	17
`SpecialZombieHealth`	Heavy zombie HP	17
`GiantZombieHealth`	Giant zombie HP	17
`ZombieDamage`	Zombie damage	18
`ZombieMovementSpeed`	Zombie movement speed	35
`WorldZombieSpawn`	How many zombies roam the world	17
`WaveZombieHealth`	HP of zombies in night waves	25
`WaveNormalZombieAmount`	Light zombies per wave	44
`WaveSpecialZombieAmount`	Heavy zombies per wave	17
`WaveGiantZombieAmount`	Giant zombies per wave	21
`AnimalHealth`	Animal HP	17
`AnimalDamage`	Animal damage	18
`WorldNormalZombieRespawnTime`	Light zombie respawn time	120
`WorldSpecialZombieRespawnTime`	Heavy zombie respawn time	600
`WorldGiantZombieRespawnTime`	Giant zombie respawn time	600

The default numbers in your own file may differ from these, depending on which preset the file was created from. Use them as a reference point, not a rule.

[GameSettings/Advanced]: building, loot and economy

Key	Controls
`NoExperienceLoss`	1 means no EXP lost when dying
`NoDeathItemDrop`	1 means no items dropped when dying
`ResearchDataConsumption`	How much research data research costs
`BuildingHit`	Building HP
`TrapDamage`	Trap damage
`ResourcesReturnedAfterBuildingDestroyed`	Materials returned when a building is destroyed
`SuperiorOrHigherEquipmentGainMultiplier`	Drop rate of high grade equipment
`AmountOfExperienceGained`	EXP gain multiplier
`ResourceAcquisition`	Amount of items gathered
`InitialFoodAmount`	Food players start with
`FarmResourceOutput` / `MachineResourceOutput`	Production amount from farms and machines
`FarmResourceProductionTime` / `MachineResourceProductionTime`	Production time for farms and machines
`ElectricGeneration` / `ElectricConsumption`	Power produced and used
`ElectricOvercurrentLimit` / `ElectricStandbyPower`	Power limit and standby power
`FishSpeed` / `FishingGaugeDecrease`	Fishing difficulty
`AnimalTrapTime`	Animal trap time

Some of these are multipliers (values like 1 or 1.25) rather than 0 to 100 sliders. Change multipliers in small steps: going from 1 to 2 doubles the effect.

[GameSettings/Detail]: day length

[GameSettings/Detail]
OneDayTime=120

OneDayTime sets the length of a day, with the options 60, 120, 180, 240 and 300. A longer day gives the crew more building and scavenging time between nights, which suits groups that only play for an hour or two at a time.

Night of the Dead gameplay

Combinations that work

These are starting points. Change one or two values at a time and play a night or two before changing more.

Builders' server. More time and stronger walls, normal zombies.

[GameSettings/Advanced]
BuildingHit=100
ResourcesReturnedAfterBuildingDestroyed=60
ResourceAcquisition=1.5
[GameSettings/Detail]
OneDayTime=240

Big horde nights, gentle days. Fewer roaming zombies, bigger waves at night.

[GameSettings/Basic]
WorldZombieSpawn=10
WaveNormalZombieAmount=70
WaveSpecialZombieAmount=30

Casual crew who hate losing progress.

[GameSettings/General]
NoDeathResearchDrop=1
NoGeneratorTrouble=1
[GameSettings/Advanced]
NoExperienceLoss=1
NoDeathItemDrop=1

Bigger waves mean more zombies the server has to simulate at once. If you push wave amounts far up with a full crew, watch for lag at night and consider more memory. Our plans run from 6 GB for a few friends to 12 GB for big groups on heavy hordes, and you can change plans in the panel at any time.

When changes do not apply

Problem	Cause	Fix
Nothing changed	`Difficulty` is not `Custom`	Set the panel's Difficulty to Custom and restart
File reverts	Edited while the server was running	Stop, edit, start
PvP setting flips back	Panel PVP field overwrites `MODSelect`	Change it in the panel
Server will not start after editing	A typo broke the file	Restore the backup, edit again carefully

Hosting it without the fiddly parts

A Night of the Dead server from GamezServers puts difficulty, PvE or PvP, name, passwords, save name and message of the day in the panel, with ServerSettings.ini in the file manager for the custom values. One click backups make it painless to try a harder night and roll back if the horde wins. If players cannot find the server afterwards, see Night of the Dead server not showing in the server list.

FAQ

Why are my Night of the Dead custom settings ignored?

The GameSettings values only apply when Difficulty=Custom. On a hosted server, also set the panel's Difficulty field to Custom, since it rewrites the file at start.

How do I make waves bigger on my server?

Raise WaveNormalZombieAmount, WaveSpecialZombieAmount and WaveGiantZombieAmount under [GameSettings/Basic], with Difficulty=Custom.

How do I make the day longer?

Set OneDayTime under [GameSettings/Detail] to 180, 240 or 300.

How do I stop players hurting each other?

Set NoTeamKill=1 under [GameSettings/General], or keep the server on PvE with MODSelect=1.

Can I change difficulty on an existing save?

Yes. Stop the server, change the settings, back up, and start it again. Take the backup first in case the group wants to go back.