Upload Custom Maps to Your ARK: Survival Evolved Server

INTRODUCTION

Take on every type of element and region imaginable with your friends in ARK: Survival Evolved, through freezing ice lands, deadly lava-filled caves and cliffs, and even the deepest parts of space! Throughout this journey, many different worlds are out there capable of entirely changing the game experience for all players bringing unique and brand new challenges to explore.

Trying new opportunities on your ARK server through different maps can be quite joyful, and with a few steps and your custom ARK:SE web interface, you’ll have the tools equipped to handle this. Join us below as we discover how to find and upload ARK custom maps, including your own single-player maps!

HOW TO UPLOAD ARK CUSTOM MAPS

When uploading worlds on your server, there are a few ways you can accomplish this depending on the map you’re looking to install. We will begin by showing you how to find and upload your single-player ARK: Survival Evolved world.

FINDING YOUR SINGLE-PLAYER ARK:SE MAP

1. Proceed to open the Steam program on your computer.
2. On Steam, at the top select the “LIBRARY” option.
   
3. Locate ARK: Survival Evolved in your Steam games.
4. Right-click on ARK, hover over “Manage” and then select the “Browse local files” option.
   

   This will take you directly to where all of your ARK game files are stored, including the locations of your ARK:SE map saves.

5. In your ARK local files, double-click and enter the following folders in order: “ShooterGame” → “Saved”
   

   This location will include “SavedArksLocal” folders for each map that you’ve played before. Each map will have a slightly different name depending on the map, and we’ve included examples for reference:

   • The Island – SavedArksLocal
   • Cyrstal Isles – CrystalIslesSavedArksLocal
   • Lost Island – LostIslandSavedArksLocal
   • Procedurally Generated maps – PGArks
6. Enter the folder to find the map files that you would like to upload to your server. In our example, we will be entering the “LostIslandSavedArksLocal” folder.
7. In this world save folder, each file will be necessary and will contain different data:
   
   • .ark – This file contains the main save data for your server including region progress, structures, and dinosaurs already on the map.
   • .arkprofile – Your individual player data is stored within this file.
   • .arktribe – ARK features tribes, which you are placed in automatically when creating a single-player world. The ARK tribe allows for proper ownership of dinosaurs, structures, and more.
8. We recommend copying these files and pasting them into an empty folder on your computer, where you can easily access these files.
9. Lastly, the “LocalPlayer.arkprofile” will need to be renamed to your “Steam64 ID”.
   • Use the SteamID.IO website to search your Steam username.
   • Copy the Steam 64 ID for your player.
     
   • Use that ID to rename the “LocalPlayer.arkprofile” file to “STEAM64ID.arkprofile”.

Now that you have access to your single-player world files and have prepared them, you will now be able to upload those files to your ARK server!

UPLOADING YOUR SINGLE-PLAYER ARK WORLDS

1. Enter your ARK: Survival Evolved server panel and stop your server.
2. On your control panel, to the left select the “File Browser” option under “TOOLS”.
   
3. In your “File Browser”, go to the location “arkse”, “ShooterGame”, “Saved”, and then “SavedArks”.
   
4. At this location, scroll to the bottom and select the “Upload file” button.
5. Use this to find the single-player world files you copied earlier. One file at a time, select and upload the .ark, .arkprofile, and .arktribe files to your server.
6. With those files uploaded, you’ll now need to set that map on your server. Go back to your control panel and then on the left side under “SETTINGS”, press “General”.
   
7. In your General settings under “Base settings”, locate and set the “Mapname” option to the name of the map you have uploaded save files for. For example, if your map save files were for “Lost Island”, you would want to set your server to that map.
   

   It’s important to keep in mind that if you have used a mod map rather than the regular ARK worlds, you will need to have that mod map installed before you can set that map on your server.

8. Finally, press “Save changes” at the bottom and then restart your server to load your single-player ARK world save!

You and your friends can now join the world you uploaded on your ARK:SE server and experience everything you created while you were playing single-player!

TRIBES DID NOT TRANSFER CORRECTLY

When transferring your single-player world data to your server, tribes sometimes do not transfer correctly which can result in the world no longer allowing you to access your belongings and dinosaurs connected to that tribe. Thankfully, there is a way to fix this and we will show you how!

1. Begin by ensuring that you are an administrator on your ARK server and then join your server.
2. You will need to gather the tribe team ID of your previous tribe so that you can rejoin it. In ARK, type the command “setcheatplayer true” and this will open a HUD containing important information regarding the game and your tribe.
3. While in this HUD, view a structure or dinosaur owned by your tribe to find the tribe team ID.
   
4. Now that you know the tribe team ID, type this command as an ARK admin to take control of that tribe: cheat taketribe <tribeID>
5. To then disable the HUD, type the command “setcheatplayer false”.

You will now take over that tribe and you will have full access back to your tribe including the structures and the creatures within it.

DOWNLOADING CUSTOM ARK MAPS OFF OF STEAM

There are hundreds of different custom ARK maps that you can add to your ARK server through the ARK Steam Workshop. You can add custom ARK maps to your server automatically with the map mod IDs by following our tutorial, or manually. We will show you how to manually download and add custom ARK map from the Steam Workshop to your server.

1. Begin by opening Steam and ARK’s Steam Workshop by clicking here.
2. In the ARK Steam Workshop, search for the particular map you’d like to use. We will be using the custom map “Olympus” as an example.
   
3. Click on that map and under that map’s images, press the “+ Subscribe” to subscribe to and download that custom map’s mod file.
   

   After subscribing, that mod will download for your ARK: Survival Evolved game automatically. Depending on the map size, it can take some time for certain maps to fully install. You can check your Steam downloads section to watch for when the installation completes.

4. Keep in mind the mod ID for that particular map too, which can be found in that ARK Steam Workshop mod’s page URL if using the Steam website, or often by also checking the description of that map’s page if you’re on Steam.
   
5. To now gather that map’s file, go to your Steam game library, right-click ARK: Survival Evolved, hover over the “Manage” section, and select the “Browse local files” button.
   
6. In your files, click through the folders “ShooterGame”, “Content”, and then “Mods”.
7. In the game “Mods” folder, find the folder named after the mod ID of that custom ARK map and the .mod file. In the case of the Olympus map, that folder and .mod file would be named with the ID 970855933.
   
8. Keep these files in a safe area on your PC, as you will need this folder and file to upload the map manually to your server.

UPLOADING ARK CUSTOM MAPS FROM STEAM

1. Begin by going on your server’s control panel and stopping your ARK: SE server.
2. You will then want to access your server’s FTP using an external program with your FTP Credentials found at the bottom of your server panel. You can access an external FTP using the steps in this guide!
3. In your server’s FTP, go to the location “arkse”, “ShooterGame”, “Content”, and “Mods”.
4. Drag and drop your custom map mod’s folder and .mod file to this location in your FTP like this:
   

   Allow the map files to fully upload to ensure you can set that map on your server.

5. Once those map files are uploaded, go back to your server panel and in the left navigation under “SETTINGS”, press the “General” option.
   
6. In your “General” settings under “Base settings”, select the dropdown next to “Mapname” and there you will see the custom map you have uploaded. In our example, the map that is appearing is Olympus.
   
7. After selecting that map, press “Save changes” at the bottom.
8. Lastly, start your ARK: Survival Evolved server to load that custom map.

CONCLUSION

As you play, uploading and trying a new map or bringing your single-player creations to a multiplayer server can give you and your players the opportunity to share adventures together and create amazing memories. When uploading or changing the ARK server map, easily navigate and utilize your custom panel and server controls to experience wondrous new lands with all of your friends. Explore the hundreds of different maps out there and try uploading a map today on your own ARK: Survival Evolved server!

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