Guides
ARK: Survival Evolved Maps – How to Play Procedurally Generated Arks
ARK Maps – Procedurally Generated Arks – Introduction
While playing on ARK server hosting, you and your friends can encounter breathtaking worlds. From areas covered in flowing glistening rivers and waterfalls to dangerous fields covered in fire, volcanos, and radiation. Since ARK has been out for quite some time now, players are finding themselves having already explored most of the ARK DLC maps. While there is always the choice of custom maps, there is another option in the form of procedurally generated ARK maps.
Procedurally generated maps, or dynamic Arks, are randomly created maps similar to Minecraft worlds, where you’re able to set a map seed and a number of different options. Afterward, your server will then generate this random world with mountains, shores, a custom water level, and nearly any option you can imagine. These options are further broken down into three categories too, Terrain, Biome, and Map, making it as easy as possible to customize your server map. In the steps below, we’ll show you how you can enable and create your own procedurally generated worlds for your ARK game server!
Getting Started with Procedurally Generated ARK Maps
Before enabling the procedurally generated or dynamic generated map option, it’s important to know that this feature is experimental. That means that while the map should generate without any issues, you may experience generation issues such as certain types of dinosaurs not spawning, uneven ground, and even a lack of particular biomes like swampland. With that in mind, you can now follow the section below to enable a dynamically generated map on your server.
How to Enable Procedurally Generated Maps
- Head to your ARK server webinterface and stop your server.
- Then, to the left under “Settings”, select the “General” option.
- Inside your ARK settings, search for the “Mapname” setting.
- Use the dropdown for this setting to select “Dynamic generated Map (Experimental)”.
- After selecting this option, press “Save changes” but do not start your server yet.
- You’re now ready to continue to the next section to learn how to configure your procedurally generated/dynamically generated map!
Customing your Dynamic Generated ARK Map
Once your server is set to the dynamically generated map option, the next step is to customize the map with unique spawn points, a custom seed, and other settings. While still inside your ARK general server settings, you can find your “Dynamic Maps” options by scrolling down. In these initial sections, you can set a custom map name and specific terrain parameters if you have them.
To customize your map settings further, press the “Dynamic Map Editor” button. You’ll be brought to a menu to customize your random world. Next, you’ll need to press the “Randomize” button to see all possible configuration settings. These will then be listed under the “Terrain Settings”, “Biome Settings”, and “Map Settings” sections.
Additionally, at the top of that menu for procedurally generated ARK maps, you’ll have the ability to click and drag the different spawn points, biome locations, and more. This will let you bring even more uniqueness to your custom ARK server world.
Once all of the options have been changed to your liking for your ARK map, click the “Apply” button at the bottom. The options you set will now appear inside the “Terrain Properties” section. Finally, press “Save changes” in your ARK server settings and start your server to load that procedurally generated ARK world!
Generate a Procedural Ark In-Game
Alongside procedurally generated maps on ARK server hosting, it is also possible to generate such a world on your local ARK game To generate the map within the game itself, select “Host \ Local” after starting ARK: Survival Evolved. Then near the bottom middle, you’ll find the “Create Precedural Ark” option. This will open a configuration menu for the map generator.
The “ARK Name” section defines a name for the map and its configuration. Once the options have been set, you can press “Host” to begin generating the world. This process can be quite stressful for computers and so it’s recommended to have other programs closed while this is done. This saves the map properties in your ARK game’s Game.ini under “PGLastUsedSettings“.
Moving ARK Maps Procedurally Generated Options to Your Server
If you’re looking to move those procedurally generated settings to your ARK server to try the map on there, that’s possible too. This allows you to generate and test worlds to create the perfect world before setting that on your server. You can do this by following these steps:
- After generating a procedural world on your ARK game, close ARK.
- Then, open Steam, go to your game library and find ARK: SE.
- From there, right-click ARK and select the “Properties…” option.
- Next, click on “Local Files” and press “Browse” to see your local ARK files.
- Inside your ARK files, go through the folders \ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor\ and edit the “Game.ini” file located there. We recommend using a program such as Notepad++ for file editing.
- Within the Game.ini file, near the bottom, you’ll see the “PGLastUsedSettings” option. This is where your procedural world settings are stored. You’ll want to copy all of the values in this option just like this:
- Once that is done, go to your server webinterface and ensure your ARK server is stopped.
- Then, on the left below “Settings”, select “General” and go to the “Dynamic Maps” section.
- If you haven’t already, follow the steps above to enable procedurally generated ARK maps on your server.
- Afterward, set a new name in the “Maps Name” option and then paste the procedural map settings into the “Terrain Properties” option. You can also use the “Dynamic Map Editor” here to make adjustments if needed.
- Lastly, press “Save changes” and start your ARK server to generate that random map on your game server!
Experience Procedural ARK Maps on Your Server
ARK maps hold endless beauty and possibility in the world of ARK, from volcanic biomes to swamp lands and everything in between. While there are many maps to try in ARK, sometimes a randomly generated world is more fun for new explorations. Using the power of procedurally generated or dynamic maps in ARK, you’ll be capable of designing your world. This includes unique terrain locations, custom world seeds, dinosaur spawns, and more. See what types of procedurally generated maps you can create when you try this feature on your own ARK server!
More ARK Guides:
ARK Admin Commands – Use Cheats on your ARK: SE Server
ARK Aberration Guide – Radiation & Mutation
ARK Genesis Guide
How to join your ARK Server
Is ARK Crossplay?
