Version: 2.1.1

Server Management

• Importing an Existing Config
• Using Beacon with Ark Single Player
• Updating Your Nitrado Server
• Updating Your Server With FTP
• Updating Your Server Manually
• Ark Config File Reference
• The Difference Between Deploy and Export

Core Features

• Using Config Sets
• Using Presets to Automate Item Set Creation
• Adding Unsupported Engrams, Creatures, Loot Drops, or Spawn Points to Beacon
• Preset Selectors Guide

Config Editors

• Breeding Multipliers
• Crafting Costs
• Creature Adjustments
• Creature Spawns
• Custom Config
• Day and Night Cycle
• Decay and Spoil
• Engram Control
• Harvest Rates
• Item Stat Limits
• Levels and XP
• Loot Drops
• Stack Sizes
• Stat Multipliers

User Accounts

• Create or Recover Your Account
• Sign Into Beacon
• Activating Beacon Omni
• Sharing Beacon Documents with Other Users
• About User Privacy

Troubleshooting

• Item Quality Is Different Than Expected
• Loot Drops Are Not Working As Intended
• How to Stop Using the Custom Config Editor
• Solving Connection Problems to Beacon or Nitrado
• Beacon System Status

For Developers

• Registering Your Mod With Beacon
• Beacon API Documentation

Config sets are a powerful feature of Beacon that allows managing configuration changes in smaller chunks.

Community member Eric1701 has put together a comprehensive video demonstration of Beacon's config sets in action at https://youtu.be/U6ArwHQN_iA.

Config Sets are an advanced feature of Beacon that allow a sort of layering of settings to produce a final configuration. For simplicity, this tutorial will focus on two config options: TamingSpeedMultiplier and XPMultiplier. Start a new project to follow along.

All Beacon projects have a "Base" config set that should be used for settings that are common to all servers in the project. In this "Base" config set, we'll use the Custom Config editor add add the two config options to GameUserSettings.ini:

TamingSpeedMultiplier=1.0
XPMultiplier=1.0

Since these are multipliers, 1.0 is the default, but this will work well to demonstrate the effect.

At the top of the Editors list is a menu that will say "Config Set: Base" for new projects. Pressing "Manage Config Sets" brings up a window for creating (or removing) config sets. Let's create two config sets using the "New Config Set" button: Faster Taming and More Experience. Press "OK" to create the new config sets. Notice that the menu still says "Config Set: Base" because the config set was not yet changed. Use the menu to choose "Faster Taming" and notice that the Custom Config editor is now empty. All the items in the editor list are also dimmed. This means they are not in use in the active config set. In the Custom Config editor, we'll add just a single line to GameUserSettings.ini:

TamingSpeedMultiplier=10.0

Next, switch to the "More Experience" config set, and add to GameUserSettings.ini:

XPMultiplier=10.0

Press the "Export" button in Beacon's project toolbar towards the top of the window. Scroll down and in the [ServerSettings] header of GameUserSettings.ini you will see the two options set to 1.0 just like set in the "Base" config set. On the left side of the export window, press the "Choose" button under the "Config Sets" label. The window that opens allows you to reorder and enable or disable config sets. In this case, the config sets do not need to be reordered. Check the box next to "Faster Taming" and notice TamingSpeedMultiplier=10.0 in the GameUserSettings.ini file, but XPMultiplier is still set to 1.0. Use that "Choose" button again to turn off "Faster Taming" and turn on "More Experience." Now the effect is reversed, TamingSpeedMultiplier is 1.0 and XPMultiplier is 10.0. Lastly, press the "Choose" button once more to turn on "Faster Taming." Leave "More Experience" turned on. GameUserSettings.ini will now show both TamingSpeedMultiplier and XPMultiplier set to 10.0.

This chart may help visualize how these config sets are merged together:

Using with linked servers or files

Config sets become even more powerful with the Servers editor. Switch to the Servers editor and press the "New Server" button to create a new server. Each item in the "Servers" list has a "Config Sets" item with a "Choose" button on the right. This button behaves exactly like it does in the export window. Now when you deploy, the chosen config sets will be used to generate your new ini files. In the export window, these sets will be used when the server is selected.

Importing and config sets

Beacon always imports servers or files into the active config set. This means importing from the same source multiple times can be used to split a source into multiple config sets with careful planning.