Chapter 9.12: Advanced Server Topics#

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Summary: Deep configuration files, multi-map setups, economy splitting, animal territories, dynamic events, weather control, automated restarts, and the messages system.

Table of Contents#

cfggameplay.json Deep Dive
Multi-Map Servers
Custom Economy Tuning
cfgenvironment.xml and Animal Territories
Custom Dynamic Events
Server Restart Automation
cfgweather.xml
Messages System

cfggameplay.json Deep Dive#

The file cfggameplay.json lives in your mission folder and overrides hardcoded gameplay defaults. Enable it in serverDZ.cfg first:

enableCfgGameplayFile = 1;

Vanilla structure:

{
  "version": 123,
  "GeneralData": {
    "disableBaseDamage": false,
    "disableContainerDamage": false,
    "disableRespawnDialog": false,
    "disableRespawnInUnconsciousness": false
  },
  "PlayerData": {
    "disablePersonalLight": false,
    "StaminaData": {
      "sprintStaminaModifierErc": 1.0, "sprintStaminaModifierCro": 1.0,
      "staminaWeightLimitThreshold": 6000.0, "staminaMax": 100.0,
      "staminaKg": 0.3, "staminaMin": 0.0,
      "staminaDepletionSpeed": 1.0, "staminaRecoverySpeed": 1.0
    },
    "ShockHandlingData": {
      "shockRefillSpeedConscious": 5.0, "shockRefillSpeedUnconscious": 1.0,
      "allowRefillSpeedModifier": true
    },
    "MovementData": {
      "timeToSprint": 0.45, "timeToJog": 0.0,
      "rotationSpeedJog": 0.3, "rotationSpeedSprint": 0.15
    },
    "DrowningData": {
      "staminaDepletionSpeed": 10.0, "healthDepletionSpeed": 3.0,
      "shockDepletionSpeed": 10.0
    },
    "WeaponObstructionData": { "staticMode": 1, "dynamicMode": 1 }
  },
  "WorldsData": {
    "lightingConfig": 0, "objectSpawnersArr": [],
    "environmentMinTemps": [-3, -2, 0, 4, 9, 14, 18, 17, 13, 11, 9, 0],
    "environmentMaxTemps": [3, 5, 7, 14, 19, 24, 26, 25, 18, 14, 10, 5]
  },
  "BaseBuildingData": { "canBuildAnywhere": false, "canCraftAnywhere": false },
  "UIData": {
    "use3DMap": false,
    "HitIndicationData": {
      "hitDirectionOverrideEnabled": false, "hitDirectionBehaviour": 1,
      "hitDirectionStyle": 0, "hitDirectionIndicatorColorStr": "0xffbb0a1e",
      "hitDirectionMaxDuration": 2.0, "hitDirectionBreakPointRelative": 0.2,
      "hitDirectionScatter": 10.0, "hitIndicationPostProcessEnabled": true
    }
  }
}

version – must match what your server binary expects. Do not change it.
lightingConfig – 0 (default) or 1 (brighter nights).
environmentMinTemps / environmentMaxTemps – 12 values, one per month (Jan-Dec).
disablePersonalLight – removes the faint ambient light near new players at night.
staminaMax and sprint modifiers control how far players can run before exhaustion.
use3DMap – switches the in-game map to the terrain-rendered 3D variant.

Multi-Map Servers#

DayZ supports multiple maps through different mission folders inside mpmissions/:

Map	Mission Folder
Chernarus	`mpmissions/dayzOffline.chernarusplus/`
Livonia	`mpmissions/dayzOffline.enoch/`
Sakhal	`mpmissions/dayzOffline.sakhal/`

Each map has its own CE files (types.xml, events.xml, etc.). Switch maps via template in serverDZ.cfg:

class Missions {
    class DayZ {
        template = "dayzOffline.chernarusplus";
    };
};

Or with a launch parameter: -mission=mpmissions/dayzOffline.enoch

To run multiple maps simultaneously, use separate server instances with their own config, profile directory, and port range.

Custom Economy Tuning#

Splitting types.xml#

Split items into multiple files and register them in cfgeconomycore.xml:

<economycore>
    <ce folder="db">
        <file name="types.xml" type="types" />
        <file name="types_weapons.xml" type="types" />
        <file name="types_vehicles.xml" type="types" />
    </ce>
</economycore>

The server loads and merges all files with type="types".

Custom Categories and Tags#

cfglimitsdefinition.xml defines categories/tags for types.xml but gets overwritten on updates. Use cfglimitsdefinitionuser.xml instead:

<lists>
    <categories>
        <category name="custom_rare" />
    </categories>
    <tags>
        <tag name="custom_event" />
    </tags>
</lists>

cfgenvironment.xml and Animal Territories#

The file cfgenvironment.xml in your mission folder links to territory files in the env/ subdirectory:

<env>
    <territories>
        <file path="env/zombie_territories.xml" />
        <file path="env/bear_territories.xml" />
        <file path="env/wolf_territories.xml" />
    </territories>
</env>

The env/ folder contains these animal territory files:

File	Animals
bear_territories.xml	Brown bears
wolf_territories.xml	Wolf packs
fox_territories.xml	Foxes
hare_territories.xml	Rabbits/hares
hen_territories.xml	Chickens
pig_territories.xml	Pigs
red_deer_territories.xml	Red deer
roe_deer_territories.xml	Roe deer
sheep_goat_territories.xml	Sheep/goats
wild_boar_territories.xml	Wild boars
cattle_territories.xml	Cows

A territory entry defines circular zones with position and animal count:

<territory color="4291543295" name="BearTerritory 001">
    <zone name="Bear zone" smin="-1" smax="-1" dmin="1" dmax="4" x="7628" z="5048" r="500" />
</territory>

x, z – center coordinates; r – radius in meters
dmin, dmax – min/max animal count in the zone
smin, smax – reserved (set to -1)

Custom Dynamic Events#

Dynamic events (heli crashes, convoys) are defined in events.xml. To create a custom event:

1. Define the event in events.xml:

<event name="StaticMyCustomCrash">
    <nominal>3</nominal> <min>1</min> <max>5</max>
    <lifetime>1800</lifetime> <restock>600</restock>
    <saferadius>500</saferadius> <distanceradius>200</distanceradius> <cleanupradius>100</cleanupradius>
    <flags deletable="0" init_random="0" remove_damaged="1" />
    <position>fixed</position> <limit>child</limit> <active>1</active>
    <children>
        <child lootmax="10" lootmin="5" max="3" min="1" type="Wreck_Mi8_Crashed" />
    </children>
</event>

2. Add spawn positions in cfgeventspawns.xml:

<event name="StaticMyCustomCrash">
    <pos x="4523.2" z="9234.5" a="180" />
    <pos x="7812.1" z="3401.8" a="90" />
</event>

3. Add infected guards (optional) – add <secondary type="ZmbM_PatrolNormal_Autumn" /> elements in your event definition.

4. Grouped spawns (optional) – define clusters in cfgeventgroups.xml and reference the group name in your event.

Server Restart Automation#

DayZ has no built-in restart scheduler. Use OS-level automation.

Windows#

Create restart_server.bat and run it via Windows Scheduled Task every 4-6 hours:

@echo off
taskkill /f /im DayZServer_x64.exe
timeout /t 10
xcopy /e /y "C:\DayZServer\profiles\storage_1" "C:\DayZBackups\%date:~-4%-%date:~-7,2%-%date:~-10,2%\"
C:\SteamCMD\steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\DayZServer +login anonymous +app_update 223350 validate +quit
start "" "C:\DayZServer\DayZServer_x64.exe" -config=serverDZ.cfg -profiles=profiles -port=2302

Linux#

Create a shell script and add it to cron (0 */4 * * *):

#!/bin/bash
kill $(pidof DayZServer) && sleep 15
cp -r /home/dayz/server/profiles/storage_1 /home/dayz/backups/$(date +%F_%H%M)_storage_1
/home/dayz/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/dayz/server +login anonymous +app_update 223350 validate +quit
cd /home/dayz/server && ./DayZServer -config=serverDZ.cfg -profiles=profiles -port=2302 &

Always back up storage_1/ before each restart. Corrupted persistence during shutdown can wipe player bases and vehicles.

cfgweather.xml#

The file cfgweather.xml in your mission folder controls weather patterns. Each map ships with its own defaults:

Each phenomenon has min, max, duration_min, and duration_max (seconds):

Phenomenon	Default Max	Notes
`overcast`	1.0	Drives cloud density and rain probability
`rain`	1.0	Only triggers above an overcast threshold. Set max to `0.0` for no rain
`fog`	0.3	Values above `0.5` produce near-zero visibility
`wind_magnitude`	18.0	Affects ballistics and player movement

Messages System#

The file db/messages.xml in your mission folder controls scheduled server messages and shutdown warnings:

<messages>
    <message deadline="0" shutdown="0"><text>Welcome to our server!</text></message>
    <message deadline="240" shutdown="1"><text>Server restart in 4 minutes!</text></message>
    <message deadline="60" shutdown="1"><text>Server restart in 1 minute!</text></message>
    <message deadline="0" shutdown="1"><text>Server is restarting now.</text></message>
</messages>

deadline – minutes before the message triggers (for shutdown messages, minutes before server stops)
shutdown – 1 for shutdown-sequence messages, 0 for regular broadcasts

The messages system does not restart the server. It only displays warnings when a restart schedule is configured externally.

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