The Forest is a classic survival horror game loved by multiplayer players for its island tribe AI, physical tree-felling and building, and mysterious cave exploration. Compared with a player-hosted room, a self-hosted Dedicated Server retains camp state and timber stores when the host is offline and has very low hardware requirements. This article covers deployment standards and key settings for the original The Forest server.
1. Server hardware baseline (excellent support for low-spec hosts)
| Specification | 4-player survival group | Full 8-player building server |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 2 cores / 2.6GHz+ | 4 cores / 3.0GHz+ |
| Memory (RAM) | 4 GB physical RAM | 8 GB physical RAM |
| Storage | 15 GB SSD | 30 GB SSD |
| Upload bandwidth | 5 Mbps dedicated | 15 Mbps dedicated |
2. Install the dedicated server with SteamCMD
Download the dedicated server anonymously through SteamCMD (AppID 556450):
steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 556450 validate +quit
After the download, the main executable is in the root directory: TheForestDedicatedServer.exe.
3. Plan the three network ports
The Forest server uses 3 consecutive communication ports:
| Default port | Protocol | Purpose | Router forwarding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8766 | UDP | Internal Steam authentication and status communication | Required |
| 27015 | UDP | Main direct client game connection (GamePort) | Required |
| 27016 | UDP | Steam queries and lobby listings (QueryPort) | Required |
4. Main configuration: server.cfg explained
On first startup, the server creates server.cfg in the root directory:
// Server networking and ports
serverIP 0.0.0.0
serverSteamPort 8766
serverGamePort 27015
serverQueryPort 27016
// Room information
serverName LanGame The Forest Server
serverPlayers 8
serverPassword your_secure_password
serverPasswordAdmin your_admin_password
// Save controls
initType Continue // Continue loads an existing save / New forces a new save
slot 1 // Save slot (1~5)
// Difficulty (Peaceful / Normal / Hard / HardSurvival)
difficulty Normal
// Automatic save interval (minutes)
saveInterval 15
Example startup script (start_server.bat):
@echo off
TheForestDedicatedServer.exe -batchmode -nographics
5. Choose an approach: manual configuration or LanGame Server Manager (LGSM)
Manual The Forest maintenance involves 3 UDP ports, and mistakes when switching initType between new games and loading can overwrite existing progress.
We recommend the official open-source dedicated server management platform to automate routine administration:
- Tool overview and client: LanGame Server Manager (LGSM) product page
- Open-source repository: GitHub - SZSLGJCOM/LanGame-Server-Manager
LGSM provides:
- Coordinated three-port validation: Scans 8766, 27015, and 27016 before startup to prevent conflicts.
- Visual save slot previews: Switch slots 1~5 graphically without repeatedly editing
server.cfgtext. - World snapshot protection: Package world files before entering the giant snowy mountain sinkhole to protect against an expedition wipe and corrupted saves.
- Self-healing watchdog: Monitors game process health in the background and restarts smoothly after unexpected exits.