How to host a SCUM server: RAM, Wine, admin files, saves and setup

SCUM is a hardcore open-world survival game set on a large island prison, with detailed character simulation, vehicles, bases and a heavy emphasis on PvP. It is also one of the most demanding servers we host. Before you buy, it helps to understand why SCUM needs so much memory, how its config and admin files work, and how to back up its save without corrupting it. This guide covers all of that, then explains how a SCUM server is set up on GGHOST Cloud.

How a SCUM dedicated server works

The SCUM dedicated server is a separate program from the game, installed through SteamCMD. The developers ship it for Windows only, so on our Linux nodes it runs under Wine. It loads the island, simulates every player, zombie, animal, vehicle and base on it, and stores the world in a database file rather than a simple save.

The files you will work with live in two places:

• SCUM/Saved/Config/WindowsServer: ServerSettings.ini, the admin and ban lists, and the other config files. The server writes ServerSettings.ini itself on first boot.
• SCUM/Saved/SaveFiles: the world database, SCUM.db, with its companion -wal and -shm files.

How much RAM does a SCUM server need?

SCUM needs more memory than most survival games. The island is large, the simulation is detailed, and running under Wine adds overhead on top of the game’s own use. In practice a SCUM server needs 8 GB just to start, before any players arrive. That is why our SCUM plans start at 12 GB:

• Up to 32 players: 12 GB.
• 32 to 64 players: 16 GB, or a heavily modded island.

Memory grows with player count, the number of bases and vehicles on the map, and the age of the world. If the memory graph in the panel sits above about 80% at peak, size up before it becomes a problem on a busy evening.

On GGHOST Cloud you pay for memory, not player slots. The player limit is a setting you choose, not a line on the invoice.

Why SCUM plans run on dedicated capacity

Because SCUM is so memory-hungry, every SCUM plan is provisioned on dedicated capacity with room to spare, and each order is set up for you after checkout. That is why delivery is quoted differently from our other games: a SCUM server is ready within 24 hours of ordering, and you get an email the moment it is live.

Settings worth changing

The main settings are in the panel and in ServerSettings.ini. From the panel you set the server name, description, password and playstyle (PvP or PvE). For everything else, edit ServerSettings.ini with the file manager, then restart; SCUM reads it at start-up.

Many of the same settings are also available from the in-game Server Settings menu to players listed in ServerSettingsAdminUsers.ini. That is convenient, but it is a powerful permission. Grant it only to people you trust with the whole server.

Admins, bans and whitelists

SCUM uses plain text files in SCUM/Saved/Config/WindowsServer, one Steam64 ID per line:

• AdminUsers.ini: players who can use admin commands. Extra permissions are added in square brackets after an ID, such as [SetGodMode].
• ServerSettingsAdminUsers.ini: players who can open the in-game Server Settings menu. Being in AdminUsers.ini does not grant this.
• BannedUsers.ini: banned players.
• WhitelistedUsers.ini: the allow list, for a private server.

Admin commands are typed into the in-game chat with a # prefix, so you need to be connected to the server to use them. These files are read when the server starts, so restart after editing them.

Performance habits that help

• Restart on a schedule. A daily restart from the panel scheduler, announced in advance, keeps a long-running SCUM server healthy. It is also when edits to admin files and settings take effect.
• Keep the world tidy. Abandoned bases and vehicles are part of what makes an old world heavier, so clear out what nobody uses.
• Size the player limit to your memory, not to the highest number possible. A full 64-player server needs the larger plan.

Mods and custom files

We do not pre-install any mod framework for SCUM. Where the game supports it, you can upload your own files over SFTP or the file manager. Take a backup first, and size up if your additions add a lot to the world.

Backups and saves: do it properly

SCUM’s world is a database, and that changes how backups must be handled. SCUM.db, SCUM.db-wal and SCUM.db-shm belong together. The server writes to them constantly while it runs, so:

1. Stop the server before copying the save by hand.
2. Copy all three files together, never just SCUM.db.
3. When restoring, remove the old three files first, then upload the backed-up set. Leftover -wal and -shm files can overwrite parts of the restored database on start-up.

SCUM also keeps rotating database backups in the same folder, but they sit on the same server as the live save. On GGHOST Cloud, backups run on a schedule you set and restore from the panel without a ticket. Back up your WindowsServer config folder too, so your settings and admin lists come back with the world.

Launching your SCUM server on GGHOST Cloud

1. Pick a plan on the SCUM page: choose memory from the sizing above and the region closest to your players. Singapore and Europe (France–Germany border) are live today, with the United States (East, Central and West), the United Kingdom, India, Japan and Australia available on demand.
2. Check out. SCUM plans are provisioned on dedicated capacity, so your server is set up for you and ready within 24 hours at most. You get an email when it is live.
3. Set your options in the panel: server name, description, password and PvP or PvE. Then start the server and let it write its config files on first boot.
4. Share the address. The address and port are shown in the panel. Players can find the server in the in-game browser or connect directly.

You get our Pterodactyl panel: live console, file manager, SFTP, scheduled tasks for restarts and announcements, sub-users for your admins and database access. Every node is behind DDoS protection from our network providers, on every plan. There is no setup fee and no contract, and support comes from the people who run the servers, on Discord or at hello@gghost.cloud.

The short version

SCUM needs 8 GB just to start, so plan on 12 GB for up to 32 players and 16 GB for more. It runs under Wine on dedicated capacity, ready within 24 hours. Use AdminUsers.ini and ServerSettingsAdminUsers.ini deliberately, restart after editing them, and always back up all three SCUM.db files together with the server stopped. Get those right and SCUM is far less fragile than its reputation.