Ark Settings Generator

A modern GUI application to generate GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini configuration files for Ark Survival Ascended servers.

Features

• 🎮 Basic and Advanced Modes: Choose between commonly used settings (Basic) or full server customization (Advanced)
• 🎨 Modern Dark UI: Clean, professional interface with teal accents and improved visibility
• 📊 Real-Time Dino Calculations: Select any dino from dropdown and see live calculations for:
  • Taming times
  • Maturation times
  • Imprinting intervals and max imprint %
  • Incubation times
  • Mating cooldowns
  • Max wild dino levels (based on difficulty)
• 🔌 Mod Management: Easy-to-use interface for adding, removing, and reordering CurseForge mods
  • Add mods by CurseForge Mod ID
  • Reorder mods with Move Up/Down buttons
  • Built-in instructions for finding mod IDs
  • Mods persist across mode switches
  • Right-click paste support for quick mod entry
• 📂 INI Import: Upload existing INI files to automatically populate all settings
  • Import GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini
  • Automatically converts and applies all settings
  • Preserves existing server configurations
• 💡 Advanced Tips: Displays useful server configuration tips most players don't know about
  • Difficulty offset formulas
  • Performance warnings
  • Multiplier behavior insights
• 🎉 Server Events: Easy selection of active events with status indicators
  • Choose from 18+ available Ark events (Winter Wonderland, Easter, Summer Bash, etc.)
  • Birthday/Anniversary events and special celebration bonuses
  • Evolution and Extra Life charity events
  • Clear ✅ working / ⏰ planned indicators for event availability
• ℹ️ Interactive Tooltips: Hover over any setting label to see detailed descriptions
  • Quick reference without scrolling
  • Professional tooltip styling
  • Available on all settings
• 🔢 Precision Controls: Slider values and entry boxes display in decimal thousands format (e.g., 1.000)
  • Enhanced precision for fine-tuning
  • Real-time formatted display in both sliders and entry boxes
  • Both controls stay synchronized when either is changed
  • Numeric-only validation prevents input errors
• 📝 Helpful Descriptions: Each setting includes a brief description of its effects
• 📑 Tabbed Interface: Separate tabs for Server Settings, Game Settings, and Mods
  • Selected tabs are larger for better visibility
  • Unselected tabs are compact to save space
• ⚡ Optimized Performance: Smooth scrolling and window movement even with many settings
• 🖱️ Mouse Wheel Support: Scroll through all settings tabs with your mouse wheel
• 🎯 Mode-Specific Generation: Generate INI files with only the settings visible in the current mode
• 📍 File Location Display: After generation, view the exact directory path where your INI files are saved

Quick Start

1. Download: Get the latest release or clone this repository
2. Run: Double-click ArkSettingsGenerator.exe (or run from source)
3. Configure:
   • Select Basic or Advanced mode
   • Adjust server and game settings (hover over ℹ️ icons for tooltips)
   • Add mods in the Mods tab (optional) - use right-click to paste mod IDs
   • Or import existing INI files to load your current configuration
4. Generate: Click "Generate INI Files" to create your config files
5. Deploy: Copy the generated Game.ini and GameUserSettings.ini to your Ark server's configuration folder

Usage

Running the Application

From Executable:

Double-click ArkSettingsGenerator.exe

From Source:

cd source
python main.py

Interface Overview

• Mode Selection: Choose between Basic (common settings) or Advanced (all settings) at the top
• Control Buttons:
  • Generate INI Files: Create config files from your settings
  • Import INI Files: Upload existing config files to populate settings
  • Reset to Defaults: Clear all settings back to default values
• Settings Tabs:
  • Server Settings: Server name, passwords, difficulty, multipliers, etc.
  • Game Settings: Breeding, harvesting, day/night cycle, etc.
  • Mods: Manage CurseForge mods with easy add/remove/reorder interface
• Interactive Elements:
  • Tooltips: Hover over any setting label (marked with ℹ️) for detailed descriptions
  • Slider Precision: All sliders display values in decimal thousands (e.g., 1.000)
  • Input Validation: Numeric fields only accept number values
  • Right-Click Paste: Right-click in mod entry field to paste mod IDs
• Calculations Panel: Real-time dino calculations on the right side

Importing Existing Configuration

To import your existing server settings:

1. Click the "📂 Import INI Files" button at the top
2. Select your existing GameUserSettings.ini file
3. Select your existing Game.ini file
4. All settings will automatically populate in the interface
5. Make any additional changes as needed
6. Generate updated INI files

Note: The import feature intelligently converts all setting types (booleans, integers, floats, strings) and preserves your existing mod list.

Using Server Events

The ACTIVE EVENT dropdown in Server Settings allows you to select from 18+ available Ark events:

Available Events:

• No Event: None
• Winter Events: WinterWonderland (1-7 yearly versions)
• Holiday Events: Easter (Eggcellent Adventure), SummerBash, FearEvolved, TurkeyTrial, LoveEvolved
• Birthday/Anniversary: Birthday event with celebration bonuses
• Miscellaneous: EvolutionEvent, ExtraLife, ARKaeology, ARKdependenceDay

How to Use:

1. In Server Settings (Basic or Advanced mode), locate the ACTIVE EVENT dropdown
2. Click the dropdown to see all available events with status indicators
3. ✅ = Currently working and fully supported
4. ⏰ = Planned/Coming Soon (when applicable)
5. Select your desired event - the setting will update automatically

Using Mod Management

1. Navigate to the Mods tab
2. Find your desired mod on CurseForge
3. Copy the Mod ID from the URL (e.g., curseforge.com/.../mods/12345 → ID is 12345)
4. Enter the Mod ID in the "Add Mod" field (or right-click to paste from clipboard)
5. Press Enter or click "Add Mod"
6. Use Move Up/Down buttons to reorder mods (load order matters!)
7. Mods are automatically included in generated INI files

Pro Tip: Right-click in the mod entry field and select "Paste" to quickly add mod IDs from your clipboard.

Mode Differences

• Basic Mode: Shows ~15-20 essential server settings including server name, passwords, difficulty, player limits, and key multipliers
• Advanced Mode: Shows 100+ settings for complete server customization
• Mods Tab: Always visible in both modes
• File Generation: Only generates settings that are visible in the current mode, but mods are always included

File Structure

Ark Settings Generator/
├── .gitignore                  # Git ignore file
├── ArkSettingsGenerator.exe    # Main executable (excluded from git)
├── Game.ini                    # Generated output (excluded from git)
├── GameUserSettings.ini        # Generated output (excluded from git)
├── README.md                   # This documentation
└── source/                     # Source code
    ├── main.py                 # Main application (1500+ lines)
    ├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
    ├── ArkSettingsGenerator.spec # PyInstaller build config
    └── dist/                   # Build output directory
        └── ArkSettingsGenerator.exe

For Developers

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• tkinter (usually included with Python)
• PyInstaller (for building executables)

Setup Development Environment

# Clone the repository
git clone <your-repo-url>
cd "Ark Settings Generator"

# Create virtual environment (optional but recommended)
python -m venv .venv

# Activate virtual environment
# Windows:
.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
# Linux/Mac:
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
cd source
pip install -r requirements.txt

Running from Source

cd source
python main.py

Building Executable

cd source
python -m PyInstaller --clean --noconfirm ArkSettingsGenerator.spec

The executable will be created in source/dist/ArkSettingsGenerator.exe

Code Structure

• Main Application: source/main.py
  • ArkSettingsGenerator class handles all UI and logic
  • Modern dark theme with teal accent colors
  • Optimized canvas rendering for smooth performance
  • Throttled window updates for lag-free dragging
• Settings Data: Embedded dictionaries with default values and descriptions
• Real-time Calculations: Updates on slider movement using Scale command callbacks
• Mod Management: ListBox-based interface with validation and reordering

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Ensure you're using the latest version
2. Check that your antivirus isn't blocking the executable
3. Try running as administrator if file generation fails
4. Make sure the application has write permissions in its directory
5. Check the generated INI files for any syntax issues

Tips for Server Configuration

The application includes advanced tips in the Settings tabs:

Server Settings Tips:

• DifficultyOffset formula for max dino levels
• XP multiplier effects on players and dinos
• HarvestAmount warnings for mesh issues
• TamingSpeed behavior at high values
• MaxTributeDinos for cross-server transfers

Game Settings Tips:

• Fast breeding configurations (10min raises)
• Mating cooldown reduction strategies
• Imprint stat scaling behavior
• MaxTamedDinos performance impact
• Common configuration mistakes to avoid

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests or open issues for bugs and feature requests.

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0).

Important: This software is provided free of charge and for non-commercial use only. Commercial use, redistribution for profit, or sale of this software is strictly prohibited.

For more details, see the LICENSE file.

Author

Amustillo - Creator and maintainer of Ark Settings Generator

Acknowledgments

• Created by Amustillo for the Ark: Survival Ascended community
• Uses Python 3 with tkinter for cross-platform compatibility
• Optimized for smooth performance even with 100+ settings