This page is the symptom-to-fix lookup for the most-reported AASM issues. Look up your symptom, follow the diagnostic, and if it doesn't resolve, drop the relevant log into the Discord #support channel.
Server won't start
- Check the server log. Windows:
<install>\ShooterGame\Saved\Logs\ShooterGame.log. Linux:<install>/ShooterGame/Saved/Logs/ShooterGame.log. - Mod load failure? Look for "Failed to load mod XXXXXX" lines. The mod might be broken or require AsaApiLoader. Disable the mod in Mod Manager, then restart.
- Port conflict? Windows PowerShell:
netstat -ano | findstr 7777. Linux:ss -lntup | grep 7777. - Save file corruption? If the log shows "checksum mismatch" or "can't load level," restore the most recent backup ZIP from Backup and Restore.
- Steam manifest missing? Run an Update from the dashboard so AASM can validate and repair the install. Linux-only launch failures are covered in the AASM Linux troubleshooting guide.
RCON won't connect / wrong password
Most common cause of RCON failure:
- Server isn't actually running yet (RCON binds after the world loads, which takes 1-3 min).
- The admin password in AASM's server config doesn't match the actual server's password. Fix: edit Player Settings → admin password → save → restart.
- v0.8.2 fix relevant: earlier builds silently accepted wrong passwords because the leading empty RESPONSE_VALUE packet was treated as successful auth. v0.8.2 filters by packet type so you now get an honest rejection. If you're seeing "auth ok" but then no commands work, you might be on v0.8.1 - update to v0.8.2+ first.
Mods don't load
- Check Mod Manager: is the mod in the Active list (not Passive)?
- Did ARK actually download the .pak file? Check
<install>\ShooterGame\Content\Mods\<modid>\exists. - Is the mod ID actually a valid CurseForge ARK: Survival Ascended mod (not an ARK 1 mod)?
- Some mods require AsaApiLoader - check the mod's CurseForge description.
Crash detection loop (server keeps restarting)
If a server crash-detects and restarts, then crash-detects and restarts again, every few minutes:
- Check ShooterGame.log for the actual crash reason. Most common: a mod incompatibility after an ARK update.
- Disable crash detection temporarily (Maintenance tab → Quick Settings → Auto Restart on Crash → off) so you can investigate without AASM fighting you.
- Historical v0.8.3 fix: BUG-13 added discriminated validation, consecutive-failure counters and bulk-empty guards. Upgrade to the current v0.9.1 build before diagnosing a similar symptom.
No one can find my server in the server list
- Host firewall: on Windows, use Maintenance → Open Firewall Ports and the Windows Firewall guide. On Linux, allow the configured game, query and RCON ports with your distribution's firewall; see Linux troubleshooting.
- Router/NAT: forward the game and query ports to the server host, then confirm the host still has the same LAN IP.
- Test from outside your LAN against the public IP and configured port.
- Wait 5-10 minutes after server start for Steam to index it.
- Try direct connect or search for the exact session name; the browse list can take longer to populate.
Maintenance schedule fires at the wrong time / not at all
- Check that Scheduled Restarts is toggled on in Quick Settings (not just configured).
- Check the time is interpreted in host PC's LOCAL time, not server-time or UTC.
- v0.8.3 fixes: BUG-14 (stuck
updateInProgressflag) and BUG-15 (Center map didn't restart due to query hang) - both addressed in v0.8.3. Update if you're seeing these. - Stale schedule from a deleted server? Check
data\maintenance_settings.json- sometimes orphaned entries cause weirdness.
Web UI shows stale data
The Web UI polls the AASM backend every 5-10 seconds. If you see stale data:
- Hard-refresh the browser (Ctrl+Shift+R).
- Confirm the AASM desktop app is still running on the host PC.
- v0.8.3 fix: BUG-18 (a1steaksauc) - stale ASA version shown after update completed. v0.8.3 adds a 2-min "freshly-started window" cache bypass + manifest buildid fallback when log file is missing.
Backup restore wiped save files (CRITICAL)
v0.8.3 BUG-21 fix: if you're on v0.8.2 or earlier and a backup restore failed mid-extraction, AASM could leave you with an empty SavedArks folder + orphaned safety copies. v0.8.3 adds try/catch rollback in both extract methods + mid-loop restore on extraction-throw + best-effort cleanup of _backup_<ts> safety folders after success. If you're seeing this on v0.8.3, report immediately on Discord with the exact log lines.
Discover Mods install buttons don't respond
v0.8.3 fix BUG-20: a shimmer ::before overlay was capturing clicks on install buttons + Enable/Disable mod toggles. Also right-click paste was missing in mod-ID fields. Both fixed in v0.8.3. If you're still seeing this, you're on v0.8.2 or earlier - update.
When all else fails
Post in the Cryptek Discord support channel with:
- Your exact AASM version and host platform/distribution
- The exact symptom and when it started (a screenshot helps)
- Relevant logs: AASM on Windows
%APPDATA%\ark-server-manager\logs\debug-YYYY-MM-DD.logor Linux~/.local/share/aasm/logs/debug-YYYY-MM-DD.log; ASA under<install>/ShooterGame/Saved/Logs/ShooterGame.log(use backslashes on Windows). - What you have already tried
Remove passwords, tokens and other secrets before posting logs publicly.
Step 1 - Did your issue not appear above?
This page covers the top 10 most-reported issues. For anything else, the Discord helper bot at the community Discord has TF-IDF search across the full knowledge base and can usually answer within seconds.
Troubleshooting Common Issues - done
Most AASM issues fall into one of the ten categories above. Update to the latest version first (a lot of "issues" are bugs that were fixed in a recent release), check logs, and reach out on Discord with specifics.