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Configuring Your SCUM Server: ServerSettings.ini Explained

Time of day, puppets, fame points, squad size & more: the most important SCUM server settings with defaults — right in your RespawnHost panel's file manager.

Last updated July 14, 2026 · RespawnHost

Configuring your SCUM server

All gameplay rules of your SCUM server live in the file ServerSettings.ini under SCUM/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/. You edit it in the RespawnHost panel’s file manager (or via SFTP). Depending on the game version there are over 400 values, grouped into areas like General, World, Respawn, Vehicles, Damage and Features — keys mostly appear with the scum. prefix (some versions use INI sections like [SCUM.ItemSpawning] instead). Whatever notation your own file uses is the authoritative one.

Note

Stop the server, then edit — changes only take effect on the next start.

ServerSettings.ini of a SCUM server in the RespawnHost panel's file editor showing the General section with scum. values like MaxPlayers=64
The ServerSettings.ini in the file manager — all values use the scum. prefix

The basics

SettingDefaultEffect
scum.ServerNameSCUM ServerName in the server browser
scum.ServerPassword(empty)Join password — empty = public
scum.MaxPlayers64Maximum number of players
scum.MaxPing400Players above this ping get disconnected

Time of day & night

SettingDefaultEffect
scum.StartTimeOfDay08:00:00Time of day on server start
scum.TimeOfDaySpeed3.84Time lapse — at 3.84 one in-game day takes about 6.25 real hours. Higher = shorter days.
scum.SunriseTime / scum.SunsetTime06:00 / 21:00Sunrise and sunset
scum.NighttimeDarkness0.0How dark the night gets

Puppets & animals

SettingDefaultEffect
scum.MaxAllowedPuppets-1Puppet cap in the world (-1 = unlimited). A limit relieves busy servers.
scum.PuppetsCanOpenDoorsTrueWhether puppets can open doors
scum.PuppetHealthMultiplier1.0Puppet health
scum.EncounterBaseCharacterAmountMultiplier1.0How many enemies spawn per encounter
scum.AnimalGlobalDensityMultiplier0.5Animal density on the island
scum.MaxNonVirtualAnimalsInWorld500Cap for fully simulated animals

Fame & respawn

Fame points are SCUM’s progression currency — respawning costs fame, among other things:

SettingDefaultEffect
scum.FameGainMultiplier1.0How fast players earn fame
scum.FamePointPenaltyOnDeath0.1Fame lost on death (fraction)
scum.FamePointPenaltyOnKilled0.5Additional loss when another player kills you
scum.FamePointRewardOnKill0.25Fame reward for a player kill

The respawn options (random, sector, shelter, squad) and their fame prices are configurable too (scum.AllowSectorRespawn, scum.SectorRespawnPrice …). Default prices change between game versions — check your own ServerSettings.ini for the current values.

Squad size

Maximum squad size depends on the squad leader’s intelligence attribute — there is one value per level:

scum.SquadMemberCountAtIntLevel1=2
scum.SquadMemberCountAtIntLevel2=4
scum.SquadMemberCountAtIntLevel3=6
scum.SquadMemberCountAtIntLevel4=8
scum.SquadMemberCountAtIntLevel5=10

Set all five values to the same number for a fixed squad size regardless of the attribute.

PvP or PvE?

Warning

The setting scum.ServerPlaystyle=PVE exists in the INI but, according to community documentation, currently has no effect. Control PvE/PvP rules via the zone system in the in-game admin panel instead (set areas to Ignore/Allow/Block) — in real time, no restart needed.

Loot settings

The loot multiplier scum.SpawnerProbabilityMultiplier and the whole spawner system have their own guide: SCUM loot settings.

Where do these values come from?

Gamepires does not maintain an official settings reference. The most reliable sources are the community references (scum.wiki.gg and server-settings.com), which are updated per game version — the defaults above match SCUM 1.3.x (July 2026). When in doubt: your freshly generated ServerSettings.ini shows the defaults of your version.