The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria™: Dedicated Servers Guide (Alpha)

First Published: 2024/12/11

Last Updated: 2024/12/18

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This guide tells you how to set up a dedicated server for Return to Moria. 

Update: We have closed the application for Dedicated Server Alpha hosting. Thank you to everyone who has applied, you should hear from our team soon if you haven’t already.

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Requirements for participating in the Alpha

Anyone joining the playtest must fulfill these requirements:

1. Be a member of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria™ Discord.
2. An active email account given at signup time.
3. A host PC running Windows with at least these minimum specs: Intel® Core™ i5 Processor or equivalent, 8GB of RAM, a solid-state drive (SSD) with sufficient storage space.
4. A minimum Internet upload speed of at least 10 Mbps with a stable connection.
5. Steam account, in order to download the server files.

notes: 

• You don’t need to have purchased the game to download or host a server.
• Only hosts need to register, anyone who has purchased the game can join an Alpha server without a key.
• Players don’t need to join the server from the Steam version, but can join from any available platform.

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If you have received a key to the Alpha Playtest, please read on:

Welcome to the Alpha Playtest of Dedicated Servers! This test will help us fine tune the feature set, performance and stability of the dedicated server ahead of its full and open release. 

> If you have any issues at all please enter a support ticket at https://northbeachgames.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new‍

Running a dedicated server is a great way to provide a persistent world in which you and your friends can play anytime. Setting up a dedicated server requires some cursory setup knowledge and, depending on your configuration, knowing how to set up your router to allow data to be sent to and from the server and its connected clients.

This guide will help you configure the server application but due to the many router and modem types in use today, and various internet connection setups, we can’t provide any detailed instructions on how to configure your router. Please refer to your router manual or ISP.‍

Please note: There is no maximum limit to the number of players who participate in any server, however there is a limit of eight players that can be connected simultaneously. 

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Initial Setup:

1. After receiving your product key via email, go to Steam and use “Activate a Product on Steam,” then enter the product key.
2. In your Steam Library, enable Tools.
3. Install “The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria™ Dedicated Server” 
4. Steam has an option to launch the Dedicated Server directly, but to configure the server you will need to open the local files.
5. To access the files Right click → Manage → Browse Local Files 
6. First time: Launch the game via Steam or MoriaServer.exe. A pop up will tell you it made a configuration file. Close the console window. 
7. Edit MoriaServerConfig.ini with any setting changes you want to make
8. Edit MoriaServerRules.txt to provide a custom message for any players joining the server.
9. Launch the server by double clicking on MoriaServer.exe or via Steam. This will bring up a console window.
10. Once the server session begins, the console will give you the join code. Anyone with this code can join the server. 
11. If you experience connection problems, you may need to set up port forwarding. Please see the FAQ or your Router manual.

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Using the DedicatedServerConfig.ini to customize the server

After opening the file in any text editor you may change the following options. Please note: to have any effect editing the MoriaServerConfig.ini file has to be done while the Dedicated Server is not running.

• Main/OptionalPassword
  If this option is not blank, players will have to enter this password before they are able to enter your game. Be careful you don't accidentally share this password if you copy this file.
• World/Name
  Name of the world you would like to load. If that world does not exist, a new world will be created. This is what players will see when searching for the session.
• World.Create section
  This section is only used for newly created worlds. You can set your world seed and difficulty options, as well as choose Campaign or Sandbox mode. If you would like to change difficulty after world creation, use the console commands.
• Host section
  Manually set port forwarding, IP address and other settings
• Console/Enabled
  Set if the server launches the console window
• Performance/ServerFPS
  Set the FPS limit of the server. We suggest 60. Higher values are unlikely to improve the server performance. However if your server uses too much CPU, you might try 30 fps instead.

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Loading or creating Worlds

Load existing worlds or create a new world by naming the world under the [World] section in the MoriaServerConfig.ini file. The Dedicated Server will first check if the specified world exists in the Dedicated Server’s Save Games folder; if it doesn’t find it, it will create a new world with that name. The world name is not case sensitive.

The Dedicated Server’s Save Games folder is located in \<path to folder>\Return to Moria Dedicated Server\Moria\Saved\SaveGamesDedicated‍

Example:
You want to load a world that is called “Oleg’s World”. While the Dedicated Server is closed, open the MoriaServerConfig.ini file and under the [World] section add “Oleg’s World” to Name= to get Name=“Oleg’s World”. Save the MoriaServerConfig.ini file and launch the Dedicated Server. 

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Migrating existing worlds to the Dedicated Server

You can transfer existing PC (Steam or Epic) world saves from your existing Save Games folder to the Dedicated Server’s Save Games folder and play the game on the Dedicated Server.

Depending on the platform of your Regular Build, the Save Games folders are located either in C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\Moria\Saved\SaveGamesEpic‍

or‍

C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\Moria\Saved\SaveGamesSteam‍

Please note: Currently, the Dedicated Server only allows one world per in-game name. If the Dedicated Server detects multiple worlds with the same name, it will report an error and fail to load the world. Deleting duplicate world saves will resolve the issue. Ensure that your world file names do not contain symbols like apostrophes. See the Known Issues below.

Please note: World Saves are .sav files that start with MW_.

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Available commands while the server is running

A console window pops up when you run MoriaServer.exe – this is how to control the server in real-time.

• block
  Blocks a specified player by name if they are online. 
• difficulty
  Gets the server's current difficulty settings
• exit
  Saves the current game and stop the server.
• help
  Describes commands.
• kick
  Kicks a specified player.
• players
  Prints the list of connected players.
• setcustomdifficulty
  Sets one specific difficulty setting to the given value.
• setdifficulty
  Sets all of the server's difficulty settings to use a preset. See next section for details.
• status
  Prints the current status of the server.
• unblock
  Unblocks a previously blocked player.

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Available Difficulty settings in the Console Window

setdifficulty - sets all of the server's difficulty settings to use a preset

• setdifficulty story
• setdifficulty solo
• setdifficulty normal
• setdifficulty hard
• setdifficulty custom

‍setcustomdifficulty - sets one specific difficulty setting to the given value

• setcustomdifficulty combatdifficulty verylow, low, default, high, veryhigh
• setcustomdifficulty enemyaggression low, default, high, veryhigh
• setcustomdifficulty survivaldifficulty verylow, low, default, high
• setcustomdifficulty miningdrops verylow, low, default, high
• setcustomdifficulty worlddrops verylow, low, default, high
• setcustomdifficulty hordefrequency verylow, low, default, high, veryhigh
• setcustomdifficulty siegefrequency verylow, low, default, high, veryhigh
• setcustomdifficulty patrolfrequency verylow, low, default, high, veryhigh

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Known Issues

1. The Alpha version is consuming more CPU than we would like. This will result in longer load times and more loading dot walls than we want. We are working on this issue ahead of the next Dedicated Server Release.
2. Block command - this only works if the player to be blocked is online. Working on making the block extend to offline players.
3. MoriaServerPermissions.txt - this file is not currently working to block players. Permissions must be done at runtime in the console.
4. If a world file name contains apostrophes (eg. Oleg’s World), it may have trouble loading on a dedicated server. The workaround for this is to load the world, offline or peer-to-peer, and rename the world, removing any apostrophes or other symbols.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I copy an existing peer-to-peer save to a dedicated server?
   Yes you may move PC (Epic and Steam) world saves to a dedicated server! See the section above under the heading “Migrating existing worlds to the Dedicated Server.” Note that there is no automatic way to sync these two files after you have copied the world save. Also note, there is a known issue with apostrophes and possibly other symbols in world names. Before transferring a save, ensure there are no apostrophes in the name.
2. ‍Can I change the MoriaServerConfig.ini while the server is running?
   While you can modify and save the file, your changes will not take effect until you exit then re-launch the server. Be aware that some console commands modify this and other text files in realtime. It is recommended to exit the server before manually making changes to any text file.
3. ‍Can I run the server on my home machine and still join from the same machine?
   Yes you can, however you may have memory and CPU load issues. We recommend running the server on a different machine than you join and play.
4. ‍Does the server computer need a graphics card?
   No, a graphics card is not used. The host machine can have any or no card.
5. ‍Can I set the world seed?
   Yes, this is a setting in the [World.Create] section of the MoriaServerConfig.ini 
6. ‍How do I kick or block someone?
   Use the kick and block console commands. Or you may add the player's name to the block section of the MoriaServerPermissions.txt file. To unblock someone you may use the unblock command or remove their name from the MoriaServerPermissions.txt file. This is still Alpha and the player must be online for Block to work currently. It is not recommended to modify this text file while the server is running. See #2 above for more information.
7. ‍Can I set server rules?
   Yes. Any text in DedicatedServerRules.txt will display when other players join.
8. ‍Can I set building, inventory or other kinds of granular permissions?
   No, these options are planned for a future update. 
9. ‍Can I modify the tuning of the game, such as change to the ore drop rates?
   No, these options are planned for a future update. 
10. ‍Do I need to restart the server to change the difficulty settings ?
    Not if you use the console commands. However if you modify the MoriaServerConfig.ini you will need to restart the server. See #2 above for more information about why you exit the server before manually modifying this file.‍
11. I can't restart the server and it appears to time out?
    If the Dedicated Server was improperly terminated, you may have to wait for the session to expire before it restarts. You may also change the invite code by deleting the file InviteSeed.cfg in the folder ../Moria/Saved/Config‍
12. Do I need to own the game to run a server?
    No! But in the Alpha Playtest you will need to sign up and receive a product key.
13. ‍Do I need to play on Steam to join a server?
    No. Players on Steam, Epic, PS5 and Xbox X/S may join a server. Only hosts need to register, anyone who has purchased the game can join an Alpha server without a key to the dedicated server.
14. ‍I have more than one world save in the saved games folder. How do I load the one I want?
    In the MoriaServerConfig.ini you can specify the name of the world to load. See the information under the heading “Loading or creating Worlds,” above, for more information.
15. Can I host a server and join it from the same computer?
    Yes, this is possible however port forwarding needs to be set up correctly and depending on your ISP, may require some advanced setup. In a future release, we may support the ability to join directly by IP and Port which will make it easier. See the next question for further guidance on port forwarding.
    If you are the only player joining the server, you could use AdvertiseAddress = "local" instead of "auto."‍
16. ‍How do I set up Port Forwarding?
    The most important thing is to make sure that the Server uses a Port that has access to the Internet. This is done by ‘Port Forwarding’, please refer to your Router manual or ISP for details on how to do this. The default Port that the Server uses is 7777.
    For additional troubleshooting tips, see what community members have shared on Discord: ​​https://discord.com/channels/967763242514522212/1317621777005805668
17. When running a dedicated server with the console disabled, how do I properly terminate the session?
    To properly close the session:
    1. Open Task Manager (right click the taskbar).
    2. Go to Details.
    3. Find Moria.exe in the list.
    4. Click ‘End Task’.
    This will quit without saving/ For advanced users, If you send SIGINT (ctrl-C) to the process, the game will first save and then quit.