Host a Romestead dedicated server on your PC

This is for someone who has never run a game server. You will put the official Romestead dedicated server on a Windows PC so friends can play even when you are not in the game. The PC has to stay on while people play.

Romestead is in Early Access. Do not pin an old build. When Steam updates the dedicated server, run the same download step again so friends can join.

The server is a different Steam download from the game you play. The game is Steam app 1805320. The dedicated server is 4763510. If you install the game by mistake, friends still have nowhere to connect.

1. Get SteamCMD

SteamCMD is Valve's small downloader for dedicated servers. You need a Steam account that owns Romestead.

1. Open the SteamCMD page on the Valve wiki in your browser.
2. Download the Windows zip. Extract it to a folder you will keep, for example C:\SteamCMD.
3. Double-click steamcmd.exe once and wait until it finishes updating. Close that window.

2. Download the dedicated server

1. Open File Explorer to C:\SteamCMD.
2. Click the address bar, type cmd, press Enter.
3. Type this, replace YOURSTEAM with your Steam username, then press Enter. It will ask for your password, and a Steam Guard code if you use one.

steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\RomesteadServer +login YOURSTEAM +app_update 4763510 validate +quit

When it finishes you should have a folder C:\RomesteadServer with Server.dll in it. Do not use app 1805320 here.

3. Make the config file

1. In C:\RomesteadServer, right-click empty space, New, Text Document.
2. Name it config.json. Windows may hide the .json. Turn on file extensions if you see config.json.txt.
3. Open it in Notepad and paste this. Save, then close Notepad. JSON is picky. Do not add extra commas.

{
  "Port": 8050,
  "Password": "",
  "MaxPlayers": 8,
  "AutoStartWorldName": "Friends",
  "AutoCreateWorldSize": 1
}

What those lines mean:

• Port is UDP 8050. Friends will use that number.
• Password empty means anyone with the IP can join. Put a password in the quotes for a private group.
• MaxPlayers stays at 8. That is the cap.
• AutoStartWorldName is the world name.
• AutoCreateWorldSize is 0, 1, or 2. 1 is a sensible first world.

World files live in saved_worlds/ inside the server folder. Copy that folder if you want a backup.

4. Start the server

1. Open File Explorer to C:\RomesteadServer.
2. Click the address bar, type cmd, press Enter.
3. Type this and press Enter:

dotnet Server.dll

Leave that window open while people play. To shut down, type stop in the same window and press Enter. Do not close it like a normal program.

If Windows says it cannot find dotnet, install the .NET Runtime from Microsoft (the runtime, not the SDK), then try again.

5. Open the port so friends can reach you

Friends outside your house need one hole in your router: send UDP port 8050 to this PC. Follow Port forwarding so friends can join for the Windows Firewall and router clicks. Use the Romestead row on that page.

6. Friends join

1. They open Romestead.
2. They join via IP, using the public address from the port-forwarding page, port 8050.
3. They must be on the same Early Access version you just downloaded. If Steam updated the game and you have not run step 2 again, they cannot join.

If you do not want the PC on

A hosted world does not need SteamCMD or a router. omnipass.gg can run the dedicated server for you, so friends join without leaving a PC awake.