Operation: Harsh Doorstop Updated May 11, 2026

Operation: Harsh Doorstop Dedicated Server Troubleshooting

Fix the most common OHD dedicated server problems: server not showing in browser, players can't connect, config resets, RCON failures, and map loading errors.

Operation: Harsh Doorstoptroubleshootingconnection issuesRCONfirewall

Server Not Showing in the Server Browser

Symptom: Your server is running but doesn't appear in the in-game Browse Servers list.

Cause: UDP port 27005 is not reachable from the internet, or the Steam server name is not set.

Fix:

  1. Confirm UDP 27005 is open inbound in your firewall and router. See Operation: Harsh Doorstop Server Port Forwarding.
  2. Ensure -SteamServerName="Your Server Name" is present in your bat file or launch script. Without it, the server may not register correctly with Steam's server list.
  3. Allow up to 5 minutes after server start for the listing to propagate.

Players can still direct-connect via IP:7777 even if the browser listing is missing.

Players Can't Connect

Symptom: Players know the IP but the connection attempt times out or fails.

Cause: UDP port 7777 is not open inbound.

Fix:

  1. Confirm UDP 7777 is open in your OS firewall and your router's port forwarding (if behind NAT).
  2. Test from an external machine using a UDP port checker tool.
  3. Check the server logs for any bind errors at startup — a port conflict (another process using 7777) will be logged there.

Config Resets on Server Restart

Symptom: Settings in Game.ini or GameUserSettings.ini revert to defaults after a restart.

Cause: OHD's Unreal Engine server can overwrite these files on shutdown.

Fix: Move all critical settings to the bat file as URL options. The bat file never changes unless you edit it manually, making it the only reliable place for persistent configuration. Settings that have no URL option equivalent (RCON password, for example) should be set in Game.ini, but accept that those may need to be re-applied if the file resets.

See Operation: Harsh Doorstop Server Configuration for the full list of bat file options.

RCON Not Working

Symptom: RCON client can't connect, or the connection is refused.

Causes and fixes:

Problem Fix
bEnabled is False or missing Set bEnabled=True under [/Script/RCON.RCONServerSystem] in Game.ini
TCP 7779 not open Open TCP port 7779 inbound in your firewall
Game.ini reset on last restart Re-add the RCON block to Game.ini and restart the server
Wrong password in RCON client Verify the password matches Password= in Game.ini exactly
Wrong port in RCON client Default is 7779 — confirm ListenPort=7779 in Game.ini matches what your client uses

After any change to Game.ini, restart the server for it to take effect.

Map Not Loading / Server Stuck on a Map

Symptom: Server fails to load a map, crashes on map change, or ignores Mapcycle.cfg entries.

Cause: Map names are case-sensitive and must match exactly.

Fix:

  1. Compare the map name in your bat file or Mapcycle.cfg against the official map table in Operation: Harsh Doorstop Server Maps.
  2. Correct the capitalisation exactly: AAS-Carentan not AAS-carentan or aas-carentan.
  3. If using a Workshop map, verify the exact map identifier on the Workshop page.
  4. Check the server log for a line indicating the map name was not found — this confirms a name mismatch.

Admin Commands Rejected

Symptom: Typing admin servertravel MapName in-game does nothing, or you get an "access denied" message.

Causes and fixes:

  1. SteamID64 not in Admins.cfg — confirm your 17-digit Steam64 ID is on its own line in HarshDoorstop/Saved/Config/Admins.cfg. Use steamidfinder.com to verify your ID.
  2. Missing admin prefix — every command must start with admin . Typing servertravel AAS-Risala without the prefix does nothing.
  3. Server hasn't reloaded Admins.cfg — the file is read on startup. If you added your ID while the server was running, restart the server.
  4. Wrong console key — the default console key is the backtick (`). Ensure you're opening the in-game console, not the chat box.

Server Crashes on Startup

Symptom: The server process exits immediately after launch.

Fix:

  1. Check the log file in HarshDoorstop/Saved/Logs/ for the error — crashes almost always print the cause.
  2. Common causes: invalid map name in bat file, corrupted server files (re-run app_update 950900 validate in SteamCMD), or a missing required library on Linux (run ldd HarshDoorstopServer to check).
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