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Change ARK Ascended cryopod release rules with a reversible trial

Agree on cryopod release rules before changing an established ARK: Survival Ascended world. Players may depend on a fridge requirement or nearby-enemy restriction for base defence. A small configuration edit can change those expectations. Test the proposed rules with expendable creatures and staff volunteers, away from a live raid or an irreplaceable tame.

Identify the rule you want to change

Wildcard lists three independent options under [ServerSettings] in GameUserSettings.ini: DisableCryopodEnemyCheck, AllowCryoFridgeOnSaddle and DisableCryopodFridgeRequirement. Their names describe separate controls. Allowing a fridge on a raft or saddle does not mean you have also removed the fridge requirement for release.

Check the installed ASA build and current publisher notes because later game changes may affect an older rule. Write a plain-language target, such as retaining the fridge requirement while allowing mobile fridges. Record existing explicit values and whether a key is absent. An absent key and an explicit false value deserve separate entries in your rollback record.

Change one condition at a time

  1. Download the active configuration and take a recoverable world checkpoint. Identify an empty test location and a tame you can afford to lose. Do not use a player's prized creature to discover an unexpected release condition.
  2. Stop the server through the panel. Find its existing [ServerSettings] section and change only the option relevant to your agreed policy. Avoid adding several copies of the same key.
  3. For an illustrative mobile-fridge trial, set AllowCryoFridgeOnSaddle=True while retaining the other recorded rules. This example is a test plan, not a recommended PvP balance setting.
  4. Start the server and ask staff to test the intended placement or release condition. Record location, creature, surrounding conditions and the message the player receives.
  5. Test a condition that should remain restricted as well. A successful placement alone cannot prove that an unrelated enemy or release rule remained intact.

Check with players before adopting the result

Compare behaviour against your written policy and inspect the active file after the restart. Some panel templates regenerate configuration from startup fields. If your edited value has reverted, fix the authoritative panel setting rather than repeating the file edit. Ask support which setting wins if both controls exist.

Publish the chosen rule with an effective date and a short example players can understand. For a competitive community, make the change outside an ongoing event and let players adjust their defences. Keep the same values across relevant maps when your published cluster rules promise consistent behaviour; verify each server instead of assuming one file controls them all.

Undo an unsuccessful trial

Stop the process and restore the recorded keys or remove only keys that you introduced. Restart and repeat the original restricted-condition check. A configuration rollback does not undo player actions that took place during the trial, so keep the test small. If a valued creature goes missing, preserve logs and checkpoints and follow the separate recovery guide before loading an older world.

Wildcard cryopod configuration notes.

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