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To change an ARK server’s day and night cycle, stop the server, edit GameUserSettings.ini, add or change DayCycleSpeedScale, DayTimeSpeedScale, and NightTimeSpeedScale inside the [ServerSettings] section, save the file, and restart the server. Then measure the result in game.
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The important warning is that community reports disagree about which direction some values move time. Treat every number as a test value rather than a guaranteed preset, especially after a game or server patch. Make one small change on a private or otherwise low-risk server, observe a complete phase, and keep a backup so you can immediately restore the previous configuration.
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What the three settings control
These settings are server-side multipliers read from GameUserSettings.ini. They are normally placed under [ServerSettings]. Many installations do not contain the keys until you add them manually.
| Setting | Intended scope | What community documentation says | Confidence and caution |
|---|---|---|---|
DayCycleSpeedScale |
The complete day-and-night cycle | Used when you want to alter the overall rate of the cycle rather than tune only daylight or darkness. | Behaviour and exact conversion are community-reported, not confirmed by a current official reference. |
DayTimeSpeedScale |
The daytime portion | Community guides describe it as the control for daytime duration. Some say lowering it makes the day last longer. | Direction is disputed across player discussions; verify on your own server. |
NightTimeSpeedScale |
The nighttime portion | Player reports use it to adjust the length of night. One report says night is calculated relative to the day value. | Relationship with the other settings and the direction of change are not reliably established. |
Community testing commonly treats 1.0 as the default for all three values. A hand-timed report puts a default full cycle at roughly one real-time hour, but that is a low-confidence measurement, not a guaranteed duration for every ARK edition, map, patch, or server configuration.
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Before changing the file
Stop the server first
Do not edit the live configuration while the server process is running. A running process can keep an older copy in memory or overwrite your edit when it shuts down. Use your host’s Stop, Shut down, or equivalent control and wait until the status clearly shows that the process has ended.
Back up the current configuration
Download or copy the existing GameUserSettings.ini before making any change. Give the copy a dated name, such as GameUserSettings-before-cycle-test.ini. A backup lets you remove a malformed line, undo an unexpectedly fast cycle, or recover if a host control panel rewrites the file.
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Keep the ARK edition, server build, map, and patch number with your test notes. Forum threads from older builds, including 179.x-era discussions, may not describe current behaviour. A setting that worked on one edition or patch should not be assumed to work identically on another.
How to edit GameUserSettings.ini
- Stop the server. Confirm that it is offline before opening any configuration editor.
- Open the server files. In a rented-server panel this is usually a file manager or configuration editor; on a self-managed installation it is the server’s configuration directory. Open
GameUserSettings.ini, not a similarly named game or launch file. - Find
[ServerSettings]. The section header must be written exactly with square brackets. If the section is present, add the keys within that section. If your installation lacks the keys, adding them is normal according to community guides. - Add or edit the three lines. Use one key and one numeric value per line, for example:
[ServerSettings] DayCycleSpeedScale=1.0 DayTimeSpeedScale=1.0 NightTimeSpeedScale=1.0Keep any unrelated settings already in the file. Do not create duplicate entries for the same key; remove or edit the old line so there is one authoritative value.
- Save as plain text. Preserve the
.iniextension and ordinary text formatting. Do not add quotation marks, commas, or comments on the same line unless your host’s editor specifically documents that syntax. - Restart the server. Community instructions consistently call for a restart before the new values apply. Wait for the server to finish starting, then connect with a test character.
- Measure before making another change. Change one variable at a time and write down the old value, new value, patch, and observed timing. This is the only dependable way to determine the direction on your build.
Why the direction of the values is disputed
Player reports do not agree on whether a larger number makes a phase faster or slower. One Steam discussion says values below 1 increase the time a phase takes and values above 1 shorten it. Another thread reports that 2 speeds the cycle up while 0.5 slows it down. A separate guide claims raising NightTimeSpeedScale from 1 to 1.5 makes nights twice as fast, which conflicts with those forum reports.
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Because these statements cannot all describe the same implementation, do not publish a preset such as “use 0.5 for a longer night” without testing it on the exact server version you run. The safest starting point is a modest change to one key, followed by a timed observation. If the result moves in the opposite direction from what you wanted, reverse the change rather than stacking several edits at once.
Choosing which key to change
When the entire cycle is wrong
Use DayCycleSpeedScale when your goal is to alter the overall rate of both phases together. For example, if both daylight and darkness pass too quickly, this is the setting community guides associate with the full cycle. Because its exact mathematical interaction with the phase-specific keys is not established, test it independently before changing either phase value.
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Use DayTimeSpeedScale when nights are acceptable but the daylight window is not. Community guides describe this as the daytime-duration control and commonly report that lowering it lengthens the day. That direction is not verified across versions, so measure one complete day/night transition after the restart.
When darkness is the problem
Use NightTimeSpeedScale when you want to tune night without intentionally changing the daytime setting. A player report says night is relative to the day value, which means changing both keys can produce an interaction that is not obvious from either number alone. Start with the night key only, observe the result, and document the outcome.
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When you want different day and night ratios
Change the phase-specific keys separately rather than assuming the overall-cycle key will preserve your preferred ratio. One forum suggestion uses DayCycleSpeedScale=0.5 with NightTimeSpeedScale=2 to keep nights the same length while doubling days, but that combination is unverified. Treat it as an experiment, not a known formula, and do not apply it to a public server without timing the result.
A safe test method
- Use a controlled window. Test when no important event, boss attempt, breeding window, or scheduled player activity depends on the existing clock.
- Start with the current values. Record all three lines and the in-game time shown by your character or server interface.
- Change one key by a small increment. Do not alter the overall, day, and night values simultaneously; you will not know which setting caused the result.
- Restart and reconnect. A file edit without a restart is not a valid test because the running server may still be using the previous configuration.
- Use a stopwatch or timer. Record the real-world start and end of the phase you are measuring. Note map, patch, player count if relevant, and whether the server experienced a restart or lag during the interval.
- Compare against the baseline. Repeat the same measurement with the original value if the result is surprising. One observation can be distorted by rounding, an interrupted session, or a server pause.
- Keep a change log. Write down the exact value and observed duration. This prevents accidental drift when you later tune the other phase.
Do not expect stopwatch results to match a simple calculation perfectly. One user reported that an hour of real time produced a cycle 18 minutes shorter than expected, and several discussions describe similar mismatches. Another hand measurement reported a day of about 16 hours 35 minutes and a night of about 7 hours 25 minutes in the game clock; it is an anecdote, not a universal schedule. These reports are reasons to measure your own server, not evidence for a fixed conversion table.
Values and examples that need special caution
The alleged 24-hour setting
A community guide associates DayCycleSpeedScale=0.035 with a real-time 24-hour cycle. That number was not confirmed by an official page or an independent, reproducible test. It may also depend on the ARK edition and patch. If you try it, do so only on a private test server, record the starting value, and be prepared to restore the backup.
Never use zero as a normal setting
One user reported that setting both NightTimeSpeedScale and DayTimeSpeedScale to 0.000000 froze time completely. This is a single report, but it demonstrates why zero should be avoided. A frozen clock can affect crops, resources, spawns, breeding, events, and any activity tied to the world timer. If time stops, restore the previous nonzero values, save, and restart.
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Do not assume decimals behave linearly
The conflicting reports and measured mismatches mean that moving from 1.0 to 0.5 cannot safely be described as “exactly twice as long,” and moving to 2.0 cannot safely be described as “exactly twice as fast” for every build. Use the numbers as comparative test inputs, not as a promise of a particular number of real-world minutes.
Troubleshooting after a change
Nothing changed
- Confirm the server was stopped before editing and restarted afterward.
- Check that the lines are under
[ServerSettings], not in a different section. - Verify the file name is exactly
GameUserSettings.iniand was saved on the server instance that actually runs your game. - Remove duplicate lines and leave one value for each key.
- Check whether your host’s control panel regenerated the file during startup; if it did, enter the values through the panel’s own configuration screen or edit the file after the panel has finished writing it.
- Confirm that you are testing the intended server, map, and game edition.
The phase moved in the opposite direction
That result is consistent with the unresolved community reports. Do not compensate by changing two other values at once. Restore the backup or reverse only the last edit, restart, and then test the opposite direction with a smaller change.
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- Repeat the timing over a complete phase rather than a short sample.
- Note server restarts, pauses, lag, or disconnections that could interrupt the observation.
- Run a baseline test with all three values at their recorded defaults.
- Check the patch number against the date of the guide you followed; older threads may describe different behaviour.
The server will not start
Restore the backed-up file, or delete only the three newly added lines, then restart. A malformed section header, accidental quotation mark, duplicate generated entry, or wrong file encoding can prevent a configuration from loading. Once the server starts with the backup, re-enter one simple numeric value at a time using the host’s documented editor.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Host-panel and self-hosted differences
A self-hosted administrator normally edits the physical GameUserSettings.ini in the server configuration directory. A rented server may hide that path behind a web panel, offer an “advanced settings” text box, or regenerate files from a template. The exact button names differ by provider, so the reliable requirements are the same: edit the server’s active GameUserSettings.ini, place the keys in [ServerSettings], save, and restart.
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If a panel exposes separate fields for day, night, or cycle speed, verify where it writes them before also adding manual lines. Two configuration sources can overwrite one another. After the restart, reopen the file and confirm that the values you entered are still present.
What to tell players when you change the schedule
Announce the effective restart time and describe the intended result in plain language, such as “longer daylight” or “faster full cycle,” rather than promising an exact number of minutes. Because the direction and conversion can vary by patch, publish the measured result from your server after testing. Warn players that timers tied to the world clock may shift when you change the setting, especially breeding, crop growth, resource respawns, and events.
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Practical decision checklist
- Is the server stopped and the current file backed up?
- Are the keys inside
[ServerSettings]? - Did you change only one of the three values?
- Did you avoid zero and record the patch and edition?
- Did you restart before judging the result?
- Did you time a meaningful interval rather than relying on a brief visual impression?
- Did you keep the old value so you can roll back?
These checks matter more than copying a number from an old forum post. No current official reference establishes a universal conversion for these keys, and community measurements disagree. A controlled, reversible test is therefore the dependable way to set the schedule your ARK server actually needs.
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