How to Set Up Game Master on Your Arma Reforger Server

Game Master is a game mode where nothing is planned in advance. One player takes on the role of Game Master and decides what happens next: they place AI units, vehicles and objects, give groups waypoints and steer the action in real time. The mode is the equivalent of Zeus from Arma 3.

Start a Game Master scenario

1. Open dashboard
   Open the dashboard of your server.

2. Open settings
   Navigate to the Settings.

3. Enter scenario ID
   Enter one of the following scenario IDs in the Scenario ID field:

   Scenario	Scenario ID
   Game Master – Everon	{59AD59368755F41A}Missions/21_GM_Eden.conf
   Game Master – Arland	{2BBBE828037C6F4B}Missions/22_GM_Arland.conf
   Game Master – Kolguyev	{F45C6C15D31252E6}Missions/27_GM_Cain.conf

4. Restart the server
   Save the setting and restart your server.

Note

The Scenario ID field overwrites the scenarioId entry in config.json on every server start. So always change the scenario in the dashboard. You can find more scenarios in the guide Change Scenario.

Who becomes Game Master

The following rules apply on a Game Master server:

• A player listed as server admin always has access to the Game Master interface.
• If no Game Master is present, the first player to connect obtains the Game Master role.
• The role cannot be transferred while that player is connected.

Warning

If no Game Master is present, the first player to join gets the Game Master role – even if you are listed as admin. As a listed admin, however, you always have access to the Game Master interface yourself. To prevent strangers from taking the role, join your server first or protect it with a Server Password in the Settings while you are not online.

Add yourself as admin

1. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Enter SteamID64
   Open the file config.json and enter your SteamID64 in the "game" section under "admins":

   "game": {
     "admins": [
       "76561198000000001"
     ]
   }

   The list can contain a maximum of 20 entries.

   Tip

   Check the file with a JSON formatter like JSONLint after editing – a single missing or extra comma is enough to prevent the server from starting.

4. Start the server
   Save the file and start your server.

Tip

You can learn how to find your SteamID64 in the guide Find Out SteamID64. For more details on admins, see Add Admin and Become Admin.

Log in as admin in-game

You can also log in as server admin in-game. To do this, set an Admin Password in the dashboard under Settings. In the game, open the chat – with C in the lobby, with Enter in-game – and enter the following command:

#login YourAdminPassword

Players listed as admin in config.json can also log in with #login without a password. You can find more commands in the guide Become Admin.

Budgets

What the Game Master can place is limited by budgets. They are shown at the bottom right of the Entity Browser:

Budget	Applies to
Object Budget	Objects such as props and compositions
AI Budget	AI-controlled units, e.g. soldiers
Vehicle Budget	Vehicles such as cars and armored vehicles
System Budget	Respawn points, objectives, arsenals, etc.

Once a budget reaches 100 %, the Game Master cannot place anything more of that type until existing entries are removed. The other budgets are not affected, e.g. vehicles can still be placed when the AI Budget is full.

Tip

The Clear Destroyed Entities function in the Game Master toolbar removes all killed soldiers and destroyed vehicles. This frees up budget they may still occupy.

Note

In addition, you can limit the number of AI units on your server globally with the aiLimit entry in the "operating" section of config.json. Once this limit is reached, no system can spawn any more AI units – this also applies to units the Game Master wants to place. You can learn how in the guide Disable or Limit AI.

Save Game Master sessions

If the scenario supports saving, the server automatically creates saves. By default, it creates a save every 10 minutes (autoSaveInterval) and keeps the last 10 (saveRetention). You can adjust both values in the optional "persistence" section under "gameProperties" in config.json as described in the guide Change Scenario Settings.

Tip

You can learn how to back up a save or upload one to the server in the guides Download Savegame and Add Savegame. Also create a backup before making major changes.