Hyper's Dynamic Dino Wipe And Population Control
Running a successful ARK: Survival Ascended server requires constant attention to wild dinosaur populations. Left unchecked, spawns can overwhelm the map, cause performance degradation, and ruin the gameplay experience for your community. Manual wipes are time-consuming and disruptive, often wiping tamed creatures or important resources by accident. Hyper's Dynamic Dino Wipe And Population Control solves these problems with a comprehensive, automated system designed specifically for server administrators who want a balanced, healthy, and optimized world.
This mod is not just a simple wipe command. It is a full population management suite that gives you granular control over every aspect of wild dino spawning and removal. Whether you are running a small private server with friends or a large public community, this tool provides the flexibility and safety features needed to maintain a fair and stable environment.
Core Features of the Mod
The mod is built around several key pillars that work together to provide a seamless experience. Understanding these features is essential to configuring the mod correctly for your specific server needs.
Automated and Dynamic Dino Wipes
The heart of the mod is its ability to perform automated wipes on a schedule you define. Using the FloatWipeIntervalInSeconds setting, you can set wipes to occur every few hours, daily, or even weekly. The system is based on a Unix timestamp calculation, ensuring wipes happen at consistent real-world times, not just based on server uptime. This is perfect for scheduled maintenance windows or weekly server resets.
To prevent performance spikes during a wipe, the mod includes batch filtering. The FloatDinoWipeBatchFilterAmount and FloatDinoWipeBatchFilterDelay settings allow you to control how many dinos are processed per cycle and the delay between cycles. For example, processing 100 dinos every 0.1 seconds can wipe 60,000 dinos in about a minute without causing noticeable lag. You can also choose to wipe dinos immediately on server start with BoolWipeDinosOnServerStart, ensuring a clean slate every time the server boots.
Advanced Wipe Customization and Exclusions
One of the most powerful aspects of Hyper's Dynamic Dino Wipe And Population Control is the ability to protect specific creatures from being wiped. This is critical for preserving rare spawns, quest creatures, or dinos that are part of your server's unique gameplay loop.
The mod offers multiple layers of protection:
- StringDinoClassWipePrevention: Exclude entire dino classes by their blueprint path.
- StringDinoNameWipePrevention: Protect specific dinos by their exact in-game name.
- StringBiomeNameWipePrevention: Exclude all dinos in a specific biome.
- StringBuffClassWipePrevention: Protect dinos with specific active buffs.
- BoolNoWipeTamedDino: A master switch to always protect tamed creatures.
- BoolNoWipeBossDino, BoolNoWipeBigDino, BoolNoWipeWaterDino, BoolNoWipeFlyerDino: Category-based exclusions for easy configuration.
- BoolNoWipeSleepingDino: Prevents wipes on dinos that are being passively tamed.
- BoolNoWipeOSDDino: Protects creatures spawned from Orbital Supply Drops.
For even finer control, the BoolNoWipeIfAggroedToPlayerOrTame setting prevents wiping dinos that are actively engaged in combat. This stops players from using wipes to cheese cave runs or escape fights. The BoolNoWipeLevelThreshold and FloatNoWipeLevelThreshold settings allow you to protect high-level dinos, such as anything level 140 or above, ensuring that valuable end-game tames are never accidentally removed.
Unclaimed Dino Handling
Unclaimed dinos can clutter a server and cause performance issues. This mod provides a robust system to deal with them automatically. The FloatUnclaimedDinoAction setting offers three modes:
- 0: The dino is cryopodded and dropped where it was standing.
- 1: The dino is destroyed instantly.
- 2: The dino is destroyed if not claimed within 10 minutes.
You can also specify a custom cryo item using StringUnclaimedDinoCryoClass. The BoolUseHourlyUnclaimedCheck feature runs this process every hour, keeping your server clean without manual intervention. This is a game-changer for public servers where players frequently log off and leave behind tames.
Population Restriction and Spawn Control
Beyond wipes, the mod allows you to actively restrict populations of specific dinos. The StringDinoClassPoplulationRestriction setting lets you define a maximum count for any dino class. For example, you can limit Ovis to 3 and Dodos to 12 on the map. The format uses the dino's blueprint path, two spaces, and the maximum count, with entries separated by commas.
The BoolUseRestrictDinoSpawns setting works in conjunction with this to prevent overpopulation. Additionally, BoolUseWildDinoCountCal periodically recalibrates the system using current wild dino populations, ensuring your restrictions remain accurate over time. This is essential for maintaining a balanced ecosystem where rare resources are still available but common dinos do not overwhelm the server.
Torpor-Based Wiping and Quality of Life Features
The mod also includes a torpor-based wipe protection system. By enabling BoolUseTorpThreshold and setting FloatPercentTorporThreshold to a value like 0.5, you can prevent dinos that are 50% or more tranquilized from being wiped. This protects players who are in the middle of a knockout tame, preventing frustrating losses.
For community transparency, the BoolShowWipeProgress setting displays wipe progress to online players. The BoolAllowNonAdminStatPanelAccess setting allows any player to view the wipe stats panel, showing how many and what types of dinos were removed. This is purely informational and does not grant any wipe permissions, making it a great tool for building trust with your player base.
If you are looking to streamline your server management, the foxygame.net launcher offers a one-click install for Hyper's Dynamic Dino Wipe And Population Control, and its add-on catalog automatically tracks version compatibility for ARK: Survival Ascended, so you can deploy updates without manual file management. The launcher also handles auto-updates, ensuring you always run the latest stable build of the mod.
Webhook Integration and Server Notifications
Staying informed about server events is crucial. The mod supports Discord webhooks for a variety of events, including server start, dino wipes, dino counts, and player logins/logouts. The StringDiscordWebhookURL setting connects your server to a Discord channel, and the BoolWebhookServerStart, BoolWebhookDinoWipe, and other toggles let you choose which events are reported.
Wipe warnings are also fully configurable. The BoolUseWipeWarnings master switch enables countdown notifications at 1, 5, 10, and 15 minutes before an automated wipe. These can be sent to in-game chat and Discord via BoolUseWipeWarningsWebhook, giving players ample time to log off or secure their tames.
INI Configuration and Installation
To get started, you need to know how to install the mod and configure its INI settings. The mod is installed like any other ARK: Survival Ascended mod, by subscribing to it on the mod workshop and adding it to your server's mod list. Once active, all configuration is done in the GameUserSettings.ini file under the [HypersDinoWipeAndPopulationControl] section.
All settings use standard INI data types: Bool accepts True or False, Float accepts numeric values (with time-based options in seconds), and String accepts text or numeric values. The mod is compatible with the latest versions of ARK: Survival Ascended and works alongside other popular mods, provided you use the correct blueprint paths for any modded dinos you want to protect.
For those who prefer a more hands-off approach, the foxygame.net launcher simplifies the entire process. Its launcher interface provides direct access to the mod's configuration files and offers a curated add-on catalog where you can download Hyper's Dynamic Dino Wipe And Population Control for ARK: Survival Ascended with a single click, bypassing manual installation steps entirely.
Conclusion
Hyper's Dynamic Dino Wipe And Population Control is an essential tool for any ARK: Survival Ascended server administrator. Its combination of automated wipes, granular exclusion lists, unclaimed dino handling, and population restrictions provides a level of control that is unmatched by vanilla tools. The mod is designed to be both powerful and safe, with multiple layers of protection to prevent accidental losses of tamed or valuable creatures.
By implementing this mod, you can ensure your server remains performant, balanced, and enjoyable for all players. The automated systems reduce the need for constant manual intervention, freeing you up to focus on community building and event planning. Whether you are a seasoned admin or new to server management, this mod offers the tools you need to create a thriving, well-managed ARK world.