Settings

Game Settings are used to set up a game using the options available before starting a new game or returning to a game that has already been started. They allow the player to control many different settings, all of which have a different effect on the overall experience of the game. Game Settings can be found in the center of the New Game or Continue Game screen and are represented by expansion tabs - clicking one will expand it and display each setting below the tab, with the options available to the right of each setting.

This page reflects V3.0 "Dead Hot Summer". Pre-V3.0 builds exposed these gameplay rules as individual fields inside serverconfig.xml; from V3.0 onward they are encoded into a single SandboxCode value instead.

Sandbox Options and the SandboxCode

As of V3.0 the gameplay rules are configured through the in-game Sandbox Options menu rather than a long list of separate config fields. When you open New Game (or adjust an existing world), the Sandbox Options menu lets you pick difficulty, XP rate, blood-moon frequency and size, loot abundance and respawn timers, zombie speed and behaviour, and roughly 30 other gameplay properties that used to live in serverconfig.xml.

Whatever you choose in Sandbox Options is encoded into a single string called the SandboxCode. This is the value you copy into your dedicated server's configuration: on a V3.0 dedicated server you set one SandboxCode property rather than editing each gameplay field by hand. serverconfig.xml still holds the non-gameplay fields - ServerName, GameWorld, WorldGenSeed, passwords, ports and the player count.

You can build a SandboxCode two ways:

1. In-game, through the Sandbox Options menu, then copy the generated code.

2. With the online SandboxCode generator at /7-days-to-die-sandbox-code-generator, which lets you assemble and copy a code without launching the game.

Standard Options

The default Sandbox Options preset. These are the values 7 Days To Die ships with - a balanced experience with standard difficulty, XP, loot and zombie behaviour. If you do not change anything in Sandbox Options, this is the SandboxCode you get.

Modded Options

Overhaul mods (Darkness Falls, Undead Legacy and others) frequently expect their own Sandbox Options values, and some ship a recommended SandboxCode. Apply the mod first, then set the Sandbox Options it documents so the SandboxCode matches the mod's intended balance.

Multiplayer

On a dedicated or peer-hosted multiplayer game the host's SandboxCode is what every connected player runs under. Set the SandboxCode (and the serverconfig.xml fields such as player count and passwords) before players join, since changing the gameplay rules later can affect an in-progress world.