Servercreationscreen

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-09

Overview

ServerCreationScreen is a UI screen that provides the full interface for configuring and launching a new or resumed server in Don't Starve Together. It handles save slot selection, settings (name, privacy, game mode, max players), world customization (seasons, biome weights), mod enabling/disabling, snapshot management, and ban list configuration. It orchestrates tab switching, focus management, input handling (keyboard/controller), and triggers the server startup sequence via TheNet and TheSystemService after validation.

Usage example

-- This screen is instantiated by the frontend framework during navigation.
-- Example of manual activation (not typical for normal mod usage):
TheFrontEnd:PushScreen(ServerCreationScreen(prev_screen))

Dependencies & tags

Components used: None (UI-only screen, does not attach components to entities) Tags: None identified.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
prev_screen	screen reference	nil	The screen that spawned this one; used for portal ownership transfer and cancellation.
dirty	boolean	false	Indicates whether any settings have been modified since the last save/load.
saveslot	number	-1	Currently selected save slot index.
slot_character_cache, slot_day_cache	table	{}	Caches for save slot avatar and day/season info to avoid repeated I/O.
server_settings_tab, world_tab, mods_tab, snapshot_tab, bans_tab	widgets	nil	Tab instances hosting the respective configuration UI sections.
save_slots	widget array	nil	Array of navigation buttons representing each save slot.
active_tab	string	nil	Name of the currently visible tab ("settings", "world", "mods", "snapshot", "bans").

Main functions

UpdateTitle(slotnum, fromTextEntered)

• Description: Updates the portrait, server name, and day/season display in the title area for the specified save slot. Reads persistent world data to determine the current day and season.
• Parameters:
  • slotnum (number) - The save slot index to update.
  • fromTextEntered (boolean) - If true, skips portrait updates (e.g., when only editing the server name).
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: If world data cannot be read, defaults to "Server Day 1".

UpdateTabs(slotnum, prevslot, fromDelete)

• Description: Syncs all tabs with the newly selected save slot. Saves state from the previous slot before loading data for the new one.
• Parameters:
  • slotnum (number) - New save slot index.
  • prevslot (number) - Previous save slot index (can be nil).
  • fromDelete (boolean) - True if this update is triggered by a delete operation.
• Returns: Nothing.

Create(warnedOffline, warnedDisabledMods, warnedOutOfDateMods)

• Description: Validates and begins the server launch process. Performs multiple safety checks (offline mode, disabled mods, outdated mods) and shows modal warnings before proceeding.
• Parameters:
  • warnedOffline, warnedDisabledMods, warnedOutOfDateMods (boolean) - Internal flags to skip repeated warnings in recursive calls.
• Returns: Nothing.
• Error states: If no empty slot is available when needed, displays a full-slot dialog and returns early.

ValidateSettings()

• Description: Validates all configuration fields across tabs. Checks server name, game mode, intention, clan settings, and season durations.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: true if all settings are valid; false otherwise (and displays an inline error dialog).
• Error states: Displays specific error dialogs for invalid fields and leaves focus on the problematic tab.

DeleteSlot(slot, cb)

• Description: Prompts for confirmation before deleting the specified save slot and its data.
• Parameters:
  • slot (number) - The save slot index to delete.
  • cb (function) - Optional callback after deletion completes.
• Returns: Nothing.

Cancel()

• Description: Handles screen exit on Cancel input. If dirty is true, prompts to confirm discarding changes.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: Nothing.

SetTab(tabName, direction)

• Description: Switches the active configuration tab. Supports both named switching and directional navigation (direction is 1 for right, -1 for left).
• Parameters:
  • tabName (string) - One of "settings", "world", "mods", "snapshot", "bans".
  • direction (number) - 1 (next tab) or -1 (previous tab).
• Returns: Nothing.

OnClickSlot(slotnum, goToSettings)

• Description: Activates a save slot (via navigation buttons). Updates the current saveslot, refreshes UI state in all tabs, and optionally sets the active tab to "settings".
• Parameters:
  • slotnum (number) - The save slot index to select.
  • goToSettings (boolean) - If true, switches to the settings tab after selection.
• Returns: Nothing.

OnControl(control, down)

• Description: Handles controller input shortcuts: CANCEL to go back, MENU_BACK to delete (if slot exists), MENU_START to create/resume, L2/R2 to change tabs.
• Parameters:
  • control (control enum) - The input control pressed.
  • down (boolean) - true if the control was pressed; false on release.
• Returns: true if the control was handled; false otherwise.

GetGameMode()

• Description: Returns the currently selected game mode from the settings tab.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: (string) One of the GAME_MODE_* constants.

GetHelpText()

• Description: Constructs a localized string of controller button hints for the current screen context.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: (string) Concatenated button descriptions.

Events & listeners

• Listens to: None (UI screen does not register entity events).
• Pushes: None (does not fire custom events; relies on frontend navigation).