DayZ Version Mismatch and Server Updates
Why DayZ refuses players on a different build, how GameGrid applies DayZ updates, what to do when mods break on patch day, and how to bring your mission files up to date.
Why Patch Day Breaks Joining
DayZ servers normally only accept players running exactly the same game build (forceSameBuild = 1;). When Bohemia releases a patch, Steam updates players' games within minutes, and until the server has updated too, those players cannot join.
Turning forceSameBuild off is not a fix: players on different builds can then connect but desync or crash. Leave it on and update the server instead.
How Updates Work on GameGrid
DayZ updates are applied from the Game Updates card on the Admin tab.
- The card shows the build your server is running and an "Update available" badge when a newer one exists.
- The card has an Automatically apply game updates switch, and a button to apply a waiting update yourself.
- After an update, check the card for the result and wait for Online before telling players.
Restarting the server does not fetch a new build. Updating is the Game Updates card and nothing else. More in Server Administration.
Mods on Patch Day
Without mods, patch day only needs the server and the players on the same build. With mods, the mods matter too: they often break after a DayZ patch until their authors update them.
Mod updates are a separate step from game updates: a restart does not fetch or load a mod update. When the Mods tab shows Update available, stop the server, update the mod, then start it. See Mods on Your DayZ Server.
If a mod has no update for the new DayZ version yet, Disable it on the Mods tab until it has, and tell your players.
Mission Files After a Patch
Your server has its own copy of the mission files (mpmissions/<mission>/), including every edit you made to types.xml, events.xml and the rest. A game update does not overwrite them, which protects your edits, but it also means new items and fixes Bohemia adds to the vanilla mission files do not arrive in yours on their own. The same goes for a whole new mission (map) added by an update: it does not appear on an existing server.
After a major patch:
1. Read the patch notes for economy changes (new items, new events, changed files).
2. Compare your files with Bohemia's updated mission files, published in the DayZ Central Economy repository on GitHub.
3. Copy the new <type> and event entries into your files, rather than replacing whole files, so your own changes survive.
4. Back up first, validate the XML, and restart.
Checking Which Build You Run
- The Game Updates card on the Admin tab shows the server's build.
- The start of each
.RPTlog inprofiles/records the version the server started with. - Players see their own version in the DayZ Launcher and on the main menu.
Experimental Builds
Bohemia runs an Experimental branch for testing upcoming patches. GameGrid DayZ servers run the stable branch only. Players on Experimental cannot join a stable server; they should switch DayZ back to the default branch in Steam (Properties > Betas).