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If Don’t Starve Together remains on “Server Is Generating World,” first check the world-generation options: a Klei bug-tracker report identifies Land Branch: NEVER combined with Land Loop: ALWAYS as a trigger. Wait up to about five minutes before calling it a hang, then test a fresh copy of the default preset, remove every mod, simplify the world, and clear the stuck session data if necessary.
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Confirm that generation is actually stuck
World creation is not instantaneous. A developer said generation can take up to about five minutes in unlucky cases. Leave the game window in the foreground and wait that long before force-quitting. Closing it earlier can turn a slow generation into an incomplete session and makes the next diagnosis less clear.
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There is no published statistic for how often this problem occurs. One player reporting to Klei estimated that a default-size world hung about half the time in that particular setup; that is an individual estimate, not a measured rate for all players, versions, or platforms.
If the screen has been unchanged for longer than roughly five minutes, treat it as a failure and work through the fixes below. Make one meaningful change at a time when possible. That way you can identify whether a setting, preset, mod, or saved session caused the problem.
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1. Correct the world-generation settings first
The strongest documented trigger is an incompatible-looking combination in the world-generation menu:
| Setting | Value to avoid | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Land Branch | NEVER | A Klei bug-tracker report links this pair to a world that can loop indefinitely on “Server Is Generating World.” |
| Land Loop | ALWAYS |
Open the world settings before starting the server and change at least one of those values to a normal, non-conflicting option. If you are unsure which combination your preset contains, start from a default preset instead of trying to repair every field manually.
The same report described large worlds usually finishing while default-size worlds hung about half the time in the reporter’s tests. Do not interpret that as a general rule that large worlds are safer; it is a report from one configuration. Use it as a reason to test a different size, not as a reason to make every world large.
2. Rebuild a custom preset from a fresh default copy
Saved custom presets are a recurring source of reports about this screen. One player found that a particular saved preset caused the hang, while hand-editing a standard preset each time worked. Another resolved the issue by creating a new copy of the default preset and then modifying that copy.
Recommended procedure
- Open the world-generation preset list.
- Create a new copy of the game’s default preset. Do not duplicate the suspect custom preset.
- Change only the settings you actually need, leaving the rest at their defaults.
- Check that Land Branch is not set to NEVER while Land Loop is set to ALWAYS.
- Save the new preset under a different name and launch a test world.
If the fresh copy works, add your custom changes back in small groups. Launch after each group. This isolates the setting or combination that reintroduces the loop without requiring you to abandon the play style you wanted.
If the new default copy also stalls, do not keep editing the original preset. Move to the mod and world-complexity checks; those can affect a clean-looking preset as well.
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3. Test with a smaller, simpler world
Player troubleshooting reports recommend reducing the amount of work required during generation. For a diagnostic launch, use a smaller world and remove optional resource or creature additions. The goal is not to choose your permanent settings; it is to determine whether the generator can complete a low-complexity world.
Use this minimal test configuration
- Choose a smaller world size.
- Do not add extra resources.
- Do not add extra creatures.
- Keep the preset based on a fresh default copy.
- Run without mods.
- Enable netbook mode or disable small textures if those options are available in your installation.
Start the test and allow the full five-minute window. If it succeeds, restore one category at a time: first the desired size, then resource changes, then creature changes. A failure after one category is restored identifies where to concentrate your investigation.
A successful small world does not prove that your preferred large world is impossible. It shows that the basic generator and session can complete, narrowing the problem to complexity, a particular setting, or a mod interaction.
4. Remove every mod, including files left behind
Klei’s bug-tracker guidance starts with removing all mods. This includes both currently enabled mods and files that remain in the game directory. Workshop subscriptions can reinstall content, so unsubscribe from the suspect Workshop mods while testing rather than merely disabling them in the in-game list.
Clean test sequence
- Disable all enabled mods in the game’s mod controls.
- Exit the game completely.
- Unsubscribe from Workshop mods so they are not automatically downloaded again during the test.
- Inspect the game folder and remove mod files if they remain there, following the game’s normal file-management conventions.
- Restart the game and create a world from the fresh default-based preset.
Do not re-enable a whole collection immediately after a successful test. Add mods back individually or in small, known groups, generating a test world after each change. A world that hangs only after one mod returns gives you a reproducible lead; a world that still hangs with no mods points back to settings, saved session data, or the installation itself.
Because the available reports do not establish a particular mod, version, or platform as the universal cause, avoid assuming that a recently installed mod is the only possibility. Old files and Workshop re-downloads can make a supposedly clean test not clean at all.
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5. Remove a stuck session folder
One Klei forum user reported being unable to delete the client session folder normally. Manually deleting it fixed that user’s generating-world problem. The folder path given in that report is:
Documents/Klei/DoNotStarveTogether/client_save/session
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If your operating system uses a localized or redirected Documents location, look for the same relative path under the Documents folder used by your game installation. Do not delete unrelated folders under Documents/Klei; the report concerns the specific client session directory.
If the folder is locked, restart the computer and try again before using more invasive file operations. A locked folder can indicate that the game or another process still has a file open.
6. Verify the game files through Steam
Verifying the game cache through Steam was also suggested in the troubleshooting discussion. Use Steam’s installed-game properties and its file-verification option, then allow the process to finish before launching another generation test.
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File verification is useful when a clean preset and no-mod test still fail, but it does not replace the setting checks. It cannot correct a Land Branch/Land Loop combination or a broken custom preset, and it does not remove Workshop subscriptions. Run it after closing the game and before testing again with the minimal world configuration.
7. Follow a controlled troubleshooting order
Changing everything at once makes it impossible to tell which action helped. Use this order for the clearest result:
- Wait: leave the generation screen for up to about five minutes with the game window in the foreground.
- Check the land pair: remove Land Branch NEVER plus Land Loop ALWAYS.
- Make a fresh preset: copy the default preset and change only essential options.
- Simplify: select a smaller world, no extra resources or creatures, and the recommended texture or netbook diagnostic options.
- Remove mods: disable them, unsubscribe from Workshop items, and clear leftover mod files.
- Reset the session: close the game and remove
Documents/Klei/DoNotStarveTogether/client_save/sessionif the problem persists. - Verify files: run Steam’s game-cache verification.
- Collect logs: if a no-mod, default-based test still exceeds the wait window, preserve the log and contact Klei.
After each step, use the same test world profile whenever possible. A consistent test makes a pass or failure meaningful. Once generation succeeds, restore your normal settings gradually rather than importing the entire old preset and every mod at once.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to do when the screen returns after a successful test
If the fresh preset works
Keep the fresh preset as your base. Reapply custom settings one at a time or in small groups, testing generation after each change. The first group that causes the stall contains the setting worth investigating. Pay particular attention to land-generation options because the documented trigger involves the Land Branch and Land Loop pair.
If the no-mod test works
Leave the clean installation unchanged long enough to confirm that it can create more than one test world. Then reintroduce Workshop content individually. Record which mod is enabled for each test so you can remove the failing item without discarding unrelated configuration.
If even the minimal test fails
A failure with a fresh default-based preset, simple world, no mods, a cleared session folder, and verified files is not explained by the documented custom-preset or mod reports. Stop cycling through random settings. Capture the log and report the reproducible sequence to Klei.
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Logs: the next step after the basic fixes
A developer’s guidance is to force-quit after generation has run longer than the roughly five-minute unlucky-case window and send the log file from:
Documents/Klei/DoNotStarveTogether
Keep the game window in the foreground while generation runs before collecting the log. That preserves the relevant generation activity in the file. Include the exact world settings, whether the preset was a fresh default copy, whether all mods were removed, how long you waited, and whether deleting the client session folder or verifying files changed anything.
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Dedicated-server limitation
The documented reports concern client-hosted worlds. They do not confirm a dedicated-server-specific fix or establish the exact cluster log path for every installation. Some dedicated-server setups use a file named server_log.txt in a cluster folder, but that location is not verified by the available evidence. Confirm the path for your own installation before relying on it.
You can still apply the general diagnostic ideas—check the land settings, rebuild the preset, simplify the world, remove mods, and verify files—but do not assume that a client session-folder deletion or a client log path maps directly to a dedicated server. If the dedicated server remains stuck, provide Klei with the logs and the server’s exact configuration rather than deleting arbitrary cluster data.
Common mistakes that make the problem look worse
- Stopping too soon: generation that has been running for two or three minutes may still complete; the stated unlucky-case allowance is about five minutes.
- Testing a “clean” profile with Workshop content still subscribed: Steam or the game may download the same mod again.
- Editing the old preset repeatedly: a fresh default copy is a better control than an increasingly complicated saved preset.
- Changing world size and every resource setting together: you lose the information needed to identify the trigger.
- Deleting broad folders: the anecdotal file fix names the specific
client_save/sessiondirectory, not the entire Klei data tree. - Assuming the reported rate is universal: “about half” came from one reporter’s default-size tests, not a published prevalence study.
When to stop troubleshooting locally
Escalate once a generation test still exceeds about five minutes after you have removed the documented land-setting conflict, created a fresh default-based preset, simplified the world, removed mods and their leftover files, cleared the client session folder, and verified the installation. At that point, repeated reinstalls or random setting changes are less useful than a reproducible report.
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Send Klei the unmodified log from Documents/Klei/DoNotStarveTogether and describe the exact sequence that still fails. State whether the world was client-hosted or dedicated, because the available reports do not establish that the same file paths or fixes apply to both.
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