FreshWorld

FreshWorld restores generated zones, selected resources and terrain, and selected locations in Valheim. It supports single-player worlds, local hosts, and dedicated servers. Settings are organized into three sections, with automatic restoration every 24 game days by default.

player buildings are protected while vegetations would refresh

locations can be forced to reset even if it have player buildings within radisu, if you turn location reset on config

another example of location being forced to reset even with the player buildings within radius

check the image for better understanding of reset

Restoration order

Each run follows this sequence:

Save and wait for completion
-> Reset zones
-> Restore resources with surrounding terrain
-> Restore resources without terrain changes
-> Reset selected locations
-> Finish

Disabled stages are skipped. A stage must finish before the next one starts, and a failure stops the remaining stages. When both resource groups have targets and the terrain radius is positive, FreshWorld yields two frames between them so the game can refresh terrain and collision data. There is no fixed delay in seconds or minutes between stages.

If a zone or location asset is still not ready after 30 seconds, FreshWorld logs its coordinates and loading state, skips that zone, and continues the run. A skipped zone is eligible again on the next run. FreshWorld releases a zone it opened only after loading finishes; a player who enters it keeps the zone loaded. Stage logs include the number of timed-out zones and time spent waiting for loading.

The initial save is mandatory. A save failure or the 180-second save timeout prevents restoration from starting. FreshWorld does not request another save at the end: normal autosaves and a normal shutdown save persist the result. A crash before the next save can lose restoration changes even if the separate execution record says the run completed. FreshWorld does not create a separate backup or automatically restore one.

When hosting a world, FreshWorld includes previously saved chunks that are now completely empty in the game's normal save process. This prevents an old chunk file from restoring deleted objects after a world reload. The correction adds no extra save or cfg option and does not remove duplicates already present in the world.

General: automatic scheduling

[General]
Enabled = true
AutomaticResetPercent = 100
Mode = GameDays
GameDayInterval = 24
DailyTimes = 05:35,17:35

Enabled controls automatic scheduling only. Manual commands work with either value. Turning it off cancels automatic work that has not started, but preserves accepted manual requests. It does not interrupt running work; configuration reload remains deferred until that work finishes.

Mode	Schedule
GameDays	Run after each GameDayInterval measured from the world's schedule baseline.
DailyTimes	Run at the listed HH:mm times in the host operating system's local time zone.

A normal vanilla game day lasts 30 real minutes, or 0.5 hours. The default 24-day interval is about 12 hours without sleep, pauses, or game-time changes. FreshWorld measures world game time, so sleep and time-changing mods affect the actual elapsed time. It does not measure time since a player visited an area.

Reopening a world with the same enabled schedule preserves its baseline. Changing the active schedule starts a new baseline. Turning automation off and back on also starts fresh: GameDays waits a full interval, while DailyTimes waits for the next scheduled time. Deadlines from the disabled period are not caught up.

DailyTimes does not catch up times missed while the world was closed. An automatic run already observed and queued in an earlier session can remain pending if automation stays enabled with the same schedule. Disabling automation cancels that pending run too.

Only active schedule fields are used. GameDays ignores DailyTimes; DailyTimes ignores GameDayInterval; Enabled=false ignores both. Editing unused fields does not reset an accepted manual request. Mode must still be GameDays or DailyTimes even when automation is disabled.

Every run includes all enabled restoration stages. There is no separate daily slot list for resources: with DailyTimes=05:35,17:35, both slots include resources when Resources=true.

AutomaticResetPercent controls how many eligible zones an automatic run selects. It accepts whole numbers from 0 to 100 and defaults to 100, preserving the full reset scope. Manual freshworld commands always process the full eligible scope, regardless of this setting; stage switches, ID lists, and protection still apply. Use Enabled=false to turn off automatic scheduling entirely.

Below 100, FreshWorld takes one candidate snapshot after the initial save, applies the enabled stages and protection rules, then chooses the rounded percentage at random without duplicates. For example, 20% of 600 candidates selects 120 zones; 50% of 5 selects 3. Small candidate sets can round to zero. All reset stages share this selection and retain their own scope and protection rules. Zones skipped by later protection checks are not replaced, so fewer zones may actually reset. New zones generated during a partial run wait for a later run. Terrain radii and border repairs can still reach neighboring unselected zones.

Each run draws again without remembering earlier selections. At 20%, even 5 or 10 runs can leave some zones untouched and select others repeatedly. This is not a rotation or a guarantee that every zone will eventually reset. A selected zone that is reset by the zone stage leaves the candidate pool until the game generates it again.

Reset: restoration targets

[Reset]
Zones = true
Resources = true
TerrainResourceIds = rock4_copper,silvervein
ResourceTerrainRadius = 20
ResourceIds =
Locations = false
LocationIds = Hildir_crypt,Hildir_cave,Hildir_plainsfortress,SunkenCrypt4,Crypt2,Crypt3,Crypt4,MountainCave02,Mistlands_Giant1,Mistlands_Excavation1,Mistlands_DvergrTownEntrance1,Mistlands_DvergrTownEntrance2,Mistlands_DvergrBossEntrance1,CharredFortress,TheHole01,MorkBorg

Zones, Resources, and Locations switch their respective stages on or off without erasing the ID lists. The extra location stage is disabled by default; set Locations=true to enable it. Existing cfg values are preserved.

Resource list	Behavior
ResourceIds	Restore selected resources without restoring their surrounding terrain. Empty by default.
TerrainResourceIds	Restore selected resources and terrain within ResourceTerrainRadius metres. Defaults to copper and silver.

For example, ResourceIds=Beech1,Birch1 restores those trees without resetting the surrounding terrain. Keep rock4_copper,silvervein in TerrainResourceIds to restore those ores together with their nearby terrain.

Resources and ResourceSafeZones apply to both groups. Either resource list may be empty; if both are empty, the resource stage is skipped. An ID listed in both groups runs once in TerrainResourceIds. Duplicates within a single list, wildcards, and command arguments are rejected.

ResourceTerrainRadius applies only to TerrainResourceIds. A value of 0 restores resources from both lists without this terrain operation. It does not disable terrain changes performed by the zone or location stages.

LocationIds uses exact location IDs, with optional :variant suffixes. The default list contains 16 IDs, including TheHole01 and MorkBorg. Existing cfg selections are preserved; add these IDs to an existing list if wanted. An empty location list is invalid; use Locations=false to disable that stage while keeping its selection. Resource or location IDs unavailable in the current game are logged and skipped. If no selected IDs are recognized, their stage or group is skipped. The default selection is not a guarantee that every ID exists in every game or mod setup.

Which zones are affected?

The zone stage considers all previously generated zones, not just zones currently loaded around players. It marks reset zones as ungenerated; the game recreates them when they are loaded again.

Percentage selection uses only zones still marked as generated. Never-generated zones and already-reset zones that have not generated again are excluded from both the candidate count and the draw. A zone does not need to be loaded at the time of the run to qualify.

With Zones=true, resource and location supplements use only zones protected by base markers in the initial plan that are still generated immediately before the supplemental operation. Zones already reset are not included again, and other failed or skipped zones are not added as fallback targets. A zone-stage failure stops the supplements.

With Zones=false, supplements consider all currently generated zones, then apply their own ID and protection filters. This scope is fixed and has no cfg selector.

All stages also exclude player-protected target zones using the run's player protection described below. This exclusion does not expand the supplemental candidate set.

Resources=false and Locations=false disable only their supplemental stages. They do not exclude resources or locations from the earlier zone reset. Likewise, the resource and location ID lists do not restrict the zone stage's targets.

Protection: players, base markers, and stage boundaries

Each player's zone and its eight neighbors (3 x 3 zones) are always protected, including when SafeZones=0. After the initial save finishes, FreshWorld records the zones of active players known to the hosting server. It adds their current zones again immediately before each target attempt or retry. Each recorded zone protects its surrounding 3 x 3 area from direct zone resets, resource-and-terrain resets, resource-only resets, and location resets for the remainder of that run, even if the player leaves. Moving players can therefore protect additional areas during the run. The next run starts with a fresh set. This fixed protection works in single-player, local-host, and dedicated-server worlds and adds no cfg option or location-visit tracking.

This protection skips direct targets; it does not clip terrain edits to the protected area. A resource or location terrain radius from a target outside the protected area can still reach protected terrain, and a zone reset outside it can still repair shared terrain borders. SafeZones marker protection has the same boundary limitation.

[Protection]
ZoneSafeZones = 1
ResourceSafeZones = 0
LocationSafeZones = 0
AlwaysProtectedPrefabs = Player_tombstone
EpicLootProtection = true
EpicLootBountyProtection = false
PieceBlacklist = fire_pit

The three SafeZones settings independently control additional base-marker protection. ZoneSafeZones accepts only 1 or 2; ResourceSafeZones and LocationSafeZones also accept 0. They do not change the fixed 3 x 3 player protection or AlwaysProtectedPrefabs:

Value	Protection for that stage
0	Resources and locations only: ignore protection from base markers.
1	Marker zone: protect the zone containing a marker.
2	3 x 3: protect the marker's zone and its eight neighbors.

ZoneSafeZones=0 is invalid, including in an existing cfg. Set it to 1 or 2 explicitly before running maintenance. Invalid values prevent new work and are not converted or clamped. Configuration Manager offers only 1 and 2 for zones, and server-side validation also rejects 0 from direct cfg edits or administrator clients.

The default LocationSafeZones=0 can remove player-built pieces inside a selected location. It replaces the old Force behavior; there is no separate Force option. AlwaysProtectedPrefabs and the independent player, invasion, and enabled EpicLoot protections still apply.

ResourceSafeZones=0 allows the selected resource supplements in retained base zones. The resource stage does not directly select arbitrary player-built pieces for deletion, but terrain restoration can change the ground supporting them.

If you choose ZoneSafeZones=1 and LocationSafeZones=1, zero location supplements can be normal: the zone stage already covers unprotected locations, and the remaining base zones are also protected from location restoration. FreshWorld does not automatically lower protection to increase the result count.

Player-built Pieces are detected automatically as base markers. Walls, floors, ships, traps, sap extractors, and modded building pieces do not need individual list entries when their registered prefab has a Piece component and their saved creator is nonzero. This also includes player-placed plants that use Piece. Natural ruins and spawned objects without creator metadata are not automatic markers. Isolated builds can therefore protect additional zones.

PieceBlacklist excludes comma-separated exact prefab IDs from automatic Piece markers. The default fire_pit means a lone campfire does not protect a zone. Other markers can still protect that zone and the campfire within it. An empty value excludes no Pieces. This list changes marker detection, not which objects a reset deletes.

The former PlayerPlacedObjects whitelist is no longer used or converted. Prefabs without a Piece component do not become building markers merely because they have creator metadata.

FreshWorld checks saved world objects without loading their zones. Each protection scan classifies each encountered prefab once and expands each marker zone's protection range once, even if it contains many buildings. The protection result is reused for up to ten seconds during a run; a fresh scan rechecks prefab registration. Objects built or moved during that interval may not be reflected until the next scan.

Ships built with the hammer have creator metadata and qualify automatically unless blacklisted. Ships created with the vanilla spawn command lack that metadata and are not protection markers. Preserving a ship does not guarantee that terrain restoration will preserve the ground around it.

Player_tombstone is a separate built-in base marker and is also the default AlwaysProtectedPrefabs entry. Tombstones store a character/profile owner ID in s_owner, while placed buildings use s_creator. FreshWorld therefore checks tombstones without the building-creator requirement. PieceBlacklist does not disable either rule. Removing Player_tombstone from AlwaysProtectedPrefabs leaves its existing SafeZones-based marker protection in place, including the 3 x 3 range when SafeZones=2.

Base-marker protection applies when that stage's SafeZones value is greater than 0. ResourceSafeZones=0 and LocationSafeZones=0 bypass base markers, but not AlwaysProtectedPrefabs. Each stage keeps its own SafeZones policy. Base markers alone do not grant individual objects deletion immunity or stop terrain edits from outside their protected area.

Always-protected prefabs

AlwaysProtectedPrefabs is a server-synced list of exact prefab IDs, defaulting to Player_tombstone. Each matching object's own zone (1 x 1) is excluded from direct zone, resource, and location resets, regardless of SafeZones or PieceBlacklist. No Piece component, creator metadata, loaded scene object, or online player is required. Natural and command-spawned instances of a listed prefab qualify too. An empty list disables this additional policy.

Listed objects cannot be directly or recursively deleted by FreshWorld. Their protected terrain tiles also skip FreshWorld terrain restoration and border repairs requested from neighboring zones. Native resource or location placement from outside a protected zone can still cross its boundary; the list does not block other mods, player actions, or ordinary damage.

FreshWorld captures the initial objects after saving and rechecks each target zone before an attempt or loading retry. Observed zones remain protected for the current run, even if the object moves or disappears. The next run starts fresh. Settings changed through cfg hot reload or an administrator's Configuration Manager apply to the next run; they cannot change an active run's protection.

This list is independent of the EpicLoot switches. A listed EpicLoot prefab remains protected by this rule even if its EpicLoot-specific protection is disabled. Ordinary base markers and the built-in Jotun invasion protection remain separate.

Jotun invasions

FreshWorld protects the 1x1 zone containing each BlackIce_Core or BlackIce_Core_outer, even with SafeZones=0. If they are on opposite sides of a zone border, both zones are protected. Protection depends on the objective objects, not the event's radius or active state. It does not require a player, creator metadata, a building marker, or Jotunn. There is no additional cfg option, and these fixed prefabs do not need to be added to AlwaysProtectedPrefabs.

FreshWorld captures objective zones after the initial save, including unloaded objects, and checks for arrivals before each target attempt or loading retry. Observed zones stay protected until that run ends. Remaining ice continues to protect its own zone on later runs, even after the event ends. Once the ice is gone, the next run can reset that zone subject to other protection rules. An event record without ice does not protect an area; missing or invalid event metadata does not disable object-based protection or maintenance.

FreshWorld also skips its terrain restoration and border repairs in these protected terrain tiles, including requests from neighboring zones. Existing player, base, and EpicLoot terrain policies are unchanged. Native resource or location placement from outside a protected zone can still extend across its boundary; this protection does not clip generated prefabs or control other mods.

BlackIce_Core and BlackIce_Core_outer have an additional guard against direct and recursive FreshWorld deletion, including when event metadata is missing. Normal player destruction, invasion completion, and rewards are unchanged. The starting ice in Mörkhalla is not part of this separate object guard.

Other zones within an active invasion can reset if no other protection applies. Nearby creatures may be removed and later spawn again under the game's normal conditions; their exact timing and arrangement are not preserved. FreshWorld does not recreate missing ice, repair broken events, finish events, or grant rewards. Remaining active event records and orphaned ice require separate diagnosis; narrowing protection does not repair them.

Use freshworld invasions to inspect a ready host's current invasion state. It reports each active event's ID, center and radius, core and outer ice ZDO counts inside the area, and the nearest core and outer ice coordinates, zones and horizontal distances. The reported event radius is diagnostic information, not FreshWorld's protection range. ZDO counts include objects in unloaded zones; scene counts show instances on the host, not visibility on a client. This reads current host data, not the save files on disk. The report is also written to the host log.

The report matches ice by position, not event ownership. Overlapping event areas may count the same object. A missing core is a reason to investigate, not proof of which mod removed it; a core ZDO does not prove that the objective works. Ice outside active areas is counted without removing it. Inspection scans the host's ZDO registry once per request and does not load zones, save the world, change ownership, end events, or start restoration. An inspection error leaves maintenance state unchanged.

EpicLoot treasure maps

With EpicLootProtection=true (the default), FreshWorld protects unfound EpicLoot treasure chests and pending treasure spawn controllers. Each protects only its own zone (1x1) from direct zone, resource, and location restoration, including when ResourceSafeZones or LocationSafeZones is 0. Protection does not require a Piece component, creator metadata, a loaded zone, or the owner to be online. EpicLoot is not a required dependency. The setting is server-authoritative through ServerSync; cfg reloads and accepted administrator edits apply to the next run, not an active run.

Neighboring zones remain eligible for restoration, including resource and location placement, terrain edits, and terrain-border repairs that cross into the treasure zone. The chest and pending treasure controller themselves are protected from FreshWorld deletion, but their surrounding terrain can change. Set EpicLootProtection=false to disable both treasure-zone protection and individual treasure-object deletion immunity. Bounty protection has its own setting below. Existing player, base, and tombstone rules remain separate.

FreshWorld takes the initial treasure snapshot after the pre-maintenance save and rechecks saved objects in each target zone before an attempt or loading retry. Once observed, a protected zone remains protected for that run. A found or removed chest no longer triggers this treasure rule on the next run, although ordinary base-marker protection may still apply. A pending controller must contain treasure spawn data, must not be marked as a bounty, and must not have finished placement.

There is no expiry or limit on protected treasure zones: an unfound chest can retain its one zone indefinitely. This does not recreate previously lost chests, clear old map pins, cancel contracts, grant rewards, or alter player progress. The recognized saved markers were checked against EpicLoot 0.14.10. Other reset tools are outside this protection.

EpicLoot bounties

EpicLootBountyProtection is disabled by default. Set it to true to protect pending bounty spawn controllers, bounty targets, and all their adds. Each object's current zone (1x1) is excluded from direct zone, resource, and location resets, even with SafeZones=0. FreshWorld also prevents direct or recursive deletion of those objects. If a target and its adds occupy different zones, each zone is protected; this is not a fixed area around the map pin or the original spawn point.

FreshWorld reads saved world tags, so protection does not require loaded components, creator metadata, or an online quest owner. It captures the initial set after the pre-maintenance save and rechecks each target zone before an attempt or loading retry to detect new or moved objects. Observed zones stay protected until the run ends. The next run starts fresh. Neighboring terrain edits and border repairs can still affect a protected zone, as with treasure protection.

This switch is independent of EpicLootProtection, uses ServerSync, and supports server cfg hot reload. Changes apply to the next run. Set it to false to disable both bounty-zone protection and bounty-object deletion immunity. No EpicLoot dependency is required.

EpicLoot can leave tagged creatures behind when a bounty is abandoned. Those objects continue to protect their zones while the tags remain. FreshWorld does not infer quest status, remove abandoned targets, alter player progress, grant rewards, or repair previously lost targets. Marker recognition was checked against EpicLoot 0.14.10.

Manual commands and permissions

Use the game's F5 console. If it is unavailable, add -console to the game's launch options. Native autocomplete completes the command name and offers status and invasions as arguments. FreshWorld does not require enabling devcommands.

Command	Action
freshworld	Request one restoration using the current host cfg.
freshworld status	Show running or pending work, or the applied policy and last recorded result while idle, without starting restoration.
freshworld invasions	Inspect active Jotun invasions and host objective ZDOs without changing the world.

Only these three command forms are accepted. Reset settings and protection rules are explained above and in the cfg descriptions.

Manual restoration requests do not wait for the automatic schedule polling interval. They still require a ready world, completion of the initial 30-second grace period, an unpaused host, no conflicting save or maintenance, a valid cfg, and valid authority. The grace period starts once when the world becomes ready; it is not added before every run. Invasion inspection requires a ready world and valid authority, but remains available during maintenance or when reset settings are invalid.

An existing pending or active request is not overwritten. Each requester is limited to one command per second; repeated commands within that second, including status and invasions, are silently ignored. The requester receives acceptance, waiting reasons, and completion or failure messages.

The person hosting a world inside their own game process can run commands without an administrator entry. A dedicated server's own console can also run them without a connected player. This includes authenticated RCON tools that execute the registered command inside the server process without a Valheim player connection. The RCON provider controls its own authentication; FreshWorld receives no RCON identity and continues to validate the active server, world, session, and run state.

Every requester connected as a game client must be an administrator verified by the server's adminlist.txt. This includes a separate game client connected to a dedicated server on the same PC. Client administrator flags, claimed Steam IDs, and matching IP addresses are not trusted as authorization.

Manual requests belong to the current world, connection, and verified authority. Disconnecting, losing administrator permission, or changing worlds cancels queued or active manual work. Changes already made are not rolled back or automatically retried. The command cannot override the captured IDs or protection values. A request from an earlier session must be submitted again after reconnecting or restarting.