Server guide

Tuning damage and difficulty

RotorCraft Evolution ships with a middle-of-the-road setup. Everything below is changed in JSON files that the server writes to its profile folder (the -profiles directory) the first time it needs them.

Every change works the same way: stop the server, keep a copy of the file, edit it, save valid JSON, start the server. There is no live reload. If a file can't be read, the mod uses its defaults and leaves your file alone. Check the server log for lines starting [RCEDMG] or [RCEDATA] to see what was applied.

The quick way: pick a difficulty

In RotorCraft_Damage.json, set "difficulty" to one of four presets:

`"forgiving"`	Crashes need a much harder hit to hurt, crew take half damage, no bleeding, no broken legs. Good for PvE and new pilots.
`"standard"`	The default.
`"realistic"`	Lower crash limits, full crew damage and bleeding.
`"hardcore"`	The lowest limits, heavier bleeding, legs break easily. Land it properly or else.

Leave toughness, crewScale, bleedEnabled, bleedScale and legBreakSeverity at -1 so the preset controls them. Set a number only to override one of them on purpose.

Common changes

All of these are in RotorCraft_Damage.json unless it says otherwise.

Turn off rotor damage

"rotorEnabled": 0. Blades no longer get damaged by crashes, tip-overs, trees or obstacles. Nobody will ever need a replacement blade set.

Softer option: keep it on but lower rotorTreeShare (default 0.3) and rotorHardShare (default 0.5). That's how much rotor health one strike costs.

Make rotors deadly

"rotorKills": 1 (off by default). A spinning rotor kills anyone it reaches. Great for PvP servers, rough on careless passengers.

No explosions or fires

"explodeEnabled": 0 stops wrecks exploding. "burnEnabled": 0 stops damaged fuel tanks and engines catching fire.

Easier on the crew

"crewScale": 0: no health or shock loss from rough landings. A fatal crash still kills.
"bleedEnabled": 0: no bleeding from crashes.
"legBreakSeverity": 0: no broken legs from crashes.

Tougher airframes

"airframeScale" (default 1) multiplies structural damage. Use 0.5 for half damage, or 2 for double.

Turn off all scripted crash damage

"enabled": 0 is the master switch. It turns off impact damage, rotor strikes, explosions, water and degradation all at once. Gunfire still hits through the game's normal damage.

Wrecks

"wreckLifetime" is how long a destroyed helicopter stays, in seconds. The default is 1800 (30 minutes), and 0 leaves cleanup to the economy.

Optional realism (off by default)

"degradeEnabled": 1: damaged aircraft lose engine power, shake and leak fuel before they fail.
"waterEnabled": 1: landing in water stops the engine and eventually destroys the aircraft. This is experimental.

Parts and flying

These are top-level settings in RotorCraft_Aircraft.json.

"partsBladesRequired": 1: aircraft won't start without a healthy blade set fitted, and players can remove healthy blades. With 0 (the default), the slot only takes a set after a rotor is destroyed.
"partsBeltRequired": 1: the Mosquito needs a healthy drive belt to start.
"partsUniversalBlades": 1: allows the universal blade set, which fits any aircraft (off by default).

Each aircraft also has its own row in that file:

"recoveryCooldown": seconds between full Left-arrow recoveries. 0 (the default) means unlimited. Raise it to make landings harder.
"recoveryEnabled": 0: no powered recovery at all.
"windEffect": how much wind pushes the aircraft. 0.5 is the default and 0 means no wind.

Change only the fields you mean to, and keep each aircraft row complete. More in Aircraft settings.

Aircraft weapons

RotorCraft_Weapons.json appears the first time an armed aircraft or ammo container loads.

"enabled": false: all helicopter weapons are made safe, and the HUD shows WEAPONS OFF.
"doorGunsEnabled": false or "cannonEnabled": false: turn off just the Black Hawk door guns or the Gazelle cannon.
"damageScale": gun damage multiplier (1 = vanilla .308). It doesn't change grenades.
"consumeAmmo": false: unlimited ammo, handy for event servers.

After a mod update

Updates add new settings now and then. An older file may be missing them, and a missing number reads as 0, not the default. After an update:

Stop the server and keep a copy of your files.
Rename or remove the old files.
Start the server once so it writes fresh ones.
Stop it again, and copy your changes back in.

Need help?

The full admin guide, with every setting and its valid range, is ADMIN_GUIDE.md in the mod's release folder. Questions are welcome in the Discord.

Something missing or wrong? Ask in the Discord.