Custom paint mods for 7 Days to Die have always been possible. They’ve also always required you to either already know Unity or be willing to spend an afternoon watching tutorials just to package a texture into a format the game will accept. Not exactly accessible. Not exactly welcoming to the majority of players who just want their base to look like something other than the default grey slop.

So I built KitsunePaint.

It’s a web tool. You upload a texture, see it previewed on an actual wall, download a ready-to-drop modlet zip. That’s it. No Unity. No command line. No folder structure archaeology.

Why This Exists

7D2D has a modding scene that’s been keeping this game alive for years, especially through the rougher patches (and there have been patches). The community has put in serious work building tools, frameworks, and mods that the base game doesn’t offer. Custom paints are a small thing, but they’re also one of the most visible creative outlets players have – you’re looking at your walls constantly.

The barrier was always the pipeline. Getting a custom texture into the game involves Unity bundle injection, DXT normal map formats, proper mipmap generation, slot mapping, localization files, and packaging it all into a modlet structure the game recognizes. If you don’t know what half those words mean, congratulations, you’re a normal person who just wanted to put a cool pattern on your walls.

The Fun Pimps have had a long and complicated relationship with their modding community – to put it diplomatically. Tools that make modding more accessible haven’t always been a priority when there are alphas to ship. The community filled that gap, as it always does.

KitsunePaint is my contribution to that gap-filling.

How It Works

Go to paint.kitsuneden.net.

Upload your texture. PNG works, common image formats work. If you’ve got something you made in Photoshop, Aseprite, Canva, your phone’s photo app, whatever – you’re probably fine.

You’ll see it previewed on a wall. An actual wall, not a flat 2D tile preview. This matters because textures behave differently at angles, and the preview lets you catch problems before you’re standing in your base at a weird angle wondering why your cool texture looks wrong.

If it looks good, download the zip. Drop the modlet folder into your 7 Days to Die mods directory. Launch the game. Your paint is there, in the paint menu, working correctly – thumbnails and all.

That’s the whole thing.

Under the hood it’s doing the Unity bundle injection, generating DXT normal maps, handling mipmap generation, mapping the right format to the right slot, and writing the localization file. All the stuff that used to be your problem is now not your problem.

Who This Is For

Builders. Decorators. Anyone who’s spent time in creative mode making something that actually looks like something. Server admins who want custom branding for their server’s aesthetic. Content creators who want a unique look for their content. People who are just tired of the same paints.

You don’t need to know anything about modding. You don’t need to know what UnityPy is. You don’t need to know me or anything about the KitsuneDen ecosystem this is part of.

Upload a texture. Get a modlet. That’s the whole relationship.

A Note on Dependencies

KitsunePaint’s output depends on OCBCustomTextures. Make sure you have that installed in your mods folder alongside the pack you download. It’s the framework that actually lets the game load custom paint textures – I’m generating packs that work with it, not reinventing that wheel. And yes, this is needed both server and client side.

What’s Next

This is live and working. The full pipeline runs correctly, everything renders in-game, no black-at-angles weirdness (which was a whole thing to solve, for the record).

If there’s demand for it, batch uploads, pack management, sharing packs with other players – those are all things that could happen. For now it does exactly what it says it does, and it does it without making you learn a new skill set first.

Go make something. paint.kitsuneden.net.

I’m writing this guide because I needed it and it didn’t exist. Not in one place, anyway. Every tutorial I found was either written for sysadmins who already know what iptables means, or it was some five-year-old forum post with half the commands broken. So here’s the whole thing, start to finish, with commands you can actually copy-paste.

If you’ve never SSH’d into anything before, you’re in the right place.

Why Linux?

Two reasons. It’s cheaper (most VPS providers charge less for Linux), and 7D2D actually runs about 10-15% faster on Linux compared to Windows on the same hardware. Something about less overhead. The game doesn’t care, your players won’t notice the difference except that everything’s a bit smoother.

Get a Server

You need a VPS or a dedicated box. Not your gaming PC, not your laptop. A server that’s always on, with a public IP.

Minimum specs:

• 2 CPU cores (4 is better for larger maps)
• 8 GB RAM (seriously, don’t try 4 GB)
• 15 GB SSD storage
• Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS

Any major provider works. Hetzner, OVH, Linode, DigitalOcean, Vultr, whatever. Pick Ubuntu 22.04 LTS when they ask which OS. It’s the most documented, most tested, and least likely to give you weird dependency issues.

Once you have the server, you’ll get an IP address and either a root password or SSH key. Connect to it:

ssh root@your-server-ip

If you’re on Windows, use Windows Terminal or PowerShell. They have SSH built in now. No need for PuTTY unless you want it.

Don’t Run as Root

First thing. Make a dedicated user. Running game servers as root is asking for trouble.

useradd -m -s /bin/bash steam
passwd steam

Pick a password. You’ll also want to be able to sudo from this account later, so:

usermod -aG sudo steam

Now switch to it:

su - steam

Everything from here on happens as the steam user unless I say otherwise.

Install SteamCMD

SteamCMD is Valve’s command-line tool for downloading dedicated servers. Every Steam game server uses it.

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo add-apt-repository multiverse -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y steamcmd lib32gcc-s1

It’ll ask you to accept a license agreement. Hit Tab, then Enter. After that, SteamCMD lives at /usr/games/steamcmd.

Download the 7D2D Server

One command. The app ID for the dedicated server is 294420 (not 251570, that’s the game client).

/usr/games/steamcmd \
  +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType linux \
  +force_install_dir /home/steam/7d2d-server \
  +login anonymous \
  +app_update 294420 validate \
  +quit

This downloads about 12 GB. Go get a coffee. When it’s done, your server lives at /home/steam/7d2d-server/.

To update the server later, run the exact same command. SteamCMD only downloads what’s changed.

Configure It

The config file is at /home/steam/7d2d-server/serverconfig.xml. Open it:

nano /home/steam/7d2d-server/serverconfig.xml

If you’ve never used nano: arrow keys to move around, type to edit, Ctrl+O then Enter to save, Ctrl+X to exit. That’s it. That’s the whole editor.

There are a ton of settings in here. You don’t need to touch most of them. Here are the ones that actually matter:

<!-- Give your server a name -->
<property name="ServerName" value="My 7D2D Server"/>

<!-- Set a password (or leave empty for public) -->
<property name="ServerPassword" value=""/>

<!-- How many players -->
<property name="ServerMaxPlayerCount" value="8"/>

<!-- Show up in the server browser -->
<property name="ServerVisibility" value="2"/>

<!-- Pick your world -->
<property name="GameWorld" value="Navezgane"/>

<!-- Or use "RWG" for random gen with a seed -->
<!-- <property name="GameWorld" value="RWG"/> -->
<!-- <property name="WorldGenSeed" value="whatever"/> -->
<!-- <property name="WorldGenSize" value="4096"/> -->

<!-- Difficulty: 0=Scavenger, 1=Adventurer, 2=Nomad, 3=Warrior, 4=Survivalist, 5=Insane -->
<property name="GameDifficulty" value="2"/>

<!-- IMPORTANT: Disable EAC if you want to run ANY mods -->
<property name="EACEnabled" value="false"/>

<!-- Enable telnet for graceful shutdown (localhost only) -->
<property name="TelnetEnabled" value="true"/>
<property name="TelnetPort" value="8081"/>
<property name="TelnetPassword" value=""/>

Save and exit.

The EAC thing is important. If you install mods and leave EACEnabled as true, players get kicked on connect. Your players also need to launch their game with EAC disabled on their end. It’s just how it works with modded servers.

Open the Firewall

Your server needs to accept connections on a few ports. If you skip this step, nobody can connect.

sudo ufw allow 26900/tcp
sudo ufw allow 26900:26902/udp
sudo ufw enable

That’s the game ports. If you’re planning to install KitsuneCommand (web management panel), also open:

sudo ufw allow 8888/tcp
sudo ufw allow 8889/tcp

Port 8888 is the web panel, 8889 is the WebSocket for real-time updates.

Don’t open port 8081 (telnet). That should only be accessible from localhost.

Start It Up

cd /home/steam/7d2d-server
./startserver.sh -configfile=serverconfig.xml

First launch takes a while, especially if you picked RWG (random world generation). The server has to generate the entire world. On Navezgane it’s much faster since the map is pre-made.

You’ll see a bunch of output scroll by. When you see something like GameServer.Init successful, you’re good. Players can connect using your server IP and port 26900.

But wait. If you close your SSH session, the server dies. You need to keep it running.

Keep It Running

Two options. Pick one.

Option A: screen (Quick and Dirty)

Install it if it’s not there:

sudo apt install -y screen

Start the server inside a screen session:

screen -S 7d2d
cd /home/steam/7d2d-server && ./startserver.sh -configfile=serverconfig.xml

Now press Ctrl+A, then D. The server keeps running in the background. Close your SSH, go to bed, whatever.

To come back later:

screen -r 7d2d

Option B: systemd (Proper Way)

This makes the server start automatically when the machine boots, restart if it crashes, and give you clean log access. Switch to root for this part:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/7daystodie.service

Paste this:

[Unit]
Description=7 Days to Die Dedicated Server
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=steam
Group=steam
WorkingDirectory=/home/steam/7d2d-server
ExecStart=/home/steam/7d2d-server/startserver.sh -configfile=serverconfig.xml
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable 7daystodie
sudo systemctl start 7daystodie

Check if it’s running:

sudo systemctl status 7daystodie

Follow the live logs:

sudo journalctl -u 7daystodie -f

Stop it:

sudo systemctl stop 7daystodie

That -f flag on journalctl is like tail -f for people who know what that means. For people who don’t, it just shows new log lines as they happen. Ctrl+C to stop watching.

Installing Mods

Mods go in the Mods/ folder. Create it if it doesn’t exist:

mkdir -p /home/steam/7d2d-server/Mods

Then drop the mod folder in. Each mod needs a ModInfo.xml at its root level. So the structure looks like:

7d2d-server/
  Mods/
    SomeMod/
      ModInfo.xml
      SomeMod.dll
    KitsuneCommand/
      ModInfo.xml
      KitsuneCommand.dll
      Config/
      wwwroot/
      linux-x64/
        libSkiaSharp.so

Stop the server before adding or removing mods. Then start it again. Mods load on startup.

Remember: EACEnabled must be false in your serverconfig.xml. I know I said this already. I’m saying it again because you will forget and spend 20 minutes wondering why it doesn’t work.

KitsuneCommand Specifically

If you’re installing KitsuneCommand, grab the release ZIP, extract it, and copy the KitsuneCommand folder into Mods/. It auto-detects Linux and loads the right native libraries. After the server starts, open http://your-server-ip:8888 and check the server console output for your auto-generated admin password.

On Linux, KitsuneCommand uses your system’s SQLite library, so make sure it’s installed:

sudo apt install -y libsqlite3-0

It’s probably already there. Ubuntu ships with it.

Updating the Server

Stop the server first, then run the SteamCMD command again:

sudo systemctl stop 7daystodie

/usr/games/steamcmd \
  +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType linux \
  +force_install_dir /home/steam/7d2d-server \
  +login anonymous \
  +app_update 294420 validate \
  +quit

sudo systemctl start 7daystodie

Your world save and mods are untouched. SteamCMD only updates game files.

Shit That Goes Wrong

Here’s the stuff that’ll trip you up, because it tripped me up.

“Server not showing in browser” It takes 5-10 minutes for Steam to index a new server. Be patient. Also double-check your firewall ports. Also make sure ServerVisibility is 2 in the config.

Random world gen eats all your RAM If you set WorldGenSize to 8192 or higher on an 8 GB server, it will eat everything and crash. Start with 4096. It’s a perfectly good map size.

“Fallback handler could not load library” warnings You’ll see these in the console on startup. They’re Mono/Unity noise. Ignore them. The server runs fine.

The server silently dies after you close SSH You forgot to use screen or systemd. Scroll back up. Pick one.

Mods installed but players get kicked EACEnabled is still true. Fix it. Both server-side in the config AND players need to launch their client with EAC off.

Permission denied on startserver.sh

chmod +x /home/steam/7d2d-server/startserver.sh

Can’t connect at all Run sudo ufw status and make sure ports 26900 (TCP and UDP) plus 26901-26902 (UDP) are actually open. If you’re on a cloud provider, also check their web dashboard for security groups or network firewall rules. UFW handles the OS-level firewall, but some providers have an additional layer on top.

The Full Cheat Sheet

For the impatient, here’s everything condensed. Run as root first, then switch to steam:

# As root
useradd -m -s /bin/bash steam
passwd steam
dpkg --add-architecture i386
add-apt-repository multiverse -y
apt update
apt install -y steamcmd lib32gcc-s1 screen libsqlite3-0
ufw allow 26900/tcp
ufw allow 26900:26902/udp
ufw allow 8888/tcp
ufw allow 8889/tcp
ufw enable

# Switch to steam user
su - steam

# Download server
/usr/games/steamcmd \
  +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType linux \
  +force_install_dir /home/steam/7d2d-server \
  +login anonymous \
  +app_update 294420 validate \
  +quit

# Edit config
nano /home/steam/7d2d-server/serverconfig.xml

# Create Mods folder
mkdir -p /home/steam/7d2d-server/Mods

# Start
cd /home/steam/7d2d-server && ./startserver.sh -configfile=serverconfig.xml

That’s it. You have a Linux 7D2D server. Go kill some zombies.

Running a 7 Days to Die dedicated server without a management panel is like fighting a demolisher with a stone axe. Sure, you can do it. But why would you.

I got tired of alt-tabbing into a console window every time someone needed kicking, or SSH-ing into a box just to check if the server was even alive. So I built KitsuneCommand – an open-source web panel that lets you manage your entire 7D2D server from a browser. Dashboard, live map, player cards, economy system, backups, the whole thing.

This is your ELIH (Explain Like I’m Human) guide to setting it up and actually understanding what it does. No filler. No “first, let’s understand the fundamentals of server administration.” Just the stuff that matters.

Getting It Running

Dead simple. Five steps.

1. Grab the latest release from GitHub
2. Extract the KitsuneCommand folder into your server’s Mods/ directory
3. Start your server
4. Open http://your-server-ip:8888
5. Check the server console for your auto-generated admin password

That’s it. No Docker. No database setup. No config file archaeology. SQLite handles storage, everything’s self-contained, and the web panel serves directly from the mod. You’re looking at maybe 60 seconds between download and login.

The Dashboard (Your New Home Screen)

First thing you see after logging in. And honestly, it’s the thing I open most.

You get live stats across the top – player count, server FPS, uptime, entity count, memory usage, and blood moon status with vote progress. These update in real-time over WebSocket, not some janky polling loop that hammers your server every 2 seconds.

Below that, server info at a glance. World name, game day, difficulty, max players, game version, IPs (with copy buttons because I’m not an animal). There’s also an activity feed that streams player logins, logouts, chat messages, and zombie kills as they happen. You actually see your server breathing.

The bottom section shows economy stats and feature usage – total points in circulation, store purchases, teleports used, active schedules. It’s the kind of overview that answers “is anyone actually using the features I set up” without digging through logs.

The GPS Map

This one’s fun. A full Leaflet.js map with your game world rendered as tiles using SkiaSharp. Player positions show up as markers that refresh every 5 seconds, with names on hover. Click anywhere to get game coordinates.

It’s not just a gimmick. When someone says “I’m stuck at my base” in chat and you need to find them, or when you want to check if anyone’s building in a restricted zone, having a live overhead view is genuinely useful. Works with Navezgane and random gen worlds.

Player Management (The Card View)

This is where the v2.1.0 update really shows. You’ve got two ways to look at your player list – the classic data table, or the new card grid. Toggle between them with the icons in the toolbar, and it remembers your preference.

The cards are way more readable at a glance. Each card shows:

• An avatar with the player’s initials (color-coded by their ID, so everyone gets a unique hue)
• Their name, with custom color if you’ve set one
• Admin badge if they’re an admin
• Level, zombie kills, deaths, and a health bar
• Their current coordinates
• Quick action buttons along the bottom

Those quick actions are the real win. Right from the card, you can view their full details, edit their metadata, send them a PM, give them items, kick them, or ban them. No navigating through three menus to do basic admin stuff.

The table view still exists for when you want sortable columns and denser data. It’s got all the same actions, just in a more compact layout.

Player Metadata

This is new and honestly one of my favorite features. Click edit on any player and you can set:

• Name color – picks a hex color that shows up both in the web panel AND in-game chat. So your VIPs get gold names, your mods get blue, whatever you want. The game handles it through Unity rich text formatting.
• Custom tags – VIP, Supporter, Moderator, Builder, or type your own. Shows as a badge on their card and in the table.
• Admin level – change their in-game admin permissions right from the browser. Admin, Moderator, or Normal.
• Notes – private admin notes. “This person grief-reported three times last week” type stuff.

The name color thing is probably my favorite detail. Set it once in the web panel and it just works in-game chat. No config files, no command-line nonsense.

Economy System

Three pieces here: points, a store, and purchase history.

Points are the currency. Players earn them through sign-in rewards, and admins can manually adjust balances with a reason attached. The points view shows everyone sorted by balance, with their last sign-in time.

The store is where players spend those points. As an admin, you create store items that can give actual game items (with quantity, quality, durability), execute server commands, or both. Everything’s configurable – item names autocomplete from the game’s item database, so you’re not guessing internal IDs.

When a player buys something, the points get deducted, items get granted, commands get executed, and everything gets logged in purchase history. Full audit trail. Date, player, item, points spent.

There’s also CD Keys (promo codes with item rewards and redemption limits), VIP Gifts (one-time or recurring reward packages), and a blood moon vote system where players vote on horde night difficulty. The economy runs deeper than most paid server tools I’ve seen.

Teleportation

Three flavors.

Cities – admin-created waypoints with a point cost. Set up a “Trader Joel” waypoint that costs 50 points and players can teleport there. You define the name, cost, position, and camera direction.

Homes – player-set home locations. They save a spot, they can warp back to it. You can see everyone’s homes, teleport them there, or delete them.

History – a complete log of every teleport. Who went where, when, what type (city, home, coordinates), origin and destination positions. Good for catching abuse.

Config Editor

Editing serverconfig.xml used to mean opening the file in Notepad, making a typo, and wondering why your server won’t start. The config editor gives you a proper form UI with fields organized into sections – Core, World, Block Damage, Gameplay, Zombies, Loot & Drops, Land Claims, Network, Admin, and Advanced.

Each field has the right input type. Numbers get number inputs with min/max constraints. Booleans get toggles. World selection auto-detects your available worlds. Passwords get visibility toggles. And every field has a description so you know what you’re actually changing.

Want to go raw? There’s an XML view with syntax highlighting for the “I know what I’m doing” crowd. The editor tracks dirty state and diffs, so it only sends changed fields when you save. And it warns you that changes need a server restart.

Mods Manager

Upload, enable, disable, delete. That’s the workflow and it’s exactly as simple as it should be.

Upload a mod as a ZIP file (up to 200MB), and it extracts into the right place. The mod list shows name, version, author, description, folder size, and status. Toggle mods on or off without deleting them. KitsuneCommand itself shows as protected so you can’t accidentally nuke your management panel.

Search works across name, folder, author, and description. And there’s a persistent banner reminding you that mod changes need a server restart, because someone (me) kept forgetting that.

Auto Backup

Set an interval, set a max retention count, and forget about it. Backups run automatically and old ones get cleaned up. You can also trigger manual backups whenever you want.

The backup list shows filename, world name, file size, creation date, and backup type (manual, scheduled, or emergency) with color-coded tags. Restore is one click with a confirmation dialog. Delete is one click with a confirmation dialog. Simple stuff, but the kind of simple stuff that saves you at 3 AM when something goes wrong.

Web Console

Full command execution from your browser. Type a command, get the output. It’s WebSocket-based, so you see log output streaming in real-time – commands in cyan, output in white, warnings in yellow, errors in red.

Arrow keys navigate your command history. Auto-scroll keeps up with the feed but you can lock it to read back through output. Connection status shows green or red so you know if you’re actually connected.

Viewers can watch the console output but can’t execute commands. That’s the role system doing its job.

The WebSocket Thing (Why It Feels Alive)

Here’s what ties it all together. KitsuneCommand runs a WebSocket server alongside the HTTP API, and every game event gets broadcast to connected clients in real-time. Player joins? Your dashboard knows. Someone sends a chat message? Activity feed updates. Zombie kill? Logged.

This isn’t cosmetic. It means you’re not refreshing pages to see what’s happening. The data comes to you. Player positions on the map update every 5 seconds. The console streams live. The dashboard stats tick up as things happen.

It also means multiple admins can watch the same server simultaneously without stepping on each other. Everyone sees the same live state.

What’s Actually Under the Hood

For the curious:

Thing	Tech
Backend	C# 11 on .NET Framework 4.8, OWIN, ASP.NET Web API 2
Frontend	Vue 3, TypeScript 5, Vite 6, PrimeVue 4
Database	SQLite with Dapper
Auth	OAuth2 with BCrypt
Map	SkiaSharp tile rendering + Leaflet.js
Real-time	WebSocketSharp
Game hooks	Harmony runtime patching

Five languages supported out of the box – English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese Simplified, and Chinese Traditional. And there’s a plugin system if you want to extend it with custom DLLs.

Go Get It

It’s MIT licensed, it’s on GitHub, and it works with 7 Days to Die V2.5+. If you’re running a dedicated server and you’re still managing it through the console window, you’re making your life harder for no reason.

Install it. Set up the economy features if your players are into that. Ignore them if they’re not. Either way, having a dashboard that shows you what’s happening on your server without touching a terminal is worth the 60 seconds it takes to install.

Your server deserves better than a blinking cursor.

Look, I know you’re here because you’re staring at a safe in the Care Center and you don’t want to backtrack through three rooms of zombies to find the file with the code on it. I respect that. I’ve been there, crouched behind a bar counter with a singing zombie two feet away, trying to remember if it was left 10 or right 10.

So here’s every safe in RE9: Requiem, where to find them, the codes for both Standard and Insanity, and what you actually get for your trouble. There are five safes total – three in the Rhodes Hill Care Center and two in the ARK laboratory near the end of the game. Pop all five and you’ll snag the No Safe Is Safe trophy/achievement.

One thing to know before we get into it: all safes are found during Grace’s sections. Leon doesn’t get to play locksmith. Also, “left” means clockwise on the dial and “right” means counterclockwise. Don’t pull the handle until you’ve entered all three numbers or it resets. Ask me how I know.

Rhodes Hill Care Center

1. Bar & Lounge Safe

Where: West Wing, upstairs in the Bar & Lounge. It’s behind the bar counter, northwest wall. You’ll probably have to deal with two regular zombies and one of those creepy singing ones first.

Standard/Casual Code: Left 10, Right 80, Left 30

Insanity Code: Right 20, Left 50, Right 30

What’s inside: 3 Antique Coins (for the Parlor shop). Grace’s S&S M232 pistol is also nearby, so don’t leave the room without grabbing that.

Where to find the code file: Office room on the first floor, on one of the tables. You need the ID Wristband level 1 to access this wing.

2. Examination Room Safe

Where: Far corner of the Examination Room, tucked inside a cabinet. Hard to miss once you’re in the room.

Standard/Casual Code: Right 30, Left 10, Right 50

Insanity Code: Left 50, Right 30, Left 90

What’s inside: 3 more Antique Coins. Between this and the Bar safe, that should be enough for a solid upgrade or two.

Where to find the code file: Blood-stained locker room near the Lead Researcher’s Office on the first floor.

3. Basement Safe

Where: After using the Joint Plug to access the Furnace area, you’ll find it in a side room near the forklift, next to the Workshop. It’s on a table.

Standard/Casual Code: Right 60, Left 40, Right 80

Insanity Code: Left 70, Right 50, Left 20

What’s inside: The Raccoon Roundup Map for Rhodes Hill (marks every Mr. Raccoon Memoriam statue on your map) plus 10 rounds of handgun ammo. The map alone makes this one worth hunting down – those raccoons are missable and there’s no chapter select.

Where to find the code file: You actually find this one earlier as Leon, in the Attic Storage area when you open your first Warped Closet. You won’t reach the safe itself until you’re playing as Grace in the Basement later.

ARK Laboratory

4. Sterilization Chamber Safe

Where: After reaching the ARK facility and switching back to Grace, progress to the Sterilization Chamber. The safe is on a shelf counter across from a bloodied lab glove box, right near the entrance. Watch your step – there are Lickers in here and they don’t care about your safe-cracking ambitions.

Standard/Casual Code: Right 10, Left 90, Right 20

Insanity Code: Left 80, Right 50, Left 0

What’s inside: 1 Med Injector, 15 Handgun Ammo, and 1 Molotov Cocktail. You’re going to want all of this for what’s coming.

Where to find the code file: Bioweapon Repository 05, in a cargo pod near the Antechamber steps. You technically find the code after the safe, which is a fun design choice.

5. Monitor Control Room Safe

Where: Adjacent to the Lobby where you place the white and red orbs. Enter through the first green door on the left and check the monitor area. Important: once you go through the red door in the Lobby after the Relapsed Panel puzzle, you can’t come back. Grab this safe before you leave.

Standard/Casual Code: Left 50, Right 60, Left 80

Insanity Code: Right 20, Left 0, Right 70

What’s inside: 1 Med Injector, 1 Bottle of Acid, and 1 Empty Bottle. Not the flashiest haul, but crafting materials are crafting materials when you’re in the ARK.

Where to find the code file: Bioweapon Repository 05, in a cargo container on the right-hand side. Same room as the Sterilization Chamber code, different container. Oh, and there are about six Lickers down there too. Fun.

Quick Reference

One last thing – the Waiting Room in the Care Center has a safe behind the desk, but it’s already open when you find it. Free loot, no code needed. You’re welcome.

Now go crack some safes and stop letting those Antique Coins collect dust in locked boxes.

The “you’ll own nothing and be happy” meme isn’t a conspiracy theory anymore. It’s a business model.

In gaming, three corporate strategies are converging with almost surgical timing to eliminate ownership as a viable option:

• Hardware ownership is becoming prohibitively expensive

• Streaming services are introducing caps, fees, and restrictions

• “Hardware as a service” rental programs are emerging — some now facing civil RICO lawsuits

This isn’t a conspiracy. It’s a convergence.

When owning hardware becomes unaffordable, streaming becomes restrictive, and subscriptions become mandatory, not owning stops being a preference and becomes the only path left.

The Hardware Squeeze

“Coincidental” Scarcity

Building a gaming PC used to be expensive. Now it’s edging toward impossible for average consumers.

• DDR5 memory prices surged through 2025, with industry forecasts projecting another ~45% increase in 2026

• GPU shortages are intensifying despite adequate production capacity

• Gamers Nexus reports Nvidia cutting GPU supply to board partners by up to 20%

• Prebuilt PC prices have jumped by hundreds of dollars due to memory and component costs

Framework — a company built around DIY and repairability — now lists $1,139 for a 32GB configuration, up roughly $450 from prior pricing.

Scarcity doesn’t have to be total.
It just has to price out the median buyer.

When ownership becomes financially inaccessible, consumers don’t “choose” alternatives — they’re pushed toward them.

The Streaming Squeeze

Enter the “Solution” — With a Catch

Nvidia GeForce Now: The Tightening Noose

What changed:

• A 100-hour monthly cap begins rolling out broadly January 1, 2026

• After 100 hours:

  • $2.99 per additional 15 hours (Performance tier)

  • $5.99 per additional 15 hours (Ultimate tier)

• Up to 15 unused hours roll over

• Price increases of up to 40% in some regions (Canada, Europe)

Do the Math

Play ~4 hours a day?
That’s ~122 hours a month.

Those “extra” 22 hours translate into a ~60% annual cost increase for regular players.

User-created charts show costs spiraling quickly — especially for the most engaged users.

Nvidia’s justification:

“To continue providing exceptional quality and speed, as well as shorter queue times.”

Translation: cap usage instead of scaling infrastructure while demand grows.

The Timing Problem

These restrictions arrive precisely as building a gaming PC becomes financially prohibitive.

Nvidia benefits from scarcity on both sides of the market:

• Reduced GPU availability for consumers

• Increased pressure toward its own cloud gaming service

Nvidia claims only 6% of users play more than 3 hours per day — so why the cap?

Because normalization happens before necessity. Control works best when it’s introduced early and framed as reasonable.

The Rental Model — When the “Solution” Is Allegedly Criminal

NZXT Flex and the RICO Line

NZXT’s Flex program marketed itself as a simple, month-to-month gaming PC rental.

The math told a different story.

According to investigations by Gamers Nexus:

• A ~$3,000 PC could cost $15,504 over five years

• Effective interest rate: ~103%

• No ownership — ever

For comparison:

• A 22% Affirm loan adds ~$369 after one year

• Even a 36% personal loan totals ~$6,504 over five years

Allegations (per lawsuit filings and investigations)

• Bait-and-switch hardware configurations

• Same model names, different components (rental vs purchase)

• Specs and prices changing daily

• Misleading benchmarks

• Potentially used hardware

• Aggressive subscriber agreements, including data retention clauses

NZXT’s CEO acknowledged in December 2024 that the company “messed up,” framing the issues as misunderstandings and pulling some influencer ads — but the program’s structure remained intact.

The Legal Hammer

Burns v. Fragile, Inc.
Filed August 5, 2025 — Northern District of California

• Civil RICO lawsuit

• Defendants: NZXT and Fragile, Inc. (subscription partner)

• Allegations include conspiracy to defraud consumers through deceptive business practices

Civil RICO cases are rare and carry a high burden of proof. They are also the same legal framework used against organized crime.

This isn’t “bad customer service.”
It’s an allegation of systemic fraud.

NZXT didn’t invent rental economics — they just made the math too obvious, too fast.

The Subscription Ideology

Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud

In January 2024, Ubisoft executive Philippe Tremblay told GamesIndustry.biz:

“One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to… owning their games. That’s the consumer shift that needs to happen.”

He framed non-ownership as comfort:

• Progress is saved

• Access is persistent

• Ownership is unnecessary

What he didn’t mention:

• Games leave services

• Licenses expire

• Services shut down

• Terms of Service change

• Accounts get banned

“No subscription” means “no access.”

Sven Vincke (Larian Studios) responded bluntly:

“Subscription models will always end up being cost/benefit analysis exercises intended to maximize profit.”

This isn’t speculation. It’s policy.

Three Pillars, One Strategy

The Pattern

1. Make hardware ownership expensive

2. Offer streaming as the “solution”

3. Normalize restrictions and recurring fees

4. Introduce rentals when ownership resists

5. Frame resistance as outdated thinking

No coordination required — just aligned incentives.

Who Benefits

• GPU vendors: Enterprise pricing + cloud subscriptions

• Publishers: Recurring revenue instead of one-time sales

• Platforms: Lock-in, data, behavioral leverage

What they’re really buying:

• Your data

• Your compliance

• Your wallet

• Your options

If you never own, you can’t resell, gift, mod, preserve, or opt out.

“But Subscriptions Are a Good Deal!”

They are — for some people.

If you:

• Play constantly

• Like most of the library

• Have perfect internet

• Don’t care about ownership

• Trust platforms to never change terms

Most gamers don’t fit that profile.

Remember when Netflix was $7.99 and had everything?

What Ownership Loss Actually Means

When you can’t own, you can’t:

• Preserve: Games disappear when servers shut down

• Mod: File access vanishes

• Play offline: Internet becomes mandatory

• Control your experience: ToS violations end everything

• Pass anything on: No lending, gifting, or resale

This isn’t nostalgia.
It’s capability loss.

Physical media preserved decades of gaming history. Server-bound games leave nothing behind.

Resistance (Limited, but Real)

• Larian refuses subscription exclusivity

• GOG and Itch.io still sell DRM-free games

• Preservation groups archive what they can

History says consumer backlash slows things — it doesn’t stop them.

That’s what companies are betting on.

What You Can Actually Do

These actions won’t stop the system — they buy time.

• Buy physical when possible

• Support DRM-free platforms

• Purchase hardware sooner rather than later

• Document your purchases

• Support developers who resist

• Refuse to normalize “comfortably not owning”

Staying uncomfortable matters.

Conclusion: They Told You the Plan – Believe Them

The hardware squeeze, streaming caps, rental schemes, and subscription ideology aren’t separate problems.

They’re pressure from every direction to make ownership obsolete.

NZXT faces RICO allegations because they moved too fast and too visibly. The strategy itself? That’s already industry standard — implemented slowly enough that you’re expected to adapt.

The choice being offered isn’t subtle:

• Pay forever and own nothing

• Or don’t play

The choice they hope you won’t consider:

This is your hobby.
Your culture.
Your history.

And they’re renting it back to you at increasing prices with decreasing rights.

Get uncomfortable.
Stay uncomfortable.

Because the moment you’re “comfortable not owning your games,” the decision has already been made for you.

Halo’s been a mess for years. The franchise that defined console shooters has stumbled through broken launches, controversial design choices, and a fanbase that’s increasingly convinced Microsoft has no idea what made the original games special. So what’s Microsoft’s solution? Hire an AI consultant as Chief of Staff.

I’m not being hyperbolic. YouTuber Rebs Gaming spent weeks digging through LinkedIn profiles and job postings to surface a pattern Microsoft wasn’t exactly advertising: Halo Studios is systematically pivoting toward generative AI development, and it’s happening through carefully timed personnel changes that replace creative leadership with machine learning specialists.

The Chief of Staff Who Runs an AI Company

In late 2024, Halo Studios hired Angela Hession as their new Chief of Staff, replacing Melissa Boone. Hession spent over 11 years at Microsoft in roles like Global Head of Gaming Safety and Trust, and she worked on projects like ID@Xbox and HoloLens. That’s a solid gaming resume.

But here’s where it gets interesting: Hession also founded Hession Consulting AI in 2024, a firm that explicitly helps gaming, technology, and commerce companies “integrate AI workflows for more efficient development.” Her LinkedIn profile emphasizes “AI & GTM Transformation” and “AI enablement” as core expertise. Her consulting company’s own marketing materials highlight her experience managing a “$500 million business unit” at Xbox where she found cost savings.

This isn’t someone who occasionally uses AI tools. This is someone whose professional brand is built around AI integration and workflow optimization. And Microsoft just made her Chief of Staff at the studio responsible for one of gaming’s most iconic franchises.

The Job Postings Tell the Real Story

Rebs Gaming didn’t stop at LinkedIn profiles. The job postings paint an even clearer picture of where Halo Studios is headed.

A 2024 posting for a Senior AI Engineer at Halo Studios included this mission statement: candidates would “leverage generative AI and ML to augment in-game experiences and to improve how we make games.” Not “improve our office workflows” or “speed up administrative tasks.” In-game experiences. The actual games.

Then there’s the Applied Scientist II role at Xbox Game Studios Quality. The posting explicitly states the position would work across Microsoft’s flagship franchises including Halo, Forza, Gears of War, and Microsoft’s casual game suite. The job involves deploying “deep learning solutions in computer vision and reinforcement learning” and bringing “state of the art solutions to the game development pipeline.”

Another posting seeks a Principal Engineering Manager to lead an “AI Workflow Innovation team” that would “introduce and responsibly operationalize tools that accelerate art, animation, narrative, and design workflows.” Art. Animation. Narrative. Design. These aren’t support functions being automated. These are the core creative disciplines that define what a game actually is.

Everyone’s Getting Certified

Rebs Gaming noticed something else: multiple Halo Studios developers in management and senior technical roles have recently added generative AI certifications to their LinkedIn profiles. We’re talking about people whose titles include Director of Digital Engineering, Senior Producers, and other leadership positions suddenly acquiring credentials in leveraging generative AI for project management and language models.

These are public profile changes happening in a concentrated timeframe, all pointing in the same direction.

This Is AI by Attrition

Here’s the thing that makes this so insidious: Microsoft didn’t announce layoffs and replacements. They didn’t hold a press conference saying “we’re pivoting Halo development to AI-driven workflows.” They just let people leave and replaced them with people who have fundamentally different skillsets.

Melissa Boone exits as Chief of Staff. Her replacement runs an AI consulting company. That’s not a lateral move. That’s a statement about what the studio values going forward.

And it’s happening across Microsoft’s entire gaming portfolio. That Applied Scientist role isn’t just for Halo. It’s for Forza, Gears of War, everything under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella. Microsoft is systematically shifting what game development means at their flagship studios.

What Halo Actually Needs vs What It’s Getting

Let’s be brutally honest about Halo’s problems. The franchise hasn’t struggled because of inefficient art pipelines or slow animation workflows. It’s struggled because recent games haven’t captured what made Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 special. The creative vision has been inconsistent. The understanding of what players actually want has been murky.

You don’t fix that with workflow optimization. You don’t fix that by hiring machine learning specialists to “augment in-game experiences.” You fix that by hiring people who deeply understand Halo and giving them the creative freedom and resources to execute their vision.

Instead, Microsoft looked at a franchise with creative direction problems and decided the solution was AI-driven efficiency gains. It’s like your car won’t start because the engine’s dead, so you install a really sophisticated GPS system.

The Broader Context Makes It Worse

This isn’t happening in a vacuum. Microsoft has gone all-in on AI infrastructure, building hundreds of data centers to support their generative AI ambitions. That investment is so massive that some analysts have connected it to the closure of smaller Xbox studios. The company is reallocating resources toward AI at a scale that impacts everything they do.

And here’s where it gets even more directly painful for gamers: remember my article about DDR5 shortages and price increases? AI companies gobbling up manufacturing capacity for data centers is one reason gamers can’t afford hardware upgrades. Microsoft’s AI pivot isn’t just changing how games are made. It’s literally making gaming more expensive for everyone.

The Pattern Is Everywhere

Halo Studios isn’t alone. Arc Raiders trained AI on voice actors’ performances so they’d never need to call them back for new content. Larian got blowback for using generative AI in Divinity’s concept phase. Clair Obscur had its Game of the Year award stripped by the Indie Game Awards after confirming AI use. The Alters shipped with AI-generated placeholder text and translations that were never disclosed until players found them.

But what Microsoft is doing with Halo operates at a different scale. This isn’t a studio using AI for a few assets or some procedural generation. This is Microsoft systematically changing what it means to develop games at their most important franchises by replacing creative leadership with AI integration specialists.

What This Actually Means

The fundamental question is whether AI functions as a tool or an author. Halo Studios and Microsoft claim they’re using AI to empower human creators, not replace them. The job postings and personnel decisions suggest something more complicated.

When your Chief of Staff runs an AI consulting company, when your job postings explicitly mention AI touching art, animation, narrative, and design, when your developers are suddenly getting certified in generative AI en masse, you’re not just adding a tool to the toolbox. You’re changing what the toolbox is for.

Halo couldn’t fix its creative vision problems, so Microsoft is replacing the people responsible for creative vision with people who specialize in workflow efficiency. And if you think that’s going to result in better Halo games, I’ve got an AI-generated bridge to sell you.

Sources: All credit to Rebs Gaming for the investigative work surfacing these personnel changes and job postings through LinkedIn analysis and public job listing research. Angela Hession’s background is confirmed via her LinkedIn profile and Hession Consulting AI’s public materials. Job posting language is cited via reporting from Notebookcheck, TweakTown, and other outlets covering Rebs Gaming’s findings.

Look, I adore my new Christmas mobo. It’s a stunner, loaded with features that make my old rig look like a relic. But pairing it with DDR5 right now? Feels like paying Ferrari prices for a go-kart because the roads are flooded. We’re staring at 32GB kits north of $350–$400 (some pushing $500+ for decent speeds), when they were dipping under $100 earlier this year. Ouch doesn’t cover it.

The villain here isn’t some cosmic curse. It’s a perfect storm of bad timing, aggressive platform pushes, and supply chain priorities gone wild. But here’s the sassy truth: a lot of this pain could have been dialed down if the industry had played it smarter. Let’s break it down without pointing fingers too hard (okay, maybe a little).

First off, the forced march to DDR5. Intel kicked it off with hybrid support on 12th-gen, but AMD 

went nuclear with Ryzen 7000 in 2022 – DDR5-only, no backward compatibility lifeline. Intel followed suit harder with newer platforms. Great for future-proofing in theory, but launching that full throttle just as AI hyperscalers started vacuuming up every DRAM wafer? Brutal timing. If the transition had been staggered more, say, keeping solid DDR4 options viable on high-end boards longer, we could’ve eased into DDR5 while supply ramped. Instead, demand spiked overnight, and consumer-grade DDR5 got deprioritized for fat-margin HBM and server sticks. A softer rollout could’ve bought time for fabs to catch up without this price explosion.

Speaking of fabs: the big three (Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron) saw the AI gold rush coming years ago. They could have invested heavier in balanced capacity expansions back in 2022–2023, when DDR5 was new and pricey but predictable. Instead, they chased the highest margins – shifting wafers to HBM (which eats 3x the space per GB compared to DDR5) because data centers pay premium. Fair business? Sure. But it left consumer DDR5 as the neglected middle child. Earlier, broader fab builds focused on commodity DRAM could’ve buffered this. New lines are coming online now – M16 for SK Hynix, stuff from Micron in late 2026–2027 – but that’s relief years out. Proactive planning could’ve shaved months off this agony.

And don’t get me started on the phase-out of DDR4 production. Lines shutting down mid-transition amplified the crunch – DDR4 prices spiked too as scraps got scarce. Keeping some legacy capacity humming longer would’ve given builders a cheaper bridge, reducing the mad rush to overpriced DDR5.

Real talk: none of this was inevitable in a vacuum. DDR5 is objectively superior – insane bandwidth, power efficiency, higher densities coming soon. But slamming the accelerator during a global AI supercycle? That’s how you turn “premium tax” into “wallet robbery.” The industry bet big on enterprise dollars, and we’re paying the enthusiast surcharge.

If you’re in my boat: Snag what you need now if the build can’t wait, prices aren’t crashing soon (analysts say peaks into mid-2026, stabilization maybe late ’26/’27). Or… cling to DDR4 if your platform allows; it’s suddenly the value king again. Me? I’m nursing my half-built beast, dreaming of the day RAM doesn’t cost more than my GPU.

Hardware dreams shouldn’t require a second mortgage. Here’s hoping 2026 brings mercy and maybe some hindsight from the suits upstairs.

Look, the gaming world is in flames right now, and everyone’s pointing fingers at AI like it’s the final boss. But let’s cut through the noise: AI isn’t inherently evil; it’s a tool. The real enemy? A broken system fueled by unchecked corporate avarice that turns every innovation into a weapon for slashing jobs and inflating profits. We’ve seen this play out in 2025 with record layoffs, shady AI implementations, and indie devs getting caught in the crossfire. It’s time to redirect the rage where it belongs, not at the tech, but at the execs and shareholders who wield it like a cheat code for exploitation.

The Layoff Apocalypse: Not AI’s Fault, But Greed’s Playbook

This year alone, the games industry shed around 9,175 jobs, a slight dip from prior years but still a “horrendous” bloodbath. Broader tech saw over 45,000 losses from 2022 to mid-2025, with AI explicitly linked to many. Reports pin AI as a factor in a staggering 50,000 U.S. job cuts in 2025, hitting entry-level workers hardest amid hiring freezes. And in gaming? Challenger, Gray & Christmas tallied 48,414 AI-driven layoffs across sectors, with games feeling the burn.

Take EA: They’re shoving AI into “just about everything”, from coding to HR scripts for pay talks, sparking fears among 15,000 employees that they’re training their own replacements. A former Respawn dev straight-up blamed AI for summarizing playtester feedback, which cost them their gig. King (Candy Crush) axed 200 after AI took over tasks. Even industry vets like Greg Street (ex-Blizzard, Riot) call it out: “All of these layoffs are just to cut opex and make the stock prices go up.” It’s not about innovation; it’s about “up only” margins, as one dev put it.

And don’t forget the outsourcing shadow: U.S. jobs are vanishing to India, China, and the Philippines for cheap labor, with companies like Rockstar buying entire firms abroad. This isn’t AI’s doing. It’s execs optimizing for profit over people, abusing workers in lower-cost regions while crunching them to death.

Misdirected Rage: Yelling at the Hammer, Not the Hand

The backlash on X and forums is real, but it’s often aimed wrong. Posts scream “AI is murdering the industry,” or “HUMANS lost out on jobs because of this,” but miss the systemic rot. As one poster nailed it: “Greed is manifested through the use of AI. It cuts out the need for paid hires, and cheapens the value of hard work.” Another: “Corporations optimize for maximizing profit… When you increase productivity, THEY DO REDUCE HEADCOUNT.”

It’s all about cutting corners, cutting cost, and maximizing profit. Greed. Greed is manifested through the use of AI. It is easy no effort work that can be produced with minimal effort and resources. It cuts out the need for paid hires, and cheapens the value of hard work …

— Bradley of THE GAMING INFERN🔥 (@TGI_Bradley) December 21, 2025

Even devs with AI PhDs regret their contributions, feeling naive about how bosses weaponize it. GDC’s 2025 report shows 41% of devs impacted by layoffs, with AI cited as a “negative” force by 30% – up 12 points from last year. But AI isn’t the root; it’s the excuse. Post-COVID market slumps and greed-driven cuts (hello, DEI flops and empty portfolios) are the co-conspirators.

Indies: The Heroes AI Could Empower (If Corps Don’t Ruin It)

Flip the script to indies, and AI shines as an enabler. Procedural generation creates massive worlds for solo devs, like evolved No Man’s Sky ecosystems. It’s “creative expansion” for small teams, not replacement. But scale it to AAA, and it becomes a layoff machine. The market’s underserved, niches unmet, so AI could grow it, but only if profits aren’t hoarded by the top 0.01%.

Yoko Taro warns AI could make creators “unemployed” in 50 years, turning us into bards. But that’s dystopian only under capitalism’s thumb. Imagine subsidies, UBI, and anti-greed policies letting everyone create without starving.

Time to Level Up: Yell at the System

This isn’t anti-AI; it’s anti-exploitation. We need transparency, ethical use, and regulations that prioritize workers over Wall Street. Boycott slop, support indies, and demand better. If we keep hollering at the tool, the real bosses win. Let’s redesign the game for people, not profits.

What do you think? Drop your takes in the comments. Share if you’re ready to fight the right fight.

If you haven’t seen the viral outrage exploding across Reddit (r/gaming thread with 22k+ upvotes) and X this week (Dec 2025), EA just got roasted for slipping blatant AI-generated garbage into Battlefield 2042’s (now Battlefield 6-era) paid store bundles. The culprit? The “Winter Warning” M4A1 sticker featuring a rifle with two barrels, duplicated dust covers, trigger fingers that look like they were drawn by a drunk robot, and all the classic AI hallmarks no human artist would miss.

Multi-billion-dollar company. Best-selling franchise. And they’re charging real money for this post-launch microtransaction filler.

The official line from EA/DICE execs (like Rebecka Coutaz and Andrew Wilson in recent interviews)? “Generative AI is just for early concepts and efficiency to give creatives more time!” Yeah, sure. We all know the real script: Investors and bosses hear “AI” and demand faster content floods, bigger margins, and “synergies” (code for layoffs). Fire hundreds of artists (EA did 300+ in 2025 alone), hire cheap “AI-savvy” juniors to prompt and “clean” hallucinations, rush seasonal bundles to keep the live-service hamster wheel spinning. Result? Slop slips through because “good enough” for shareholders, not players.

The insane part? They’re not even using AI for what they claim: “improving processes.” It’s straight cost-cutting disguised as innovation. Say “efficiency” to the board, and suddenly Q4 expectations skyrocket: More skins! Faster updates! Cheaper production! But you still get shit output—like double-barrel guns in a “realistic” military shooter.

Meanwhile, out here in the indie trenches (or just passionate creators like me printing chibi wolf warriors in Blender), we’re manifold-slaying, ritual-performing, and crafting with actual soul. No hallucinations. No duplicated voids. Just pure, human (and feline-overlord-approved) effort.

What do you think, boycott the bundles? Support more indies? Or just laugh at the absurdity while we wait for the next “AI miracle”?

Drop your thoughts below. Stay non-toxic out there, gamers. 🏴‍☠️✨

Kotaku Article: Battlefield 6 Is Scrambling To Address AI Accusations Over Double-Barreled Gun

In Skull and Bones you’ll come across treasure maps and most are not always straight forward where the treasure is located. You can only carry five treasure maps at a time so make sure you are always doing them so you don’t miss out on that loot! The text/story and the image image on the top right points to a random location once inside but the large picture is a dead giveaway where you should be headed. Here is a list to help reduce the guesswork. I’m building this list as I play so if you don’t see a map you have, just give it a few days, I’m sure I’ll have it soon!

Where to get treasure maps

Privateers and pirates are the easiest places to acquire your treasure maps and they are mostly rare and worth porting to go get as you’ll easily make up for your cost to get there. You can also get them from regular ships at a lower drop rate and most are new/common. World bosses will also drop legendary treasure maps and worth the hunt so make sure you have room for them!