Accessing Ark from another user account

[eliljey]

My son uses my PC as a dedicated server. Currently the world he plays with his friends is on my Windows 10 account. If he wants to create another world for just him he should be able to use another windows user account, correct? We tried it (using my wife's account since he'll be playing on his) and I can't even find Ark to run it on my wife's windows account. Where is the executable on Windows 10? Will the game not allow me to run it from her account for some reason? Does Ark not allow the executable to be shared by all users on a PC?

To be clear: We are not trying to run the game twice on the same PC. We just want to use another windows user so he can have a separate world to play in by himself. (Why they don't allow you to load different maps into the dedicated server is a whole other issue.)

[Sphere]

Okay, so everybody has purchased the game for each of their accounts? I don't think the Windows Store lets you do family sharing, like Steam does allow for some games. And the answer to steam family sharing for ARK is, no it does not allow it. You will need to purchase a copy of the game for each account that wishes to use the product. This also includes paid DLC.

If you install the game using the Windows Store, it will be installed as a Windows Store app. You can only run it via Windows using the normal methods.

If you wish to run a separate instance of the world on dedicated servers, you will need to setup a new world. Just the same way you did when you made the first dedicated server. If you want them to be able to run together, you will need to make sure that they use different ports.

Happy gaming~

[eliljey]

We haven't bought more than one copy. I just assumed that, like every other program I've every used (games included), that when you install it on the PC it's available for every user. If I go to the Microsoft store it does have an "Install" button and not a "Buy" button, which implies that I shouldn't need to purchase it again, but I don't want to actually install it more than once. Eat up drive space for the exact same game?

" If you wish to run a separate instance of the world on dedicated servers, you will need to setup a new world. Just the same way you did when you made the first dedicated server. If you want them to be able to run together, you will need to make sure that they use different ports. "

I don't really follow here. Is there a way to use one dedicated server and switch (easily) between worlds? Or are you talking about running the same map on two different server instances?

[Sphere]

22 hours ago, eliljey said:

We haven't bought more than one copy. I just assumed that, like every other program I've every used (games included), that when you install it on the PC it's available for every user. If I go to the Microsoft store it does have an "Install" button and not a "Buy" button, which implies that I shouldn't need to purchase it again, but I don't want to actually install it more than once. Eat up drive space for the exact same game?

" If you wish to run a separate instance of the world on dedicated servers, you will need to setup a new world. Just the same way you did when you made the first dedicated server. If you want them to be able to run together, you will need to make sure that they use different ports. "

I don't really follow here. Is there a way to use one dedicated server and switch (easily) between worlds? Or are you talking about running the same map on two different server instances?

3

I play the steam version. So. ?‍♀️

Check this out.

These are the profiles for my cluster on ARK: Server Manager. Each instance of a map is a different server. They are capable of running separately to each other.