Your Loafhosts DayZ server runs the stable game. It cannot be switched to the Experimental branch. A player whose game is on Experimental cannot join it, because the server only lets in players on the same game version.
Stable and experimental
DayZ ships in two branches. Bohemia gives each its own server download on Steam:
| Branch | Server app ID | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Stable | 223350 | The released game. |
| Experimental | 1042420 | A test build of the next update, before it is released. |
Bohemia puts an update on Experimental before it releases it. Checked on DayZ 1.29. Update 1.30 is due on 15 October 2026. It comes with the Badlands expansion, a new map (Nasdara). After it releases, stable moves to 1.30.
What your server runs
On the Startup page, the variable [Advanced] DayZ Dedicated Server App ID (1) shows 223350. It is read only, so it cannot be changed. That is the stable branch. The description beside it says that changing branches may mean deleting all server files and installing again.
- Read only app ID
With Automatic Updates on, the server checks for updates every time it starts. When Bohemia releases a new stable version, restarting the server brings it to that version.
Who can join
Enforce Game Version on the Startup page is on by default. It writes forceSameBuild = 1 into serverDZ.cfg. Bohemia describes it as: the server allows connections only from clients with the same executable revision as the server.
So:
- A player on the stable game can join your stable server.
- A player on Experimental has a different game version, so the server refuses them.
If a friend cannot join and sees a version message, ask them to check which branch of DayZ they have installed in Steam.
Turning Enforce Game Version off removes that check. Loafhosts does not offer a way to run the Experimental server, so it is not a way to put an Experimental world online. What an Experimental client does on a stable server with the check off is not documented by Bohemia, so do not count on it working.
By hand
On a server you run yourself, SteamCMD installs either branch. Bohemia gives these two lines (with your own Steam login):
steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ~/servers/dayz-server/ +login your_login +app_update 223350 +quit
steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir ~/servers/dayz-server/ +login your_login +app_update 1042420 +quitThe first installs stable. The second installs Experimental.
If it does not work
- A friend cannot join and has the newest game. They may be on Experimental. They need the stable game.
- A player gets a version mismatch just after a patch. The server and the player are on different versions. Restart the server with Automatic Updates on so it updates, and ask the player to update in Steam.
- You want the Experimental server. Loafhosts does not offer it.
More about the game: DayZ servers.
Sources: Bohemia wiki: Hosting a Linux Server, Bohemia wiki: Server Configuration, store.steampowered.com: 221100