On November 4, 2026, The Isle's director Don posted "Director's Commentary: A Note on Mods" to Steam, and it is the most direct thing Afterthought has said about modding in years. The short version: mods are welcome, server-side mods are mostly harmless, and the new wave of client-side mods that ask players to install software deserves a lot more caution. If you run an Evrima community, this note is really about the line between what your server does and what you ask your players to put on their PCs.
Below is what the note says, what it means in practice for server owners, and the server-side bits from DevBlog #74 (October 31) worth knowing about.
What the Director Actually Said
The note is friendly, not a crackdown. Don thanks the people who build, host and maintain mods, and repeats something he has said for years: mods are "the ultimate endgame" for The Isle. Nothing is being banned and no policy changed.
What changed is the modding scene. Don points to "the recent influx of new players and the arrival of external programs for modding". Until recently, most Isle mods were small server-side changes: skins, unlocks, dino storage. Now some mods add whole new systems and ask players to download extra software. His example is proximity voice chat, which needs your microphone and may route your audio through servers neither Afterthought nor you control.
He also names the new risk outright: AI tools have made it easy to build mods with very little experience, and just as easy to disguise malware as a "must-have" tool. His TLDR for players:
- Prefer mods with public source code, while knowing open source is not a guarantee.
- Only download from creators and sources you (or many others) trust.
- Popularity is reassuring, but it is not proof of safety.
- Never enter your Steam login into a mod or a mod's website.
- When unsure, ask in the community first, or skip it.
His request to modders is just as short: publish your source code and say clearly what your client mod accesses and why.
Server-Side Mods: Why They Are the Safe Default
The note draws the exact line we see from the hosting side. A server-side change runs on the server only. Players join, the changes are already there, and once they disconnect it is all irrelevant to their PC.
On an Evrima server most of what owners call "mods" is actually configuration and server-side tooling:
- Game.ini at
TheIsle/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.inicontrols growth (GrowthMultiplier), AI (AIDensity,bSpawnAI), migrations, mutations, diets and the playable roster throughAllowedClasses. - RCON lets external admin tools and Discord bots talk to the server for announcements, kicks and logging.
- Startup settings in your panel handle the server name, player count, queue, humans and the Admin SteamID64 list, and they are rewritten into Game.ini on every boot.
None of that touches a player's machine. That is why, if your community runs on server-side features only, the director's note asks nothing new of you.
The one server-side risk worth repeating: RCON. Our The Isle egg ships with RCON off and a placeholder password, because once the port is open that password is the only lock on your server. Change it before you enable RCON, and only hand it to tools you trust. A shady "free dino storage bot" that wants your RCON password is the server-owner version of the dirty download Don warns players about. Our getting started guide for The Isle servers walks through that step.
Client-Side Mods: What Changes for Communities
This is where server owners carry real responsibility. If your Discord rules say "install this voice chat client to play here", you are now the trusted source Don is talking about. Some practical habits:
- Link the source, not a re-upload. Point players at the original repository or release page, never a zip in your Discord that nobody can trace.
- Explain what it accesses. Proximity chat needs a microphone. Say so plainly, and say where the audio goes.
- Never make a client mod mandatory if you can avoid it. Let players join without it, even if they miss a feature. Players who would not install it are often the careful ones.
- Never ask for Steam credentials. No legitimate Isle tool needs them. If a mod or website asks, treat it as malware.
- Pin a short safety note. Copy the director's TLDR into your rules channel. It costs nothing and it shows players you take this seriously.
The upside is real too. Communities that are transparent about their tools tend to keep players longer, because people trust them.
DevBlog #74: The Server-Side Bits
DevBlog #74 landed on October 31, a few days before the mods note. Most of it is Hordetest work, but a few lines matter if you run a server:
- Tree destruction per server. Programmer Amarok added a way to switch tree destruction on and off per server. It is not on live servers yet, but it is the kind of option owners have wanted, so watch for a new Game.ini setting when it ships.
- Server performance before Oviraptor. QA lead hypno says client and server performance are a big focus as Oviraptor gets ready to leave Hordetest, including a rare Pterodactylus spawn that froze the game for a few seconds. The QA team also admits systems that look fine in testing can "crash and burn upon impact with a full server", so give each new build a day before you trust it on a busy server.
- AI nesting. AI pairs will build nests, lay eggs, raise young and defend them, and abandoned nests may still hold eggs. That is more AI life on the map, so if your server already runs heavy,
AIDensityis still the first dial to turn, not more RAM. - Shared individual migrations. After 15 minutes in a group, leaders will be able to share their individual migration zone, with a cooldown to stop abuse. Good news for herbivore herds on any server with
bEnableMigration=true.
What to Do This Week
If you run an Evrima server, the to-do list is short:
- Check that your RCON password is not the default, and only enable RCON if you actually use it.
- Audit any client-side tools your community asks players to install, and link their original sources.
- Pin the director's safety advice in your Discord.
- Plan a quick backup before the Oviraptor update, so a rocky first build is a five-minute rollback.
Run Your Evrima Server With DoomHosting
A The Isle server from DoomHosting gives you the Startup tab for the boot-time settings, full Game.ini access in the file editor and over FTP, one-click backups, DDoS protection and 24/7 support. Not sure how much memory a 100-player server needs? Try our The Isle RAM calculator.
Mods are the endgame. Just make sure the only thing your players download is the game.
