Server online and offline alerts
Post a message when your game server goes online or offline, DM or ping staff when it drops, and get warned when its Link XML stops working.
On this page
- Before you start
- How the bot checks your server
- Set it up
- DM or ping staff when the server goes offline (Premium)
- Settings explained
- Online and offline notifications
- Advanced Offline Notifications (Premium)
- Link XML Alerts
- How Link XML Alerts work
- Placeholders
- Examples
- The default messages (free)
- Ping your players when the server is back (Premium)
- The offline DM and staff ping (Premium)
- A Link XML alert
- Premium
- Troubleshooting
- My server went offline but nothing was posted
- The message is plain text, not an embed
- I didn't get the offline DM
- The role wasn't pinged
- I didn't get a Link XML alert
- Related
Status alerts tell your community when your game server comes up or goes down. The bot posts in the channels you choose the moment it sees the change. With Premium you can also have it DM you or ping a staff role when the server drops. Separately, Link XML Alerts warn you when Farm Sim Game can't reach your server at all, which usually means something changed with your server or host.
Before you start#
- Your server must be added to Farm Sim Game first. See Add your game server.
- The alert channel lists show text channels (and forum posts) inside a category. If a channel is missing, run
/setupin Discord, choose Update Channels and Roles for Website, then reload the page.
How the bot checks your server#
- Online servers are checked every 60 seconds using your Link XML. Set Web API Interval [sec] to
60on your dedicated server so each check gets fresh data. - Offline servers are rechecked less often the longer they stay down: every minute for the first 15 minutes, every 5 minutes up to an hour, every 15 minutes up to a day, then hourly. After 48 hours offline the bot stops checking. When the server is back, open its edit page and click Save Server Settings so it gets checked again.
- Alerts are only posted when the status changes, so you won't get repeat messages while the server stays offline.
Set it up#
Go to Game servers and click the green pencil button next to your server.
In On this page, click Discord Settings.
Under Game Server Online Notifications, choose a channel in Online Notifications.
Under Game Server Offline Notifications, choose a channel in Offline Notifications. It can be the same channel.
With Bronze or higher, set the Message Type, Message Format and Embed Color under each one.
Click Save Server Settings. The next time your server goes online or offline, the bot posts.
DM or ping staff when the server goes offline (Premium)#
It's under Premium Features, below Game Server Player Admin Leave Notifications.
Enter a Discord user ID in Offline DM User ID, and/or pick an Offline Notification Channel and an Offline Notification Role to ping there.
Click Save Server Settings.
To get a user ID, turn on Developer Mode in Discord (User Settings > Advanced), then right-click the user and choose Copy User ID.
Settings explained#
Online and offline notifications#
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Online Notifications | The channel where the bot posts when your server comes online. | Disabled |
| Offline Notifications | The channel where the bot posts when your server goes offline. | Disabled |
| Message Type (Premium) | Embed Message puts the text in a colored box. Text Message posts plain text. | Embed Message |
| Message Format (Premium) | The message text. Supports placeholders. | ✅ **{server}** Online / 🛑 **{server}** Offline |
| Embed Color (Premium) | The edge color of the embed. | Green (#00FF00) online, red (#FF0000) offline |
Without Premium, the bot posts the default text as a plain message.
Advanced Offline Notifications (Premium)#
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Offline DM User ID | The bot DMs this user when the server goes offline. Must be a Discord user ID, and the user must be a member of your Discord server. | Empty |
| Offline Notification Channel | The bot posts an offline notice here, separate from your regular offline message. | Disabled |
| Offline Notification Role | This role is pinged at the start of the offline notice in the Offline Notification Channel. | None |
Link XML Alerts#
This section is at the bottom of the edit page, under Link XML Alerts. It's free.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Notify Me If The Link XML Becomes Unreachable | Turns the alert on or off. | On |
| Post To Channel | A channel just for this alert. If left disabled, it falls back to the Offline Notification Channel, then your regular Offline Notifications channel. | Disabled |
| Ping Role | A role to ping with the alert. Only used when Post To Channel is set. | None |
| Also Email | Email addresses that get the alert. Separate several with a comma, or clear it to turn email off. | Your account email |
How Link XML Alerts work#
A server can show offline because nobody started it, or because Farm Sim Game can't reach it at all. Link XML Alerts are for the second case: the Link XML is invalid, the server's web interface can't be reached, or its stats can't be read. That's not a normal restart, so it's worth a look.
- The alert is sent once the Link XML has kept failing for 30 minutes in a row. Any good check in between starts the wait over, so a hosting panel reboot or a short blip at your host doesn't set it off. The server still shows Offline as soon as a check fails; only the alert waits.
- It's sent once per outage, not on every check.
- Outages older than 24 hours never alert, so you won't get alerts about servers that have been down for ages.
When it fires, you get:
- an email to each Also Email address, with an Update Server Settings button;
- a notification on FarmSimGame.com for the people who manage the server's settings;
- a DM to the Offline DM User ID, if one is set;
- a post in the alert channel (see Post To Channel above), pinging the Ping Role or the Offline Notification Role that goes with that channel.
The edit page also shows We can't reach your server's Link XML. at the top while this is happening.
Placeholders#
Use these in the Message Format for online and offline messages.
| Placeholder | Becomes |
|---|---|
{server} | Your game server's name |
{role:ROLE_ID} | A mention of that role |
{user:USER_ID} | A mention of that user |
{channel:CHANNEL_ID} | A link to that channel |
Examples#
The default messages (free)#
✅ Green Valley Farms Online
🛑 Green Valley Farms Offline
Ping your players when the server is back (Premium)#
Message Type: Embed Message. Message Format:
🚜 **{server}** is back online! {role:ROLE_ID} hop in and get farming.Mentions inside an embed don't notify anyone. To actually ping the role, choose Text Message.
The offline DM and staff ping (Premium)#
The Offline DM User ID gets this DM, and the Offline Notification Channel gets the same text with the Offline Notification Role pinged first:
@Server Staff
Your Dedicated Server is Offline.
🛑 Green Valley Farms Offline
If you stopped your server, no worries, but if not, you may want to check your dedi server settings on https://www.farmsimgame.com/
A Link XML alert#
@Server Staff
We're no longer able to reach your dedicated server using the Link XML on file.
Green Valley Farms
A few things can cause this:
- The Link XML changed
- The Link XML expired
- Your hosting panel is down or rebooting
- There's an issue with your host
Please confirm the Link XML in your server settings is still correct:
https://www.farmsimgame.com/EditServer/1234
If you've checked it and are still having trouble, our support team is glad to help:
https://www.farmsimgame.com/Support/New?server=1234
Premium#
With Bronze or higher you can change the Message Type, Message Format and Embed Color of online and offline messages, and use Advanced Offline Notifications (DM, channel and role ping). Without it, you see "With premium enabled this feature can be more customizable." and the bot uses the default plain-text messages. Link XML Alerts are free. See Premium.
Troubleshooting#
My server went offline but nothing was posted#
- Make sure a channel is selected and you clicked Save Server Settings.
- Give the bot View Channel and Send Messages in that channel. If it can't send there, the error log on your dashboard shows Dedi Server Online Message or Dedi Server Offline Message with "Missing Permissions: Send Messages". See Dashboard stats and error log.
- The bot only posts when the status changes. If the server was already offline when you set this up, you'll get a message the next time it changes.
The message is plain text, not an embed#
Without Premium the bot always posts plain text. With Premium, check Message Type is set to Embed Message.
I didn't get the offline DM#
- Check the Offline DM User ID is a user ID (a long number), not a username.
- The user must be a member of your Discord server and allow DMs from server members.
The role wasn't pinged#
Make the role mentionable (Server Settings > Roles > your role > Allow anyone to @mention this role), or give the bot Mention Everyone in that channel. The Offline Notification Role only works together with an Offline Notification Channel.
I didn't get a Link XML alert#
- Check Notify Me If The Link XML Becomes Unreachable is on.
- The alert only fires when the server can't be reached through its Link XML, after it has kept failing for 30 minutes in a row. A server that's simply stopped doesn't trigger it, and neither does a link that comes back before then.
- Discord posts need somewhere to go: a Post To Channel, an Offline Notification Channel, an Offline Notifications channel or an Offline DM User ID. Without any of these, you still get the email and site notification.
- Check Also Email isn't empty if you expected an email.