diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ae65572..e440c55 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,4 +3,6 @@ client/target/
 core/target/
 server/target/
 server-registry/target/
-*.iml
\ No newline at end of file
+*.iml
+/settings.yaml
+/*.log
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/nl/andrewlalis/aos_server/Server.java b/server/src/main/java/nl/andrewlalis/aos_server/Server.java
index 8bff6f8..7ca0d7f 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/nl/andrewlalis/aos_server/Server.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/nl/andrewlalis/aos_server/Server.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import nl.andrewlalis.aos_core.net.data.PlayerDetailUpdate;
 import nl.andrewlalis.aos_core.net.data.WorldUpdate;
 import nl.andrewlalis.aos_core.util.ByteUtils;
 import nl.andrewlalis.aos_server.settings.ServerSettings;
+import nl.andrewlalis.aos_server.settings.SettingsLoader;
 
 import java.awt.*;
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ public class Server {
 		this.worldUpdater = new WorldUpdater(this, this.world);
 		this.chatManager = new ChatManager(this);
 		if (settings.getRegistrySettings().isDiscoverable()) {
+			System.out.println("Starting registry communications.");
 			this.registryManager = new RegistryManager(this);
 		}
 	}
@@ -267,11 +269,7 @@ public class Server {
 
 
 	public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
-		ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper(new YAMLFactory());
-		mapper.setPropertyNamingStrategy(PropertyNamingStrategies.KEBAB_CASE);
-		mapper.configure(DeserializationFeature.FAIL_ON_UNKNOWN_PROPERTIES, false);
-		var settings = mapper.readValue(Server.class.getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("default_settings.yaml"), ServerSettings.class);
-		Server server = new Server(settings);
+		Server server = new Server(SettingsLoader.load());
 		server.run();
 	}
 }
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/nl/andrewlalis/aos_server/settings/SettingsLoader.java b/server/src/main/java/nl/andrewlalis/aos_server/settings/SettingsLoader.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..be42436
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/main/java/nl/andrewlalis/aos_server/settings/SettingsLoader.java
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package nl.andrewlalis.aos_server.settings;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.DeserializationFeature;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.PropertyNamingStrategies;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.dataformat.yaml.YAMLFactory;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.io.OutputStream;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+
+public class SettingsLoader {
+	public static ServerSettings load() throws IOException {
+		Path settingsFile = Path.of("settings.yaml");
+		ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper(new YAMLFactory());
+		mapper.setPropertyNamingStrategy(PropertyNamingStrategies.KEBAB_CASE);
+		mapper.configure(DeserializationFeature.FAIL_ON_UNKNOWN_PROPERTIES, false);
+		if (Files.notExists(settingsFile)) {
+			System.out.println(settingsFile.getFileName() + " does not exist yet. Initializing with default settings.");
+			try (
+				InputStream in = SettingsLoader.class.getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("default_settings.yaml");
+				OutputStream out = Files.newOutputStream(settingsFile)
+			) {
+				if (in == null) throw new IOException("Could not read default settings.");
+				in.transferTo(out);
+				System.out.println("Initialized server with default settings. Please review these and restart to apply changes.");
+			} catch (IOException e) {
+				e.printStackTrace();
+			}
+		}
+		InputStream in = Files.newInputStream(settingsFile);
+		var settings = mapper.readValue(in, ServerSettings.class);
+		in.close();
+		return settings;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/server/src/main/resources/default_settings.yaml b/server/src/main/resources/default_settings.yaml
index 1d002be..8edecc7 100644
--- a/server/src/main/resources/default_settings.yaml
+++ b/server/src/main/resources/default_settings.yaml
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+# Ace of Shades Server Settings
+
+# Changes to these settings take effect only after restarting the server.
+
+
 # The port that this server uses for TCP and UDP communication.
 port: 8035
 # The maximum number of players that can be connected at once.
@@ -6,10 +11,11 @@ max-players: 32
 # WARNING: Changing this has a major impact on server performance.
 ticks-per-second: 120
 
-# Information for the public server registry.
+
+# Information for the public server registry. Ignore this unless you want your server to be displayed publicly.
 registry-settings:
   # Set this to true to allow other players to see this server and join it.
-  discoverable: true
+  discoverable: false
   # The URI which points to the registry server. This is only used if discoverable is true.
   registry-uri: "http://localhost:8567"
   # How often to send status updates to the registry server, in seconds.
@@ -26,26 +32,42 @@ registry-settings:
 
 # Settings that control player behavior.
 player-settings:
+  # Walking speed, in meters per second.
   speed: 10
+  # Sprinting speed, in meters per second.
   sprint-speed: 18
+  # Sneaking speed, in meters per second.
   sneak-speed: 5
+  # Acceleration when player starts moving or changes direction, in m/s^2.
   acceleration: 60
+  # Deceleration when player stops moving, in m/s^2.
   deceleration: 30
+  # The radius of the player.
   radius: 0.5
+  # How many seconds a player must wait before resupplying again.
   resupply-cooldown: 30
+  # The maximum health of players.
   max-health: 100
+  # How quickly players regenerate health, in points per second. Set to 0 to disable regeneration.
   health-regen-rate: 1.0
+  # How much sneaking affects gun accuracy. Values less than 0 increase accuracy, and greater than 0 decrease accuracy.
   sneak-accuracy-modifier: 0.5
+  # How much sprinting affects gun accuracy. Values less than 0 increase accuracy, and greater than 0 decrease accuracy.
   sprint-accuracy-modifier: 1.5
   # Should be the name of one of the guns defined in "gun-settings".
   default-gun: M1 Garand
 
+
 # Settings for team mechanics.
 team-settings:
+  # The radius of team spawn points, in meters.
   spawn-point-radius: 3
+  # The radius of team resupply points, in meters.
   supply-point-radius: 2
+  # Whether friendly fire is enabled. If enabled, players can kill teammates.
   friendly-fire: false
 
+
 # The list of available guns are defined in this list.
 gun-settings:
   - name: AK-47