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PW Server Available

RiceyRicey Member Posts: 9
in Persistent Worlds & Multiplayer
Hi everyone!

I'm Ricey and I used to play NWN a lot a long time ago, but only really single player. The release of EE piqued my interest again and thought I'd look at getting back into it.

Great work so far by the guys at Beamdog, so thank you - really exciting times.

As i'm not a hard core NWN coder or builder I was wondering what I could to to help the development and the community. So, as I run an Web Hosting company, I thought I'd offer a VPS with the nwserver on it for no cost to the community if that's a help to anyone?

It's currently running the Head Start Server on Linux. I put the open source ANWWN PW on there for testing and it seems to work! That's all I've done so far. It's on:

nwn.ricey.uk

If anyone would like to join in the fun and create/rehouse a PW for EE testing and use then you're more than welcome.

Drop me a line or reply here if you'd like to use the server!

Cheers, and see you in game!

Ricey

Comments

  • CablefishCablefish Member Posts: 37
    edited November 2017
    Thats awesome! I'd love to blow the dust off my old module Freescape and see if it runs there. If it works i might It contained a fair bit of spaghetti code in it so it'll be a great module to test the limits and "challanges" an NWN server might run into.
  • RiceyRicey Member Posts: 9
    Hi @Cablefish

    sounds like a project! Let me know what you need me to upload and I'll get on it.

    I may re-install the server with @niv 's server zip later and see how that goes.

    Cheers
  • GlassmelterGlassmelter Member Posts: 38
    I am interested but not ready yet. I'm getting ready to reopen a PW that I used to run, and affordable housing for it is a very appealing prospect.
  • RiceyRicey Member Posts: 9
    Hi,

    I'm currently working with @Cablefish on freescape.

    But if there's demand I'm happy to set up some more servers for those that want one - I'd need to charge, but as the specs aren't huge the servers only need to be small.

    apart from free, how much would you like to pay for a dedicated nwn server?

    cheers
  • GlassmelterGlassmelter Member Posts: 38
    edited December 2017
    It would be great if something like that were available for $20-$25/mo and if the server was robust enough to be able to handle 20-30 concurrent players.

    ETA MySQL/NWNX database support would be important, too.
  • RiceyRicey Member Posts: 9
    I was thinking of a VPS server per NWN server instance. That sort of price would be easily achievable but I would need an example 'load'/'requirement' to make sure. The NWN server doesn't seem too taxing for modern hardware! The HDD/RAM requirements shouldn't be too bad.

    Was thinking the hardest part would be getting auto upgrades as the server software updates. Don't know if beamdog would supply an API or a mechanism of some sort to allow unattended upgrades, especially if custom content were also installed (CEP/NWNX).

    thoughts?

  • GlassmelterGlassmelter Member Posts: 38
    My suspicion is that once the software is released and stable, updates to the server side will probably be infrequent, so I don't know how important that is. I know the last time I did this, all we had to do to upgrade the server for the one upgrade that occurred in that time was replace the server executable and run it. I'm not fussed about that process being automated, but maybe something will be different this time around that I don't know about?
  • nivniv Member, Moderator, Developer Posts: 410
    edited December 2017
    I had been thinking about starting a game server hosting service for NWN specifically, and maybe NWN:EE in the future, for a long time now. But as best as I can tell, the numbers don't check out; I'm not seeing the selling proposition here that would make the effort worthwhile.

    You can easily get started on a VM that will run a NWN server for $5/mo (but make sure to pick one with very fast and low-latency CPUs, not a overcrowded one), and you can probably host a dozen players on it without it getting overly warm. Once you add nwnx, a database, or more scripting, upgrading the VM it runs on is a one-handed process too.

    With the upcoming docker images and the zip downloads already available, and a absolute minimum of knowledge about Linux, it's easier than ever to stand up your own server, all without depending on a managed service that may or may not offer the flexibility you need.

    Of course, a managed service can value-add once nwnx comes into play, with tweaked SQL setups, cross-server messaging, and so on. But doing this properly and in a automated way is a lot of effort; I think it'd be a labour of love most of all.

    If I'm missing something here, please let me know. :)
  • RiceyRicey Member Posts: 9
    @niv , no I think you're right, especially considering the server isn't multi-threaded. Meaning a server will hog its CPU at 100% (once the player threshold is crossed) so will max out the host server quite quickly.

    I was thinking of offering a nice 'micro' server with the NWNEE server pre-installed. It doesn't need much RAM or HDD space (about 100Gb??) but the CPU is the issue. Even an 8 core Xeon will struggle with more that about 6 VPSs running due to the 100% thing.

    Using the docker image will also mean the more economical OpenVZ/LXC solution won't work. A docker image will need a full VPS (KVM/qemu) to run. It's a container thing!! The zip downloads are an easier solution TBH.

    If the server was multi-threaded it might take the load off the single cores, but then we'll need more cores!

    If, using the zip method, on LXC servers I'm guessing you could squeeze 5-6 servers on one host, as long as it's an 8 core server without too much effort (more for a 16 core of course) - and the CPU was a 2.8-3.2ghz. But not having seen a server running at max load I can't tell.

    If I get 5-6 on one server, the CPU would be uncontested (one core per server), which is a good thing, I'd need to charge about $10-$15/mo to cover the costs. That's a Euro based server.

    Is this worth doing? What would the take up be do you all reckon?

    Cheers
  • HipsterHipster Member Posts: 39
    I think it would allow most beginning modders to get a pw up for the first time ! Pws can easily be maintained from a home pc but it means having a dedicated pc running around the clock, and most ppl dont have that. Especially with the server portal feature getting more attention, it could allow players to easily jump around a couple of small size mods while IC. More life for fa'erun.
  • TravmasterTravmaster Member Posts: 1
    @Ricey I'd love to try it out, if you don't mind.
  • Dreadlord_AnwynDreadlord_Anwyn Member Posts: 48
    I'd be up for it but I dont know when. Im in early build stages. https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/module/gameworld/time-atlantis
    AFAIK I might be done building next year sometime heh.
    But, at the very least I bumped your topic.
  • GlassmelterGlassmelter Member Posts: 38
    I'm a yes, too, but who knows when I will be ready. I'm working hard on my world but I'm doing the bulk of the work myself, so it's a slow road.
  • FlayerivFlayeriv Member Posts: 23
    I'd be interested. I've been considering getting a crew together to create a PW set in modern 5e timeline (so 1490sDR). It'd be awesome to have a proper dedicated server for it rather than whatever I can scrimp together in Australia.
  • RiceyRicey Member Posts: 9
    Hi guys,

    There's certainly some interest in getting servers up and running - I'm looking into differing tech to find the best/cost effective solutions.

    Keep an eye out here for updates.

    Cheers,

    Ricey
  • GM_ODAGM_ODA Member Posts: 177
    edited May 2018
    oops wrong thread.

    OK server Argentum Regio is up and running NWN:EE - the feature list is unmatched anywhere, RP-enhanced gaming at its finest. http://argentumregio.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page?&cb=8705
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