Player Hosted Servers
by Taylor Petrick · in Torque Game Engine · 07/01/2008 (2:58 pm) · 7 replies
Most FPS games have some sort of Host/Create server that allows players to host their own server. With TGE/A, does the Host Multiplayer checkbox actually do this? In other words when a player checks this box, does the game he is running become available to other players via the master server? If so, roughly how many people could the average player host on his/her machine?
About the author
#2
07/01/2008 (3:40 pm)
Thanks for the response Nathan. I have a few more questions based on your response. From what I can tell, nearly all servers in the Server Browser of standard FPS games are player hosted. From Nathan's estimates, I'm guessing that most of such servers are payed for by the players? If so, do the developers of the game have to make some sort of arrangement with a hosting company to allow players to purchase server slots? Sorry, I'm a bit new to how these things work. Thanks for all the help. 
#3
I know it seems kind of confusing as to what I said above, but here is the run down:
1) Game developers aren't responsible for game server rental / hosting.
2) Players who are interested in running a dedicated game server 24/7 are responsible for seeking services to whomever that will provide them with a hosting solution.
3) Game developers are responsible for providing a dedicated game server package: Meaning only utilities and what not needed to run a game server. Can even be as simple as providing a Linux and Windows dedicated server executable as apart of the game install package some where. Note that this is really not a requirement since it is your game you can pretty much do whatever you want even to the point of only you being allowed to host game servers and rent them out to players if they really want one.
Also note that when initially starting out it's a good idea to run a few dedicated game servers of your own until you get a community base going where players are starting to host their own game sessions to get a kick start going. :)
07/01/2008 (4:09 pm)
PC games that are listed in such as Call of Duty 4, Counter Strike: Source, etc.. that have games available to them by going through the server browser and joining a game are dedicated servers. Majority of those dedicated servers are rented from companies that are dedicated to hosting game servers for players. It is the players responsibility to go and rent their own server if they want to. The game developers have nothing to do with that except provide the game's community with the needed tools to get a dedicated game server going which is basically just compiling TGE/A in two executable, one for normal gamers, and the other a dedicated game executable where it just loads up as a console program (some where around here there are instructions on how to do just that). Note that the most popular operating system to run game servers on is Linux and second is Windows. Linux dedicated servers are a huge majority due to how easy it is to maintain especially simply by using shell scripts and what not to automate the entire process for large game hosting companies like gameservers.com, fpsgameservers.com, etc...I know it seems kind of confusing as to what I said above, but here is the run down:
1) Game developers aren't responsible for game server rental / hosting.
2) Players who are interested in running a dedicated game server 24/7 are responsible for seeking services to whomever that will provide them with a hosting solution.
3) Game developers are responsible for providing a dedicated game server package: Meaning only utilities and what not needed to run a game server. Can even be as simple as providing a Linux and Windows dedicated server executable as apart of the game install package some where. Note that this is really not a requirement since it is your game you can pretty much do whatever you want even to the point of only you being allowed to host game servers and rent them out to players if they really want one.
Also note that when initially starting out it's a good idea to run a few dedicated game servers of your own until you get a community base going where players are starting to host their own game sessions to get a kick start going. :)
#4
07/01/2008 (4:33 pm)
I noticed that the TGE folder has a dedicated.bat. From looking at it, it seems to run the game in dedicated mode without actually creating the Canvas. Would this batch file be enough to run a whole dedicated server?
#5
hansthomas
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Simulation prêt
10/23/2009 (12:46 pm)
Majority of those dedicated servers are rented from companies that are dedicated to hosting game servers for players. It is the players responsibility to go and rent their own server if they want to. The game developers have nothing to do with that except provide the game's community with the needed tools to get a dedicated game server going which is basically just compilinghansthomas
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Simulation prêt
#6
1. Each player can host a game
+ Create a master server that a host game will connect to when hosting a game. The host game ip, game name, and other info will then be sent to any player who is look to browse for a game. So in short, the master server will collect all the host's info that are available and sent them to any player who is trying to joining a game. The problem here is that most of the players who are hosting a game are normally behind a router which out of the box Torque won't be able to connect the client with the host. So you are going to have to look around for a 3 party SDK that will be able to do a NAT punch through since most player's wont' forward their router port.
2. Create a dedicate server.
+ The dedicate.bat file you see in the TGE directory is indeed suppose to start up TGE's dedicate server. Still you'll need a Master server for the dedicate server to be displayed on the server's list. But using a dedicate server you might be able to skip the part where you have to do NAT punch through by using a Static IP server or configuring your router to set a forward port for your game.
**** coming to read this after posting it, am I even on the original topic :P
10/23/2009 (1:05 pm)
Here are some options to create an online server.1. Each player can host a game
+ Create a master server that a host game will connect to when hosting a game. The host game ip, game name, and other info will then be sent to any player who is look to browse for a game. So in short, the master server will collect all the host's info that are available and sent them to any player who is trying to joining a game. The problem here is that most of the players who are hosting a game are normally behind a router which out of the box Torque won't be able to connect the client with the host. So you are going to have to look around for a 3 party SDK that will be able to do a NAT punch through since most player's wont' forward their router port.
2. Create a dedicate server.
+ The dedicate.bat file you see in the TGE directory is indeed suppose to start up TGE's dedicate server. Still you'll need a Master server for the dedicate server to be displayed on the server's list. But using a dedicate server you might be able to skip the part where you have to do NAT punch through by using a Static IP server or configuring your router to set a forward port for your game.
**** coming to read this after posting it, am I even on the original topic :P
#7
While you can have a secondary computer running the "dedicated server.bat" the connection and cpu power of the computer my inhibit the actual server power.
So yes the dedicated server.bat with enough power and connection would suffice, most of the actual AAA title dedicated servers are "True" server computers... hope that helps any in question, and if I am incorrect please feel free to add. :)
10/23/2009 (1:51 pm)
While most are correct in there statements... a True dedicated server is meant not only for the "dedicated server.bat" but an actual Server computer with a high speed connection (which is mentioned above by being rented from a company).While you can have a secondary computer running the "dedicated server.bat" the connection and cpu power of the computer my inhibit the actual server power.
So yes the dedicated server.bat with enough power and connection would suffice, most of the actual AAA title dedicated servers are "True" server computers... hope that helps any in question, and if I am incorrect please feel free to add. :)
Torque Owner Nathan Martin
As for how many players can a typical consumer machine host is actually up to how large the upload bandwidth is on that user's internet connection. I forgot the exact figure the amount of bandwidth Torque uses per player, but it might be around 5-12KB/sec depending on the settings in the game its self and I don't recall what the defaults are right now (something like default of 12 players allowed on a game, but can be changed up to 64 players natively in script). So only expect normal consumer level internet connections allow for maybe 4 outside players (incoming connections to the hosted game/server) before it starts to get ugly due to latency of the upload bandwidth being consumed.