What is the easiest way to set up a multiplayer server

[M.94]

what is the easiest way to set up a multiplayer server where everyone can play even when I'm offline? I tried it via Nitrado but I can't do that with the custom maps and settings because I don't know my way around. I spend about 100h and the server only works in standard mode. And if I host a server in the game, you can only play when I'm online. Have anyone a tipp for me pls. I see Servers with over 300mods in their list

[Shady Allie]

if you have a 24/7 always on computer, you can host your server yourself locally.

in your steam LIBRARY find the dropdown box and select TOOLS.

find project zomboid server and download it.

open that folder then where you download your steam things.

find the file called StartServer64.bat and run it.

folow the prompts as it loads....it will stop and say create admin...do that.

once it is loaded and running you can shut it down.

To set all your server settings then, it will be just like when you host (as you said you did that already)and you can choose the server named servertest. This will be the files that StartServe.Bat loads.

set everything up as you want. then you save those settings.

NOW load up that startserver.bat again and wait for it to do its magic. once loaded, it is running now. as long as your server is running and you keep that computer on and connected to internet, you may join anythime you want and your friends can join even when you are sleeping or cooking dinner.

OK?

thart is off the top of my head, so i might be slightly off with directions.

[Nobby]

I don't really have any experience hosting Project Zomboid servers specifically, but most dedicated servers are very similar in the way that they're hosted. There are a few tips I can offer if you're looking to host a dedicated server on your own:

1. If you want the server to be available to people when your system isn't running or isn't actively running the server program, then you need to host the server elsewhere. There are a few popular options for this:
   
   • Self-hosting on another machine (e.g. an old computer or laptop with appropriate specs). This is the cheapest option as you already have the machine. However, what you'll end up fighting with is the DIY nature of this. You also need a home network capable of properly hosting a server, which can eliminate this approach as an option for many people.
     
   • A game server hosting service. This is your services that offer a pre-configured server for you to spin up and rent for a monthly cost. There's not really much need to do anything DIY with this option, as most services spin up all of the necessary software for you. However, the trade-off is that you are not going to get the level of control/custom configuration that you might be looking for. In many cases, you can't access the box that the server runs on; everything is done through a dashboard (typically in the browser). Also, this is a paid option.
     
   • A cloud hosting service (specifically one that is not tailored to game servers). This is similar to the game server-specific cloud service explained above. This is going to have some level of DIY in terms of running the server itself. Some cloud providers may make this easier by offering some helpful tools to automatically performing initial setup of a game server, but this varies immensely by the provider you choose. This is also where you'll see a huge variety in pricing. Most game server cloud providers have a consistent pricing, but general cloud compute can very in price based on configuration. Albeit, you'll still have to figure out how to set up and access the cloud machine as well, but this isn't too steep of a curve if you're interested in hosting. A provider worth mentioning is Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Many people use them to host game servers because their ARM-based Virtual Machines are offered on their free tier with pretty amazing specs considering you have no obligation to ever pay for the server.
     
2. In essence, when considering the above options, there are a few things you have to consider when asking yourself if you want to host a server: level of control, capacity for more players/more mods, & ease of setup.
   
3. If you want a really easy setup (from the perspective of a beginner host), then you will either pay more to also have a higher level of customization, or you'll have to give up some levels of control and consider playing the standard vanilla gamemode.
   
4. If you want more capacity for players or mods, both typically require additional resources (e.g. RAM, storage space, etc.), which will obviously cost more money if you use a cloud service. If you have beefy components at home, you can trade cost in money for cost in time and do everything yourself. When you see servers with 300+ mods, they are typically hosted by what is essentially a business based on hosting game servers. They have the cash to drop into a server capable of hosting a mountain of mods, while a self-hosting individual or hobbyist might not.
   
5. If you want to break out of the vanilla box and play on custom maps or play custom gamemodes, that typically means that you're going to have to learn at least something about general server hosting, how game services run on a server host, how that's made available for the game you want to host, etc. As I said, I'm not super up-to-speed on how this works with PZ, but it's a fact for all game servers: more customization = more time learning how servers are customized.

I know this is lengthy, but all of this is to say that trying to host when you are new to dealing with the IT of hosting (because it really is essentially a low-complexity IT job), there are a lot of considerations to even getting a server up and running for a group of friends. If you have an old PC and your internet can handle it, spend some time learning how to set up a PZ server yourself from scratch and you'll eventually start to catch on to how you can add mods, how you can change the map, how things like moderation and server management work, and so on. If you can't do it with old hardware, consider dedicating some cash monthly to a cloud service and really think about going with a host that isn't going to do all the work for you, because it means you'll pay less to have a greater level of control over the server. If you can't afford to spend cash either, then you'll unfortunately have to dig deep in your research until you can find resources for hosting that fit your needs and budget. Otherwise, it may be best to just find a nice public server with solid community and dive in with friends!

TL;DR: Hosting takes a lot of consideration. It's a balance of budget, research, and personal effort. There are good ways to get most of what you need at any price point, but it'll be a trade-off for cost in money vs. cost in time. If you can dedicate the time, it's fun to learn and manage. If not, find a public server and let some other nerd worry about hosting .

[M.94]

Thank you guys for your time.