Dedicated server requires GPU?

[Feynt]

I've had a VM that I was running half a dozen ASE servers in a cluster on which has worked perfectly fine for years. No GPU attached to it so it reports as a Microsoft Basic Display Adaptor with 16GB of RAM. Attempting to start an ASA server on the VM results in the server window opening, getting as far as saying it's loading the map TheIsland_WP, and then the server window closes. The crashstack is giving me errors about unknown functions in KERNEL32.DLL and ntdll.dll, but before that a lot of ArkAscendedServer.exe errors involving the world, actors, and geometry. The first credible error is a TransformedAABB() error.

Using the same commands with the same circumstances on my personal computer with comparable specs (same RAM assigned, core count, etc.) with the only real differences being a 6900 XT and Windows 10 instead of Windows Server 2019 (functionally the same OS), the dedicated server starts up properly and I can connect via the ASA client.

I don't want to accept that Windows Server is to blame, and it's more plausible from the errors that the issue is GPU based. But why would this be an issue? Dedicated servers don't render anything. And using -dx11 on my VM doesn't fix the issue either. I've confirmed the installation is error free, I'm still able to load all the ASE servers and they function properly, and I've downloaded ASA's client on said VM to ensure I can install the setup runtimes just in case that was an issue.

Anyone else have experience running the dedicated server in a VM? Using a GPU or no? Successful or no?

[d4v3r0y]

I was able to get it up and running on a dedicated VM on Windows 10 that did not have a GPU passed through to it. But when I opened the game it logged me off of the VM as I can only be logged in at once place. Since steam is required to be active for the server due to their monopoly, So I guess you would need two accounts to have it be a truly dedicated server on your VM and still be able to play it on your PC. At least that was my experience, I hope I did something wrong cause that sucks if I didn't.

[Znogris]

i run the server when i log on my computer it saysd im logged on another pc do i want to kick say yes then load normal ... it works just need to figure out password and name sinceeno game ini

[Kasperbjerby]

Originally posted by d4v3r0y:

I was able to get it up and running on a dedicated VM on Windows 10 that did not have a GPU passed through to it. But when I opened the game it logged me off of the VM as I can only be logged in at once place. Since steam is required to be active for the server due to their monopoly, So I guess you would need two accounts to have it be a truly dedicated server on your VM and still be able to play it on your PC. At least that was my experience, I hope I did something wrong cause that sucks if I didn't.

Set steam on the server to offline and you are good to go 🤗

[Feynt]

The key I've learned is not to run the dedicated server through steam itself. Run it from a command prompt or via a batch file and it will stay running while you run the game itself. I was able to do this even on my own computer, hence why I could confirm it was working, but sadly it won't work on my VM.

Originally posted by d4v3r0y:

I was able to get it up and running on a dedicated VM on Windows 10 that did not have a GPU passed through to it.

Working with some others on a discord server, we've narrowed the issue to either being a DX11+ compatibility issue, or a VC++ redistributable issue. If you can, please share your dxdiag system info (OS, system model, processor, memory, and DX version) and any Visual C++ library versions you have from your installed apps section (either Control Panel>Add/Remove Software, or Settings>Apps>Apps & Features)

[cheezmonkey]

@feynt
Thanks for your original post - I went through the exact same steps as you... Couldn't start on Server 2019 VM without GPU, Tested on gaming rig (W10, 3060) found it worked fine. Tried all the things on the server and couldn't get anywhere with it, including Virtual GPU (Virtio GPU and VirGL) - Looked into real GPU passthrough and decided it was less effort (though somewhat irrational) to try in a W10 VM without GPU first, as another poster here said that worked for him and to my amazement it worked for me too. Exact same configs, startup switches etc as on the 2019 machine. Can also confirm that startup from CLI or batch file with Steam in Offline mode allows game to run on gaming rig while server runs on VM. Christ that was a stressful day.

[Feynt]

To update for people:
No, a GPU is not required. The issue is if the dedicated server software detects you're running in a VM. If you're running Proxmox (as I am), be sure to set your CPU type to something that is not KVM. I set mine to Epyc and the server started properly.

[EL_MUCHO]

Originally posted by Feynt:

To update for people:
No, a GPU is not required. The issue is if the dedicated server software detects you're running in a VM. If you're running Proxmox (as I am), be sure to set your CPU type to something that is not KVM. I set mine to Epyc and the server started properly.

hello used you solution still have the error and crash!!!

[DaThiccestPotato]

I just went through the same thing. Proxmox VM running windows 10 on KVM emulation. Setup the server, got the weird errors, spent three days troubleshooting, then saw this thread. Works for me now. Thanks for going through the pain so others don't have too.

[Shefski55555]

After a tonnes of searching this also fixed my issue thank you :D