Best way to set up multiplayer ? (new player help)

[Falstad]

I am preparing to purchase the game, and I have recruited a friend to be my 2nd in command. Before doing so, I need some help with the best way to set up a multiplayer server.

From what I understand, when launching the game I can open various worlds that I have created, and in them I can select private, public, etc. What I dont understand is how to ensure that my buddy can enter the world when I am offline. I have read about dedicated servers that I can rent online that will run our worlds continuously, but is that really neccessary? I plan to just have one world at first that the two of us can build up.

So my question: for this type of coop gameplay, is it best for me to just host world personally and invite my friend when I'm on, or is it worth investigating some type of server that will host my world so that my friend and I can edit it at different times (similar to a google doc I'd imagine)?

Any insight on how this works would be appreciated

[Gillymuff]

If your buddy is ok only playing while you are online, no need for a dedicated server. The dedicated server is for having a server running 24/7 that nobody has to be logged on to play. It doesn't even require steam or the game installed to run a dedicated server. You just need a computer that is running 24 hours and the DedicatedServer.zip files from your copy of the game.

If you are just doing some co-op while you are both on I'd say start by just trying to invite him while you are online. He/she will just have to play in a solo world If you are not online. If you find after a while that you want to be contributing to the same persistent world and not depending on the other being online, go for dedicated.

If you have a good internet connection you can also host out of your house. Just leave the dedicated server running on your computer and leave your computer logged on. Again, you don't have to be logged into steam for it to work. Then, when you want to play you just log into steam and join that server.

[Gillymuff]

There are also lots of public servers you can join for free that other people host. You could try joining a few of those and once you find one you like just decide to both play there and start working together on that server. You are at the mercy of the game host shutting it down or installing mods and having rules, but at least you don't have to run your own server.