Simple and scalable game server hosting with DigitalOcean

A game server is a server that acts as a definitive source of events for multiplayer video games. Players use these servers to maintain their own version of the virtual world and transmit data to other players within the game. The player can either host their own server at home or run a game server hosting through a cloud provider.

1. Create a DigitalOcean account.

2. Choose a Droplet plan that fits your needs. You can also explore using App Platform to easily host static sites.

3. Install the required software packages and set up the firewall.

4. Download the latest version of the game to the server.

5. Open the game runfile and configure any server settings.

6. Set up a protocol for the server to continuously run

7. Connect to the game’s runtime server

DigitalOcean’s Droplets can access Volumes block storage for backup options.

For low latency, players should ensure their hardware has enough dedicated computing power, such as high-clock speed CPUs with multiple cores, and use solid-state drives (SSD) for more efficient storage. Beyond hardware configuration, having a game server hosted in a data center means traffic is routed through the nearest networking hub, automatically providing low-latency game servers.

Both lag and tick rate can affect the overall user experience and make gaming less enjoyable. Lag is the latency between user command and game action. There are three main types of lag: server lag, client lag, and connection lag. The tick rate is how often the game refreshes itself. The average tick rate changes depending on the specific game, but it’s essential to track for a smooth user experience.

For reduced lag and tick rate on a game server, it’s important to optimize server resources, minimize the number of mod and custom game files, have a stable network connection, and use profiling tools to catch performance bottlenecks.

DigitalOcean’s Droplets can provide dedicated computing power, multi-thread vCPUs, managed load balancers, performance metrics, and regional availability to reduce overall lag and increase tick rate for a smoother gaming experience.

Yes. DigitalOcean’s Droplets can support custom game files and modifications with its various Linux-based operating systems for cloud game servers. The Marketplace also has 1-click apps that you can add to your game server.

A modding-friendly server is a game server that allows gamers to join the game, use current game mods, and add modifications of their own to the server. To ensure that players can have a more customized gaming experience that supports regular mods, be sure to:

• Use a reliable hosting provider

• Test mods before they are put into production

• Regularly monitor performance

• Frequently backup files

• Talk with the community

DigitalOcean offers every customer free support through our ticketing system—you’ll get a response from a member of our Customer Support Team who can help you with any questions for no extra charge. DigitalOcean also provides a vast array of documentation and tutorials on how to get started with our products, programming languages, and connected applications.