Dedicated Server

[Osman]

Hey guys, so I have gotten to a stage where I'd like to test out my multiplayer game with friends. And ideally I'd like to run a dedicated server ( so no rendering ). In the documentation it says that I should use -server argument to do so but this does not work. It DOES run a server, but the game is also rendered.

I started searching for answers and I DID find a couple but they were not that helpful to me( probably my lack of understanding rather than the quality of the answer ) so I am hoping someone could break it down for me here; what are the steps I need to take in order to run a dedicated server for my game?

Thank you guys in advance, this forum has helped me A LOT so far

[HateDread]

Hey guys, so I have gotten to a stage where I'd like to test out my multiplayer game with friends. And ideally I'd like to run a dedicated server ( so no rendering ). In the documentation it says that I should use -server argument to do so but this does not work. It DOES run a server, but the game is also rendered.

I started searching for answers and I DID find a couple but they were not that helpful to me( probably my lack of understanding rather than the quality of the answer ) so I am hoping someone could break it down for me here; what are the steps I need to take in order to run a dedicated server for my game?

Thank you guys in advance, this forum has helped me A LOT so far

Hi Osman,

Are you compiling the game against pre-built binaries downloaded via the launcher, or against source code that you've compile yourself?

If via source, the build options should expand to display the following:

[Osman]

I am building against pre-built binaries. Is it not possible at all to run a dedicated server using this?

If not, is it very hard to start using the source-code for my existing project?

[HateDread]

I am building against pre-built binaries. Is it not possible at all to run a dedicated server using this?

If not, is it very hard to start using the source-code for my existing project?

Hi Osman,

I researched this very issue before coming to my conclusion, i.e; https://answers.unrealengine.com/que...ed-server.html. Check the top answer from a staff member.

Building from source can be a pain, depending on your setup. For my team, we end up changing PCs often, and the engine can't be transferred - every new PC / workstation needs the engine built from scratch. This can take anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes, I've found, depending on computer specs.

I would hope to hear a more recent reply from staff on this issue, as it may well have a solution that doesn't involve this process.

[Osman]

Hi Osman,

I researched this very issue before coming to my conclusion, i.e; https://answers.unrealengine.com/que...ed-server.html. Check the top answer from a staff member.

Building from source can be a pain, depending on your setup. For my team, we end up changing PCs often, and the engine can't be transferred - every new PC / workstation needs the engine built from scratch. This can take anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes, I've found, depending on computer specs.

I would hope to hear a more recent reply from staff on this issue, as it may well have a solution that doesn't involve this process.

I agree, having to build from scratch to get dedicated servers working would complicate my workflow a lot. I really hope Epic can help us out with this, but not sure what the probabilities are

Thank you for your help HateDread!

[Shadowriver]

Hi Osman,

I researched this very issue before coming to my conclusion, i.e; https://answers.unrealengine.com/que...ed-server.html. Check the top answer from a staff member.

Building from source can be a pain, depending on your setup. For my team, we end up changing PCs often, and the engine can't be transferred - every new PC / workstation needs the engine built from scratch. This can take anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes, I've found, depending on computer specs.

I would hope to hear a more recent reply from staff on this issue, as it may well have a solution that doesn't involve this process.

Did you tried to copy engine builds to other PCs? The engine build should work on any PC that fit platform build (Win64 etc.). Or distance of teammates is the problem if you guys work remotely?

[HateDread]

Did you tried to copy engine builds to other PCs? The engine build should work on any PC that fit platform build (Win64 etc.). Or distance of teammates is the problem if you guys work remotely?

Correct, we did try that. We work via Perforce, and I have tried uploading all built .exe, .dll, .lib files, but the editor wouldn't work unless those members also built the engine. When they did, VS2013 ignored the pre-existing files from when I built, and thus they had to rebuild from scratch.

[Xdust]

Did anyone get the dedicated server to run with a specified map?

It works fine if you use the "Default" Game map defined in the editor, BUT I haven't figured out how to get multiple dedicated server instances to run different maps. BTW you can really run a ton of dedicated servers on one machine, even with an insane Landscape. It really seems to be made for this kind of thing.

The command line doesn't seem to work, and that's by design in UE4. Command lines are ignored in shipping builds. And i figure I wont modify the engine source, It is only one line LOL, because there are probably really good reasons why epic did this by design.

In short, does anyone know the proper way to run multiple dedicated server instances running different maps on one machine? The Server itself runs fine. so I know thats not a problem.

[joeGraf]

We work via Perforce, and I have tried uploading all built .exe, .dll, .lib files

This is our workflow too and it works just fine us. Our artists synch every day to get the latest nightly build. Programmers don't typically work this way, because they are always modifying things anyway, so builds are necessary. What happened when you ran the binaries without building? If there was a crash or an error, you just need to figure out which files were needed that weren't put into P4.

[Osman]

This is our workflow too and it works just fine us. Our artists synch every day to get the latest nightly build. Programmers don't typically work this way, because they are always modifying things anyway, so builds are necessary. What happened when you ran the binaries without building? If there was a crash or an error, you just need to figure out which files were needed that weren't put into P4.

Is there a possibility that we could build dedicated servers without source in the future?
Thanks,
Oz