Hey Everyone,
I have an issue with getting my dedicated server to run locally with the Steam Advanced Sessions and Steam Sessions plugins. I have taken a number of different approaches, but to no avail. Here are the steps I have taken without success. Surely I’m missing something trivial. Maybe its where my project has been started…
1: Created a blueprint only project in 4.26.2 that compiles and runs perfectly without issue.
Tested over LAN on separate machines and all works and joins perfectly using the Find Advanced
Sessions/Join Sessions/ Create Advanced Sessions.
2: Created a source build of Unreal Engine 4.26.2 and also Installed VS 2019 and all prerequisites.
3: After trial and error was able to open project successfully in in source build.
4: Added an empty C++ class for code generation and generated visual studio files.
5: Build Solution on Development Editor configuration and once again on Development Server
Configuration.
6: Open project in editor and package server. Server packages Successfully and generates the
binaries to run it in a separate build folder.
7: Created a shortcut of the executable and added -log to the end.
8: Run the dedicated server. Nothing. No log output. Nothing in the task manager. It simply doesn’t
open to even long enough spit out an error.
Big thing I noticed from the start is that when I generate the empty C++ class is that I don’t get any target.cs files at all anywhere in the directories… I copied and created them from the source build engine files and renamed everything to match the current project. This is currently the only way I was even able to get a target in the “Build Target” setting when packaging in the editor. It does package successfully, but the server simply doesn’t do anything at all. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
I looked at that tutorial and found that their bundled server comes with modules that our bundled server is missing: How to Package a Dedicated Server in Unreal Engine - YouTube , I’m talking about the dll files in the packaged server’s binary folder.
This was a long time ago and I didn’t get any help on this issue here, but I managed to work through it successfully. I believe the issue I was having was directly related to the cs files and how I had them configured in visual studio. The targets weren’t correct. I was converting an existing blueprint project created in a binary build, so the target files aren’t generated in a way when you create a new project in the source build to package out successfully.
As far as the steam plugin goes, that was also a configuration issue inside visual studio. I had the plugin situated in the project files and not in the engine directories and didn’t include some modules in those files either. It was a lot to work through and it took a solid month to get the source build from download into from github into a workable version I can package anything on now. It was so much work I can’t even comprehend a way to explain it at this point lol.
I found good insight from creating a new project from the source build and looking closely at how the files are configured appropriately in visual studio when taking that approach and worked them into my existing project and it solved all those issues.
I can’t say for sure as it’s too much… Are you having trouble with the server target in particular or incorporating steam? Can you package a server and or client at all?
I’m not having problems incorporating steam, the problem is when I package the dedicated server, I create the shortcut with -log and run it, the windows terminal opens empty, it doesn’t show anything on the screen then closes, the server doesn’t start .
I’d take a look at where your .cs files are and how they are configured and rebuild both the client and server in visual studio. Looks like the targets aren’t set up correctly. If you are able to package the server they must be there, but aren’t set up correctly.
I fixed it by copying everything from the \Project\Binaries\Win64 folder to PackedServer\WindowsServer\GameName\Binaries\Win64 and everything from D:\UnrealEngine-4.27.2-release\Engine\Binaries\ThirdParty to PackedServer\WindowsServer\Engine\Binaries\ThirdParty Without overwriting the existing files of both.
Create a shortcut of the new “GameServer.exe” -log and run it instead of the default executable that came with the server packaged.
