Private servers

[Loongeron]

A lot of things were discussed, but it was never confirmed and somehow the appearance of their own servers in multiplayer was discussed.
I am very concerned about this topic, because in the realities of a separate community, it will be very difficult to set up the game for multiplayer.
The option that we have is well suited for one person who wants to ride anytime and anywhere, but not for a cohesive team of 10-20 people.

After watching the stream with the developer, I came to the conclusion that the introduction of private servers is not planned at the moment.
This is very upsetting, because it is probably not as difficult as, for example, the physics of motion during acceleration or braking, which the developer described as a difficult task.

A private server is primarily freedom of action, maneuvers and an interesting intense game.

I am collecting a petition so that we will have such an opportunity in the future.

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Loongeron

[Skully]

Also bear in mind that not having the option for a private server means the lifetime for dispatching in SimRail is limited to the company actively providing the service. This can be a consideration for purchase because you can only hang onto the single player driver mode.

[Irish Spud]

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Edited December 28, 2022 by Irish Spud
Deleted

[Loongeron]

18 minutes ago, Irish Spud said:

If people set up their own servers it would leave less players in the public servers. I don't want to play on public servers full of bots. 

What's the problem with playing in communities with people?

Some, for example, do not want to play with random people, want to play in their own language, etc.

Edited December 28, 2022 by Loongeron

[Crypter Emerald]

I feel that private servers are essential.

Public servers a nice and all, but they can be very limited in what they offer since there are no customization options. Fixed (for some - boring) timetables, official maps only (I'm hoping for custom map support in multiplayer based on the upcoming editor function), getting into a signal box or train is always a gamble, coordination with random people can be hard or in certain instances impossible, etc. The list goes on. There are countless reasons why private servers a preferred in basically every multiplayer game that is not an MMO.

It's been a long time since I was excited for a simulation game and this playtest showed that Simrail has the potential to be something truly amazing. The 'but' is that multiplayer needs to be player-friendly. Including private servers. That would be the main selling point for me.

[robert357 - W7 FTW]

If done right dedicated servers basically means eternal support by community. There are a lot of old games (even 20 y/o) that have still active playerbase because of dedicated servers. Lifespan of official servers is rather short and one day these will inevitable die because, quoting one of the SimRail staff, "everything cost money".

[Lawliet]

Roleplay communities come to life on private servers with their own ability to whitelist people. The Depot on Run8 is a good example in the train sphere. If you look elsewhere, the private RP servers you see for Red Dead Redemption and GTA 5 definitely show off what can be done.

Not only that, but 'public servers' will be limited to what assets the development team wish to use. If a third party develops a full route and trains to go with it, for example (provided the editor is that open/capable), or maybe even just a custom, busier timetable; who's to say it'll ever end up on a public server? Not to mention the DLC maps that may come officially, each which would likely require 1-2 servers/infrastructure per language if they wanted to support them.

Even if they come later down the road, private servers are going to be essential for the longevity of the product as stated above, and for the open support of the editor and third party development.

[SurvivorSean]

I've run servers off and on for Run8 for 10 years.  I can attest that when certain servers gain popularity other servers die out.  Now the good part here is at least there is an AI system.  But those who may not for example fit the Depot's character or because of personal issues can just as easily be excluded.

The real issue here is if they remain totally public how is it policed, enforced, and what are the rules.  Anarchy works great in MMO because if someone trolls word gets around and others simply gang up on them and force them asside.  Anarchy doesn't work as well in a smaller niche.

I do like that I don't see or hear constant social banter on the public servers.  Sure you might get a few friendly exchanges but that is part of reality as well.  Now what is the difference between trolling and joking.  Personally I like to remain serious in a friendly manner when I'm on a server.  I was thrown into a siding for no apparent reason the other day.  Was it a joke, or simply someone trying to emulate their version of a detour?  What ever it was it was not a big deal, but I could do without it.

I think it's clear when someone is deliberately causing chaos in some of the examples we have been shown.  Everything else below that are shades of grey.  Private servers do prevent some of that from happening but will reduce public numbers.  

To use Depot Run8 for an example their Depot+ membership where they are more serious requires passing tests etc.  It's great for people who have experience like myself (though I have no interest in Depot) but for the new member they are left to their regular server.  Their regular servers are pretty dead in comparison.

Anyways there are pros and cons and no easy or right answer.

Thanks

Sean

[pschlik]

Another thing I'd like to see private servers for is the opportunity to practice driving and dispatching.

I haven't done a whole lot of dispatching since there's no great way to practice. The only way to get any experience is to go into a server which is no doubt full of random people I don't know who would rather not have their journey interrupted by beginner dispatching errors. But if the server was my private one, I could practice dispatching with people I know (or hypothetically, start up the server but not invite anyone, allowing me to play 'single player' in the server) who I could easily communicate to about any mistakes, and I would also have the admin powers needed to quickly clean up any messes. Not to mention other possibilities like custom timetables specifically designed to practice working the signal box, which wouldn't be possible in an official server. It would be a great place to learn new things without having that constant fear that 'if you did this wrong, the experience of a real person will be ruined'.

Of course, you could also practice if there was a single player version of the timetable, but it seems to me that single player will just be missions and will not have the timetable mode. That's a shame.

[giBBer8]

I can see your point on general release @pschlik, but as of now, there are plenty of servers with 1 or 2 players in. Lots of practise time with the AI.

When Simrail releases, the SP version will be up and running, and the upcoming Playtest will stretch the theory of course. 

Private servers are good, but get very elitist, to the detriment of the willing player base. 

[SurvivorSean]

I'm all for anarchy but even anarchy itself as a collective agree on a certain set of rules which apply to everyone dispatchers and drivers.  Because of that and the fact that the servers are run by the software, then it's the software company that will need to establish rules and moderation (similar to what is done on the forum). 

The paywall is not going to stop people from doing this either, in fact they will become more entitled.  We already have a sense of entitlement that has been growing as more people come aboard for a free play test.

Thanks

Sean

[Gazz292]

i wonder how things will work regarding the SimRail team fixing things as the sim is released,... is the problem with the sim, or with the private server... can they get access to these private server logs etc?

 

[giBBer8]

50 minutes ago, SurvivorSean said:

I'm all for anarchy but even anarchy itself as a collective agree on a certain set of rules which apply to everyone dispatchers and drivers.  Because of that and the fact that the servers are run by the software, then it's the software company that will need to establish rules and moderation (similar to what is done on the forum). 

The paywall is not going to stop people from doing this either, in fact they will become more entitled.  We already have a sense of entitlement that has been growing as more people come aboard for a free play test.

Thanks

Sean

As far as I understood the context and meaning of your first sentence, it is garbage. Anarchy? Railway simulator... you fell down a large rabbit hole there Sean.

Sorry to be so blunt, but this is very early days. English speakers gravitate to the "EN Beginners Server", which runs as intended, and is always full. There are plenty of other unused servers which can be utilised as "private" servers. Why not band together and get pro on the EN9 server....ping really doesn't matter.

Playtest the quiet servers together, see who dislikes being left out, and if there is value in having private servers when the sim releases.

 

[TheFloxiCz]

I hope there will be possible to create public or private servers, because without them, we can drive only official content by the developers. 

Since it costs too much money to run servers, I hope they will start their own "hosting". For example: Player can buy "premium" for 5-10€/month, which allows you to create public or even private server (only one) even with custom maps and trains.

I think that this is only one way, how to have own servers with custom maps and trains, since I think that developers don't want to spend thousand of Euro monthly for our public/private servers.

[SurvivorSean]

The anarchy statement is not garbage it's a misunderstood concept in the real world.  For example Run8 has anarchy mode, but just because it has a mode does not mean there aren't rules it depends on the collective.

Real world anarchy or anarchists beleive in less government and rules and more freedom.  That being said if you rob someone expect consequences.  That consequence is based on rules, natural law, or whatever else is stated or agreed apon.

Anyways the whole point of all of it was to say that you can have anarchy but unlike a group keeping to themselves and their own values, that is not possible in a single server.  Specifying certain servers such as new players, or drivers only gives a bit more of a meaning.  If they went further they could have role playing servers but honestly I have seen the Polish servers already getting overloaded where they come over to English to participate.  The English servers are really not that busy at the moment that I have seen.  Except for the good signal boxes as they go fast.

Thanks

Sean

[Loongeron]

The results of the survey are in the topic header.
The conclusion is that the community needs private servers.

[Skully]

I'm hoping they can pull it off but from what I understand now is the main traffic manager runs on a central server (currently on Amazon cloud). In game we kind of sneak peek into it via https://panel.simrail.eu:8091/?station=Katowice_Zawodzie&serverCode=en1

To be able to host this privately (/ off premise) the game would need to be able to connect to a different traffic manager. This traffic manager would need to be hosted by someone. Technically a private server but one that is a bit more than just firing up a server in Steam behind your ISP connection.

If SimRail can host it then potentially anybody else can as well but it probably won't be trivial.

[SurvivorSean]

All I noticd in the image was a schedule.

[Skully]

36 minutes ago, SurvivorSean said:

All I noticd in the image was a schedule.

It is not an image, it is the schedule for that station on that server managed by the central traffic system. The computer in game is a browser to that URL.

[SurvivorSean]

Interesting.  Has anyone tried some other links?  I believe I noticed a list before with the various schedules but I wasn't sure if it was simply there for infomation purposes or actually being called from within the sim itself.

I was doing a spreadsheet but things have got a bit boring, and I don't call traffic jams by AI exciting either.  Besides I'm starting to work on my own projects again (some of which I'll admit has been inspired by this cool sim).  Hopefully things work out good for them as I still want to support them, and enjoy.

Thanks

Sean