Hey there,
We are trying to get along with the new UNET system right now, but before that, we were wondering about the Unity servers.
We want to make a game playable via network, meaning one player opens a room, some other players join via internet.
On the website, it says:
"
Unity Multiplayer Services
in preview, but not for long
You can use the Matchmaker and Relay Servers free of charge during the preview phase and test your game up to 100 CCU.
"
Does that mean we will have to pay to make networking after the preview phase? Will there be a free alternative (for under 10 players or something)? Is there any alternative?
It is quite important for us, because we have to decide wether we should use UNET or switch to the free Photon Networking.
I hope you understood the question and thank you very much in advance!
Cheers 
Last time I checked, the free version of Unity Cloud Services will allow for 10 CCU. Small monthly fees will crank up the number.
Thank you for your fast respond! That sounds good. Could you tell me if it is possible to make a “host” system in UNET? Where the host-player is the server at the same time? Like in older games, or would that be only possible in LAN?
And is a local server (offline LAN server) doable?
Yeah, the NetworkManager even has a function called StartHost() that does exactly that! Definitely check it out in the Script Reference.
Hey, I know it got the function, but I wasn’t sure if it would start a Server via the Unity Servers (which would still be the same problem) or if it would really create a local server. On the API it only says “The client returned from StartHost() is a special “local” client that communicates to the in-process server using a message queue instead of the real network. But in almost all other cases, it can be treated as a normal client.”
Thanks!
It’s a server on the machine where you start the host / server - no internet connection is required to start one
Okay, great. Thank you very very much then!
To be clear, there’s no 10 CCU tier. We are giving away 100 CCU free right now and hope to announce our final plan soon.