Which server does what?

News & General Discussion
1

Hi, i was told to run a game on a server i need a server that can run applications, but how would i know if it can run them?

I’ve heard of Dedicated Servers many times, even when i’m on the topic of gaming, is this what i’ll need.
Also if i decided to turn a computer into a server could i run a game off of it?

Thanks for reading.
(I’m not going to buy a server, i’m just making sure i know which one i’ll need.)

2

You’re in way over your head. We don’t even know what your application is supposed to be doing, if you cannot describe that, how could anybody give you guidance?

3

@IndieDude360:

  • If you want people to be able to access your game files so they can download it and play offline, then you just need a hosting service that can host a page with a link to your game files
  • If you want people to play your game online, just build a “web player” from Unity and host the files on a hosting service. You could technically use your own computer, but I would not recommend it, for multiple reasons including your transpiring lack of expertise in the subject.
  • If you want to host multiplayer games, you will have to setup a “program” called a server so that game “clients” can interact with the game and players.

Long story short, when you talk about servers, make sure you can differentiate between hardware/IT (dedicated, shared, vps) and software servers (a program that interacts with “client” programs)

4

To use/require a server application you’d also have to do network programming in order to talk between the unity app and the server, although Unity includes a pretty extensive networking system. To figure out if your server allows software to run on it you will have to check with who is hosting it and ask them what is allowed. Most likely you would have to approach it as being a business and not just some cheapo service.