Warframe: Player Dedicated Servers
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Welcome to Warframe Conclave, the future! Welcome to the world of Player driven Dedicated Servers!
As we mentioned in Devstream #81, we'll soon be introducing Dedicated Servers to address one of the biggest complaints with the current Conclave setup: that of lag and shoddy connections. We are asking you, our loyal and enthusiastic players, and your computers to help us solve these problems.
With the addition of volunteer Dedicated Servers we will be providing our PC players with the option to turn their computers into a server to host Conclave matches without the need to run the actual Warframe client with it. The intention is to provide a more robust and optimized matchmaking environment that will alleviate the majority of these PC PVP woes. Due to the networking architecture of the console environment, for the foreseeable future, Dedicated Servers will be restricted to PC users and will not be brought over to consoles- sorry!
We have made it as easy as possible to manage a dedicated server. We have just a few screenshots to show you how to set up your own Dedicated Server.
First, simply launch Warframe to bring up the Warframe Launcher and click on the Settings Gear in the top right:
Click here to go to the Start Server tab under the new Dedicated Server tab.
You'll be asked to choose the Conclave mode that you want to host. There are also options to restrict access for your Clan/Alliance and the option of hosting a VARIANT Mode (more details later), as well the option to include your personal MOTD which will be displayed when players enter your server.
Clicking 'Ok' will then launch a dedicated server on your machine! A new command prompt will open, which will show all the log details of your brand new server. Here you can track how many players joined, which maps are being run, and a lot more backend information.
It's as easy as pie!
There are currently no restrictions on who can run a dedicated server. If your machine meets minimum Warframe requirements, you should be able to run a Dedicated Server. Your machine can send and receive data by being a Dedicated server. It is important to monitor your usage to make sure that you don't exceed your bandwidth limit.
There is currently no way to join a Dedicated Server. Instead, the system relies on our backend matchmaking logic in order to place you on the best server for your chosen game modes. So for example: if you have two available computers - you can setup one as a Dedicated Server hosting machine running an Annihilation match. You can launch Warframe on the other computer, search for Annihilation matches in the same way as before, and be sure that it will connect to the first machine. You can run a Dedicated Client AND an instance Warframe client on the same machine, but this will put more strain on your computer. This should not be attempted by those with lower-end PC's. The system is designed in a way that it will always try to place the user in the most stable available server. This will fluctuate over time as people bring up and pull down Dedicated Servers but should as a whole improve the Conclave experience.
This first iteration of Dedicated Servers will also launch with a Leaderboard system. This system will keep track of your Dedicated Server efforts and your 'Karma' score will accumulate the longer you have active players on your server. This Leaderboard can be viewed under Profile > Leaderboards. Although the first iteration only includes these 'Karma" points, we want players to be recognized for actively contributing to the Conclave experience. Future updates will further expand and refine this feature to better serve these Dedicated Server Champions.
Dedicated Server Leaderboards can also be found online here when they go live: http://content.warframe.com/dynamic/dedServerStats.php
So Tenno, go forth and propagate! Host servers to gain 'Karma' and improve the Conclave experience.
Player Hosted Dedicated server:
Q: What are player hosted Dedicated Servers? A: Player hosted Dedicated Servers are servers set up by players (hosts) who host a multiplayer match (Conclave or Lunaro in the case of Warframe) on their computers. This allows clients to connect with a host player for a better experience.
Q: How can I host a Server. A: See here: https://forums.warframe.com/topic/709664-dedicated-conclave-servers/
Q: Do your plans to support other modes of training (Dojos, Trials, etc. )? A: We are considering this based on popular demand.
Q: Can multiple server instances on different physical machines be managed by the same account (and earn leaderboard credit for each one)? A: Yes, this functionality was added in The War Within update.
Q: Can I run multiple Dedicated Servers on a single machine? A: No, because unless you have a very good PC this might not actually perform very well for players- but we're thinking about it.
Q: Does Warframe support Linux, A: No. However, we are looking into WINE to make this possible.
Q: Can I run a Dedicated Server from a spare computer and get credit? And can I play Warframe on the main machine? A: Yes.
Q: How are Leaderboard scores calculated? A: It's currently calculated between the Hosting time and the number of players in a game. This may change at some point after further analysis.
Q: Is there a way to relaunch the game without having to close my server? A: No, not at the moment. However, we are looking for a way.
Q: What is a Clan Only Server? A: Only members from your Clan can join your dedicated server (experimental).
Q: What about Consoles? A: Consoles will not be getting the Dedicated Server option- sorry!
Q: When I host, I see a lot that I don’t understand. Will your interface be upgraded? A: We could, but we need to keep the interface simple so it doesn’t consume too much system resource.