Satisfactory Dedicated Server: Hosting and Setup

If you want to enjoy maximum freedom and make your game world available to the public, a Satisfactory dedicated server is the best solution. It is best to create a Satisfactory server on externally rented hardware. Installation and setup are mostly done via the Steam or Epic Games client.

The open-world construction game Satisfactory has been available as an early access game since 19^th March, 2019. You have to explore distant planets, mine resources, and build the most efficient factory possible. In cooperative game play, you can experience this adventure with others. Hosting and setting up your own Satisfactory server with a provider is not that complicated. We have summarised the most important steps.

If you want to play Satisfactory online with friends and acquaintances, you basically have two options: You can either create a private session that runs on your own PC or host a game session on a dedicated server.

The advantage of Satisfactory server hosting on your own device is that you don’t need any additional hardware. However, you will have to provide additional resources for the private game as soon as more players join - so your PC will be challenged significantly more than in single player mode. The same applies to your Internet access. Probably the biggest disadvantage of a privately hosted game is the fact that it is only available to all users when you are online and have started the game world.

The more players you want to grant access to and enable them to enter the Satisfactory game world at any time, the more relevant an externally hosted Satisfactory server becomes. In this case, you not only have powerful server and broadband resources, but also the option of making the Satisfactory server publicly accessible (via IP address).

The requirements that a Satisfactory server places on the underlying hardware basically depend on the number of players that connect to the server at the same time. However, it should be mentioned at this point that Satisfactory - at least in its current state - is designed for a maximum of four people in multiplayer mode. Game worlds for more than four players can be created via configuration, but the Swedish developer team Coffee Stain Studios is not responsible for the resulting performance.

Based on the information in the official Satisfactory Wiki as well as the requirements for the official dedicated server tool in the Epic Games Store, the following basic system requirements are needed:

• CPU (processor): AMD or Intel (4 Core) from 3.4 GHz onwards; powerful single-core performance preferred
• RAM (memory): 6 gigabyte RAM for 1–4 players, 8 gigabyte or more for larger storage files or more than 4 players
• Hard disk space: 10-15 gigabytes for the Satisfactory server software; additional space for saved game(s) or optional mods

In addition to the computing power for the Satisfactory server, you must also include the computing load of the operating system in your planning. In principle, you can choose between common Unix/Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, however, developers recommend a Windows server operating system. For Windows Server 2019, the following additional requirements would therefore be needed, for example:

• 1.4 GHz processor (64-bit)
• 512 MB or 2 GB memory (without or with graphical user interface)
• 32 or 36 GB hard disk space (without or with graphical user interface)

You can rent hardware for your own gaming server from various providers. However, the wide selection of plans and prices can be overwhelming. You don’t want to book too little or too much performance and obviously want to avoid unnecessary costs.

With IONOS you can choose between the following three server types, which also have different plans:

• vServer: With a vServer (also known as Virtual Private Server or VPS), you get access to virtualised resources that you share with other customers, but there’s no need to worry about performance being affected. You are billed monthly at a fixed price.
• Cloud server: The cloud server packages from IONOS also work with virtualised resources. However, since this model is billed by the minute, you only pay for the service you actually need.
• Dedicated server: With a dedicated server from IONOS you get hardware that is entirely reserved for you. This type of server is also characterised by high single-core power, but this is also reflected in the price.

If you want to start your own Satisfactory adventure in a relaxed way with a two-player server, you don’t have to push the limits in terms of hardware to benefit from a good gaming experience. If you are also still unsure how long you will actually need the server for, the cloud server plan makes the most sense. Thanks to the minute-based billing, you only pay when the Satisfactory server is active. In addition, you can increase the resources at any time if you need more performance for more players.

The cheapest plan with suitable computing power: Cloud Server XL.

In the following table we have compiled some possible scenarios for your Satisfactory server and assigned the matching server models and IONOS plans.

Once you have decided on a hosting environment and have the access data ready, you can start setting up your Satisfactory server. In the following tutorial, we have summarised the most important steps - exemplary for IONOS customers (vServer, cloud server, dedicated server). The installation of the server software is done via Steam.

Click on the link and keep the suggested option ‘Open with Remote Desktop Connection’. The first time you connect, you will receive a security warning. Continue with the setup process by clicking on ‘Connect’.

Finally, type in the login data for your Satisfactory server. To do this, click on ‘More options’ and ‘Use another account’ in the dialogue. The first time you connect, you must then classify the server’s certificate as trustworthy.

After the installation is complete, you can start the Satisfactory server at the same place in the Steam client. To do this, simply press the ‘Start’ button that is now displayed. Steam will then automatically check whether there are updates for the server software and whether all required tools and runtimes are installed on your system. If an application such as the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime is missing, the client automatically offers the option to install the missing components.

The dedicated server software will then have to be updated, after which you can restart the server.

The next step is to activate the newly created Satisfactory server via the Server Manager in the game client. As mentioned, you need to use the experimental version of the game for this (right-click on the game in the Steam client then > ‘Properties’ > ‘Betas’ > ‘experimental – experimental’).

Of course, you can also configure your Satisfactory dedicated server individually after creating it. For example, it is possible to exceed the fixed limit of four players. To do this, you need to adjust the configuration file Game.ini. By default, you will find this file in the following directory (for ‘Username’, add the corresponding username):

Open the file and add the following script at the end, inserting the desired number of players instead of ‘X’ (value of up to 127 possible):

Save the file and restart your Satisfactory server to apply the change.

Other useful server configurations, such as changing the memory interval or the timeout limit, are described in the Configuration article in the official Satisfactory Wiki.