A real and decent private server.

I never made a server before and I don't know anything about it.
But I keep thinking of collecting a team of volunteers who are willing to build a real long term and stable server and willing to give it time or even financial contribution.
Server without pay2win system and ofc non profitable.
Players only can donation for stability and I believe if players find a real and good one would help us in our goal.
Or they can donate for normal stuff as title - a special avatar - pick pet and that's it.

And, I have a question
How much it costs to have a private server? and what should I need?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeanvec I never made a server before and I don't know anything about it. But I keep thinking of collecting a team of volunteers who are willing to build a real long term and stable server and willing to give it time or even financial contribution. Server without pay2win system and ofc non profitable. Players only can donation for stability and I believe if players find a real and good one would help us in our goal. Or they can donate for normal stuff as title - a special avatar - pick pet and that's it. And, I have a question How much it costs to have a private server? and what should I need?

yes that a nice idea to build a server play2win and sounds great about donate can be a special avatar or pick pet or attack pet

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Originally Posted by jeanvec [FONT="Arial Black"] And, I have a question How much it costs to have a private server? and what should I need?

The hosting costs are usually the easy part.

The part most new owners underestimate is the time commitment. I've worked on Shaiya and Atlantica private server projects, and running a stable long-term server can easily feel like a second full-time job.

You'll spend a lot of time dealing with databases, logs, bugs, exploits, speedhackers, player reports, backups, updates, and community management. Building the server is often easier than maintaining it for years.

My advice would be to first learn how to set up and run a server yourself before trying to build a team around it.

Honestly, the only play-to-win servers I’ve seen that kept a steady 200+ players over a longer time are SRProjects and more recently Aeternitas. And both of them don’t really have donation stuff that gives in-game advantages. I can’t really think of any others right now.

From my point of view, a pure play-to-win server probably isn’t going to grow much bigger than SRProjects already is. That server sticks really close to the original gameplay and doesn’t change much. Atlantis is going more in a custom direction, but that kind of stuff takes a lot of time, especially when it’s just one owner doing everything while also working a full-time job.

What I’m trying to say is, pure play-to-win just doesn’t really hit the same anymore. It might be worth looking at how private servers have changed over the years. There’s not much point in going over the same debate again and again, since a lot of players nowadays actually expect to spend a bit of money, whether it’s for convenience, cosmetics, or progression.

are there any up to date guides that cn help introduce me to running my own server? not to release, just to understand how to make changes to the game + play around with things like this, and run it on my own pc etc.

I'm not sure whether these guides are still up to date with the current versions, as I'm not really involved with Silkroad. However, most server guides tend to remain relevant for years as long as you're using the correct client and server files. A good starting point would be:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

and

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I'd recommend combining information from multiple guides rather than relying on a single one.

One thing many people overlook is checking the SQL Server Configuration Manager and making sure TCP/IP is properly configured and enabled for localhost (127.0.0.1) when doing local testing.

From what I can tell, that should be enough to get you through the basic setup.

A basic SQL guide covering the most common operations such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE would probably be enough. No need for an overly bloated tutorial with stored procedures etc.

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Originally Posted by Geenzo Honestly, the only play-to-win servers I’ve seen that kept a steady 200+ players over a longer time are SRProjects and more recently Atlantis.

It's called Aeternitas and not Atlantis ^_^

Anyway, I can confirm what has already been said here. The real challenge is staying committed in the long run, maintaining your interest and motivation without eventually burning out.

If you're serious about starting a project like this, I'd recommend renting a cheap test server (around $10–15 per month) and setting up a game server on it. Start with simple tasks, such as adding new items, NPCs, or enabling and disabling existing features. This will help you get familiar with the technical side of things without becoming overwhelmed.

It's also worth connecting with people who share your ideas or whose working style complements yours.