A lot of players are saying large bases slow down server performance. I question that. If the data describing the base is passively stored in a database it should not be interacting or affecting the server transmission rate. Only when you log on and you base is loaded into you client or someone walks toward the base and begins to see it as it is loaded into their client should the size of the base affect the server performance. After the base data is finished loading into the client, it should not affect server performance. Everything is happening on the client.
So the size of my base should not affect server performance when I am not logged on and no one is near my base.
I’ve heard that active thralls may/can/do affect server performance. If you’re in an area with a lot of player-owned thralls on benches or fighters standing around, it can kill server performance. But once players leave the area or log out, performance improves, so the story goes.
Kind of like the tales I’ve heard of players dropping a million candles before a raid to win by lagging out the raiders.
For me personally, it is the amount of building parts (size of base) and the amount of torches. Strangely, candles don’t do much to my fps (too dim), but torches hit me harder than anything (too many shadow casting sources of light). A few random benches or thralls doesn’t affect my potato graphics card too bad.
Once out of the area, performance is normal again. I don’t think those things affect the whole server, just the immediate areas where it loads in.
Thanks. It is also my plan after launch to build roads through important passages to prevent griefers from building walls and buildings to block passages to important resources. this has happened on PVE servers 401 and 601. As you suggested, these roads should not affect server performance if no one is close to them to interact with them. Only when you are on the road and only the segment of the road you are on.
I have noticed the PVP servers are very clean because one powerful clan has driven everyone else off the server and destroyed everything that is not theirs. Not the case in PVE.
The entire map is not loaded on your computer at one time, areas load as you enter them.
A large base adds a lot of polygons and loads noticeably slower on lower end computers.
Block load time on lower end hardware is also the issue keeping us from getting mounts in May
I have hope that the massive landscape changes we’ve been seeing on testlive foreshadows the inclusion of mounts eventually.
For me, it’s not the buildings at all. For some reason, it’s the darn hyenas just North of the Twin Sentinels that make lag for me. Buildings in the area don’t affect me at all. But when those hyenas show up it feels like a slide show.
I found as long as the server hosting the game has a good amount of Ram and an i7, the size of the base did not effect overall performance of the server. As in when some player enter an area with a very large base, the other players on the server did not notice any issues.
There is ‘draw’ lag, where is take a while for the client to draw the base, but while that is drawing, no one else is effected, and that can be made faster, if the client is reasonable machine.
I wouldn’t build roads if you’re the admin. If you post on your website/Discord/MotD that resource-blocking isn’t allowed and someone does it, find the block and hit Ctrl+Del, problem solved. If the owner complains, tell them to stop being a &%@$ and to follow the rules or next time they get a ban.
If you build roads you just end up making life more difficult for everyone because there’s more for the system to draw.
How much would you say is acceptable RAM for a home-box server running the client? I’m actually at 8GB now (30 player cap so far) and am thinking I want to upgrade if my server, you know, actually gets people (Asia, pre-launch, not exactly swarming with Conan lovers here). I’m debating an additional 8GB or 16GB but don’t wanna overdo it, money isn’t as plentiful here as in the States.
My server has 32gig of ram but that is an overkill.
Conan is only using 4 gigs, but I would recommend having a 16 gig server with i7 and an SDD drive so the machine does not need to use any virtual ram if you want it to host smoothly.
We load tested 20 players in the same area and had no issues.
I heard foundations cause a lot of problems. So use pillars and ceilings instead if you want to help! ^^ I’m not sure how valid that claim is though but I definitely lag near big bases.