How start multiplayer game dev ?

[Cranavis]

Hello.

1 : I must get a low cost server form less than 10$/month
In my home I work on windows.

I suppose smart to select a windows server, right ?
Does i must get some other specification for love2d ?



Next questions for later.
2 : I must configure the server for love2D
3 : I must creat register system for players
4 : Open a new game (will be admin)
5 : Join a game (will be client)

Have a nice day.

[MrFariator]

You don't have to setup a dedicated server during development; you can use any other computer on your home network, or even launch the server application as a separate process from your game on your development machine. This way, you can save a bit of money before your game has entered any "serious" development. Once the project has matured, you can put the server application onto a server using your service of choice, and configure it accordingly. The server machine does not have to be a Windows one; might even be cheaper to find a service provider that just uses linux.

As for specifications, the required server specs depend entirely on how heavy the server software ends up being. You generally don't have to consider graphics processing, so it's mostly just memory, CPU, and maybe database related performance (if you end up needing a database).

[Cranavis]

For your solution, I must turn a computer as server (actually i only have one old computer).
It ask me to learn how manage a computer like a server, before learn how manage this server.

The problem stay the same, that just add me more work.

I will get windows server so, for easer solution.

The last question awaiting answer.
Does a windows server need some properties, or special configuration ?

Have a nice days.

[MrFariator]

You don't need to turn your computer into a dedicated server. Server is just a computer that listens on some networking ports, and accepts specific type of messaging on those ports. As such, any computer with a networking interface can act as a server - even your home computer. Basically, your server software can just listen on localhost communication, so you can test your server code locally before deploying it somewhere. Ultimately, this is a matter of server configuration (just a settings file, and some settings on your server provider's side). As such, beyond the configuration, there is not much difference between running a client and server on a local network, separate networks, or even the same PC. It's all part of the same stuff you'll have to figure out at a point or another anyway.

There might be a misunderstanding in how you think servers, or server deployment actually works, so it might be better you read up on server-client design and implementation, before going ahead to paying for a service you might not understand yet. If you can't get a server running on your local computer, the jump to a dedicated server is going to be more complicated (in terms of configuration, and possibly testing), on top of costing you the server fees while you're trying to get things to work.

If you're adamant on grabbing a Windows server, there aren't really that special considerations; you just need to be able to install your server software on there, whether it's a love2d application, or something else. Maybe some database support, if necessary. For server-side stuff, you likely want to disable love.graphics and love.window modules in a love2d application, because you don't really need those in a place nobody can see.

[milon]

For server setup, it's much easier (and usually cheaper) to use a web hosting service. Look at https://buyersguide.org/web-hosting/t/best or other review sites to help you decide which host to go with. But I doubt you'll get both a domain & web hosting for under $10/month USD. $20 should be doable, but it depends on your region & server requirements. Linux servers are virtually always cheaper than Windows, by the way.

If you want to setup your own server, you really just need a reliable way for outside clients to talk to your server. If you have a static IP address, you can code that into your game as the address to talk to. Make sure your firewall/router allows incoming traffic on the correct port, and make sure it points that traffic to your server (rather than your regular PC, etc).

If you have a dynamic IP address, you can likely get a static one instead from your internet service provider for a small monthly cost. If you want stick with dynamic IP for some reason, you can use a service like NoIP to track & update your server IP address. You may even be able to get a free (sub)domain that your client software can use to talk to the server. It's a less elegant setup, but can be made to work on a budget.

Either way, your server will need to be configured for secure internet access. I'm not really qualified to give advice on that topic, other than saying that I personally find Linux to be superior to Windows in terms of security & performance. The only downside to Linux is it takes a little more learning for most folks, but a Linux server is easy enough to setup using a "LAMP" stack (Linux + Apache + MySQL/MariaDB + PHP/Perl).

Good luck!!

PS - I suggest you start with a game that runs across a local network to get some experience with packets, etc. Jumping straight to an online game + server is like building a tree fort and then deciding to build a sky scraper next.