How long did it take for your servers to become active?

And how did you do it?

I figure having a good name, server descriptions and configuration is of course needed. But how do you actually get those first players? Is it just luck, patience or do you advertise/spam your steam friends?

I rented a server last week, told some steam friends and we had fun in the weekend. But now after a few days it's still on 0 players. So i'm wondering if I should just wait for it to become more active or if I should advertise.

 

I used to host a server a long time ago. The way we got players was to find clan leaders. We had friends that owned huge clans and as they started joining people saw that the server was active and people just kept joining.

Try to keep the following to a minimum:

• Server lagg
• Ping
• Hackers
• Admins that abuse

It's also a good idea to not add plugins like info panel or anything that clutters the screen. I did some research before making a server and people don't like that. They like to keep it as basic as possible. Basically just stacksizecontroller, gathermanager and instant craft is what we had along with better chat and some other admin plugins. If possible when you see new players try to be friendly with them. Just don't be annoying. We had about 30 + players per day.

 

That seems pretty much like my server. I only have a small player and sleeper counter on the screen. And no annoying plugins, just stuff you need for a x5 server such as gatherconfig quicksmelt etc.

I am the only staff member and I do not participate in the game. I only help here and there. But I dont believe in admins that participate in raids etc thats just asking for trouble.

Also the ping is very low and the fps seems to be fine. Maybe I should try to find some clan leaders then

 

100+ after every wipe, but I own server for about year and half.
All of the above. Constant updates/maintenance of the server,plugins(if modded). No admin abuse -> ppl hate that and news spread fast among friends, others, so don't f**k up when you have some 10-20 first players and someone notices. Ofc no lag, good ping, stable host! (gameservers not recommended, they are always late with updates), keep server clean from the suspected hackers or group limit zergs (if you have one). That's it for the good start I guess. Just keep advertising too, but don't spam, just simple, basic info with details, so ppl can come and check themself.

 

Agree with everything said so far. Nice server name, picture, detailed description, and don't clog up the user interface with tons of stuff.. gives off a bad vibe. I've had my 2x up since the end of October and have a decent player base so far. Usually hit around 35 during weekend peaks.

 

I dont have a picture yet, what is the file format and resolution? Then I might make one

 

It's 512x266. It's a must IMO. Kind of like a book with no fancy cover. Sure, it might be good on the inside, but the cover is what attracts people.