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Baron von Beer

Server requirements

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Just curious. If I set up a server, how "weak" could the system be? I have an older box that just sits as a storage unit on the network, or gets used to play the old Steel Panthers (WW2 and MBT) etc, so I don't have to spend hours to getem running in XP, and slow down, etc. When running, it would likely never have more than 4-8 players on it. (Usually over LAN, so connection requirements aren't important)

Have 2 possible setups. As is, it is a 450mhz PIII w/ 384megs of RAM. I could put in a 750mhz Celeron if it needs that extra oomph, and I find the motivation to swap mobos and CPU. smile_o.gif Would a 450 run the server ok? (For limited # of players) and if not, would the 750?

Thx for any feedback. (And please don't bother if your just gonna say Dude, get a faster CPU, blah blah.. smile_o.gif I realize it is quite old, and that is why it sits as a storage bin. Just curious if I can put it to some use once more, and thus lighten the load of MY rig when playing on the LAN. smile_o.gif Thx again.

(IOW, will it start belching out smoke and fire if I try? I ran IL2 Forgotten Battles server on it ok, but not sure how that compares to this in terms of server work load.)

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Well, you _might_ be okay with a 750 for missions with barely any AI. Once you have more than a few dozen AI units or groups, you can forget your sync rate etc.

Couldn't you steal a 1400Mhz somewhere, that would be much nicer. tounge_o.gif

EDIT: OFP 1.2 is much better at this dedi server load thing than 1.94, then again the number of features and bugs is not comparable.

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It largely depends on the type of missions you want to play. I've been running dedicated servers with various speeds the last two years, ranging from a Pentium II 350 to a Celeron 1.6:

A Pentium II 350 and Celeron 500 ran OK with 4 people on small CTF maps e.g. with only two M113's (I think it was one of the MP maps that came with OFP:R, ctf advanced2 or alike), but screeched to a halt with more than 8 people on (yet again) simple CTFs.

A Pentium III 866 could take care of some 8 to 10 people on deathmatch and CTF maps.

Recently, I've been running a server in an OFP LAN party with 19 people on a Celeron 1.6 (actually a Celeron 1.3 overclocked to 1.6, making it perform similarly to a Pentium III 1.6). Most DM and CTF maps went quite smoothly, including a Hexenkessel variation, but a CTF map with just a M2A2, BMP2, 6 jeeps and 6 motorcycles brought it to its knees, resulting in massive desync.

Having lots of moving objects, AI and rapid fire (especially HE rounds that cause a lot of damage and movement on impact) will negatively impact your performance.

In any case, I would suggest swapping in the Celeron 750. You should be OK with 4-8 people playing not too complex missions. 384 MB memory is sufficient, provided that there's not too much running on the box alongside OFP.

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I hope you don't plan to play CTI missions on your server. We use a 3,06 GHz PIV HT with 1 GB RAM and the machine is running at 10-15 frames per second while using 99,5% of cpu power.

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Just for your info - MBT runs just fine on Windows XP. I got a game cd with it from one of those computer mags and installed it with no problems.

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Question:

I will soon be upgrading my wife's computer to something around a 2700XP. If I use it as a dedicated server, and play intensive MP missions on it via a lan (something like CTI), will I have better performance than running that mission on my own computer?

Does using a dedicated server take over the processing of the AI, etc, so I could theoretically increase the visuals on my own computer? I was never to clear on this. I always just thought the benefits of a dedicated server were in terms of lag or internet latency (as opposed to FPS - the two terms are used interchangeably on this forum).

I just want to know before I copy all the gigabytes of addons, missions and settings to her computer.

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Yes, it will be A LOT more powerful when dedicated.

It's definately worth it don't even hesitate smile_o.gif

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