Hello friends,

Let's say I want to rent a virtual machine to host a game server of my 2D 1v1 turn-based strategy game (chess). After reading for a while, I came to the conclusion that a VPN would fit all my needs, specially while the game is just in testing phase.

Question #1: When using a VPN to run a server, will the machine have its own public IP Adress? Or will I need to make some port-forwarding magic?

Question #2: Let's say my game is greenlit. When I release it on steam, would I have to host the server somewhere else? Or, does steam give me a option?

Question #3: What kind of trouble should I expect when hosting my server in a VPN?

Question #4 (bonus): About the word "server", what I get by that is that it is a SOFTWARE that offers a service for the peers connected to it. But the word is also used for referring to the MACHINE that is running the SOFTWARE. So when I rent a "server" I'm actually renting a machine to run the server in, did I get it right?

Thanks!

I believe you're referring to a Virtual Private Server or Virtual Machine, not a Virtual Private Network which is a different beast altogether.

Based on that assumption:

1. I'm not sure what the question is, but at a guess: you will probably have control over the firewalls on the machine, and any port is usually open by default (subject to firewall rules) on VPS services. So no, I don't think you'd need any port forwarding.

2. I don't think Steam cares where you host as long as it's reliable. Steam does not include hosting services for you, though, if that's what you're asking.

3. Many kinds, mostly security related. It has nothing to do with a VPS though, just the standard dangers of hosting a machine on the internet. Do your research and you'll be fine. One other minor hiccup is that some virtualization services give you very bursty CPU speeds and disk I/O, so if you are performance intensive on the server, look out for this. It sounds like you should be safe though.

4. "Server" is indeed an overloaded word. It can refer to hardware, software, or the combination of both. Usually you will rent or buy a hardware server and place your own software server (aka services) on that machine.

You are right, I did mean VPS. So many acronyms, I'm drowning!

Ugh, I completely messed up when editing my first question (which is now correct):

Question #1: When using a VPS to run a server, will the machine have its own public IP Adress? Or will I need to make some port-forwarding magic?

Thanks for the help!

Yep, you should get a public IP with most hosting packages.

Thanks!

Also, Steam doesn't host the "game servers" for you; it only hosts the "matchmaking" and "social" servers for you.
If you still need gameplay servers, you will have to host them yourself, and use Steam to let players know which servers are up.
If all you need is matchmaking (two players talk to each other) then Steam is sufficient for making the players find each other, and you no longer need your own server unless there is a non-Steam version.

Oh thank you, that's precisely what I wanted to know about Steam!