Ark: Survival Evolved is a popular game, and there are a few ways that you can play it! Many players are interested in dedicated servers for Ark – so let’s take a look at them, and see if a dedicated server is the right choice for you!
Ark: Survival Evolved is an extremely popular online multiplayer game. It’s an action-adventure game set in a world filled with dinosaurs. Players try to survive this world – or to take control of it by force.
Some players work cooperatively with other players in order to achieve their goals – and to defend themselves against more hostile players.
Others love to play the game competitively, where every player is both a potential threat and a potential target.
And there are even modes where it’s not possible to fight players at all, meaning that the only threat comes from the wildlife – although that can be more than enough for some players!
It’s a survival game that’s similar to many others in the genre, of course. People who have played any of the other popular multiplayer survival games such as Escape From Tarkov and DayZ will likely feel right at home in Ark: Survival Evolved.
Of course, with the various dinosaure, monsters, and other wildlife around, there’s plenty to keep seasoned players of the survival genre interested.
Ark: Survival Evolved can also be played as a single player game too! So, if you’re not a fan of the whole online multiplayer thing, you can play Ark: Survival Evolved on your own instead.
It’s available on a wide variety of platforms too! You can play Ark: Survival Evolved on the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and also the Nintendo Switch. It’s also available for PC, with both a Windows and a Linux client available.
MacOS is also supported, making Ark: Survival Evolved one of the few games available to Mac users.
Ark Survival Evolved is also available on mobile, with both Android and iOS supported. And it can even be played on Google Stadia!
What Is A Dedicated Server?
There are a few ways of hosting a game of Ark: Survival Evolved. You can do it with a non-dedicated server, which means that the computer you’re playing on is also the computer that’s hosting the game.
This can be a great way to quickly start a game with friends, as it doesn’t require anything but a computer capable of running the server and client at the same time.
However, one of the best ways of hosting a game of Ark: Survival Evolved is to get another computer to do the actual hosting of the game. This means that the game itself is free to take up more of your computer’s resources, for one thing!
Having a server running while also playing a game naturally means that your computer will have to work harder. This can cause both the game and the server program to run slower!
Getting another computer to host the game means that your computer isn’t working as hard. Not just that, but the server program doesn’t shut down when your computer does!
This means that your gaming computer doesn’t have to be on to keep the game running for other players, and for you to rejoin another time.
As long as the computer that’s running the dedicated server program for the game stays on, the game will keep running for players to connect to.
A dedicated server can be a computer running on your network, or it can be one in another location.
People often pay hosting companies to run dedicated servers for them instead of hosting them at home.
This can be a better option for many than running the server on a computer at home, as these companies specialize in making servers to host games.
Often, communities that play on these servers will make donations towards the costs for keeping the server running if they like it enough!
Advantages Of A Dedicated Server
Permanent Game Server
A dedicated server can keep running even when you’re not connected to it, as it’s not running on the same computer that you’re using to play.
Instead, a dedicated server runs on another computer, and all players who want to use it connect to that computer.
This means that the game world still exists on the server even if you, or no other players are currently playing the game!
This is unlike a non-dedicated server, which requires one of the players to host the game server as well as playing the game.
In a non-dedicated server, as soon as the host shuts their computer down the game world shuts down with it – but a dedicated server can run as long as the server itself stays online!
Lowered System Resources
Running a game and a server at the same time can be intensive on a computer, and can end up being detrimental to your gameplay.
Not only that, but it can make the server run slower too, making the game worse for everyone else!
And if you’re hosting the game at home, all the players will be using your internet connection at the same time, meaning your internet speed can suffer. A dedicated server can avoid these issues!
Disadvantages Of A Dedicated Server
More Complicated Setup
A dedicated server takes a little more time and knowledge to set up than a non-dedicated server does. This might not be something a casual player wants to deal with – but those who are serious about their games can find it worth the effort.
Expense
Running a dedicated server that’s hosted remotely will inevitably cost some money to keep running.
Depending on your needs, it might not be worth setting a dedicated server up when the cost of doing so is considered – you might be better off hosting a non-dedicated server, or simply playing on one of the many other servers that are available.
Conclusion
Dedicated servers are used by millions of players in thousands of games – not just for Ark: Survival Evolved. For some, running a dedicated server is essential – and for others, it’s complete overkill.
Hopefully, this guide has helped you to learn about dedicated servers, and to decide if a dedicated server is the right choice for you!
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