As of now, Sons of the Forest does not officially support dedicated servers, and players primarily rely on peer-to-peer (P2P) hosting to create multiplayer sessions. This means one player acts as the host while others join their game, which can sometimes cause issues with stability, performance, or availability if the host disconnects. However, the developers at Endnight Games have acknowledged community requests for dedicated server support, and it may be added in a future update to improve multiplayer reliability and scalability.
What Are Dedicated Servers?
Before diving into whether Sons of the Forest will have dedicated servers, let’s first break down what dedicated servers are and why they’re important for online gaming.
A dedicated server is a server that hosts a game session without requiring a player to host it from their own device. In games that offer dedicated servers, the server runs independently of the players’ computers, meaning that the game world remains active even when the players leave. Dedicated servers provide a range of benefits, such as:
- Improved Stability: Because the server is hosted on dedicated hardware, the game’s performance is generally more stable and reliable. Players don’t have to worry about lag or crashes caused by the host’s computer or internet connection.
- Persistent Worlds: Dedicated servers allow the game world to remain active and persistent even when players are offline. This is ideal for survival games where players’ progress needs to be saved and maintained.
- Better Control for Players: In games with dedicated servers, players often have more control over server settings, such as adjusting difficulty, enabling mods, and managing the number of players allowed to join. This customization is important for gaming communities that want a tailored experience.
- Less Host Dependency: In peer-to-peer (P2P) multiplayer setups, one player’s computer acts as the host, which can create issues with lag or game quality, especially if the host has a poor internet connection. Dedicated servers eliminate this dependency, ensuring smoother gameplay for everyone.
Now that we understand the benefits of dedicated servers, let’s look at whether Sons of the Forest might include them.
Why Dedicated Servers Would Benefit Sons of the Forest
The Forest, the first game in the series, was primarily known for its intense single-player experience, but it also offered a multiplayer co-op mode where players could team up with friends to survive the dangers of the forest. However, The Forest used a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection for its multiplayer mode, meaning one player acted as the host while others connected to their game. While this system worked well for small groups, it had its limitations:
- Host Dependency: If the player hosting the game had an unreliable connection or a lower-performance computer, the entire session could suffer from lag, crashes, or poor performance.
- No Persistent Game World: Since the host player needed to be online for others to play, there was no option for a persistent world. When the host logged off, the game session ended for everyone. This made it difficult for players in different time zones or with varying schedules to progress together.
For a game like Sons of the Forest, which promises even deeper survival mechanics, more dangerous enemies, and an expansive world to explore, the addition of dedicated servers would significantly enhance the multiplayer experience.
Players would be able to:
- Create Persistent Game Worlds: Dedicated servers would allow a group of friends to have a persistent world that they can access at any time, regardless of whether the host is online or not. This would make it easier for friends with different schedules to play together.
- Increase Player Counts: Peer-to-peer connections usually limit the number of players in a game because the host’s machine has to handle both gameplay and server duties. With dedicated servers, developers could raise the player cap, allowing for larger multiplayer sessions where more players can collaborate or compete in survival.
- Reduce Lag and Improve Performance: Dedicated servers typically provide a smoother, more reliable gameplay experience because they are hosted on professional hardware with robust internet connections. This is particularly important for a game like Sons of the Forest, where fast reflexes and smooth gameplay can mean the difference between life and death in its dangerous world.
Will Sons of the Forest Have Dedicated Servers?
As of the most recent updates from Endnight Games, the developers of Sons of the Forest, have not made an official announcement regarding dedicated servers. However, there are a some key factors to consider:
- Player Demand: The survival genre has grown significantly in popularity, and games like ARK: Survival Evolved, Rust, and Conan Exiles have set a precedent for offering dedicated servers. Fans of The Forest have also expressed interest in dedicated servers for Sons of the Forest, making it a highly requested feature in community forums and social media.
- Advancements in Technology: Since the release of The Forest, technology, and infrastructure for hosting dedicated servers have become more accessible and affordable for game developers. This makes it more feasible for a smaller studio like Endnight Games to include dedicated server support in their new title.
- Multiplayer Focus: While Sons of the Forest is expected to offer a rich single-player experience, its multiplayer mode is likely to be a big draw for players, particularly in co-op survival. Dedicated servers would enhance the multiplayer experience, encouraging players to build communities and create longer-lasting survival worlds. The inclusion of such servers would add replayability and longevity to the game.
- The Competition: As mentioned earlier, other survival games like ARK, Rust, and Valheim already offer dedicated server support. In order to remain competitive in the crowded survival genre, Sons of the Forest would benefit from having this feature to attract and retain players who are looking for robust multiplayer options.
Potential Challenges with Dedicated Servers
While the inclusion of dedicated servers would be a huge win for fans of Sons of the Forest, it’s not without its challenges. For smaller studios like Endnight Games, the infrastructure and ongoing costs of maintaining official dedicated servers can be a burden. To address this, many games allow players to either rent servers from third-party providers or host their own private servers.
If Endnight Games decides to support dedicated servers, it’s possible that they could opt for a system where players can rent servers from providers, rather than running official servers themselves. This model has been successful for other games in the genre, allowing players to manage their own servers while the developers avoid the ongoing cost of maintaining server infrastructure.
Conclusion
At this point, the question of whether Sons of the Forest will have dedicated servers remains unanswered, but it’s a feature that could greatly benefit the game’s multiplayer experience. Dedicated servers would provide players with a more stable, flexible, and customizable environment to survive in the terrifying world of Sons of the Forest. As we wait for further updates from Endnight Games, dedicated server support remains one of the most highly requested features from the community.
Whether Endnight Games follows in the footsteps of other survival games offering dedicated servers seen, but the demand and potential benefits are clear. Regardless of the outcome, Sons of the Forest promises to deliver a thrilling and immersive survival experience that builds on the success of its predecessor, The Forest. Keep an eye on updates from the developers for more information on what features included as the game’s release approaches.
