Dill W.
Switched to a Dedicated Server with GSK
I was running 6 Rust servers through another game server host who, like most, put my servers on shared boxes with an untold number of other servers and we all fight for resources. My servers were cash positive from player contributions so I knew it was time to make a change as complaints of lag echoed every wipe day. I went out looking for answers. My main concern was with the quality of the server equipment and other concerns being the ability to configure everything how I wanted and hosting somewhere that owned their own equipment. GSK was the answer. I was in touch with Rene who told me about their offerings but they were also willing to completely build it to my specs as I was thinking of a Threadripper. I settled on an Intel Core i9-9900k and the price was very competitive, particularly given the value of working with a company that has a background in game servers. Reaching out to other companies during my 3 or so months of research yielded that many would help me set it up with linux or something but I would ultimately have to do all the game installation. GSK was willing to take care of everything and, if I decided, also allow me to use their TCAdmin on my servers which is the interface I was most familiar with. They were an absolute pleasure to work with during the entire process even going as far as sending me a picture of the equipment as it was being built and racked. After everything was turned on they continued (and still do) checking in very often to make sure everything is okay and that I am happy. This is going to sound unbelievable but I could not believe how great my experience has been for our players. We went from having cries of LAAGGGGGGGG all wipe to literally having players playing and complimenting the experience. One guy even said it was the smoothest Rust server he had ever played on. My biggest server of the 6 hits 200 on wipe day so this is real server, not one for me and my buddies. The fact that there are no complaints as to the server performance anymore means a TON to me. I am finally providing the value to my players that they expect and that those who support our servers deserve. Since launching we have already added more supporters than we averaged in recent months so this investment is going to pay off quickly and we can continue to expand! Since GSK owns their equipment I am able to move and upgrade my servers anytime in the future and retain my original IP addresses. I really wish I could speak as to the quality of their smaller game server products but I unfortunately did not start with them. I wish I had though, the biggest headache was hoping players would find the new server. This could have been prevented had I just gone with GSK to begin with when starting the servers long ago and then switched to a Dedicated with them. Based on my experience so far, I can absolutely and confidently recommend Game Server Kings for Dedicated servers. I can also attest that their Network so far has been solid and we have withstood many (so far only smaller) ddos attacks and I am confident when/if larger ones come we will have no issues there as well. Here is my advice to people looking to start their first server from someone who currently runs successful servers. It is okay to start small. As your player base grows you need to continue to invest in the server. I waited too long and prohibited growth for many months. If you are having issues and lag you need to upgrade. It may be nice running a server for under $15 a month but you cannot stay there and expect continued growth. You can and should start small for your first server but do not wait as long as I did to eventually make upgrades to gain more space on your shared box and, when the time comes, that big jump to a dedicated when your funds allow and player base demands it. I started my server just wanting to give players a different experience. With my GSKs Dedicated Server our players finally have the experience they deserve.