Multiplay vs HFBServers - Rust

I have a Multiplay VA server and a HFB NY server. Here are my observations: The VA server attracts a LOT more players. Maybe they're giving lower ping times to more people. Remember it's not all about location, but network peers and quality of infrastructure. Neither server gets any advertising or promotion, this is all just from people finding us in the server list. I'm located about halfway between the two with a FIOS connection using Ethernet. VA's ping times are typically 20-50, whereas HFB is typically a little higher. Both sometimes jump into the 90s. HFB took about 14 hours to set up the server. Multiplay took two minutes. Gameplay on both is superb. Very little stuttering / lag even with two dozen players on. I haven't had to use HFB's support, mainly because we haven't been playing much. I did have to ask Multiplay for assistance when I couldn't log into Clanserver, and I got a response within about 15 minutes. Note that I used their ticket system. I'm going to step up to annual payment on Multiplay to get their sweet, sweet 20% discount. Both are good providers, but I'm sticking with Multiplay for now. Highly recommended.

We have an HFB server and the lag/rubber banding is almost unplayable. We've dropped about 40 people from our daily playerbase because of it.

[QUOTE=Pflame;43450632]We have an HFB server and the lag/rubber banding is almost unplayable. We've dropped about 40 people from our daily playerbase because of it.[/QUOTE] I will agree with you that it does lag daily, however it is not unplayable, more so annoyance for my players. I asked them about this and they pretty much stated there is nothing they can do about it. Being a re-seller does not allow you to do much, essentially you support a ticket to them, they support a ticket to their data center. One day I hope to not have to use crappy re-sellers.

I have an HFB server in Seattle and lag for me and most other players is not a problem at all. Sure, there are slight bouts of lag every couple hours or so but they generally pass within a couple minutes. I head that Multiplay does not allow server owners to manually update their server and they must submit a ticket in order to wipe the server..... This is bad news. I've had a couple small issues with HFB, they have no DDoS protection anywhere really, you can get 10Gb/s at Quebec for free, but it's $50 a month more in Dallas and nonexistent around other parts of the US, as far as I know. I'm not sure what Multiplay's net protection looks like but honestly it's probably similar. Frankly, being unable to update and wipe my server when necessary is a huge deal breaker. I'm not sure if Multiplay allows FTP access but HFB does and it's great to have an auto-FTP backup running on my home machine.

[QUOTE=Sievers808;43450799]I have an HFB server in Seattle and lag for me and most other players is not a problem at all. Sure, there are slight bouts of lag every couple hours or so but they generally pass within a couple minutes. I head that Multiplay does not allow server owners to manually update their server and they must submit a ticket in order to wipe the server..... This is bad news. I've had a couple small issues with HFB, they have no DDoS protection anywhere really, you can get 10Gb/s at Quebec for free, but it's $50 a month more in Dallas and nonexistent around other parts of the US, as far as I know. I'm not sure what Multiplay's net protection looks like but honestly it's probably similar. Frankly, being unable to update and wipe my server when necessary is a huge deal breaker. I'm not sure if Multiplay allows FTP access but HFB does and it's great to have an auto-FTP backup running on my home machine.[/QUOTE] Interesting, I'm looking into servers now. Can anyone confirm that you cannot update your own server with Multiplay?

You cannot wipe or update easily with Multiplay. Wipes require a support ticket. Updates are done when they get around to it. Depending on when the update hits, I've seen the servers updated anywhere from 1 -12 hours after the fact.

My main problem with my multiplay server is they dont support mods at the moment and I contacted them and they said they are not sure when they will allow full FTP access because of potential security risks. "As Rust is ran on Windows we unfortunately will not be able to provide FTP access for it anytime soon. Minecraft/Starbound have FTP because we run them on FreeBSD which allows us to guarantee security. This does not mean we will be neglecting mod support however of course it may not be as simple as FTP while we get it sorted." Basically, they might be working on it but no guarantees.

[QUOTE=kimmando;43451118]You cannot wipe or update easily with Multiplay. Wipes require a support ticket. Updates are done when they get around to it. Depending on when the update hits, I've seen the servers updated anywhere from 1 -12 hours after the fact.[/QUOTE] That alone means I'll never switch from HFB. Being able to wipe and update myself in just a few seconds is something I wont part with.

I've been running an HFB server in Chicago for about 2 weeks. I haven't had everyone complain about lag, only a few individual users and never consistently. Having access to the whole server structure is awesome and being able to update myself is helpful, especially after setting up a few sub-users that can help with it. I can't really comment on set up time as I ordered my server on Christmas day. I didn't find it unreasonable for it to be set up late on the 26th/early on the 27th.

[QUOTE=kimmando;43451118] Wipes require a support ticket. [/QUOTE] Please ensure you double check the information you are posting is correct [url]https://clanforge.multiplay.co.uk/news/article3978.html[/url]

[QUOTE=WickedxJosh;43451132]My main problem with my multiplay server is they dont support mods at the moment and I contacted them and they said they are not sure when they will allow full FTP access because of potential security risks. "As Rust is ran on Windows we unfortunately will not be able to provide FTP access for it anytime soon. Minecraft/Starbound have FTP because we run them on FreeBSD which allows us to guarantee security. This does not mean we will be neglecting mod support however of course it may not be as simple as FTP while we get it sorted." Basically, they might be working on it but no guarantees.[/QUOTE] Multiplay is full of shit... I have full FTP access to my Rust server, just because it's on Windows does not mean that FTP cannot be set up. [editline]7th January 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=ShrekRust;43451222]Please ensure you double check the information you are posting is correct [url]https://clanforge.multiplay.co.uk/news/article3978.html[/url][/QUOTE] Well considering this happened last night I don't think it's unreasonable that people are unaware. Still though, there's no reason they shouldn't have allowed this sooner. HFB is the way to go, you'll never find a PERFECT hosting company, but at least HFB gives you all the tools you need to control the server. FTP FTW.

Well, looks like HFB allows manual server updates and wipes and allows for FTP access. Combined with the handy drop down menus they have and I think Imma go with them.

[QUOTE=smkymtnman;43451268]Well, looks like HFB allows manual server updates and wipes and allows for FTP access. Combined with the handy drop down menus they have and I think Imma go with them.[/QUOTE] I have a sweet WinSCP script that uses FTP to automatically back up my Rust server save every hour to my computer at home. This currently wouldn't be possible with Multiplay and it really should be...

[QUOTE=smkymtnman;43451268]Well, looks like HFB allows manual server updates and wipes and allows for FTP access. Combined with the handy drop down menus they have and I think Imma go with them.[/QUOTE] TCAdmin?

When you say "update", what are you referring to? Settings? The app?

[QUOTE=Sievers808;43451352]I have a sweet WinSCP script that uses FTP to automatically back up my Rust server save every hour to my computer at home. This currently wouldn't be possible with Multiplay and it really should be...[/QUOTE] Hey friend, I've hear that [URL="http://www.playrust.eu"]playrust.eu[/URL] support automatic backups there. You could check them out if you have more questions.

[QUOTE=Maximum Over;43451531]When you say "update", what are you referring to? Settings? The app?[/QUOTE] Update as in updates to the server software... the actual rust server program itself. Also, I just noticed that the TCAdmin console now has a one-click install for Rust++, im sure more will follow. Apparently Multiplay has a one-click for Oxide... So that's pretty cool.

people need to stop making new servers, the players are spread out so thin right now. I search servers and find like 75 in Seattle and like 70 have 1-10 players on them.

[QUOTE=Sievers808;43450799]I've had a couple small issues with HFB, they have no DDoS protection anywhere really, you can get 10Gb/s at Quebec for free, but it's $50 a month more in Dallas and nonexistent around other parts of the US, as far as I know. I'm not sure what Multiplay's net protection looks like but honestly it's probably similar.[/QUOTE] This same issue forced me to drop HFB. I'm likewise not comfortable with Multiplay's requirement to request server wipes. And honestly, servers are so ridiculously dilute at this point that there's not much point to running a server (IMO). But any HFB site can be DDOS'ed for extended periods of time (and we're not talking the "French event" here) by one pissed off user. My server was slammed for *4* days. HFB offered Dallas for an extra $50/mo. Must be nice to have a near-monopoly on product. :( Looking forward to the release of the server files....

Multiplay Live Support is now open ... so .. it's stated that they are sorry for what happened.... still there's a bit queue on server launches, as they are in high demand ..

[QUOTE=Dreldan;43451601]people need to stop making new servers, the players are spread out so thin right now. I search servers and find like 75 in Seattle and like 70 have 1-10 players on them.[/QUOTE] If people want to spend money on it I say go for it... The players don't have to spread themselves out if they don't want to. For me I got a server for two things: one, I wanted to try a server with events and games and prizes... just something that wasn't normal gameplay all the time. and two, because I've never ran a remote hosted server before and frankly i was curious about it.

[QUOTE=Maximum Over;43450537]I have a Multiplay VA server and a HFB NY server. Here are my observations: The VA server attracts a LOT more players. Maybe they're giving lower ping times to more people. Remember it's not all about location, but network peers and quality of infrastructure. Neither server gets any advertising or promotion, this is all just from people finding us in the server list. I'm located about halfway between the two with a FIOS connection using Ethernet. VA's ping times are typically 20-50, whereas HFB is typically a little higher. Both sometimes jump into the 90s. HFB took about 14 hours to set up the server. Multiplay took two minutes. Gameplay on both is superb. Very little stuttering / lag even with two dozen players on. I haven't had to use HFB's support, mainly because we haven't been playing much. I did have to ask Multiplay for assistance when I couldn't log into Clanserver, and I got a response within about 15 minutes. Note that I used their ticket system. I'm going to step up to annual payment on Multiplay to get their sweet, sweet 20% discount. Both are good providers, but I'm sticking with Multiplay for now. Highly recommended.[/QUOTE] From my experience, both were able to set up your server almost as soon as you paid for it. Multiplay's customer service is horrendously bad on multiple levels whereas HFB will pretty much bend over backwards for you. I think the biggest difference is the control panels. HFB you've got complete access over everything and with Multiplay you can pretty much stop, start, restart, and wipe the world (not character data) whenever you please but when you need anything other than those options you have to send in a ticket. Which will take approximately 1-2 days of waiting. Fortunately I've never experienced any lag with either of them they were both located quite near to me however.

Im a HFB server owner, and ill tell you what erks me about both of these companies. Ive administered a number of games over the years with numerous gsp's. I always passed multiplay by because i just cant get over their branding BS.... Im paying them for a service and branding isnt one of them. Thinking they can make me pay to remove their branding is laughable at best. Probably the only reason ive not used them over the years. I cant comment much on their service aside from being a sub-user and admining servers as a sub-user. They have been in the game a while, which is an advantage (if your that bad you wont be around that long...). They seem to easily be on par with like services that have been in the game while. My HFb experience hasnt been too bad i suppose. The server runs good and I dont experience any lag. Once a Russian guy came on and complained my server was laggy and i promptly booted his 500 ping ass, fixing his, and my, problems concurrently... FTP access is indeed included and works as intended. There are not a lot of additional tools available really, but the needed ones are there. Recently there has been hype about the oxide plugin being available to gsp's, and of the gsp's providing rust servers, HSB has been very slow to adopt it and is perhaps the last on the list now. My Rust server was advertised with a mumble service which required a support ticket to enable. When i returned the following morning my 10 slot mumble server had been set up on my 100 slot rust server... Hope everybody doesnt jump on at once! Lol, while its been common place for gsp's to bundle cheap voice with their services, this is a new standard in cheap! So there it is.... Im looking for gsp who understands what it is im doing... Doesnt impose strange monetary requirements, or make me wear their flag on my forehead when i play... Can respond to support requests in a timely manner while being concise and honest. This may seem like a long list, however, I can guarantee that there is a waiter at a local restaurant who is easily able to meet all my demands when i sit at their table... How hard is it to server me really... Perhaps expand the list beyond the 2 mentioned gsp's...

No meaning why multiplay uses windows as host os instead of a linux if they've knowledge in freebsd already. Also there are some tricks to get linux binaries running within freebsd. But I understand the concerns by not allowing ftp on windows hosts.

considering it cost $2 to remove the branding .. I wouldn't hang on to hard against that! I have had my share of servers .. but .. on the other hand, I never used HFB :D I am now about to upgrade my Multiplay server to a nonbranded server ( I can afford those $2 ), just to get rid of the name! The things I do like about them is auto update, now their new reset world/player, easy to add mods ( whenever they come ) Now as Live Support is back online again it does help! From what I can read ( I don't know this myself ) MP is one of the very few who have phonesupport! I see that HFB has been rated much higher than MP .. so .. it might be a hard choice to do mate!

[QUOTE=Sgt.Shadz;43452433]considering it cost $2 to remove the branding .. I wouldn't hang on to hard against that! I have had my share of servers .. but .. on the other hand, I never used HFB :D I am now about to upgrade my Multiplay server to a nonbranded server ( I can afford those $2 ), just to get rid of the name! The things I do like about them is auto update, now their new reset world/player, easy to add mods ( whenever they come ) Now as Live Support is back online again it does help! From what I can read ( I don't know this myself ) MP is one of the very few who have phonesupport! I see that HFB has been rated much higher than MP .. so .. it might be a hard choice to do mate![/QUOTE] I can afford $1000... What i can afford isnt the point... and its $4.92 to remove it....

I had some DDos issues with my server hosted with HFB. I contacted them cause the IP got null routed for 24 hours due to the ddos attack. We went back and forth a bit in the ticket me saying its unacceptable that my IP just gets blackholed on ddos and them saying its industry standard they are sorry and they are working hard to resolve it. After a bit of back and forth they said they would move our server to a ddos protection server they had one spot on and they were going to give it to us for the troubles. HFB ticket response times are REALLY slow. On average I did not get a response back from them for 3-4 hours and sometimes I would not hear back from them till the following day. HOWEVER they did do right by us as a customer and move us to a ddos protection server so that alone will make me stay with them. Their support may be slow but at least they addressed my issues while other server hosting companies were telling me they do not have ddos protection servers. Happy with HFB here.

[QUOTE=gnomegemini;43452358]No meaning why multiplay uses windows as host os instead of a linux if they've knowledge in freebsd already. Also there are some tricks to get linux binaries running within freebsd. But I understand the concerns by not allowing ftp on windows hosts.[/QUOTE] It's a lot easier & less mess when applications come with native Linux/Unix binaries. Last thing anyone wants to do is run a server through emulation :( [QUOTE=teamvortex;43452469]I had some DDos issues with my server hosted with HFB. I contacted them cause the IP got null routed for 24 hours due to the ddos attack. We went back and forth a bit in the ticket me saying its unacceptable that my IP just gets blackholed on ddos and them saying its industry standard they are sorry and they are working hard to resolve it. [/QUOTE] While being blackholed for 24 hours is annoying & we (Multiplay) have seen our fair share of 24 hour blackhole's it's often down to who the specific provider is in the location. As a general point, we try to keep any blackhole to under 2 hours where possible. [QUOTE=Sievers808;43451352]I have a sweet WinSCP script that uses FTP to automatically back up my Rust server save every hour to my computer at home. This currently wouldn't be possible with Multiplay and it really should be...[/QUOTE] You can actually do that :D You can FTP to clanforge.multiplay.co.uk & download world saves/logs etc But we're also going to offer automated daily world backups this week hopefully!

[QUOTE=teamvortex;43452469]I had some DDos issues with my server hosted with HFB. I contacted them cause the IP got null routed for 24 hours due to the ddos attack. We went back and forth a bit in the ticket me saying its unacceptable that my IP just gets blackholed on ddos and them saying its industry standard they are sorry and they are working hard to resolve it. After a bit of back and forth they said they would move our server to a ddos protection server they had one spot on and they were going to give it to us for the troubles. HFB ticket response times are REALLY slow. On average I did not get a response back from them for 3-4 hours and sometimes I would not hear back from them till the following day. HOWEVER they did do right by us as a customer and move us to a ddos protection server so that alone will make me stay with them. Their support may be slow but at least they addressed my issues while other server hosting companies were telling me they do not have ddos protection servers. Happy with HFB here.[/QUOTE] Was your server status Unknown? Cause I am also hosting with HFB and my server is down with that status I am wondering if that DDOS

[QUOTE=SinMach1ne;43452937]Was your server status Unknown? Cause I am also hosting with HFB and my server is down with that status I am wondering if that DDOS[/QUOTE] It is a DDoS, blackhole'd. Just got to sit and wait.