Run a OpenTTD dedicated server on the Windows or Linux PC you already have. NodeMesh installs it, sets the launch options and keeps it running. OpenTTD is in Beta on NodeMesh, and we haven't run it on our own hardware yet.
Free on your own PC — one host, no time limit.
Sign up, then paste one command from your dashboard on the PC that will run the server — PowerShell on Windows, a terminal on Linux. The agent installs as a service and pairs with your account.
Choose the game in the panel. NodeMesh downloads the dedicated server, sets it up and starts it, and you watch every step in the live console.
Switch on the traffic relay for the server and the panel gives you a public address. Send it to your friends: their traffic goes through the relay to your PC, so you never open a port on your router.
The memory figures are for the game server alone. If you also play on the same PC, the game itself needs its own memory on top.
In OpenTTD, choose Multiplayer, then Add server, enter the address and port the panel shows you and click Add. If you set the visibility to Public or Invite only, players can also join with the invite code the server prints. We don't know yet whether a join through the NodeMesh relay works: if it does not, forward port 3979 (TCP and UDP) on your router and share your own address.
The download is small: about 23 MB on Linux, 11 MB on Windows and 3.6 MB for the base graphics, all checked against pinned checksums. On Linux your PC needs the libfluidsynth3 package; the console tells you if it is missing. NodeMesh starts the server through a small script that loads the newest savegame on every start, so a restart does not begin a new game. Settings live in openttd.cfg and are edited from the Config tab. One port, 3979, carries TCP and UDP. OpenTTD has its own query protocol, so the live player count is not shown.
One host — your own PC — is free with no time limit, for as many game servers as your hardware can run: the web panel and console, the config editor, the mod manager, auto-restart on crash and the traffic relay. Extra hosts cost credits.
See pricing →Beta: you can create this server today, but we have not run it on our own hardware yet. Expect rough edges, and tell us what you find.
Attach it with one line and players join it directly, next to every other game on the same machine.
No. OpenTTD is free, open-source software, and NodeMesh downloads the official server build straight from OpenTTD's own download site together with its free graphics set. Your players need OpenTTD too: it is free from openttd.org and also on Steam.
It should not. Before a Stop NodeMesh asks the server to save, OpenTTD autosaves on its own schedule, and every start loads the newest savegame. Whether the server accepts the save command is not known yet.
Very little: we ask for 512 MB at minimum and suggest 1 GB as our own starting point, not a measured figure. OpenTTD is a small game.
Yes. OpenTTD publishes server builds for both, and NodeMesh downloads the right one for your PC. On Linux the generic build needs the libfluidsynth3 package on your PC. NodeMesh has not run it on either yet.
Yes, for one host. Running game servers on your own PC is free with no time limit — as many servers as your hardware can run, traffic relay included. You only pay, in credits, if you add more hosts.
Create an account, install the agent and pick the game. One host is free with no time limit.
Create a free account