Unturned: Dedicated Hosting Providers
Game server / service /virtual server rental companies for the online multiplayer game Unturned.
Contents
NodeCraft
Rock solid systems that function correctly. Professional and knowledgeable support staff. Real-Time 2-way chat with support as opposed to the "file a ticket and wait forever model of other hosts." During multiple communications with their support staff using the chat tool the experience was positive.
$20/mo for enough space and RAM to be practical. The great news is that they use Linux to host their Unturned servers, which is most efficient and has superior memory management. Their $10 plan chokes your Unturned server at 100% of the 2GB RAM used and not enough disk space for a moderately modded server so you will need the $20 plan to have a well behaved game server.
In conclusion the drawback with NodeCraft is they are stingy with RAM and SSD space. They recently doubled the allocated RAM which puts it at half what they should be offering. Hey fellas, RAM is cheap these days! Share a little. I would recommend NodeCraft if they would offer more RAM and disk space with the virtual game servers. The disk space they offer is too restrictive and would limit the mods.
Pine Hosting
Update: (1) Pine web site claims 24 hour support for customers. When the British are in bed then all USA players have to wait for support. The Discord staff appear to be unpaid volunteers. They also seem to have limited access to critical systems so are restricted to mostly an advisory role with some possible exceptions. They appear to be working to improve response times, and this has been observed.
If you are seeing only pricing in British Pounds (GBP) you can click though further on the web site to find US Dollar Pricing. Click though to order services after registering and you are able to select a region and currency.
According to the Pine Hosting terms, "All hosting service orders placed by newly registered clients are eligible for refunds within the first 48 hours of the creation". The minimum player slot limitation is a generous 18 total and the default RAM allocation is 5GB. I choose to upgrade to the next level of CPU priority, which I am not sure if this is worth the money but I will hope it makes a difference. So for 18 slots, high CPU priority and 5GB RAM I am sitting at a reasonable $14.45/mo.
The default port used for Unturned servers is 27015. With Pine it appears as though they are running multiple server processes on the same physical or virtual machine assigning each a different port (port range) so you like will be assigned a port other than the 27015 that most players are accustomed to.
Being International should not be a disqualifying factor. They do have a presence in the United States, however, it appears that is in only one state for the Unturned game. This is a small company with limited staff so you can't expect the instant support of the larger hosting providers. Small niche hosts like Pine will have to make up for this in other ways such as focusing on optimization for the specific game Unturned as opposed to being a general many-game host.
The Good: Efficient Linux Game Server at Relatively Low Ping 3rd Party Data Centers. Some degree of DDOS mitigation implemented. Pine web user interface clean and easy to use.
The Bad: Lack of technical support which is limited to part time volunteers that work during U.K. daytime hours leaving U.S.A. customers in the dark at critical times. Plugins on the U.I. are not always current with more than a few broken or nonexistent plugins on the installation interface. Payment system relies exclusively on flaky Paypal API even when doing direct Credit Card payment.
I think Pine could be the best hosting provider if they would raise their hosting prices enough to employee support staff that can help customers and clean up some of the broken items in the system. It is a competitive industry however some customers are willing to pay more to have things that work.
Lyhme Hosting
NOT RECOMMENDED. TERRIBLE! THE ABSOLUTE WORST! Read our Lyhme Hosting review titled "Lyhme Hosting: Fragile People Running a Fragile Service"
Worst experience. Fragile people running a fragile system. Customer front-end is a broken install of TCAdmin. System runs on an old version of Microsoft Windows Server. Of the number of game hosting providers that I have tested and interacted with, there were no others that seemed as completely incompetent and so eager to perceive insult in the most benevolent criticism anywhere or even close. These people are over sensitive pansies to an insane proportion.
The Good: nothing
The Bad: everything
I think that Lyhme Hosting is such a poor business - built on the wrong technology - by incompetent people that lack the emotional and mental strength to ever make it work. The entire business should be dissolved and the people involved should move on to occupations better suited to whatever the heck it is that they are more capable of doing. Lyhme is a dead duck that didn't have a chance from day one.
ServerBlend
Maybe $12.10 /mo with a 7 day satisfaction refund policy. Looks attractive. https://discord.gg/GT5cNQ9rMG https://my.serverblend.com/cart.php?a=confproduct&i=0
-- worth checking out --
GTX Gaming
Like Pine hosting GTX Gaming is based in Great Brittan. Unlike Pine you can select US Dollars as the currency for pricing data as opposed to GBP. GTX Gaming has a significant community of gamers.
PingPerfect
NOT RECOMMENDED.
Sometimes the ping is good, sometimes it lags so bad you can't even play. Company promises a trial period then refuses to refund your money. The biggest problem we experienced with this hosting provider was trying to get our refund during the trial period. Although their web site offers a limited duration trial, they refuse to refund your money when you end the trial. It required a fraud report to the credit card company to finally get our money back.
On initial connection to your Unturend server hosted by Ping Perfect you will immediately notice a far from perfect ping. How's the irony in that. However, each time the ping settles down after about five minutes and becomes acceptable. So, if your users do not get frustrated and disconnect before then, they might be fine with the ping. Under sever load with 12 or more players connected the system becomes less table.
Poor user interface for configuring your sever, delayed ping stability, and a lack of confidence in the ethical conduct of the company are reasons I would avoid Ping Perfect. They are not worth the hassle even if they are low cost.
SurvivalServers
$36/mo
LogicServers
$10 - $20/mo
Gameserverkings
They charge extra for a dedicated IP address. Pricey for what they offer.
GameServers
gameservers.com cost $1 per player slot, so 12 players $12/mo
HostHavoc
72 hr test period. supports every mod on the Steam workshop. Lots of RAM 6GB! https://hosthavoc.com/
This company offers many slots and a lot of RAM for the price.
-- worth checking out --
IcedHost
Icedhost uses Pterodactyl for their user frontend. cost $9.49 - $16.99
A very processional looking operation with a nice user interface. Sadly, they use Microsoft Windows for Unturned sever hosting. Ironically they are using Linux for their Minecraft server hosting. If they would just switch to Linux for Unturned hosting they would be the host with the most maybe.
