Indie-Resource.com

I was asking myself what type of host should I get when my game will be finished?
Googled out a little and found out that the cheapest managed VPS with cpanel would go around 25-30$/month while a shared hosting would go around 4-7$/month.
From what I've read a VPS would be better suited for a browser based game while a shared hosting can be quite limited in resources,but then ,if I dont have any traffic,I would probably regret getting the VPS over the normal hosting.
I'm facing a dilema...can someone help me out?

I would say, just get the cheap host and then if your traffic picks up, switch to something with a bit more grunt under the hood. And your players won't mind if they find that the server is offline because if you explain what you are doing they will know that the game is still being supported, which is nice.

The reason why browser games typically have to get some kind of VPS or dedicated hosting is because of the CPU usage. Most sites serve mostly static content, which requires almost nothing of the server's CPU. Maybe a tad of dynamic content, but not much and not accessed too often. Games on the other hand are almost entirely dynamic content, and some game designs have the players banging links and reloading dynamic pages with long scripts several times a minute. They also may access the database more often than a typical website.

If you are just needing a host to start your game, what you could do is find a hosting company that offers both shared hosting, VPS and dedicated hosting options. Make sure they can transition your site between the services quickly (3 - 4 business days simply won't do; shoot for hours instead of days). Find out what their policy on resource overage is. Just be up-front with them about your needs. Tell them you want to try to start off on shared hosting, but you want a company who can quickly and smoothly transition you with minimal downtime if your game becomes popular and you need more resources. That way you can try to get the low rates for as long as you can, and only change when you have to. But you absolutely do not want to go down for several days (or even 1 whole day!) if your site starts getting popular. That could shoot your game in the foot.

Of course, if you can spend the money and building a stable community is your #1 priority, start on a VPS. That way you have little worries about dealing with rapid growth (a nice problem to have). You may be wasting some money for a while, but it would be peace of mind. On the other hand, if you really want to test the waters with as little investment as possible, go with the plan outlined above.

Thanks for the replies guys!
Gonna check for more hosts and see what offerts I can find.

Don't be afraid to email them (or call if you find one with a customer support line) and tell them what you have and what you need. Some PBBG devs want to tip-toe around the fact that they are wanting to host a game, and it only ends up hurting them in the end.

Jackolantern wrote: If you are just needing a host to start your game, what you could do is find a hosting company that offers both shared hosting, VPS and dedicated hosting options. Make sure they can transition your site between the services quickly (3 - 4 business days simply won't do; shoot for hours instead of days). Find out what their policy on resource overage is. Just be up-front with them about your needs.

Excellent advice.

One thing though all hosters will say " oh for hosting a game you will have to have a VPS". This is not true. To start out and depending on the game's makeup you will only need a host. If your game is light on images and queries, then a host will get you all the way up to several thousand players. By then donations/money coming in will pay for the VPS.

25-30$/month!

You could nearly ram together an old computer and host it yourself for that.

That could work.
But the biggest problem is that I have no ideea how to manage a linux server.

alexander19 wrote:But the biggest problem is that I have no ideea how to manage a linux server.

And that is a serious, serious problem! Honestly, the more I learned about web site security and administration, the more I didn't want to have anything to do with administering my own server. The hosting fees should not only be covering a machine attached to a LAN cable. They also should include internet connection redundancy (more than one connection in case one goes out), uninterruptable power supplies, fire back-ups, constant updating of software, etc. Just getting a second internet connection to fall back on will cost more than the hosting fees, much less getting a UPS, back-up hardware, and learning all the ins and outs of proper, secure hosting.

not only the extra added to your electricity bill