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How to have a successfull MuOnline Server

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Hello brothers and sisters,
I am here to write things that i have experienced and struggled with by having muonline server and working with muonline servers and i am here to give you all my tips for free :)

Before you start a server you need to think about what's next, i know that sounds weird but listen.
If you want to be successfull u need to aim for the impossible, that means you need to do things that sound impossible. Having an muonline server for many people new to muonline server managing think that they will open a server, set the exp activate few events, put resets on and let the players flow within...

That's not the plan.
Firstly you need to invest time and possibly money if you need the server to turnout much better than free.
That means, before you open a server, think about what you will need... what might happen so what backup options you will have and what support you will have by your own team or players.

Let me list few things:
* Using good files that YOU have tested and they seemt good enough to use and easy to configure and work with.

* A good hosting service, you dont need a host which will be slow, can't handle players, getting attacked and so on, you need something far better than that.

* You need a TEAM, yes a team.. ofcourse there are exceptions if you really wanna spend all day working on your server and making events etc, but a Team is always needed (atleast 3-4 staff) would be enough to support you and the server and the players.

* Protection, yes you need definetly antihack in your server game, or else you will be struggling all day and having issues with your server and loosing players, so get a good antihack (UGK,LiveGUard,MUGuard) whatever suits you better. (for DDoS protection you will need good webhost for the website side ''i prefer to host my muonline web on a webhost that is linux or even windows with good ddos protection) for server side you just need a good Server Host with good ddos protection aswell, there are many jealous people, haters and people who have nothing better to do so think about it.

* Maintenance Schedules for Backing up and other stuff where you will need to shut your server down for a specific amount of time (lets say 2-3 hours) check for dupes, hacks,logs, prepare maybe new events, fix new things, add custom stuff in game, maybe change some design, step by step things that people will understand that hey, this server is serious and is willing to do its best for the players.

* Automatic Updates... many servers miss that, and when there's an issue with the host,or files or client they must reupload the files on the website and give to the players new patch link or client to re-download/re-install which kind of makes players dislike it, so use an Launcher with auto update and u will be very thankful for it.

* Use a forum, yes maybe at the start it wont be that active, but its always needed for support and other stuff, u can even make events on the forum and give alot of informations about the server, u can also use facebook extra, twitter and other social networks.

* Advertising... Here comes the weird part but at the same time needs alot of effort.
When you go and advertise your server, don't just write few things about it and put the website/download links and disappear, people need to see first how commited you are for the server, how much time you spend for the players,guests who review the server also, there are ofcourse exceptions like a guy can like ur server only by looking the settings of it, or the screenshots or the events or even the summary, so why not include as much information as possible? do that and try to advertise in as many places as you can and tell your friends to help you out aswell.
* Choosing the Operating system and the specs its another story, but hey if you are really serious into making a muonline server and want to bring it in life and successfully have people playing it and grow apart, you will need to double the specs, lets say now for example season 1-2-3 servers mostly you need around 4GB Ram (2-3) Cores and a good internet connection, Season 4-5-6-7-8 etc will require obviously 4 to 8GB ram and (3-4) cores to have it atleast stable at the start, also if you are going to have subservers then ofcourse you will need to increase the ram size, the more people you get the more CPU usage, the more laggy, the more stressful.
So get a good host and don't think alot about the prices, i will include few server hosting links which i recommend by hosting a muonline server with fair prices here:

Code:
http://ovh.com
Many use it cus of its ddos protection i think, so if u can afford it, go for it.

sovahost.net (use it since 6 years+)
webhost not that recommended (with their new admin panel)
normal host (are functioning great, waiting times after host is bought might vary)
I have personally used sovahost for long time and their support is great, their servers are hosted with ddos protection, not expensive aswell, you need to give it a try, they had recently for 1 week some malfunction problems but they are back on track if someone is wondering what happened, you can even PM me if you are unsure about it.

* Choosing your server files is important, don't choose anything attractive, choose the quality and not the quantity of the features, of course nice is nice but if the stabily is bad, and there are bad issues, forget it.
Here i will recommend by seasons some files and tell you why in a short explanation.

97d: I recommend 97d by ''dark...steam'' with the latest updates, i used it my self, also has good customs and its stable aswell.
Season 1: I recommend MBT Season 1 or the season 1 by CZF/ muemu downgrade
Season 2: My favorite season.. i recommend highly MMT Season 2 files 1.00.18-1.00.19 files, they are not very well customized, but still stable and good to use! I would also recommend ExTeam Season 2 episode 4, where you can disable season 3/4 features and the server has few more customs than MMT, so its stable and good server files to use aswell! ALTERNATIVE: muemu downgrade or THIS
Season 3: P4F Season 3 Episode 1, they are stable, have some customs, and maybe little slight bugs, but non important, i also recommend euphoria files, but they also have some bugs, and Infinity MU Season 3 Episode 1 files i also guess they are pretty good to use, muemu downgradade too.
Season 4: IA Julia, nothing else... ofcourse u can try alll those other releases with customs and ExTeam and so on, but IA Julia was re-worked mostly so its an awesome choice and stability is great there, same as MFS team as i remember they had great files but unfortunaly their project is kind of lost and the files links are gone somehow. muemu downgradade too.
Season 5: ExTeam or ExGames season 5 free are good choice, i recommend them. muemu downgradade too.
Season 6: Season 6 episode 1/2/3 depends on what u like, but if u go on the higher u can disable any features u like, i recommend on s6ep3 titans tech scfmt 11.70.52, the release i made was the only i liked even my self, u can ofcourse Buy IGCN or Louis with custom updates if u can afford it, or muengine, who knows.. buying is another story so be careful with that.

Season 7 There's no many free season ex700, except the release by ashley which i repacked and you can find on release section a special tutorial, i recommend it, althought i heard gs_cs not working, but give it a try, else you have to go with IGCN premium or other premium like xteam, else u will be full bugged on other files.
Season 8 Sorry can't help u with that, zTeam cracked is another story, even with the sources.. it stills needs alot of time to fix things and stabilize or something, so yeah IGCN premium once again, or else wait for better releases/fixes on current releases, same with s7, xteam also provides

Season 9 and higher muemu / x-team files repacks with sources or IGCN releases for free are the best, Premium i'd go with IGCN they have season 13 /16 + and x-team aswell. same with s8, xteam also provides

For all of those seasons, you will need almost for sure ANTIHACK!

* Website, choose something secure like MUCORE/MUENGINE/ DMN WEB/ and make it nice and easy to use, that's all i guess about it, if u wanna go realy advanced make alot of features on user panels and such., other engines: webengine

* Choosing windows... for seasons untill season 2, i would recommend windows server 2003 sp1 for the rest you can use mostly windows server 2008 r2, or windows 7/win 2012 and so on. for newest seasons use windows 2012 / 2016 for sure!

* Testing your server / Beta is really important too, for the stability, for ingame bugs, website bugs, atleast 1-2 weeks minimum server has to be in test mode so dont skip beta testing!


Okay lets go more deep into this discussion...

[dont forget this advices are gaven at 2015]
You really want players to play and have fun right? you want to see your server active and alive?
For that specially you will need to spend 85% of your muonline administrating time.
Firstly because you need to make a server where people play and dont get Bored.
That means a server with balanced rates, experience, character pvp/ drops and more.
Which means u dont just chooose and pick up by luck the exp, the drops and those rates, if you do so, you will end up having boring server and unattractive, i 've been there!

So write things down, make it like.... ''If i put Jewel of Bless in shop... people should hunt Soul to upgrade their items to 9 and further! and for that i should make the soul rate upgrading items to 9 not easy for the jewel to be hunted by people and be on marketing active!''
That was an example, make it as you wanna make the server for your self, and please! Listen to others opinions but dont get stressed and do changes just because someone said this or that, you are the owner? you manage it, with your staff you make decisions and thats it, players are different in game, if 1 guy won't like it, another 10 might love it, so its an UP and DOWN thing.

You really need to spend time building your server and testing everything you set up, with that mind of idea you will get your server more likely successfully, don't rush things, thats it.

* Donations.... wooha thats something risky and complex thing, if you put donations for things like double exp/double drop/maybe jewels only and seals, that might be nice idea, or alternatively make a vip server with double rates/exp etc, but if you are going to put webshop with full option stuff and u know buying anything u like with credits (by votes) thats a waste of time in my opinion, ofcourse votes are good... but hey make it really hard atleast, 1000 votes = 1 set FO in 1 month or 2 weeks, not in 2 days, make it as a challenge. if you make webshop with real money, its plus and minus thing aswell, rich people will love to have fun buying and killin ppl and being the best, while poor ones have to struggle for it, so be sure what you choose, make it atleast somehow fair and u will be successfull with it, just like webzen in a kind of sense, they dont sell FO, but sell alot of boxes and such that lead into having sthose special items, which is another kind of mind tricking, in my opinion? dont use webshop for the first few months, gain some player activity, if u wanna make money u can put some ads on ur web or like donation button to get supported, or u can even put donations for changing name of characters,changing class and all those things... i wouldnt recommended for resetting cus its a timing things and its unfair.

I will explain now in short description what i meant by all of that.
You should be sure u will spend time on ur server, no matter how hard it is, u will find ways around ur issues, you will struggle, research,ask,pay for things, have issues, have big challenges, have hackers, use ur creativity on the in-game features and make it not look just like another muonline server... u can even design new maps and make cool things out, so yeah use ur imagination and turn your dream into reality.

Also for new beginners on muonline making servers, be sure to TRY/Test and learn! you guys are crazy asking for everything there to be done, ofcourse few years ago i was the same, but listen we have 2015 and there are so many tutorials and resources u can find.. you just need to use google or search function little more and TRY to make things ur self, dont ever tell someone to make u a server, if so you will end up failing, except if its for testing purposes which is a good thing.

edit notice from 2023:
If you are new, first learn to make any server, any season, any files, after u can try different files once u know the basics for installing, then u find ffiles that u like and stick and stay with them, premium or not premium doesnt matter, the next part is if u opening a real server online for internet ppl to play it, get a host from like sovahost, if its season 6 atleast 4GB ram 2-3 cpu cores, if its higher to season 12 maybe better 8gb ram and more higher season (igcn files specifically need 8-12gb and last season as well the more the better, but some files dont need to much, but its still recommended, and its cheap nowdays, u just need a ddos protected server, a webhost to host your website there and conenct it remotely to your server sql and a launcher to automate updates and do some gaming options for screen size and other settings, also antihack is important iff u are not using latest seaons of mu files, psguard muonline antihack is good, live guard too,, and any free antihacks like muemu are fine but not for long term. So all that in a shell, its easy and simple if u do these steps and keep the server up to date, auto backup ur sql to fftp or google drive in case something happen to the host, and stay up to date with windows 2012 or higher version for your windows system and your sql version for mu online database, but u can use sql 2008 for old files still, so whatever you find try it out and at the end research and ask around untill you have something that you can keep going and present nicely on web,onyour community forum, discord etc and make it easy to navigate,make account,download,install, client fix, guides, and let players play, but dont do it alone, have some gm's and friends etc to help u with testings and maintaining,support to players or things might become exhausting.





Thanks for reading and i wish you the best of luck!
 
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wow that's a lot of text, i bet you have successful mu online server now, give us link please so we can see it. tnx
 
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OvztPP6 - How to have a successfull MuOnline Server - RaGEZONE Forums
 

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another suggestion (based on my personal experience): if you are the admin you MUST not be a player of your own server unless you keep it in complete disguise. Trust me. Otherwise you are going to have trust issues with your server community.
 
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another suggestion (based on my personal experience): if you are the admin you MUST not be a player of your own server unless you keep it in complete disguise. Trust me. Otherwise you are going to have trust issues with your server community.
you already answered your question so why ur saying ''you MUST'' not be a player if you giving another sugguestion to be like a spy ingame? ur contradicting your own sugguestion theory.
 
Initiate Mage
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Hi Karli,
I love Mu, special Mu Season 2. I plan to make a free server for Season 2.
I plan to buy a VPS from http://servdiscount.com/ which you suggested for my free MU SS2 server.
Could suggest the good VPS and what software I should install?
Could you share with me the good version of MU Season 2 which you have?
I am a beginner and dont have more but I willing to pay you which what I have to make my dream come true.
I was tried to found your contact here but I don't see anything and your message box is full then I cannot contact you. Here is my information:
Skype: truong_minh_song
Email: truongminhsong@gmail.com

Thanks
 
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Hi Karli,
I love Mu, special Mu Season 2. I plan to make a free server for Season 2.
I plan to buy a VPS from http://servdiscount.com/ which you suggested for my free MU SS2 server.
Could suggest the good VPS and what software I should install?
Could you share with me the good version of MU Season 2 which you have?
I am a beginner and dont have more but I willing to pay you which what I have to make my dream come true.
I was tried to found your contact here but I don't see anything and your message box is full then I cannot contact you. Here is my information:
Skype: truong_minh_song
Email: truongminhsong@gmail.com

Thanks

Hey, to be honest i think its bad idea to get servdiscount anymore, my partner said it was somehow easy to attack ddos, so try bee2host or other.
for season 2 u need windows server 2003 sp1 and MMT files season 2 from my video tutorial on youtube or the thread i made, or exteam season 2.4 with s2 disabled features, also 4GB ram + needed 8gb ram recommended, good net connection 100mbs up and download would be required for sure sometime, HDD u need atleast 50gb for start , if u wana upgrade later make it later more so u can save some money.

i will add you on skype if u are seeking to make good server for some payment service if thats what you are searching for, also including antihack it depends, from 25-35$ monthly, if u dont have antihack on muonline files these days its useless to run a server and have hack issues by random ppl.

if u want to make ur server alone u just go here [Guide] MuOnline Videos Tutorial Center (Everything you need!) - RaGEZONE - MMO development community and check my video tutorials or my threads.

peace
 
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HI KarLi,
I ordered a dedicated server with servdiscount last week. But I am very disappointed with it.
Because It's very lag. speed delay about 2 second. For example, you are open vault, It takes about 2s to open.
So I am looking for New antiddoss dedicated server now.
 
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HI KarLi,
I ordered a dedicated server with servdiscount last week. But I am very disappointed with it.
Because It's very lag. speed delay about 2 second. For example, you are open vault, It takes about 2s to open.
So I am looking for New antiddoss dedicated server now.

bee2host would do good, try it, or else u have to find it ur self.
 
Initiate Mage
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The topic is kind of old but I find it extremely useful and motivating

I'm from Brazil and player of MU to 7 years, this year I started the journey to create my first server, I asked for many things done on forums, I missed a lot, I learned a lot, I researched, I paid and I spent days and days studying SQL Server and all its operation together with MuServer, today I have my server 100% operant and your article can not be more direct as to having a MU of success.

The MU community in the midst of so many giant companies out there is almost disappearing, I hope that as this forum and all those who have a taste for MU administration continue.
 
Initiate Mage
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The topic is kind of old but I find it extremely useful and motivating

I'm from Brazil and player of MU to 7 years, this year I started the journey to create my first server, I asked for many things done on forums, I missed a lot, I learned a lot, I researched, I paid and I spent days and days studying SQL Server and all its operation together with MuServer, today I have my server 100% operant and your article can not be more direct as to having a MU of success.

The MU community in the midst of so many giant companies out there is almost disappearing, I hope that as this forum and all those who have a taste for MU administration continue.
what is the link of your server anyway, so we can take a look at it. i wanna play again, it's been more than a decade since i played MU. lol
 
Initiate Mage
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this article help me a lot , i want to build my own mu server soon , i will save this and read again and again . Thanks for this really help me .
 
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