Empyrion: Galactic Survival Server Hosting

What do you play on an Empyrion server?

On an Empyrion: Galactic Survival server, your crew starts by surviving on a planet and building a base, then works up to hover vessels, small vessels and capital vessels to reach orbit and other star systems. With your own server, that journey no longer depends on anyone's PC; each player can log in whenever they like to mine, upgrade their ship or scout a new planet.

The Empyrion universe is made of playfields: every planet, orbit and space sector is a separate game area, defined as PvE or PvP in the scenario. That lets one server offer safe starter planets alongside risky PvP zones.

Community servers usually revolve around a Workshop scenario. Scenarios such as Reforged Eden redesign the planets, enemy factions, block list and crafting tree from the ground up. You can also run a relaxed co-op for your friends in the default universe, or a PvP server built around faction rivalry.

How much RAM does an Empyrion server need?

For a small group, 8 GB of RAM is a good starting point for an Empyrion server, but what really matters is how many different playfields your players are spread across. Empyrion launches a separate PlayfieldServer process for every active planet or space sector. If five players are on the same planet, one process runs; if they are in five different places, five processes use memory at once.

As your player count grows and the crew spreads across systems, Platinum 10GB and Diamond 12GB become the safer choices. Comprehensive scenarios such as Reforged Eden load more content and raise memory needs further. The 6 vCores on Emerald 16GB help balance many playfield processes running side by side.

Srv_ReservePlayfields keeps idle playfield processes ready to cut load times after a warp, but every reserve process uses memory too. Keeping that value low on smaller plans and raising it on bigger ones is a balanced approach. As saves grow, NVMe storage keeps planet loads quick.

What do you change in dedicated.yaml?

dedicated.yaml is the main config file for an Empyrion server, and it has two sections. Stop the server from the panel before editing, and since YAML is indentation-sensitive, be careful not to break the spacing.

In the ServerConfig section, Srv_Name is the name in the server list, Srv_Password the join password, Srv_MaxPlayers the player cap and Srv_Description the description. Srv_ReservePlayfields sets how many standby playfield processes to keep. EACActive turns Easy Anti-Cheat on or off, and keeping it on makes sense for public PvP servers. Tel_Enabled and its password setting let you send commands remotely over Telnet.

The GameConfig section defines the universe. GameName is the save folder name, so changing it effectively starts a new game. Mode can be Survival or Creative, Seed drives universe generation, and CustomScenario must match the name of a scenario folder under Content/Scenarios.

Most of these settings take effect when a new game is created. Changing the scenario or seed on an existing universe can have unexpected results, so back up first.

How do you manage scenarios, mods and admin rights?

In Empyrion, scenarios are content packs that redefine the universe. Subscribe to a Workshop scenario on your own PC, upload its folder to the server's Content/Scenarios directory over SFTP, and enter the folder name in the CustomScenario field of dedicated.yaml. Players receive the shared data the scenario needs from the server when they connect, so the first join can take a little longer.

Server plugins built with Empyrion's Mod API go into the Content/Mods folder. They can add features such as automated announcements, statistics or extra admin commands, and their compatibility should be checked after every game update.

Admin rights are granted in adminconfig.yaml inside the save folder. Add your own Steam ID at the highest permission level and you can use admin commands from the in-game console; moderators get more limited levels. The same file also keeps your ban list. If you have enabled Telnet for remote management, use a strong password and share it only with people you trust.

How do players join an Empyrion server?

Players join by searching for your server's name in the Multiplayer server list or by connecting directly with its IP and port. The correct address and port are shown in your panel, and if you set Srv_Password, players are prompted for it.

On scenario servers, a wait of a few minutes on the first connection is normal while shared data downloads; later logins are quicker. The first time players join, they pick a starting planet from the options the scenario offers.

With the server running in İstanbul, players in Türkiye enjoy low latency during ship combat and orbital maneuvers, and players connecting from Europe, the Middle East and the Caucasus generally get a good connection too. Writing your faction rules, PvP zones and blueprint limits into the server description or your Discord helps newcomers settle into the universe.