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Last December, we announced that we are migrating Dead by Daylight to Dedicated Servers by Summer 2019. Since then, we have been hard at work getting the game ready to make the switch. We have recently been testing dedicated servers internally, and we are now ready to share more with you!
Testing Dedicated Servers
On April 25th, two days after the Player Test Build launches, dedicated servers will be enabled on the test environment. The PTB will use a copy of your save file from April 19, 2019 8:15AM UTC. Any progress earned on the PTB will not transfer over to the live build.
How to Access the Player Test Build
https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/26/how-to-access-the-player-test-build#latest
Give Feedback!
Mid-Chapter (2.7.0) : https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/categories/gameplay-feedback
Dedicated Servers Test Build : THE LINK TO THE SUBFORUM WILL BE UPDATED ON THURSDAY
PTB Patch Notes
https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/59071/2-7-0-mid-chapter-player-test-build#latest
A Gradual Roll Out
Dedicated Servers will not launch right at the mid-chapter (2.7.0) update.
Dedicated servers will first be deployed into the PTB on April 25th. We will be monitoring their performance and keeping an eye out for feedback and technical issues. This will be the first time we run tests in a public setting and we would like to take this opportunity to discover any issues that may arise and observe how the system scales with a larger number of players to ensure that it is as stable as possible going forward.
If we are satisfied with the performance of dedicated server on the PTB, we will gradually begin tests on the live environment following the mid-chapter patch. These tests will first begin on PC and involve a small portion of players. As time goes on, we will gradually increase the number of players to ensure that the servers can handle the load.
Once we ensure that everything is stable, we can extend the tests to the console versions of the game as well. Again, this will be a gradual roll out.
Data Centers
Dead by Daylight will be using data centers from an established provider in supported regions.
For now, we will have centers located in the following areas:
- US East (Ohio)
- US West (N. California)
- South America (São Paulo)
- EU (London)
- EU (Frankfurt)
- Asia Pacific (Singapore)
- Asia Pacific (Seoul)
- Asia Pacific (Tokyo)
Depending on the demand, we may add new regions in the future. We will be closely monitoring the performance with these regions for the time being.
Hitboxes & Disconnection handling
We know that hit registration and disconnection handling are two of our top issues and we are actively working on those. Migrating to Dedicated Servers will give a better environment and tools to manage disconnections and to improve hit registrations. A multidisciplinary team is working on both features, but they will not be ready for the launch. More information will be released in the next Dev Update.
Additional information
Peer to Peer vs Dedicated Servers
There are several reasons to use dedicated servers over a peer to peer connection.
Reduces the load on your system
In a peer to peer scenario, the host player acts as a hub for all other players. This puts additional strain on the host’s system as all the information flows through their machine. With dedicated servers, this load is handled by the server.
More stable than a Peer to peer connection
A peer to peer connection requires both the host and the hosted players to have a stable connection for everything to work. If either you or the host player have a hiccup in their connection, you may experience some lag. Dedicated servers, on the other hand, are much faster and stable than an average internet connection. Your connection to the server will be more reliable and consistent than before.
Determining disconnects
With dedicated servers, all players are connected to one server. If one player loses connection, everyone else will remain connected. This information will help us better identify and punish players who intentionally disconnect going forward.
Preventing abuse
On a peer to peer connection, a player could potentially gain an advantage by having a poor connection or by briefly breaking their connection. If the host has a weak connection, for example, all other players will experience lag. With dedicated servers, your connection only affects you. If another player in the lobby has a weak connection, you will still be able to move around freely.
Dedicated servers are a huge landmark for Dead by Daylight. Following our internal tests, we are very excited to get them into your hands this week.
We can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
The Dead by Daylight team.