How to Choose Vintage Story Server Hosting for Mods
Your group’s mod list has grown again. Before anyone starts the next workshop project, choose hosting that runs your chosen Vintage Story version, gives you mod and log access, and lets you restore backups. Then test it before trusting it with your main world.
Agree on the game version and mods
Start with the official Vintage Story Mod DB. Record the exact releases you want, their supported game versions and any dependencies—other mods they need. Read each mod’s notes about compatibility and adding it to an existing world.
Check whether each mod runs on the server, on players’ PCs (client-side), or both. Vintage Story’s mod-side settings make that distinction, so don’t upload everyone’s personal mod folder wholesale.
Size the plan for your busy nights
Write down your peak number of simultaneous players, the size of any existing save, and what your group will be doing. Include exploring new terrain and using the systems your mods add.
The official dedicated-server guide gives rough requirements for ordinary survival play. Use those as a starting point. For your mod list, ask how much processing power, memory and storage the plan provides, and how you can upgrade later.
Check the controls before paying
Ask these questions about the specific plan, not just the host’s feature list:
| Control | What to check |
|---|---|
| Game versions | Can we select our required build and choose when updates happen? |
| Mods and files | Can we upload, replace and remove mods, and edit their settings? |
| Logs and monitoring | Can we see startup errors, CPU usage and memory use? |
| Backups and exports | What’s included, how long is it kept, and can we restore and download it? |
| Location and support | Can our regular players test the connection, and what help covers modded servers? |
Compare renewal prices, upgrade costs and cancellation terms before committing to a long contract.
With our Vintage Story hosting, CreeperPanel brings catalogue mod installs, files, a console and live performance data together. We usually recommend Premium for long-running modded worlds; automated backups on separate storage are available on Premium and Pro.
Give it a proper game-night test
Use a fresh, disposable world for these checks. Don’t disable mods on your only working save to troubleshoot; the game’s mod troubleshooting guide recommends testing on a new world or a separate copy.
- Check the base server. Run the agreed game version with a fresh unmodded world and confirm you can join.
- Install the agreed mods. Stop the server first. In CreeperPanel, open Vintage Story, then Mods. Search for each mod, select a compatible release and click Install, following our mod installation guide.
- Start a fresh modded test world. Create and select a separate world after installing the mods and their required dependencies, then start the server.
- Test a friend’s connection. Have them use the agreed game version. On Vintage Story 1.16 and newer, server mods can be set up automatically when joining; check that the download and connection succeed.
- Try normal play. Get your expected group online, explore and use the mods’ main features. Watch memory and server tick rate—the pace of world updates—and note any errors.
- Check that a backup restores. Use a completed backup of the test world. Stop the server before restoring it, then rejoin and check that the changes saved at that point are there.
If you’re bringing an existing world, repeat the play test on a backed-up copy before switching over.
Keep a working setup to return to
Back up before changing the game or mod set, and keep an untouched copy outside the server. Preserve the matching mod files, mod settings, server configuration and access lists too. Vintage Story’s data-folder reference shows why a world save alone isn’t the whole setup.
Manual backups: Stop the server fully before copying files. Copy the whole save folder, including any remaining journal files, which can hold newer changes. SQLite’s backup guidance explains why copying a live database file can produce an inconsistent backup.
If the test fails
Check the first relevant log error and verify versions and dependencies. Change one thing at a time on the test world. If normal play repeatedly hits the plan’s resource limits after mod errors are ruled out, review capacity with the host.
To undo a failed update, restore the pre-update save with its matching game version, mods and settings.
Need a hand choosing? Send our team your game version, mod list and expected player count.
Comments?
Leave us your opinion.