This is where you run an executable, probably not on your personal computer, that does the heavy computation behind the scenes. If you are just looking to play with a couple friends in a private scenario, please check Local Multiplayer.

You should have experience with command-line interfaces and networking before setting this up. Alternatively, you can rent a dedicated server. There are multiple providers out there and for a fee they will set one up for you. We can’t recommend any as we don’t want to unfairly endorse any providers.

Setup

SteamCMD

SteamCMD is Valve’s solution for dedicated server software installation and updates.

The dedicated server app ID is 2131400. The following is based on https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SteamCMD.

Linux

  1. Install SteamCMD. This is platform-specific of course — consult the Valve Wiki article above to get precise instructions. For Ubuntu:
sudo add-apt-repository multiverse; sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386; sudo apt update
sudo apt install steamcmd
  1. Run steamcmd +force_install_dir (directory) +login anonymous +app_update 2131400 validate +quit. This will install the Vein dedicated server files to the directory you provide.
  2. VeinServer.sh will be in (specified directory).
  3. You will need to link steamclient.so, which should be installed with SteamCMD, to the Vein executable directory: ln -s ~/.steam/steam/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so ~/(directory)/Vein/Binaries/Linux/steamclient.so (see https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SteamCMD#SteamCMD_Startup_Errors)

Windows

  1. Download SteamCMD from https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd.zip.
  2. Extract it to a folder.
  3. Run steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir (directory) +login anonymous +app_update 2131400 validate +quit. This will install the Vein dedicated server files to the directory you provide.
  4. VeinServer.exe will be in (specified directory).