You Get What You Pay For Survival Servers, Dayz.st, Hfbservers, Vilayer

[PorkChopSamiches 1]

We started renting a server from Survival Servers last weekend. We got a Private Hive running Lingor when it was still Bliss 3.5. We had a few issues in the set up and it took 2 days to get the server running (submitted a ticket and 12 hours later got a response; responsded to it and 24 hours later another response and a working server, so 36 hours from purchase to server up and running). Once it was up and running it was great, people could join, vehicles saved, the dayztools worked, the map tool worked, etc. The only issue I had then (which is still happening) is that all of their services are plagued by "502 Bad Gateway" errors. This includes the survival server website, forum, TCAdmin, phpMyAdmin, DayzTools, and the Dayz Map tool.

On Monday I had a minor question and submitted a ticket and didn't receive a response until 50 hours later on Wednesday. Then on Wednesday they pushed the 3.6 Bliss update which broke our server. All of a sudden zombies quit spawning, DayZTools gave us an error when we ran it, and the Map tool quit working. I submitted a ticket and within 5 hours got a response. This went back and forth for 2 days, with 5-6 hour response times, which was nice; however, the server is still broken. I was told they were working on an update, then was told not to play on Lingor until it was fixed.

Finally on Friday morning they released a "fix" in the form of an update for 3.6 and Lingor. I ran the updates following the instructions, and our server crashed. It wouldn't connect at all. I submitted a ticket and received no response, so I looked around and figured out the issue, and got the server back up. Now there are no vehicles spawning and the DayzTools (which they said they fixed) still returns the same error. I added to the already open ticket and updated them on the issue, and I still have received no response (granted, it is still within 24 hours).

So basically in the week since we bought the server, we had 2 days of waiting for it to go up, 2 days where it worked properly, 2 days of no zombies or tools, and 2 days of no vehicles or tools. This has been a headache from the get go, and if it is not resolved by the end of our first month, I will be cancelling service with them. I will say that they have never been rude to us, and when the server was working, it was great (no lag, no desync, fast load times, etc.) and I would have recommended them to anyone. If we can get back to that point I will change my mind, but as of now I've given up hope.

Edited October 20, 2012 by PorkChopSamiches

[jeremy_mccurdy@hotmail.com 19]

So I've decided to give DayZ.st a spin for at least a month after hearing that their ticket response times are lightning fast compared to SurvivalServers.

DayZ.st: 2hours between 11am and 11pm on weekdays, and up to 12 hours on weekends

SurvivalServers: Up to 24 hours, occasionally longer

They also handle all upgrades and provide automated in-game warnings to players when the server will be restarted for maintenance. The upgrades are something that cost five bucks a month extra with Survival Servers, with DayZ.st, it's included in the $30 per month(normally $35, but there's an offer on at the moment).

They also provide server tools for spawning in new vehicles, which is something that requires an additional 5 bucks a month from SurvivalServers, though the SurvivalServers tool does a lot more than just spawn in vehicles, it also handles cleanup of out-of-bounds vehicles and old placed items so that your server doesn't get full of junk.

The setup time for my server through DayZ.st was amazingly fast, it was ready and starting up as soon as I paid for the service. SurvivalServers takes a day to set up.

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The main question at the moment is this: Will DayZ.st live up to it's promise, or will it be just like SurvivalServers? I understand that cheaper hosting companies can be a bit of a crapshoot, but they've at least made me curious enough to try them out. I'll be sure to post an update or two as things go along.

At the moment: My DayZ.ST server is working fine, and the timezone settings on my SurvivalServers server are currently busted(but at least it's playable).

[RogueOne 112]

Being a newer company only time will tell if dayz.st will live up to it's promises. I don't think anyone could answer that for you but I've heard good things about them and they seem to know what they're doing. Keep us updated with your experience!

[Bernardo (DayZ) 13]

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Edited October 22, 2012 by bsmaff

[sauced 2]

I used to rent at Vilayer and they offered no customization on your server at all, it basically felt like running a server for them instead of having your own.

Im now renting at Survivalservers.com and they offer great tools and the server seems to be very responsive, maybe because im one of the few renting a server located in europe. :P

I transfered from a public to a private hive and the server havent been up and running since, the last ticket reply did not solve the issue so now im waiting another 24 hours.

Their support could definitely be better, but the server ran great for a month and i never had issues with saving gear or with desyncing.

[jeremy_mccurdy@hotmail.com 19]

Another update:

DayZ.st has been awesome to deal with so far. ersan191 responds really fast on the forums with actual helpful and informative posts. I had an issue with my server last night after switching maps, the problem was fixed in less than 15 minutes from the time that I sent the e-mail! I can't stress enough how awesome that is after dealing with SurvivalServers. There were some ticket responses on tickets that I'd wait nearly a day for, and the response would be something along the lines of "Well it works for me".

Of course, our survival servers server has been running fine since Saturday, the time zone issue was caused by the bliss 3.6 update, and a simple offset fixed it. The survival server staff responded in a reasonable amount of time with a solution, 9 hours.

It looks like the biggest part of the rough patch with SurvivalServers is over, but they still don't even come close to comparing to DayZ.st for the quality of the support.

I'll be sure to post more updates as the month goes on.

Edited October 23, 2012 by GreatBigJerk

[RogueOne 112]

Glad to hear. It looks like you found a good fit for you!

[jeremy_mccurdy@hotmail.com 19]

They sure are so far! Another update:

On DayZ.st, we ran into a minor issue when crashing helis, certainly not a dire problem, but annoying nonetheless. I got a reply to my e-mail in 34 minutes.

After that, we ran into a ton of serious issues on our SurvivalServers server, and it is currently unplayable. I will post how long it takes them to reply when they do.

We're basically on our last straw with SurvivalServers, the moment we have to put up with serious issues for an unreasonable amount of time(24 hours would be unreasonable in this situation), I'll be canceling service with them.

Edited October 24, 2012 by GreatBigJerk

[jeremy_mccurdy@hotmail.com 19]

Still waiting for my server to get back up and running, it's been a day now. The SurvivalServers guys put a $3 credit on my account to cover the downtime, but I'd just like to see the server running uninterrupted and without major issues for at least a week. They replied with the credit and a promise to look into the problem within 7 hours. The fact that they replied fast (at least fast for them), and they gave a generous credit earns them some patience from me, but that server is basically a huge annoyance at this point.

I'd probably be raging more, but I've been busy playing on my Day.st server which is running fine with no downtime as of yet. I've only had a couple of problems, and each of those were fixed in under an hour.

[sauced 2]

I rented at DayZ.st now, i grew tired of waiting 24 hours for a ticket at survivalservers, but to be fair their servers is great and reliable, their staff when they answer is helpful and friendly enough, maybe im just impatient but everyday your server is not running is money wasted.

I rented a server located in Amsterdam at Dayz.st and the server came up as soon as my order was completed, Changing your server map, starting loadout and cfg is easy and free of any problems, i had immediately access to a map tool and database access and didnt have to pay extra, but most importantly their support works, they have irc, livesupport and email where you can ask any question and they will answer quickly.

Edited October 25, 2012 by Claus1978

[donbaker 3]

I rented a server with DayZ.st too . running fast, good ping. but the best thing is the support from ersan191 . He always answer me fast and fix the issue i send him! I know i'm annoying with all my request i send him , but he always help me anyways.

cant complaint! and he always add new features

[jeremy_mccurdy@hotmail.com 19]

Survival Server has done good by me recently, there was a credit discrepancy which they fixed pretty fast, and they had my server fixed in under 24 hours from their reply on the ticket. It's not the lightning fast response and solution times that I've seen with DayZ.st, but it's reasonable enough considering the generous credit they applied for the downtime.

It sounds like the problems that were kicking their ass are getting better, but I'd still like to see them get up to the level of DayZ.st. They should at least be matching their competition in terms of service and support.

[RogueOne 112]

Considering they know who you are and read the forums here It would be unwise of them to keep you waiting..

[jeremy_mccurdy@hotmail.com 19]

That definitely is true. I'd like to hope that I'm not getting preferential treatment or anything just for being very vocal on the forums, but it wouldn't surprise me. The squeaky wheel gets the grease after all.

[Core618 11]

That definitely is true. I'd like to hope that I'm not getting preferential treatment or anything just for being very vocal on the forums, but it wouldn't surprise me. The squeaky wheel gets the grease after all.

^^^^ That

it has gotten better, but not that much.

3 more days and I see the end of my billing cycle with SS, still no resolutin to my laency issue, just keep being told to reinstall bliss 3.7, which is not helping.

whitelist still not working, but maybe, in a few days it will be... then again maybe not.

502 errors are finally gone, doesn't help my server any though

And, standard practice is still 24 hours for ticket response. I have had some come much sooner, but they were the exception, not the rule.

I think I'm tired of messing with it, I'll just go play on everyone elses servers instead of spending all my time trying to get mine fixed.

[russthewomble@gmail.com 5]

If you look at response times on tickets SS were very quick when I had a server with them. Maybe there are many Bliss 3.5 issues and they were overwhelmed with tickets, or maybe their good reputation means they are now struggling to meet the same response times. But, they were always a great host for me, even setting up a new instance within around 12 hours when hackers ruined the first one. The tools that have been developed are good as well. I also forgot to cancel my recurring payment on paypal and got the amount refunded within 24 hours which was nice.

At the time I read the threads for vilayer, hfb etc, and they all had complaints about ticket response times. I don't know how dayz.st will do but will be interesting to see feedback on them in a few months once they have a lot more servers on their hands to look after.

With regards performance, SS were always much better than whenever I connected to a vilayer host, and for the money were great value.

I think the OP was right in that generally you get what you pay for, but rather than looking at one person's perspective you should read through the server threads and see if you feel the overall impression is positive or not, and then go with the one that gives you the most confidence.

[LumpyNtZ 1]

@SS So, just wanted to point 2 things from you guys.

1st You are advertising "Blazing Fast Setup" and "We approve servers 24/7 and generally within a few hours during normal operating business hours.", ours took 2 days...

2nd Our server with you has been now down 6 days in a row, and first when i send a ticket to you for this, you answered

Our host is doing maintenance on your server, this should be back online shortly, sorry for the inconvenience!

And only after a while... i mean like in couple of hours i get this

Hi,

If your server is located on 178.18.249.55 your DayZ server might be down for maintenance. There was a hard drive corruption and technicians are workign to resolve this immediately.

Apologies for any down time. Please submit a ticket to request compensation if your server is located on 178.18.249.55.

Sincerely,

Survival Servers

After that havent got anything from you.

So these Technicians are now been working with this issue like 5 days?

I really liked your service before this happened, and thats only because of lack of any info......

Edited October 29, 2012 by LumpyNtZ

[Bernardo (DayZ) 13]

At the time I read the threads for vilayer, hfb etc, and they all had complaints about ticket response times. I don't know how dayz.st will do but will be interesting to see feedback on them in a few months once they have a lot more servers on their hands to look after.

I must say I left Survival Servers after a month of having a terrible service, forced Bliss update to 3.5 which brought my server down for about 10 days. Ticket responses which took 36 hours+ and were very generic answers, if it wasn't for these forums the problems I had would never have been fixed.

I started with Dayz.St on Friday night and their service is the complete opposite, my server was set up with 5 minutes of payment. I then sent them an email to change the location of the server which was done within 15 minutes. I also had another problem importing my database I backed up from my previous server and again I sent them the files and they imported all the data within another 15 minutes.

I would hugely recommmend DAYZ.ST over Survival Servers any day of the week. They are the absolute complete opposites when it comes to customer service and support. I have a very foul taste in my mouth after having to deal with Survival Servers to me they are complete cowboys.

I can't comment on other server companies as I have never dealt with them but I did experience lower pings on Vilayer servers when I used to play the game on normal servers. But the lack of tools from HFB and Vilayer never atracted me to them.

Edited October 29, 2012 by bsmaff

[Mr Nasty 1023]

Ive been using Vilayer for the past few months and am seriously considering a move to another host. Vilayer seems to be hit or miss really. Lately its been more of a 'miss'. Seeing as theyre one of the higher priced options I feel like there is just to much down time. Their response time is somewhat acceptable.

Ill be going with a lower price option in November. I'd rather sit at a loading screen and wait an extra 20-60 seconds and have maximum uptime with great customer support than have to consistently open tickets while paying a higher price.

I may end up going back to Vilayer but at this point im willing to see how green the grass is on the other side.

Thanks to all who have voiced their opinions on hosts in this thread.

[Bernardo (DayZ) 13]

I would highly recommend DayZ.st to anyone.

I wouldn't even recommend Survival Servers to Hitler, even I couldn't be that evil.

[jeremy_mccurdy@hotmail.com 19]

I would highly recommend DayZ.st to anyone.

I wouldn't even recommend Survival Servers to Hitler, even I couldn't be that evil.

Hyperbole doesn't really help anyone.

I suppose another update is in order. I have zero complaints with Dayz.st, and I'll be with them for a while yet. No noticeable downtime at all, and every tiny problem has been answered extremely fast. At a rough guess, if I added up the time I spent waiting for every single problem or question with DayZ.st, I'm fairly certain that total would be lower than wait times on the majority of individual Survival Servers tickets. If that doesn't speak for how happy I am with them, I don't know what will.

Of course, now that most of the troubles are over, SurvivalServers hasn't been bad to deal with, they're just really really mediocre and overpriced now. I really hate the fact that I have to ask for updates, or pay anything for a "fully managed" server. I pay 10 bucks a month extra for services that I get completely free with DayZ.st, and the DayZ.st services are faster and more reliable.

I'm going to be making use of the credits I have on my account with SurvivalServers for one last month, and then I'm switching over to DayZ.st completely. Any serious issues or significant downtime will make me cut my services with SurvivalServers immediately.

If anyone's followed what I've been writing, this is my recommendation: If you want one of the cheaper hosting companies go with DayZ.st! Survival Servers has slow service, is occasionally frustrating to deal with, and is overpriced.

[LumpyNtZ 1]

Hyperbole doesn't really help anyone.

I suppose another update is in order. I have zero complaints with Dayz.st, and I'll be with them for a while yet. No noticeable downtime at all, and every tiny problem has been answered extremely fast. At a rough guess, if I added up the time I spent waiting for every single problem or question with DayZ.st, I'm fairly certain that total would be lower than wait times on the majority of individual Survival Servers tickets. If that doesn't speak for how happy I am with them, I don't know what will.

Of course, now that most of the troubles are over, SurvivalServers hasn't been bad to deal with, they're just really really mediocre and overpriced now. I really hate the fact that I have to ask for updates, or pay anything for a "fully managed" server. I pay 10 bucks a month extra for services that I get completely free with DayZ.st, and the DayZ.st services are faster and more reliable.

I'm going to be making use of the credits I have on my account with SurvivalServers for one last month, and then I'm switching over to DayZ.st completely. Any serious issues or significant downtime will make me cut my services with SurvivalServers immediately.

If anyone's followed what I've been writing, this is my recommendation: If you want one of the cheaper hosting companies go with DayZ.st! Survival Servers has slow service, is occasionally frustrating to deal with, and is overpriced.

Have to agree with this. Already had to order 2nd server with them as 1st one was great success!

Still yet, not gonna continue our service with SS until this period is done.

[SeaBiscuit (DayZ) 1]

I have just tried twice now.... to sign up for the DayZ.st server rental...

and well... both times it gets through the PayPal (Take my Money) and then gives me an error...

The First time it happened...

I checked PayPal and sure enough... Transaction is marked as completed...

So I emailed them... and they responded via email fairly quick... we went back and forth... and finally they said... Try it again...

so I did...

(from another system just in case IE was a part of the issue) and I got the same thing...

I have just emailed them screen shots... so we will see where this takes me...

but acording to PayPal I am now renting 2 DayZ.st servers... :(

- Sea

[SeaBiscuit (DayZ) 1]

I have just tried twice now.... to sign up for the DayZ.st server rental...

and well... both times it gets through the PayPal (Take my Money) and then gives me an error...

The First time it happened...

I checked PayPal and sure enough... Transaction is marked as completed...

So I emailed them... and they responded via email fairly quick... we went back and forth... and finally they said... Try it again...

so I did...

(from another system just in case IE was a part of the issue) and I got the same thing...

I have just emailed them screen shots... so we will see where this takes me...

but acording to PayPal I am now renting 2 DayZ.st servers... :(

- Sea

I have not Received a responce yet...

but was going to try another PayPal account... (not sure why :) )

but when I did it said account already in use...

and I tried to login... with the last usr/pass I submitted (the 2nd time) and I am in... seems server is up... and I am not running...

so I expect to get an email saying they found the error and got it fixed....

but... so far so good... not crazy happy about the comunication... but I got was I wanted... a server...

- Sea

[j0nathan27 2]

I'd like to see proof of where we were "extremely rude"

And you have been compensated for the downtime and all of our tools are being polished up right now. The only tool that is not fully functioning is our map tool to see in game vehicles. Is your server working now?

I just posted in your thread yesterday with the following, not seeing the rudeness you speak of:

Whats wrong with our service? We offer some of the most advanced features, including rMod, Database access, DayZTools(a program we coded using php) allowing for customizable vehicle settings and all sorts of other fun things. Map tools with in game vehicles and players. 5 different playable maps and competitive pricing. As far as I know, we are the only major provider using the most up to date Bliss private hive v3.6 with BEC and Anti-Hax enabled, which has the fewest bugs and comes out with database updates almost weekly. We might of had 1 issue with the 3.5 release, but we are rock solid now and 3.6 has fixed any ongoing issues. We are continuing to release some of the most innovative features and are always taking suggestions from our customers on ways that we can improve. I have provided a list below of what we are currently working on.

Please send me a PM or reply here if there is anything we can do to give you a hand.

- rMod server settings / rMod spawn vehicles (Run Task, daily task) - 90% done, ETA 2-3 days

- Vehicle spawns based on server settings (requires an update for the new v3.6) - 30% done, ETA 1-2 days

- WhitelisterPro server-side implementation (requires finishing some code) - 40% done, ETA 1-2 days

- BEC / DayZAntiHax update - 0% done, ETA 1 week

- Arma2 beta patch update - 0% done, ETA 2-3 days

- DayZTools database backup, migration, restoration tool - 25% done, ETA 1 week

right now my server works great but only problem is with the map tool, when i right click to add a vehicle nothing come up or happens