Can I run a server continuously, without players?

Question

question

Jakub Smekal asked Jan 17, '21

Can I run a server continuously, without players?

Hello,

I'm using external database (Firebase) to store some game specific data. Some of these data can change without player input - there is a timer running that will alter the database at specific intervals.

What I'd like to do, is to send a push notification to player(s), who is/are affected by this database change. For this I was thinking about using a server that will include both Firebase and PlayFab SDKs, and will listen to this database for changes, and will send a push notification afterwards.

But if I understood correctly, PlayFab servers are meant for matches (1 server = 1 session), and should be closed when the match is done, and also can start by either matchmaking, or RequestMultiplayerServer call.

So my question is, can I use PlayFab server to host a 24/7 running executable without any players just to listen to the database and send notifications? If no, what are some other ways I could use to accomplish this?

Thank you

Custom Game Servers

10 |1200

Attachments: Up to 2 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 512.0 KiB each and 1.0 MiB total.

Answer 1 · 2021-01-18T06:14:59Z

Citrus Yan answered Jan 18, '21

Yes, PlayFab Multiplayer Servers is best suited for session-based game hosting, therefore it’s not recommended to use it to host a 24/7 running executable. And, since you’re using the Firebase database, I think you could just use Cloud Functions for Firebase (integrates with PlayFab SDK) to execute your custom backend code that responds to events triggered by your database.

1

10 |1200

Attachments: Up to 2 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 512.0 KiB each and 1.0 MiB total.

Jakub Smekal commented · Jan 28, 2021 at 07:26 AM

I am using Cloud Functions, but I don't know how to integrate it with PlayFab. I will probably use external server hosting.

0 ·

question