question

KTI Dev avatar image
KTI Dev asked

multiplayer server billing charging me when it should be free

I'm on the free plan right now, and I've added a Unity Mirror VM as a 2 core multiplayer server. I did this cause it said I get 750 hours free, which should be enough to run my test server with no added costs.. My billing looks like this though:

Multiplayer : Vm instance hours
  • D2as v4 - Windows - East US
  • D2as v4 - Windows - East US
  • First 750.00 hours - Dasv4 - East US
  • 28.13 hours
  • 403.13 hours
  • 750.00 hours
  • $0.196/hour
  • Free
  • Free
$5.53
  • $5.53
  • $0.00
  • $0.00

If I get the first 750 hours free, why did my free hours end at 403.13? Why am I now getting charged for the same server? Is your billing broken?

Thanks

multiplayer
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brendan avatar image
brendan answered

No, nothing is broken. The issue is that you left your server running in Standby mode. Since can take several minutes in total to provision a Virtual Machine (VM) and download your build onto it, you have the ability to have servers in Standby mode, so that game session can start immediately when you request a server. That means, depending on how you've set up your configuration (how many servers can fit on a VM, and how many Standby servers you want running at all times), one or more VMs will be running, with your build loaded, until you set the Standby level to 0 for all regions. This section of our documentation talks about this, and shows calculating your costs, including Standby servers: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/gaming/playfab/features/multiplayer/servers/billing-for-thunderhead#estimating-cost-with-an-example.

Also, when you're setting up a build in a region, please note that there's an estimate shown for you costs directly in that interface:

We highly recommend turning off VMs in all regions when you're not actively testing on a development title, by setting your Standby levels to 0.

If you'd like to discuss this with our business team, you can reach them via the Contact Us form here: https://playfab.com/contact/


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KTI Dev avatar image KTI Dev commented ·

Thanks, that explains it

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Marlon Dimaunahan avatar image
Marlon Dimaunahan answered

they also did it to me

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