# How DDNet Ran an Online Game for Three Years

DevFeed: [How DDNet Ran an Online Game for Three Years](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/experiences-of-running-an-online-game-for-3-years-30811.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://hookrace.net/blog/ddnet-evolution-architecture-technology/>)

Published: 2016-06-08T22:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Dennis Felsing](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/dennis-felsing.md>)

Topics: [Open Source](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/open-source.md>), [Software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software.md>), [servers](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/servers.md>), [cloud-infrastructure](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cloud-infrastructure.md>)

Tags: [kvm](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kvm.md>), [multiplayer](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/multiplayer.md>), [open-source](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source.md>), [servers](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/servers.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>), [virtual](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/virtual.md>), [writing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/writing.md>), [xen](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/xen.md>)

## AI overview

This technical article examines how DDraceNetwork (DDNet), an open-source modification of Teeworlds, operated its client, server software, and official servers over roughly three years. It discusses the project's international multiplayer community, financing through donations and donated resources, low-cost hosting, and the use of virtual private servers.

## Source excerpt

It's been roughly 3 years since DDraceNetwork (DDNet) started in the summer of 2013. Last year I wrote a non-technical History of DDNet. Today in this post we will dive into the technical side of what makes DDNet run. For the uninitiated, DDNet is an open-source modification of Teeworlds, a retro multiplayer shooter. DDNet is a game in which you, instead of killing each other, cooperate with each other to work your way through challenging maps, trying to beat the map or get a better time than other teams. What we offer for DDNet is the client and server software as well as official servers that run all around the world. We have an international community of players trying to beat the latest maps and records, and dozens of mappers who send in their newest creations for our consideration. A new map is released every few days and occasionally tournaments happen in which the best compete against each other on brand-new maps. At the time of writing there are 968 people playing Teeworlds, 678 of which are on a server running the DDNet mod, and 430 on the official DDNet servers. So this project is not especially big and not many people stumble upon DDNet. Our player base consists in a large part of old Teeworlds players and their friends who heard about us by word of mouth. Nevertheless I hope that the technical challenges we faced and face as well as our solutions are interesting. Let's start with an overview of what we have: Overview & Financing DDNet runs official servers in Germany, Russia, USA, Canada, Chile, Brazil, China, South Africa and Iran. Since DDNet is totally free, has no advertisements and no in-game purchases, it offers no stream of revenue and is solely funded by donations, donated servers and my own money. So one of the goals is to keep costs down: On average we pay 10 EUR  per month for each location. Let's see what we can offer with this to our thousands of players (detailed statistics) and how DDNet evolved to keep with increasing number of players, maps