Server licensing

What is the server licensing system? [UPDATED 27 December 2017]

We are adding in this system for server licensing to help players easily find servers which:

~ Have a quality, dedicated administration team.

~ Host from reliable and powerful server hardware.

~ Promote teamwork and communication in their community and/or clan.

~ Provide a positive environment for new players to learn the game and play with more experienced players.

~ Use the vanilla Squad game mode rules so regular players know what to expect (will be important once modding is possible).

We will of course not be able achieve the full vision of the system at launch, nor will the system ever be perfect, but our hope is that server licensing will provide a framework for greatly improving the gameplay experience of the average Squad player.

We also recognize that not every server will be able to follow all the above rules perfectly, because frankly it is very hard to manage a community in such a way. This is the main reason why we have created “guidelines than actual rules” as we wish to convey the spirit and culture here, rather than ask each of our communities to be perfect with every item.

Licensed servers have Developer / QA admin & debug access enabled. Admin commands that affect game play will only be used in game with permission from the online admins before being run.

[ADDED 7 December 2016]

Intentional exploitation of game bugs, or trying to crash and/or cause harm to another server by you, as the server owner, or representatives of your community, could lead to your server license(s) being revoked.

[ADDED 11 October 2017]

Naming your server as an "Official" OWI server is confusing to many people and this is not allowed. Please do not use "Official" in the name or in anything related to your server. This will only lead to more issues for us and for your community. Thank you.

[ADDED 27 December 2017]

Servers of less than 60 slots will not be licensed and should remain in the Custom Server Browser.

The Minimum requirement for a license is 10 admins per instance. Any applications with less than 10 admins will remain in the Custom server browser

[ADDED 1st February 2021]

What will the server licensing system do?

The system will allow the development team to issue server licenses to reliable teamwork oriented communities & clans, which will cause their servers to be shown in the primary server list in game. This license will come in the form of a key which needs to be listed in the server’s config files.

All other servers which don’t have a license key will be shown on a second custom servers menu tab. The second tab is meant to show the full list of servers, and will be the place where servers with custom rules and mods are listed.

How can I apply for a server license?

Server guidelines can be read on the OWI Hosting Discord.

You and all of your server admins will need to follow the guidelines laid out in those thread, or you will risk having your license revoked.

If you are hosting through one of our partnered game server providers, namely:

https://awn.gg/

https://gamerzhost.de/

https://southnode.net

http://bbhost.com.br/

https://oasis-hosting.net/

You may apply for a server license via the application at http://master.joinsquad.com/serverlicense

For all other cases, primarily those who rent their own hardware, apply via http://master.joinsquad.com/dedicatedserverlicense

How to install a dedicated server can you read here: Server Installation

Can a license be revoked? [ UPDATED 7 December 2016]

Yes. It can happen if the dev team becomes aware that a licensed server is doing something grossly contrary to one or more of our guidelines. This can include things like:

~ Abuse of in game administration powers.

~ Lack of administrative presence.

! For those who rent their hardware, moving your game server to poor hardware or hosting alongside too many other game servers. Our server health system is displayed for each server by color. As a licensed server it will be your responsibility to stay in good server health.

GREEN : Good Server Health

YELLOW: Average Server Health

RED: Poor Server Health

~ Promoting poor in game culture, contrary to Squad’s goals of teamwork and communication oriented gameplay.

~ Facilitating an environment which is hostile to new players.

~ Failing to use “vanilla” Squad files.

~ Licensed servers that use game server providers must notify Offworld Industries when they switch providers. Switching from an approved licensed server provider to a non approved server provider is prohibited.

~ Intentional exploitation of game bugs, or trying to crash and/or cause harm to another server by you, as the server owner, or representatives of your community, could lead to your server license(s) being revoked.

Please note that once we have issued a license, we will work with the community involved before revoking a license unless there is a very serious violation of our guidelines. In the event that we consider revoking a license, the circumstances will be analyzed carefully and on a case-by-case basis, and the server owner will be notified via the email on their server license application.

My partnered game server provider is showing poor performance, what can I do?

For licensed servers hosting on our partnered providers, we will never find you liable for poor hardware performance. This can happen in cases where the provider is hosting on poor hardware, or is hosting too many other game instances on the same box you are on.

Simply send an email to support@joinsquad.com including your license ID and an explanation of the issues you are noticing, and we will survey your server’s performance and contact your provider privately.

My Clan / Community / Server did not receive a license, what can I do?

Remember that if you do not receive a license, you can still host a server!

Work on building a dedicated, quality admin team and growing your community and simply apply again when you are confident you have made progress. We will always be open to revisiting an application.

Having server / hosting issues?

Visit the OWI Hosting Discord for more help.