Satisfactory Server AWS

Automated Satisfactory Dedicated Server management on AWS

Disclaimer

Lets get the warnings and stuff out the way first:

This is a free and open source project and there are no guarantees that it will work or always continue working. If you use it, you are responsible for maintaining your setup and monitoring and paying your AWS bill.

I will not support your specific server setup, nor will I support you if you end up paying too much. You will need to understand the basics of AWS to operate this. If you don't want to do this, I recommend any of the fully managed server hosts (e.g. https://www.gtxgaming.co.uk in the UK) that provide Satisfactory dedicated servers at a flat rate.

Intro

This tool can help you collaborate with friends on your Satisfactory projects.

This project uses AWS CDK to provision everything you need to host a Satisfactory Dedicated Server on AWS. It includes the following:

• VPC/Network configuration
• Ec2 Instance provisioning
• Automatic shutdown behavior when not in use (saves $$)
• Automatic game file backup to s3
• A Lambda browser endpoint to start the server back up

Costs

If you play on the server 2 hours per day, this setup will cost around $13/month on AWS. Note that this number scales by hours played. Someone playing 4 hours a day should expect to pay around $26/month, someone playing 2 hours a week should expect to pay around $2-3/month

Since the server automatically shuts down when not in use, you only pay when the server is up and you (or your friends) are actively playing on it.

S3 and Lambda usage costs are free tier eligible.

Requirements

What you will need to use this project:

• AWS Account
• Git
• AWS Command Line Interface (cli)
• NodeJs

Configuration

1. Copy the given server-hosting/config.sample.ts file to server-hosting/config.ts file. Fill the fields with appropriate values. Explanation for each field is given in file itself.
2. Create a file called server-hosting/lambda/html-template.html (copy server-hosting/lambda/html-template.sample.html if preferred). This will provide the person who starts the server with the IP address required to connect (see DNS and IP management for why this is important).

At a minimum, account (account number) and region are required.

You should set the region closest to where you and your friends play, as this is where your dedicated server will run from. e.g. In the UK, eu-west-2 is a good start as the datacentre is in London. A full list of AWS regions (and their nearest city) can be found here.

You can also set the ec2 instance type in the config.ts file. The default one in config.sample.ts meets the requirements for the Satisfactory Dedicated Server here. If you are running a higher player count, or a large factory, you may need to change the instance type to a more powerful server, but this will most likely incur a higher cost. You may also be able to save a bit of $$ by choosing a smaller instance type. The full list of instance types is available here.

Quick Start

This assumes you have all requirements and have configured aws cli to use your AWS account.

1. Clone this project
2. In a terminal/command prompt, run:
   1. npm install
   2. npx cdk bootstrap <aws account number>/<aws region> (replace account number and region)
   3. cp server-hosting/.config.sample.ts server-hosting/.config.ts if you have not done so (see Configuration for customization); you must fill in region and account
   4. npx cdk deploy
3. Wait for the CloudFormation stack to finish. It may take a few minutes for the server to download/install everything after the stack is finished.
4. Use the Ec2 instance public IP address to connect to your server in Satisfactory Server Manager (see DNS and IP management).
5. Start a new game or upload a save.

Starting the Server

As mentioned in the intro, the server will shut itself down when not in use. This saves you money as you are only charged ec2 fees while the server is running.

Before you connect, you will need to start the server back up again. If you are starting the server yourself, you can do this from the EC2 section of the AWS website.

For your friends, an HTTPS API endpoint is available to connect to. You will have received a link to this when you deployed with npx cdk deploy. For example:

 ✅  ServerHostingStack

✨  Deployment time: 297.84s

Outputs:
ServerHostingStack.SatisfactoryHostingStartServerApiEndpointABCDEF01 = https://dkeibye92c8.execute-api.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/prod/
Stack ARN:
arn:aws:cloudformation:us-west-1:123456789012:stack/ServerHostingStack/ea5e18d9-cbce-43d4-b5b1-bd6983f91887

✨  Total time: 301.57s

The HTTPS link (the one above is just an example, yours will be different), when opened in a web browser, will automatically start the server, and show a basic web page which shows the IP address of the server and instructions on how to connect once you have started the Satisfactory game.

This is a useful link to keep, because even if the server is already running, the page will not make server changes, but will still provide the IP. I recommend just opening the link whenever you wish to play, even if you know you're joining friends, just so you can get the IP address.

NOTE THAT THIS LINK IS NOT PASSWORD PROTECTED. Anyone who goes to this link will start the server, so absolutely DO NOT put the link into a large Discord chat room, forum, etc. Only share it with the people who you want to play on your server.

Accessing Your Server Remotely

Access to the EC2 instance hosting your Satisfactory server can be done via AWS Session Manager. External SSH is blocked by default at the network level.

Tip: ssm may open /bin/sh, running bash can get you to a more familiar bash shell.

The server is running (by default) Ubuntu 24.04, so familiarity with Linux commands is highly recommended.

DNS and IP management

When your ec2 instance shuts down and starts back up, your IP address will probably change. If it changes, you will have to re-add the server in Server Manager. When you go to the HTTPS endpoint (see Starting the Server). The new IP address will be provided.

If you want to make this less painful, there are a couple ways to fix the issue, however these are unsupported so you'll need to work it out for yourself:

1. Elastic IP - Create and assign it to your ec2 instance in AWS. Your Elastic IP will never change, but you will get charged for it ($0.005/hour or around $4/month). This method also allows you to use your own custom domain address if wish.
2. Dynamic DNS - Free dynamic DNS services like DuckDns provide a way to automatically manage when the IP address changes. Once setup, you just use their URL and they handle everything else behind the scenes. This method may not allow you to use a custom domain, and may require some effort to install a service on your ec2 instance to manage this.

Contributing

This project is licensed under the MIT license, see LICENSE for more information.

I'm accepting bug reports and pull requests, but responsiveness will vary based on how busy I am with life things, and whether I'm even playing the game anymore.

Credits

This project is a fork of Dan Fey's satisfactory-server-aws project (link). Most of the credit should go to them for the initial effort.

FAQs

Why would I use AWS when I can host for free on my own computer?

• If you want to allow friends to play on your server without you, you will have to always leave your computer on and the server running continuously, even if you are not playing. Having it on the cloud frees up your hardware.
• Your computer may not have enough resources to host the server and play at the same time.

How much does it cost?

See Costs above. Actual figures are subject to AWS changing their prices.

How do I pay my bill?

You settle your bill with AWS every month.