Nexardo / Blog
Setup guides, diagnostics and practical decisions for running games on your own VPS.
Project Zomboid
Resolving missing spawn regions for modded Project Zomboid maps: linking spawnpoints.lua coordinates inside server spawnregions.lua, configuring Map= priority, and testing character setup.
Read the guideMinecraft
Restoring a single player's progress from a Minecraft Java backup: mapping usernames to UUIDs via usercache.json, extracting targeted .dat files, and preventing in-memory flush overwrites.
Read the guideEngineering
External synthetic monitoring for game servers using Prometheus and Blackbox Exporter: probing TCP sockets, validating HTTPS administration consoles, latency metrics, and relabeling.
Read the guideEngineering
Automating game server offsite backups to S3 storage: configuring rclone, multi-threaded zstd compression without tick drops, VPS disaster recovery, and 14-day archive retention.
Read the guideFactorio
Automating a Factorio headless server via RCON: binding to 127.0.0.1, non-disruptive saves via /silent-command, Discord webhook delivery, and scheduled cron execution.
Read the guideProject Zomboid
Configuring loot respawn on a Project Zomboid server: LootRespawn and SeenHoursPreventLootRespawn in SandboxVars.lua, safehouse container protection, and world item cleanup.
Read the guideValheim
Deploying a Valheim dedicated server with Docker Compose: lloesche/valheim-server image, persistent world volumes, Crossplay configuration, and safe shutdown stop_grace_period.
Read the guideMinecraft
Configuring secure RCON on a Minecraft server: binding to 127.0.0.1 in server.properties, UFW firewall perimeter isolation, and automated maintenance bash scripts via mcrcon.
Read the guideEngineering
Hardening game server SSH against brute-force attacks: Ed25519 authentication, disabling root and password access, changing port to 2222, and automated IP bans with fail2ban.
Read the guideRust
Rust dedicated server console administration via RCON: WebSocket protocol setup, UFW security whitelisting, mcrcon CLI commands, and automated cron world save scripts.
Read the guideTerraria
Terraria TShock region protection and anti-griefing: pickaxe boundary selection, /region define and allow commands, behavioral flags, and tshock.sqlite database schema.
Read the guideMinecraft
Advanced Purpur server optimization: villager lobotomization, mob aggression throttling under load, alternative keepalive, and achieving rock-solid 20 TPS across dense servers.
Read the guide
