How to Improve Network Responsiveness on a Crowded Server

The Networking Problem

With many players online, vanilla TCP connections can feel sluggish because packets are not prioritized. Very Many Players addresses this by improving network performance and making vanilla TCP connections more responsive using packet priority from raknetify.

Steps to Improve Responsiveness

1. Confirm VMP is installed server-side and loaded without errors in the server log.

2. Enable the networking-related options in the VMP config, including packet priority handling.

3. Keep entity tracker caching on so the server spends less time resolving what each player can see.

4. Use area segmentation defaults so packet sending is batched per region rather than per player.

Verifying Results

Ask players to report responsiveness during peak hours, especially in crowded hubs. You can also watch server network metrics for reduced outbound traffic. Because VMP keeps vanilla functionality intact, you should not need to change gameplay settings.

Cautions

If you already run a networking mod that rewrites the same packet pipeline, disable one to avoid conflicts. Change one setting at a time and restart the server after each edit so you can attribute any improvement or regression correctly.