Vein Server Hosting Requirements: Why Memory Comes First
Vein server hosting requirements start with memory: why the server needs 8 GB before a crowd joins, how zombie settings add load, and what causes lag.
Vein server hosting requirements start with memory, not player count. The Vein server needs several gigabytes just to start, before anyone joins. Then it grows with every player and every zombie in the world. Pick a plan from memory first and the rest falls into place.
The short answer to Vein server hosting requirements#
Size for memory first, then for the crowd. A small group playing together fits comfortably in 8 GB. A full house, a busy public server, or raised zombie counts belongs on 16 GB. That is why our smallest Vein plan starts at 8 GB, while our smallest Minecraft plan starts at 2 GB.
| What you are running | Plan tier | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A small group of friends, default zombie settings | Clean | The server footprint plus a handful of players and a normal horde fits with room to spare. |
| A full house, a public server, or tougher and more numerous zombies | Severed | Memory grows with every connected player and every zombie the world is tracking. |
Treat those as starting points. A server that sits at its memory ceiling on a quiet night has nothing left when the whole group logs in.
Why Vein needs so much memory#
Vein is a zombie survival game about scavenging a town, boarding up a house, and getting a vehicle running before the horde finds you. That kind of world keeps a lot in play at once, and memory is where it lives. The main consumers:
- The base footprint. The server takes several gigabytes before the first player connects. On a small plan, that alone is most of the budget.
- Zombies. Every zombie the server is tracking costs memory and processor time. Raise counts or health and the cost goes up with them.
- Players. Each connected player adds load, and more so when people split up and explore different parts of town.
- Saves. World and player saves live under
Vein/Saved/and grow over the life of the world. Backups need free disk to write into; see game server backups and schedules.
Settings that change the hardware you need#
Vein splits its configuration in two. Game.ini holds identity and access: server name, password, MaxPlayers, public listing, and one AdminSteamIDs line per admin. Engine.ini holds gameplay as console variables (named game settings) under [ConsoleVariables]. The game documents over a hundred of them.
Most change how the game plays, not what it costs to run. The ones that touch sizing are the zombie settings. vein.Zombies.Health makes each zombie tougher, and settings that put more zombies in the world add memory directly. vein.PvP and vein.Scarcity.Difficulty change the rules, not the load. Our Vein server quickstart covers both files, the in-game admin menu (the backslash key), and the ports (7777 for the game, 7778 for queries).
What actually makes a Vein server lag#
Running out of memory. When the world no longer fits, the server starts paging, which means moving data out to disk and back. Players feel it as rubber-banding and zombies that freeze then jump. This is the case where a bigger plan is the fix.
Clock speed. Game server loops lean on a few busy threads, so a fast core beats a pile of slow ones. Our Vein servers run on AMD EPYC 4565P processors at 4.5 GHz with NVMe storage, and we stop placing servers on a node once it reaches 60% load. We explain why in how our stock control works.
Version mismatch. Vein is still changing. After a game update, restart from the panel so the server fetches the matching build. If an update adds new config keys, compare your files with the freshly generated defaults.
What our Vein plans give you#
Our Vein server hosting plans are sold by memory, not player slots, and neither plan caps players. These figures are live, read from the same data the order pages use:
| Plan | Memory | vCPU | Storage | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean | 8 GB | 1 | 20 GB NVMe | $7.99 |
| Severed | 16 GB | 3 | 50 GB NVMe | $22.99 |
vCPU is the share of a physical core reserved for your server, and it stays reserved when the node gets busy. MaxPlayers in Game.ini is yours to set.
When to size up#
Watch the panel graphs over a few normal evenings. Memory that stays near the ceiling with your usual group online means the world has outgrown the plan. Moving up is a prorated upgrade, and your saves and both config files come with it. If lag starts only after you raised zombie settings, try the old values for a night before you buy more memory.
Zombie games share one sizing rule: plan for the worst night, not the average one. We worked through the same idea for another horde game in 7 Days to Die server hosting requirements, and what a game server costs covers whether to rent one at all.
FAQ#
How much RAM does a Vein dedicated server need?
Plan on 8 GB for a small group, because the server needs several gigabytes before anyone joins. Move to 16 GB for a full house, a public server, or raised zombie settings.
Is there a player limit on a Vein server?
We do not cap players on either plan. You set MaxPlayers in Game.ini, and the plan's memory decides how many run smoothly.
Why does Vein use more memory than other survival games?
The server has a large footprint at startup, and it grows with every player and zombie it tracks. A game that idles in two gigabytes and a game that starts at several are different sizing problems.
Can I run mods on a Vein server?
Vein has no official mod support, so we do not claim it. You can tune gameplay through the console variables in Engine.ini or live from the in-game admin menu.
Is Vein harder to host than 7 Days to Die?
They are heavy in different ways. Vein needs more memory just to start, while 7 Days to Die spikes hardest on horde night. Both reward a fast processor and memory headroom.