What you're about to read is some harsh truths and advice for running a Space Station 13 server. I am Kapu1178, I have been running Daedalus for 4 years. I have written tens of thousands of lines of code, and have my name plastered over many servers' git blames. In my time running the server I have learned many, many lessons, some of which took a long time to get through my dense head. Everything I am to write about is to help prospective server owners set realistic expectations, and to potentially avoid wasting their time and energy on projects they could realistically never achieve.

In SS13 there is a special exemption/clause that exists, that will completely supercede all of the advice I am about to give. The Lich King clause is as follows: There must always be a Furry ERP Server. This is ridiculous, embarassing, and unfortunately, the truth. There must always be a large FERP server occupying the top of the hub. It can fly in the face of every single lesson below, but it does not matter, as long as it occupies the top slot. Eventually, it will fall and another will take it's place like some sort of twisted antidiluvian monstrosity puppeteering the previous corpse. This is the circle of life.

The first thing I took away from the early years of Daedalus was you need to justify your place in the server ecosystem. Players do not want 'X but Y', players want Z. If you do not provide anything meaningfully unique, players will not take the leap of faith required to try your server. This is ten-fold for new servers that have no community and require the extreme good-will of others to try their zero population server and stick with it as it grows. If you are not bringing something new to the table, you will not last more than a few months at best. It is in your best interest to have as many wacky and completely "out there" ideas as possible and attempt to make them real. TGStation has not survived a decade while being r4407. Baystation has not survived a decade by being tgstation. Colonial Marines has not survived a decade by being Baystation. TGMC has not survived half a decade by being CM.

Being unique comes with many code challenges. Daedalus has rewritten so many core systems that attempting to simply "downstream" it's parent codebase, tgstation, would be impossible. If you wish for your server to last longer than a year at most, you must overcome the "modularity" trap. Modularity is pitched as some magic infinite content stream to server owners that aren't experienced in SS13 content development or aren't confident in themselves. I call it a trap for a very good reason, it is actively detrimental to the server's growth and code stability. Lesson one is about being unique, which requires unique code. Unique code does not play with whatever stream of random features tgstation is shitting out on a daily basis. Why should someone play "TGstation but I changed all the item names and lore guys" over "TGstation"? On the technical aspect, "modularity" is a maintenance nightmare and within about 1 year you will spend more time untangling your web of code than actually making new things for your server. This is the trap of modularity. It promises a stream of free content and bugfixes, but those are meaningless, as it restricts you from making the kind of content that will keep your server alive: Different Content.

This is where I've learned the most personal lessons. Growing a server is mentally taxing, plain and simple. For over four years I've had days where I wake up and wonder if I've wasted all of my free time, only to be met with a playercount of less than 20. But, I continue nonetheless, because of my supportive community. It may be small, but they are proof that I am offering something of value to the table, and eventually more will come. As a new server, you are owed nothing. You are owed no players. You are owed no developmental power. You are lucky to receive any of the above. And luck, cannot be relied on. You must make the decision early on if this is worth it. Personally, I believe Daedalus has a future, but I must work to realise that future, it will not come free and nobody is obligated to help me. Remember and value those that offer their time and effort to you, they are your life blood. There is no greater sign that someone cares than them spending their time on you.

Your community is everything. If you have no community, you have no server. You must foster and grow a community that you want to be around, above all else. It does not matter how few people you have or how important someone is, if there are problem characters you cannot reconcile with, get rid of them. They can and will torpedo your project down the line for one reason or another. Players and staff members should all be people you want to be around, do not allow infighting to take hold and become common place. The respect of your players is earned, not given. Players must be given a reason to respect you, or they will leave. Respect your players and in turn, they will respect you. Sorry, got a little rambly on the later parts. But for real, you must, above all else, create a community of people you deem to be a good fit for your type of server. Constantly interact with them, befriend them, work with them. Do not take the people who give you the time of day for granted.