Eco Server Hosting

Eco is a global survival game by Strange Loop Games where players share a single ecosystem threatened by an incoming meteor on a 30-day countdown. Every action — logging, mining, farming, hunting — directly affects the simulated environment through pollution, deforestation, and species extinction. A dedicated server keeps this persistent world running 24/7 so players across time zones can contribute to building technology, passing laws, and saving the planet before impact. Without a dedicated server, the world only exists when the host is online, which breaks the real-time meteor countdown and economic systems that make Eco unique.

Eco features a fully player-run government where citizens vote on laws, elect leaders, set tax rates, and create enforceable regulations. Players can propose legislation to restrict pollution levels, ban overhunting of endangered species, zone land for specific uses, or set import tariffs on goods. The game automatically enforces any law that passes a vote — if players ban logging in a forest zone, trees in that area literally cannot be chopped down. This system is a core reason Eco is used in schools and universities worldwide for teaching ecology, economics, and civic governance.

Eco servers support 50+ players. Most communities run 10-30 players for a balanced governance and economic experience where each player's specialization matters. The skill system prevents any single player from learning everything, so cooperation is essential — a server with 20 specialized players (farmers, smiths, engineers, cooks) creates a more dynamic economy than one with 50 generalists. For servers with 30+ players, we recommend 8GB RAM or higher to handle the increased world simulation load from more players affecting the ecosystem simultaneously.

Eco dedicated servers recommend 4-8GB RAM depending on world size and player count. The default game port is 3000 (TCP/UDP) with the web interface accessible on port 3001. Server configuration is done through the Eco server GUI or directly via config files in the server directory. Because Eco continuously simulates world layers including pollution spread, groundwater flow, temperature changes, and wildlife population dynamics, it benefits significantly from fast single-thread CPU performance — which is why our AMD Ryzen 9 7950X hardware with NVMe SSDs is ideal for smooth Eco hosting.

Eco features a player-driven economy with player-owned stores, custom currency creation, and real supply-and-demand pricing. Players choose skill specializations like farming, mining, logging, hunting, smelting, or engineering — but cannot master everything, forcing genuine trade and cooperation. Crafting follows realistic production chains: raw materials become processed goods which become advanced technology needed to stop the meteor. Housing quality directly affects skill gain rates, so building a better home speeds up your specialization. This creates genuinely emergent economies unique to each server playthrough.

Every resource action in Eco has real ecological consequences tracked across multiple world layers. Clear-cutting forests causes soil erosion and habitat loss for dependent species. Mining and smelting generate pollution that spreads through groundwater and air systems. Overhunting can drive animal species to extinction, collapsing food chains that other species depend on. Industrial tailings contaminate farmland downstream. The game provides detailed graphs and data visualizations showing these environmental impacts over time, which players reference when proposing and debating environmental legislation in the government system.

Yes, server administrators have full control over gameplay pacing. The meteor countdown defaults to 30 real-time days, but can be adjusted shorter for intense week-long sessions or extended for relaxed multi-month playthroughs. Day length is also configurable — by default each in-game day equals one real day, but this can be shortened for faster progression. You can also adjust skill gain rates, crafting speeds, world size, collaboration bonuses, and dozens of other parameters through the server config files or the Eco server GUI accessible via the web interface on port 3001.

Eco features a progression of vehicles that players must research and build through the technology tree. Starting with simple wooden carts for basic hauling, players advance to powered vehicles including trucks for overland transport, boats for water crossings, cranes for construction projects, and excavators for large-scale mining operations. Each vehicle type requires specific crafting specializations and materials to construct, reinforcing the cooperative economy — you might need a mechanic, a smelter, and a lumber specialist just to build one truck. Vehicles are essential for the large-scale resource transport and construction projects needed to build the laser or explosives required to destroy the approaching meteor.