There has been a trend in recent years of dedicated servers being available to purchase or rent for survival games. Some groups of players prefer this since it allows them to enter the server whenever they want, without having to rely on a specific friend being online who might be hosting the server from their own PC. Nightingale shuns both methods of facilitating online co-op multiplayer in favor of their own online servers, and not without good reason. Although dedicated servers and personal server hosting have their advantages, it’s easier for Inflexion Games to provide their own servers for Nightingale so that the Realm Network system can (hopefully!) function seamlessly. It also means that players can get many of the benefits of a paid dedicated server without having to spend any money for one of their own.

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Inflexion Games provide their own online servers for Nightingale.

Realm Networks in Nightingale Explained¶

There are likely to be many questions raised about the Realm Network system in Nightingale, and some players are frustrated by the fact that they need to have a persistent online connection in order to play the game. However, once you understand how important the Realm Network system is to the gameplay, you’ll begin to understand why Inflexion Games decided to provide their own servers, rather than offer players the option to have their own dedicated or PC hosted servers.

Realm Cards and Biomes¶

The first thing that you need to understand about Nightingale gameplay is that it functions with different realms at the core of the experience. There are numerous different types of Realm Cards available, each of which alters aspects of the game world such as the biome, creatures, and factions present. You’ll get a brief overview of Realm Cards during the tutorial, taking you through three main biomes in the form of the Forest, Desert, and Swamp. After this, you can choose which biome you want to start your own main realm in, then begin to invite your friends.

Realms As Servers¶

The easiest way to understand how different realms relate to hosting players is to think of them as servers. Each time you create a new realm, it effectively becomes a server that you’re connected to, and which other players can connect to. You can keep your realm private if you wish, but you can also invite other players - either known friends or other strangers playing Nightingale - to your server at any time.

You’ll have the power to remove any player that you don’t want on your server, and they won’t be able to access your inventory chests without your permission. However, once you give another player your realm card, they can return to your realm whenever they like, and they’ll have access to your chests. It’s for this reason that you should only give realm cards to other players that you trust!

As you progress toward the end-game content of Nightingale, you’ll find that there are more and more challenges, such as difficult boss battles, that you may need to help with to complete. In this scenario, inviting a stranger to your realm (server) just for one or two encounters is ideal, but if you’re already playing with friends you won’t have to worry about this.

Are Nightingale Servers Stable?¶

At present, all players are at the mercy of the Nightingale servers that Inflexion Games have provided. This means that there will be occasional downtime for maintenance, and there may be sudden lag spikes or crashes every now and then. Still, when you consider that you and your friends can access a server without the requirement of the host being online at the time, or without the need to pay for a dedicated server, it’s not such a bad trade.