How to run StarMade as a Windows Service with FireDaemon Pro.
StarMade is an open universe sandbox game in space. The dedicated server component can be run as a Windows Service using FireDaemon Pro, which allows you to start the dedicated server automatically at boot prior to login, start multiple instances of the dedicated server and more. This HOWTO will show you how to set it up. You can also use FireDaemon Fusion to manage FireDaemon and other Windows services via a web browser.
StarMade Dedicated Server Setup Under FireDaemon Pro
Download StarMade via the official website or through Steam.
If you downloaded StarMade from the official website, move the launcher to wherever you like. This is your installation directory. For example, if your Starmade-starter.exe file is in C:\ then StarMade will be installed to C:\StarMade.
Run the Starmade-starter.exe file. Select "Update and install latest version" when prompted, and wait for the files to load. This may take awhile. You may also be prompted to install or update Java if your current version is not up to date.
Starmade uses one file, server.cfg, to control the server settings. It is located in the main Starmade directory (C:\Starmade in this example). Edit this file to suit your server's preferences and save it.
Download and install FireDaemon Pro into the directory of your choice, typically C:\Program Files\FireDaemon.
Next start the FireDaemon GUI from the desktop shortcut. Click on the "Create a new service definition" button in the toolbar (or type Ctrl+N) and enter the information into the fields as you see below. Adjust the paths to suit your installation. Note the required parameters and executable.
- Executable: The path to your java.exe file. The default path is C:\Program Files\Java\jre\bin\java.exe.
- Working Directory: The directory containing your StarMade.jar file. The default path is C:\StarMade.
- Parameters: -Xrs -Xms512m -Xmx1024m -Xincgc -Xshare:off -jar StarMade.jar -server
- "-Xrs" tells Java not to close when you log off
- "-Xms512M" tells java to use 512 MB (0.5GB) for the initial heap size
- "-Xmx1024M" tells java to use 1024 MB (1GB) for the maximum heap size
- "-jar StarMade.jar" tells Java to load the Minecraft server. Everything past -jar needs to be included. You can also append "nogui" if you want to run the StarMade server in truely headless mode.
- "-server" ensures peak operating speed of the application
Now click on the Settings tab. If you DON'T want to see your dedicated server running, uncheck the Interact with Desktop check box. Select "Global Job" from the Job Type dropdown menu. You can optionally run your StarMade server as the user you installed it as. In the Logon Account field type your username (e.g. Administrator) and then enter the user's password twice in the Password and Confirm fields. You can change the Process Priority to allocate more CPU time to the dedicated server or specify which CPU or core the dedicated server will run on (in the case of multi-processor, hyperthreaded or multi-core CPUs).
Now click on the Lifecycle tab. Be sure that "Console Application" and "Graceful Shutdown" are not checked.
Now click OK to finish setup and start your StarMade server!