Choose vanilla when you run a small private world, want the official compatibility baseline, or use mods that depend on exact server internals. Choose Stratum when your Vintage Story server is public, heavily modded, event-driven, PvP-focused, or difficult to monitor: it keeps normal-client access while adding server-side performance work, hardening, commands, and operational reports. Either way, match the Vintage Story version exactly, test your mod set, and benchmark your own workload before moving a live world.
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What you are choosing
Vanilla is the official reference runtime
Vanilla is the unmodified Vintage Story dedicated-server program. It is the reference point for compatibility because the game developer distributes it, documents its setup, and tests mods against the normal server behavior. When a mod author says a feature is supported on a dedicated server, vanilla is usually the first environment to verify.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThat makes vanilla the least surprising option for a small group. There are fewer moving parts, fewer project-specific updates to track, and a straightforward path for diagnosing a problem: reproduce it on the official runtime, then check the game and mod documentation.
Stratum replaces the dedicated server, not the player client
Stratum is a high-performance, server-side fork of the Vintage Story dedicated server. Players still connect with the ordinary Vintage Story client; they do not install Stratum to join. On its first launch, the Stratum launcher obtains and verifies the matching official Vintage Story server archive, then applies Stratum’s patched files.
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That installation model is important. Stratum is not merely a plug-in that leaves every internal subsystem untouched. It changes deeper server behavior, so it can improve a pressured server while also creating compatibility questions for mods that rely on precise timing, packet handling, or private internals.
What Stratum adds beyond vanilla
Stratum’s documented work covers the parts of a server that become bottlenecks as worlds, entities, and player counts grow. These are capabilities and engineering targets, not a guaranteed percentage improvement on every map.
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- World simulation: chunk loading and ticking, world generation, and saves receive performance-oriented changes.
- Entities and AI: entity processing, artificial intelligence, and pathfinding are among the areas Stratum works to streamline.
- Hardening: anti-cheat and abuse checks are built into the server-side project, useful for public or competitive communities.
- Operations: owners can use timing, packet, queue, player, entity, violation, and preflight reports to see what the server is doing.
- Administration: Stratum adds in-game commands and presentation options intended to make routine management more visible and controllable.
The practical distinction is therefore not “slow versus fast.” Vanilla offers a stable baseline; Stratum offers a runtime with more active intervention in server pressure and more instrumentation for finding it. A lightly loaded private world may never benefit enough to justify the extra compatibility testing. A busy public world may value the visibility and queue handling even before it reaches a hard player limit.
Will players or mods notice a difference?
Players use the normal client
A player normally joins a Stratum server with the same Vintage Story client used for a vanilla server. The client-side experience is still governed by the Vintage Story version, the server’s configuration, and the installed mod set. There is no Stratum client download for every member of your community.
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Separate mod types correctly
Vintage Story’s dedicated-server workflow supports server-side and universal mods that can be offered to joining players. A client-side-only mod still has to be installed by each player. Stratum does not change that division; it changes the server runtime underneath it.
Compatibility risk is highest for mods that hook timing, packet processing, or undocumented/private server internals. A content mod that registers ordinary blocks, items, or recipes is a different risk profile from a mod that replaces tick scheduling or inspects network packets. Do not infer compatibility from the fact that players can connect: a server can start successfully and still fail when a particular machine, entity, world-generation feature, or save operation is exercised.
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Use a staging copy before a live migration
Move a copy of the existing data folder to a test location, install the Stratum build that matches the server’s Vintage Story version, and run the complete mod list there. Keep the original world untouched until you have checked login, chunk generation, travel, automation, entity-heavy areas, scheduled saves, and a clean shutdown. Make a fresh backup before changing the live folder; a runtime change is not a backup strategy.
Hardware and capacity planning
The current Vintage Story dedicated-server guide gives a conservative starting estimate for a normal, spread-out survival world:
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| Resource | Published starting guidance | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 1 GB base RAM + 300 MB per player | A sizing estimate from the current guide, not a guaranteed Stratum or vanilla requirement. |
| CPU | 4 threads recommended | A baseline for the server process; concentrated simulation and mods can need more. |
| Clock speed | 1 GHz base + 100 MHz per player | Guidance, not a benchmark or a promise of a player cap. |
For example, applying the memory rule mechanically to eight players gives 1 GB plus 2.4 GB, or about 3.4 GB as a starting estimate. That arithmetic is not a reservation requirement: world size, view distance, entity counts, player concentration, mod behavior, and storage performance can move the real figure substantially. Leave headroom for the operating system and for spikes during exploration, generation, and saves.
Neither the official guidance nor Stratum’s project information supplies a controlled, apples-to-apples benchmark or a universal player-capacity number. Stratum may let a particular workload stay responsive longer, but the only defensible capacity figure for your server comes from measuring that workload. Watch memory use, CPU saturation, tick timing, packet and queue reports, save duration, and player-visible latency while several players perform the activities that matter to your community.
Which runtime fits your server?
| Situation | Better starting choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Small private server with minimal administration | Vanilla | It is the official baseline and has the fewest operational changes. |
| Busy public server or recurring events | Stratum | Its documented focus includes pressure handling, entity work, hardening, and reports. |
| Heavy mod list with deep hooks | Either, after testing | Vanilla is the safer compatibility reference; Stratum may help performance but patches deeper internals. |
| Owner needs moderation data and server visibility | Stratum | Commands, reports, and server-side hardening are built into the project. |
| Owner wants continuous uptime without maintaining a machine | Managed hosting running a supported runtime | Hosting reduces systems administration, but current Stratum support must be confirmed with the provider. |
Pick vanilla for predictability
Vanilla is the sensible first deployment when your priority is “start the world and avoid changing the server’s assumptions.” It is especially appropriate for a family or friends’ world, a lightly modded cooperative server, or a project where reproducing an issue on the official runtime matters more than extracting additional instrumentation.
Pick Stratum for pressure and oversight
Stratum is the stronger candidate when players gather in one base, entities accumulate, events create sudden traffic, or moderators need evidence about queues, violations, and timing. Public survival, PvP, civilization-style play, and active communities are the project’s stated target scenarios. Treat that as a reason to test Stratum, not as proof that every server will run faster.
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Keep the choice reversible
Do not delete the vanilla installation when evaluating Stratum. Keep separate runtime files and a verified world backup so you can return to the previous server if a mod, update, or operational issue appears. A reversible trial is safer than trying to predict compatibility from a feature list.
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- Record the exact Vintage Story version. The Stratum build must match it. “Close enough” versions are not a supported assumption for a server replacement.
- Install the required runtime. The Stratum launcher requires the .NET 10 runtime. Install it on the machine that will run the server before starting the launcher.
- Let the first launch complete. Stratum downloads and unpacks the matching vanilla server build, verifies it, and applies its patched files. Allow this process to finish before adding worlds or mods.
- Make two backups. Keep an untouched backup of the live data and a second copy for testing. Include the world, configuration, and mod files you would need to restore the same state.
- Test on a copied data folder. Move or copy the existing data into a staging location rather than pointing the first test at the live world.
- Load the complete mod set. Start with the same server-side and universal mods used in production, then add any client-side instructions your players normally follow.
- Exercise the expensive paths. Have testers explore new terrain, generate chunks, travel quickly, use automated machinery, trigger entity-heavy areas, fight, and perform the actions that normally cause lag.
- Check persistence. Let scheduled saves run, stop the server cleanly, restart it, and verify inventories, machines, chunks, and player positions. A successful initial boot is not enough.
- Read the operational reports. Use Stratum’s timing, packet, queue, player, entity, violation, and preflight reports to identify pressure or errors instead of relying only on a subjective feel.
- Compare like with like. Use the same world copy, view distance, mod versions, player actions, and hardware when comparing vanilla and Stratum. Record observations rather than claiming a universal speed-up.
- Announce a controlled cutover. If the test passes, schedule downtime, take one more live backup, and tell players which client version and client-side mods they need.
Self-hosting or managed hosting?
Self-hosting gives control
Running the server on your own machine or rented virtual machine lets you choose the runtime, Java-style process limits do not apply here because Vintage Story’s server uses .NET, and you control backups, firewall rules, update timing, and logs. The trade-off is responsibility for power, network reliability, operating-system updates, monitoring, and recovery. A home connection may also make upload bandwidth, carrier-grade NAT, or changing public addresses the real limitation.
Managed hosting trades control for convenience
Monthly game-server hosting is the natural option when you need 24/7 availability, automated restarts, routine backups, and less systems administration. The official multiplayer guidance documents ad hoc hosting, dedicated self-hosting, and monthly hosting as separate approaches. Before paying, verify the provider’s current Vintage Story version, mod support, backup policy, geographic region, resource limits, and explicit Stratum support. A host that runs vanilla successfully may not permit a replacement runtime or the .NET 10 requirement.
Whichever model you choose, ask how you can download a complete world backup and how quickly you can restore it. Uptime without recoverability is not a reliable operating plan.
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Common failure modes and fixes
The launcher refuses to start
Check that .NET 10 is installed and available to the account launching Stratum. If the runtime is present, confirm that the machine can reach the download source and has permission to create the server files. Re-run the setup in a clean test directory rather than overwriting a partially installed live server.
Players cannot join after an update
Verify that the server’s Vintage Story version, Stratum build, and player clients all correspond. A normal client can join Stratum, but “normal client” does not mean “any version.” Ask one player to test with the exact version shown by the server before changing mods or world data.
A mod works on vanilla but fails on Stratum
Look first for hooks into tick timing, packet handling, entity internals, or other private behavior. Remove only that mod in the staging copy, reproduce the failure, and check whether its author documents support for alternate server runtimes. Do not solve a compatibility problem by deleting the live world or by assuming every content mod is affected.
Performance is still poor
Stratum is not a guarantee of unlimited capacity. Use its reports to determine whether the pressure comes from queues, entities, players, chunks, saves, or violations, then reduce the relevant workload or add hardware. Recheck view distance, concentrated builds, entity farms, and mod configuration before concluding that the runtime made no difference.
The world appears damaged after switching runtimes
Stop the server, preserve the affected copy for diagnosis, and restore the last known-good backup to a separate test directory. Confirm that the shutdown was clean and that the world was not opened simultaneously by two server processes. Only return to production after a restart and save cycle completes correctly in staging.
A practical recommendation
For most first-time owners, begin with vanilla unless you already have a clear operational problem: sustained tick pressure, large entity populations, public-server abuse, or a need for detailed reports. For those problems, test Stratum on a copy of the world, keep the client and server versions aligned, and validate every deep-hook mod. If the workload remains stable and the reports improve your ability to operate the server, Stratum is the better long-term runtime. If compatibility or simplicity matters more than additional server-side controls, stay with vanilla and scale hardware or reduce workload based on measurements.
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