Automatic server join

With the E3DS Multiplayer Server Scaling plugin, a client asks Eagle 3D Streaming which server to use and joins it on launch. No IP address, no port, no console.

Why the manual route does not survive contact with real players

A server's address is assigned when it starts, so it is different every time. Typing it into a console is fine while you are testing and impossible for a viewer — especially on a phone, where there is no console to open. This plugin is what turns a working multiplayer project into a usable one.

Before you start

A project that already has its server module, and an API key.

Step 1. Install the plugin

Download it from Fab or GitHub, and extract it into a Plugins folder at your project root — creating that folder if it is not there.

The plugin extracted into the project's Plugins folder

Open the project in the E3DS engine build, enable Pixel Streaming under Edit → Plugins, and restart.

Step 2. Configure the sample actor

  1. In the Content Drawer, go to Plugins → Multiplayer Server Scaling System Content → Samples and open BP_E3DSMPS_SampleActor.

    The plugin's Samples content folder

  2. In the Details panel, under User Info, fill in four fields:

    FieldValue
    API KeyFrom Developer Section → API Key in the Control Panel (see API keys). Only the account owner sees the Developer Section; a team member has to ask the owner for the key.
    Dedicated Server App NameThe name of your uploaded server app — for example MyProjectServer.
    Server Versionlatest, or a fixed version number such as 1. A fixed number keeps clients on that server version even after you upload a new one; latest follows each upload.
    Command LineLaunch arguments passed to the server when it starts — for example -map=LobbyMap -maxPlayerNumPerDS=16. The sample is set to 1; leave that unless your server reads its own arguments.
    The User Info fields configured on the sample actor

  3. Compile and save.

Step 3. Put the actor in the map

Drag BP_E3DSMPS_SampleActor into your level, then select it and confirm the Details panel shows the same values you set on the Blueprint. Leave Connect Automatically ticked — that is what makes the client join on launch.

Checking the placed actor's configuration in the level

Then package and upload as usual

Package both builds and upload them. When a player opens the streaming URL now, the client finds its server and joins — including from a mobile browser, which the manual route could never support.

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