Deploy Your First Server

NovaStack lets you spin up a game server in under five minutes. This guide walks you through account creation, adding credits, picking a game, and connecting for the first time.

NovaStack uses a single 24HG Accounts sign-on, so one account works across NovaStack and the wider 24HG network. Visit novastack.org/register and you will be taken to the secure 24HG Accounts page to set up your account with your email address.

• Choose a strong password (at least 6 characters).
• Verify your email — check your spam folder if you don't see it within a minute.
• Once verified you'll land on the dashboard.

NovaStack uses a credit-based billing system. Credits are deducted daily based on your server's resource tier. There are no long-term contracts.

1. Click Top Up in the sidebar footer or on the Billing page.
2. Choose an amount (minimum top-up is €5.00).
3. Pay via credit card (Stripe) or PayPal.
4. Credits appear instantly in your balance.

See Credit & Billing Basics for a full breakdown of how daily billing works.

From the dashboard, click New Server. You'll see the full game catalogue — Rust, Minecraft, CS2, FiveM, Valheim, ARK, and more.

1. Select your game.
2. Choose a plan tier (The Scout, The Commander, or The Titan). Each tier specifies CPU cores, RAM, and SSD storage — player slots are unlimited, limited only by your plan’s RAM, never an artificial cap.
3. All servers run in our Frankfurt, DE datacenter — there is no location to choose.
4. Give your server a name.
5. Click Deploy.

Your server will be provisioned in a few minutes depending on the game — Minecraft and CS 1.6 are usually live in under 60 seconds, while larger games like Rust or ARK take 2–5 minutes. The status indicator turns green once it's online.

Once the server is running, the dashboard shows your connection details:

• IP Address — e.g. 91.99.123.45:28015 (your real IP and port are shown on the server’s Overview tab).
• RCON Password (if applicable) — for remote admin commands.
• FTP / SFTP — for file management.

Open your game client, paste the IP into the direct connect field, and you're in.

Your server is live! Here's what to do next:

• Configure your server settings via the File Manager or Console tab.
• Install mods and plugins (see our game-specific guides).
• Invite friends using the Sub-users feature for shared management.
• Create on-demand backups from the Backups panel to protect your world data.