Headless Client
General information about the Fika headless client feature for creating a dedicated raid host instance of SPT.
The headless client plugin is an exclusive Fika feature that allows you to host a raid on a separate Escape From Tarkov instance. You are able to offload the AI calculation and other resource-intensive task to improve game play performance. When hosting the raid on a separate PC from where you play, FPS gains are usually around 25% to 50% depending on your computer specifications and amount of bots in the game.
Please note that there is some technical knowledge required to achieve this. If you absolutely have no experience, you will have a hard time.
Specifications
The headless client is basically another SPT+Fika client instance that will automatically host raids. All players becomes clients (including the player who clicked
HOST RAID).Graphic rendering is disabled to make the headless client as lightweight as possible. However, the headless client is NOT a true headless server. It still requires all the game files and a pretty hefty amount of RAM to work (especially for bigger maps such as Streets or Lighthouse).
It is strongly recommended to run the headless client on a separate physical machine. The headless client will NOT work on a VPS. If you really wish to use a paid host, rent a dedicated server.
A graphic card is NOT required to run the headless client, however it may be helpful for configuring mods.
Using a headless client can create a situation where certain mods either cannot work entirely or become more complicated to properly configure. It is therefore much easier to set up a headless client before adding any mods to reduce issues.
If you run into problems during the headless client setup process, consider starting over with a completely fresh SPT+Fika install without any other mods first.
More information, guides, and common fixes can be found in the Headless Client FAQ and Common Issues section.
Choose Headless Client Implementation
This is the intended use case for the Headless Client feature and provides the largest and most consistent performance increase.
Both SPT.Server and a Headless Client will run on a separate PC independent of your gaming PC. This means you can utilize your gaming PC in any way you wish, including restarting it, without affecting any other players.
This is not the intended use case for the Headless Client feature! Please read the warnings at the top of the next page. Support is limited.
If your PC can handle running two EFT clients at the same time, you may see a reduction in stuttering or an increase in performance by running a headless client on the same PC where you are playing SPT. Any performance increase is entirely dependent on your hardware and not guaranteed.
Some users see performance degradation. Continue at your own risk.
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