PC specs suggestions for running alts to increase loot.

[hBEHA%EHJ#%UYA%U5uh]

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post in any forum, so I hope I am posting in the right section.

I solo most of the daily raids and I was thinking of running alts in a party using VM's in order to increase my loot as well as to collect seals. I am hoping to run 1 main and around 5-7 alts if that's even possible.
There are a few threads about running bots using VM, however I think what I want to achieve is slightly different.
1. All the alts will be on one boat, I think my internet connection might be a bit of a problem here.
2. Only my main will be playing, alts will be left to die, so maybe I can give each VM's less resource than if I am using them to bot?

I will be building a PC after my exams and I would like to know what kind of specs I should be looking for and what connection speed I need.
Also, do I need different IP for each VM? Does Nexon bother to check?
Thanks!

[Nico]

Your internet connection should be fine since the game is p2p. For the VMs I recommend to have atleast one CPU core (doesnt matter if logical or virtual) per VM you want to run + 1GB of RAM. Works best with XP. You won't need diff IPs.

[hBEHA%EHJ#%UYA%U5uh]

Thanks Nico for your reply.
I actually thought the game being p2p makes it worse, because in a sense I'll have to host as well at the same time join the boat.
I'll be turning down the settings but should I be worry about graphics card? How does it get shared between the VMs and the main?
From my understanding, I'll need several copies of the game within each VM, would harddrive read and write speed also be a factor?

[maddoggy00]

I disagree with XP. W7 is much more stable, and you want to dedicate 2GB of Ram and 2 cores for each VM, leaving at least 6GB for the host. The VM won't use all 2 cores, they'll use closer to 1 like Nico said, but you'll significantly reduce lag and drops by giving them the extra buffer.

Your processor is the main factor here, and does all the graphics computing even if in VMWare Workstation you check the box to integrate gpu processing (it just doesn't really work with Vindi). Your graphics card will do little for anything other than the host. To run more than 5 stable VMs, you need a 3930k or higher processor (12 virtual cores). A 3770k or higher can run 5 VMs with most mobo's auto-overclocking to 4400 MHz, tho it will be near it's limit, so make sure you have a good cooling system or your temps will skyrocket.

You can run more, but I've found that 3 VMs off the same HHD is the limit. With an SSD, running 6 VMs all off it, I've not seen any issues.

As long as your host comp is the char you're playing and that's the one hosting the raid, you shouldn't see too much lag if your hardware system isn't the limitation.

[hBEHA%EHJ#%UYA%U5uh]

So it's been about two months since I have been using vmware. I have a few issues that hopefully you guys have encountered and will be able to help me with.

1. All my vms get permanent 1 bar when the game on my main operating system is hosting. However when I host using on of the vms, the rest of them will get permanant 5 bar, but the game in the main operating system will get 1 bar. Is there a way to fix this? Usually this is no concern because they are just there to leech, however there comes times when I have to manually pick up something and it is rather difficult to move with one bar. They get 3-4 bars just like everyone else in the party when my friend is hosting.

2. Sometimes the graphics for the vms will fail randomly and I get a black screen, I know it's only a graphical failure because they stay online.

3. Something minor: Preferred channel doesn't seem to work.

Additional information:
I set up my vms by creating one and then using the clone function to make a few more. I created linked clones.
They are using 2gb ram and 1-2 cores depending on what I am doing.
VM Operating system is Window 7 basic with 20gb of hdd space, network connection set to NAT:Used to share the host's IP address.
My machine has Intel Core i7 4770K, 16gb ram, and Gigabyte GTX770 2GB.

[maddoggy00]

1. All my vms get permanent 1 bar when the game on my main operating system is hosting. However when I host using on of the vms, the rest of them will get permanant 5 bar, but the game in the main operating system will get 1 bar. Is there a way to fix this? Usually this is no concern because they are just there to leech, however there comes times when I have to manually pick up something and it is rather difficult to move with one bar. They get 3-4 bars just like everyone else in the party when my friend is hosting.

I've never had this issue before, but that's because if I'm using the host OS at all, I always use it to host the dungeon. I'd check out VMWare's site to see if there's a way to set priorities for the network connections.

2. Sometimes the graphics for the vms will fail randomly and I get a black screen, I know it's only a graphical failure because they stay online.

It's an in-game bug, not from the VM.

3. Something minor: Preferred channel doesn't seem to work.

If you do not log on each character you're using from the Master VM before cloning, then each time you delete your linked clones, the saved preferences get deleted, since they are only saved on the linked clones. Preferred channel is one of those things. But once you set it up once, you're fine.

Also, I'd recommend up'n your HHD space in the VM to 40GB, if it's not variable. Vindictus alone is now up to 15GB and it might be hard to do a patch update if you don't have 3-5GB of headroom.