I wish I could play this game privately with my friends without having to rent a server. The promise that this would be possible in the future was the only reason I bought this game four years ago.

Unfortunately, it is still impossible to do so. There seems to be no real technical reason for this limitation. It feels like a broken promise and a frustrating waste of my money.

Searching the discussion forums for updates on when they will deliver dedicated servers, I've found numerous flimsy excuses from the developers. I suspect the developers have little incentive to fulfill this promise, as they likely make a lot of money from the shady server rental business.

So if you are planning to play this game privately with friends without paying to rent a server that you could easily host yourself, I would advise against buying this game. It feels like a scam, because the promised feature may never be realized.