How to host a dedicated server

First:

Create a shortcut In your MOHAA directory
There is a file named MOHAA_server.exe (if you loaded patch 1.11). Locate this file with windows explorer, it is most likely in directory c:\Program Files\EA GAMES\MOHAA and then right click on this file. With right click, a small menu will appear and then select Create Shortcut. A shortcut file will then be added to this same directory with the name of "Shortcut to MOHAA_server.exe".


Add the game launch commands
On this newly created shortcut file, right click on it and select Properties. In the target field, you will notice that it shows the path for the game such as "C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\MOHAA\MOHAA_server.exe" with the quotes and all. DO NOT change this, but you do need to add commands at the end of this line, and it is important that you place these additions AFTER the quotes not within the quotes.

After the quotes, followed by one space (important) type in the following with spaces and all:

+set dedicated 1 +set ui_console 1 +set g_gametype2 +set sv_maxclients 10 +exec server.cfg



Important notes about above line:

Some people use dedicated 1 and others use dedicated 2 but I haven't been able to tell the difference.

For g_gametype, place the number of the game type you want g_gametype2 is for team match. 1 is for Free For All, 3 is round based, and 4 is Objective games.

sv_maxclients is the number of players allowed on your server. This is also found in the config file but I learned to put it here and can't remember the importance. If it works, I don't mess with it I do suggest you start with a lower number like 8 or 10 players to make sure your box and connection can handle the number of players. You can always change this later. I keep mine at 10 for maximum performance.

IMPORTANT... server.cfg in this command line is the file name for your server config file. In the above example, I use server.cfg but you can leave it just server.cfg or name it something else. Just make sure you have the file name in this command line the exact same as your config file in the MOHAA/Main directory (more on the config file below).

Once you are sure you have the command line correct exit an then move the shortcut to where you like. I place mine on the desktop so I do not need to look for it. Since the my computer is dedicated for running the MOHAA server alone, it is nearly the only icon needed, so it shows on screen when the computer is turned on..

Setup for Multiple game types
If you want to change your server around often, such as with different game types, keep it really simple. I am too lazy to edit the files each time I want to change, so I just created separate shortcuts and configurations for each game type.

In the example above, I have named my shortcut "TeamMatch" since it has gametype2 and server.cfg in the command line. The config file server02 in my MOHAA/Main directory is setup for gametype 2 or Team Match.

I then made a copy of the TeamMatch shortcut and edited it, naming it to "Objective", changed the command line to game type 4 and config file name to server04.cfg. I then copied my server.cfg file to server04.cfg and edited it for objective based games (such as for map rotation or other settings).

Now when I turn on the computer for the server, I just select the short cut desired and the server launches. Too easy, right?


The Server Config File
The Server Config file must be placed in your MOHAA\main directory. With a fresh install of MOHAA, you will not have a server config file. You can download the one attached below, or create your own.

I am no technical expert here, but to edit a config file, you may have problems if you use a word processing tool like MS Word because you need to save it in a manner that doesn't add hidden codes that many word processors put in. What to be safe? Copy another .cfg, file from within MOHAA and paste the copy into your MOHAA\main directory or just download mine. Rename the file to server.cfg (or server01.cfg like I did), and then edit it with Notepad editor to change the content. This way you do not have to worry about hidden codes, extension, or the format.

Note for the beginners: Any time a line in the config file starts with the hash marks //, the line is a comment or ignored by the computer. Therefore, you will see many lines in my config file starting with // because I try to keep notes on what each command does. You can also disable a command (not use it) by placing // in front of the command which I have done in some cases.

You can use my config file, which has Team Match settings
Place the file into your MOHAA/main directory, rename as you want, and edit the settings for your server. If you are following my instructions exactly, rename this config file to the same name you are using in the shortcut, such as server.cfg.


Server config template (.cfg file)

Once you have completed and saved the above, click on your shortcut and launch that server.

Since this is a dedicated server, the game will not run on this machine, you will only see the game console so do not panic. You will see the following window on your screen only which is the console for the server. From the console you can see others join, check status of players, change some game settings while the server is running, and also kick players if required.



Note: This is not my tutorial, all credit to this site: http://www.tmmworld.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53

OMFG so much to read LOL

But still. . very usefull. . thanks a lot mist!

Yeh I know, it's not a simple procedure

Glad I don't host servers lol.

Ok, well here's an alternative: PM me with the server settings (map, game type, etc.) and I'll send you the 2 files you need to host. But Budz is getting a server up and running soon anyway - so I guess we can delete this topic

Getting a Server Up and Running

Setting Up the Server
You have two choices when setting up your server – you can run it in dedicated
mode or non-dedicated mode. Dedicated just means that no one is playing the
game on the server’s machine – the machine is dedicated just to acting as a
server. Non-dedicated means the opposite – the server is also being used
(probably by you) to play on the server. This guide applies equally to both types
of servers.

You also have two choices for starting your server. You can start it up from the
command line using a config file or from within the game. Starting from the
command line gives you much more control over the server and only this option
will be covered in this guide. See your game manual for instructions on how to
use the in-game server setup.

The Server Command Line
The easiest way to start your server from the command line is to create an icon
on your Windows desktop, so you just have to double click it to start the server
running. To create a Windows icon, right click on your desktop and select “New -
> Shortcut”. A short wizard will walk you through finding the program you want
the icon to run (you’ll find MOHAA.exe in \Program Files\ EA GAMES\ MOHAA).
Next, you’ll need to add the arguments to your command line. Do this by right
clicking on your newly created icon, selecting “Properties” and making your
changes in the “Target” text box. A good all purpose command line would be
"C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\MOHAA\MOHAA.exe" +set developer 1 +set dedicated 1
+set ui_console 1 +set sv_maxclients 16 +exec server.cfg
This tells the server to run in developer mode (+set developer 1), which, among
other things, allows the server to keep a log. It also runs the server in dedicated
mode (+set dedicated 1), activates the console (+set ui_console 1 – not really
needed, but useful if you need to do testing on your server), sets the maximum
number of players to 16 (+set sv_maxclients 16) and configures the server using
the settings stored in server.cfg (+exec server.cfg).
If you intend to run your server in non-dedicated mode, you will need to change
the “+set dedicated 1” to “+set dedicated 0”. You should get used to using a 1 to
mean ‘yes’ and a 0 to mean ‘no’, as it is common in many other server
commands and variables.

You can set just about any game setting from the command line, but usually,
there are just a few that you’ll want to use. You can also include many of these
same settings in your server’s config file, but they will be overridden by whatever
you have set in your command line. So, if you set sv_maxclients both on the
command line and in your config file, whatever is on your command line will be
used for setting sv_maxclients.

Why is it set up this way? Overriding settings with the command line allows
hosting companies to control specific game settings, such as the maximum
number of players on the server. Since servers are usually priced by the player
(and the bandwidth each consumes), you can see why a host would want to have
some ability to manage the server from the command line.

The Server Configuration File
Once the server starts up, it has to know what kind of game you want to run,
what the name of the server is, what maps you want, etc. This information is all
stored in the server configuration file, or ‘config’ for short. This file can be saved
anywhere, but you should keep it in your EA GAMES\ MOHAA\ main directory.
To run your game from the command line, you will have to build a config. Below
is a template for one that you can use. Whenever you are editing your config file,
you should use Notepad and not your favorite word processor. This is because
MOHAA will only understand the config file if it is in plain text format. Most word
processors store their files in a proprietary format which will cause MOHAA to
choke. You can access Notepad from your Start -> Accessories menu.
In the config below, the text that comes after double slashes (ie “\\”) is a
comment and ignored by the server. To use this template, just copy and paste it
into a Notepad text document, make your changes and save it in your
MOHAA\main directory. Items that you should modify are in red.


// Generic MoHAA Server Config File
// This block of settings controls the info players will see about your server in game
// browsers, like GameSpy. If you don’t want your server to appear in GameSpy’s server
// list, change the 1 to a 0 in sv_gamespy.
seta sv_hostname "server name as it will appear in GameSpy"
sets Admin "your nick goes here"
sets URL "www.yourwebpage.com"
sets Connection "T1" // Your connection type (you can type whatever you want here)
seta sv_gamespy "1" // Change to a “0” if you don’t want your server on GameSpy
//This block of text controls the network settings for your server. Unless you have a
// specific reason for changing them, you should leave these as they are.
net_noipx 1 // disables the IPX protocol
net_port 12203 // specifies port 12203 for client connections
// This block of text controls your server’s security. If you don’t want to enable rcon
// commands, comment out the rconpassword line.
set rconpassword "your password here"
seta sv_floodProtect "1" // won’t allow players to flood server
seta flood_waitdelay "10"
seta flood_persecond "4"
seta flood_msgs "4"
set sv_pure "0" // requires players to have pure game files
// This block of text controls your server’s performance variables.
seta sv_allowDownload "0" // if players don’t have maps, don’t send them
seta sv_maxRate "9000" // allow players to pull up to 9,000 bps
seta sv_fps "20" // process 20 frames per second on server
seta sv_maxping "200" // players must ping below 200 to connect
// This block of text controls the number of players on the server
// If you don’t want private slots on the server, you should comment out
// the sv_privateClients and sv_privatepassword lines
set sv_maxclients "16” // Maximum of 16 players on server
set sv_privateClients "3" // 3 of 16 slots require a password
set sv_privatepassword "your private password here"
// the password for the private slots
// This block of text controls the game play variables on the server.
seta timelimit "15" // maps will run for 15 minutes
seta fraglimit "0" // maps will not end based on frags
set g_gametype 4 // map will be objective (2 = TDM)
set g_teamdamage "0" // friendly fire is off (1 = on)
set g_inactiveSpectate "30" // players go to spectate after 30s of inactivity
set g_inactiveKick "120" // players kicked after 120s of inactivity
// the next line is the list of maps the server will run, in order
// if you change to tdm maps, don't forget to change the gametype
seta sv_maplist "obj/obj_team1 obj/obj_team2 obj/obj_team4"
map obj/obj_team1 // the first map to run


Once you’ve made your changes and saved the text file, double clicking the icon
you created will start up your server. A couple of things to note:

· If you want to use admin tools like Autokick or issue console commands
from inside the game, you will need to set your rcon password in the
config file. To use rcon, you should also check the ‘Console’ box in the
Advanced Settings in the MOHAA setup screen.

· MOHAA does not allow you to mix maps of different game types in the
same rotation. If you want to do this, you will need a mix maps mod.
Otherwise, you can save two copies of your config, one with tdm maps
and the other with objective maps (or whatever game type you want).

· The default server port is 12203. If you are behind a firewall, you will need
to open this port to the outside world. You should also open port 12300 so
services like GameSpy can see your server.

Adding Mods and Maps to the Server
Most mods and maps will come with directions for their installation. You should
read any documentation the author has included (usually in a readme.txt file) for
any special considerations.
In the vast majority of cases, the file you download will be a zip file. This will most
likely contain a .pk3 file (a “pack” file). To install the map or mod on the server,
just unzip the file you downloaded and move the pack file it contained into your
server’s MOHAA\main directory (you’ll see other pack files in there, too). That’s
it. If the file you downloaded was a pack file, then there’s no need to unzip. Just
move it to the MOHAA\main directory on the server.
Note that players will also have to have the map installed on their machines to
play it (they will be disconnected when the map loads if they don’t have it on their
machines). On the other hand, many mods are “server side only” mods, meaning
that the pk3 file only has to be present on the server. The documentation
included with the mod should tell you whether players need to have it or not.
As usual, a couple of things to note:
· To load a map you’ve installed on the server, you will need to use the
remote console (rcon) and know the name of the map’s bsp file. The map
author should have included the bsp name in the map’s documentation. If
he/she didn’t, you will have to look inside the map’s pk3 file. See the
section “Loading Maps” for more information.
· The name of a mod file is very important. Mods work by overriding the
contents of the game’s pk3 files with their own contents. Modders do this
by giving the mod’s pk3 file a name that is alphabetically “higher” than the
game’s pk3 files. For example, MOHAA will use the contents of
“z_mymod.pk3” over the contents of “mymod.pk3”. Because of this, some
mods can interfere with others if they both try to mod the same thing in the
game. If you’re having problems, take all of the mods out of your server’s
MOHAA\main directory and add them back one by one until you isolate
the problem.
Running a Server
Console
The console is where you type commands in to tell the game things you want it to
do and it is accessed by pressing the tilda key (~) while in the game. However,
before you can access the console, you have to make sure it is turned on in your
game’s settings. Make sure the “Console” checkbox is checked in the Advanced
options screen for the game on the computer you will be playing from. If you
don’t, pressing the tilda key will only open a chat window.
When you run the console on your own computer while you’re playing the game,
you have to tell it whether you want the command to run on your machine (ie
locally) or on the server (ie remotely). For example, if you want to change the
setting for sv_hostname (ie the server’s name as it appears in GameSpy), you
have to tell console that you want to change it on the server, because both your
machine and the server machine have sv_hostname variables (even though your
machine isn’t hosting anything). You tell the game to run commands remotely by
using the ‘rcon’ command.
So, if you type “set sv_hostname ‘The Big Kahuna’ “ into the console, your
server’s name won’t change because you set the variable on your local machine,
not on the remote one. What you needed to type was, “rcon password set
sv_hostname ‘The Big Kahuna’ “ which tells MOHAA to send the command to the
server.
Remote console commands have the following format:
rcon
The is the rcon password as set in the server’s configuration file.
The command is any valid console command (map, set, etc.). So, if you typed
“map ‘dm/mohdm1’” into the console, it would load the Southern France map on
your own computer. However, if you typed in “rcon mypassword map
‘dm/mohdm1’ ” while you were connected to a server, it would load the Southern
France map on the server.
Setting Passwords
You have to be very careful when type in rcon commands while you’re playing on
the server. If you don’t have the console turned on in your settings, pressing the
tilda key will bring up the chat. It is very easy to not notice this, type in your rcon
command and thus broadcast your server’s password to anyone reading the
chat. Not a good thing.
To prevent this, you should create a text file called “rcon.cfg” in your
MOHAA\main directory and put the following lines in it:
rconAddress "xx.xx.xx.xx"
rconPassword "password"
Replace xx.xx.xx.xx with your game server’s IP address and replace password
with your rcon password. Be sure to include the quotes. The first time you
connect to the server, bring down the console (tilda key) and type in “exec
rcon.cfg” (don’t include the quotes). This will tell your computer that whenever
you type in an rcon command, send it to the server at rconAddress using
rconPassword.
So, instead of typing in “rcon mypassword map ‘dm/mohdm1’” to load Southern
France, you can just type in “rcon map ‘dm/mohdm1’”. Now, you never have to
type the password in where people can see it, so you’ll never give it away. You
don’t even need to be connected to your server as a player, since rconAddress
tells MOHAA what server you are sending commands to.
The remainder of this guide will assume you have run the rcon.cfg and so the
password will be omitted from all console commands. Each time you run MoHAA
to play on your server, you will need to exec rcon.cfg.
Loading Maps
Sometimes you’ll want to load maps on the server while you’re playing. You can
load any map installed on the server, regardless of whether or not it is in your
sv_maplist (set in the server’s config file). To load a map, type the following into
the console:
rcon map “”
This will load the map located in directory dir with the bsp file name mapbsp. But
how do you know what to type in? If you look on your hard drive, you won’t find
any maps sitting there. That’s because they are stored in the pack files.
Most map authors include the bsp file name in their readme.txt files that came
with the map. If they don’t (or you forgot), you can always get a list of the maps
and their locations on your server by running the maplist command in the console
(you don’t need to run it with rcon – just type in “maplist” and press enter). This
will bring up a little window with the maps the server has – just click through them
to find what you want. CAREFUL – do not double click on the map you want in
the maplist window! This will load the map on your local machine, not the server
(remember – this isn’t run using rcon – you’re just using it to find the map name
and directory).
Maps are stored in directories based on what gametype they were designed for –
“DM” for deathmatch and “obj” for objective. So, to load The Hunt, you would
type the following into the console:
rcon map “obj/obj_team2”
including the quotes. When you run maplist, you’ll see these directories. Just
double click on them to drill down and see what maps they contain.
Kicking Players
Probably one of the most bothersome chores as an admin is maintaining order
on the server. To keep things under control, you will sometimes have to kick
players. You have two options for doing this.
The first option is the easiest. Just pull down the console and type
rcon kick “”
This will kick the player with name playername. Note that you should use quotes
around the name in case it contains spaces. Unfortunately, some players have
figured out ways to make this method of kicking difficult for you by using names
that can be very difficult to type in or by copying other players names.
For this reason, you can also kick players by their client number. The client
number is just a unique identifier that the server assigns to each player. To see
players’ client numbers, you run a status command from the console by typing in
rcon status
and you’ll see a list of players with info about each one. The left most column,
next to the player’s name, gives you their client number. If the list of players is
too long to be seen on the screen, you can scroll the console up or down to
peruse the list. To kick a player using this number, type the following into the
console:
rcon clientkick xx
where xx is their client number.
Some players just don’t get the message, even after they’re kicked.
Unfortunately, MoHAA’s banning function does not work. If you need to ban
players from your server, you’ll need a third party tool (like Autokick, which can
be downloaded from http://www.autokick.com/).
Speaking to Players Through Console
Sometimes, folks will be causing trouble and, while you don’t want to kick them,
you may want to let them know you’re the admin. One way to do this is to use the
console to chat with players. When you do this, your in game name does not
show up in the chat window. Instead, it says, “console: ”. Only
someone with the rcon password can do this.
To speak through the console, use the say command. For example, typing the
following into the console:
rcon say Please don’t sit on the spawn and rape – that is not allowed!
would cause, “console: Please don’t sit on the spawn and rape – that is not
allowed!” to come up in the chat where everyone (dead or alive) can see it.
One thing to note about the ‘say’ command. If you’re running a non-dedicated
server, your name (instead of ‘console’) will appear in the chat.

Hey thanks, yours is waaay more comprehensive than mine is good work