Long time no see! We apologize for the radio silence these past couple of weeks, but our plans have been thwarted by various issues beyond our control. We're happy to let you know that things are back on track, and our regular content schedule should resume without much issue. We are grateful for your patience.
Many of you have already started using our Dedicated Server app. It works just fine for most people on its default settings, but it is not exactly “headless”. The app still shows a simplified UI that lets you configure basic gameplay options. In some cases, this is a problem, especially if you want to control the server fully remotely. While we do offer a Command Line Interface (CLI), it’s not exactly trivial to figure out how to configure the app, especially since it is still our custom-built game engine. Today, we want to give you a crash course on how to set up the Dedicated Server app so that you can “run it and forget it” - without the need to click any buttons whatsoever.
As we mentioned, the server launches in GUI mode by default. The app shows you a window with several options that allow you to configure the basic server settings - the name of your server, game mode, map, difficulty level, and a couple of others. These are all crucial parameters for the app to run - without them, it simply doesn’t know what it should do. It’s not a big deal when you’re running the server on a PC that you can control directly. A couple of clicks, and you’re in the game.
Things are not so simple when dealing with completely remote servers managed via the command line. The Dedicated Server app supports Command Line Interface mode, which skips the GUI altogether. This mode is enabled by adding the following parameter to the command line while starting the app:
cli=1
However, enabling CLI mode alone is not enough. If you start the server without a UI but don’t provide a full startup configuration, the app will get stuck on loading while waiting for input from a user interface that doesn't exist in this mode. To fix this problem, you must provide the app with a startup configuration that specifies the following:
To do that, the game needs a configuration file. We have recently released an update to the Dedicated Server app package that includes a sample config. It is located in the folder where you installed the server, right next to the DedicatedServer.exe file. You can edit it with any notepad app. It will allow you to set up the most commonly used options. The sample config.cfg file looks like this (if you mess something up and do not know how to revert to the original state, simply copy the example below):
// SETUP SERVER PARAMS set server_name "Server name!" // Password required when connecting to the server set server_password "" // To enable RCON commands on clients, this password must be set on both the client and the server! set server_rcon_password "" set server_max_players_count "4" // Public/Private set server_broadcast_enabled "1" // Pause game server logic flow when there are no players connected set server_pause_game_when_empty "1" // Skip the menu and start the game! set app_mode "server" // Choose whether you want to use Steam for connectivity //set disable_steam "1" // SETUP GAME PARAMS // Open campaign params: // set campaign "open/open"// Setup starting mission: // set mission "campaigns/open/headquarters_jungle" // set mission "campaigns/open/headquarters_metallic" // set mission "campaigns/open/headquarters_acid" // set mission "campaigns/open/headquarters_ice" // set mission "campaigns/open/headquarters_swamp" // set mission "campaigns/open/headquarters_caverns" // set mission "campaigns/open/headquarters_desert" // Difficulty for open campaign: easy/normal/hard/brutal // set difficulty "normal" // ---- OR -----// Story campaign mode! // set campaign "mp_story/mp_story" // Difficulty for story campaign: coop_campaign_easy,coop_campaign_normal,coop_campaign_hard,coop_campaign_brutal // set difficulty "coop_campaign_normal" // ---- OR -----// Survival mode! // set campaign "mp_survival/mp_survival" // set mission "survival/jungle" // set mission "survival/acid" // set mission "survival/desert" // set mission "survival/magma" // set mission "survival/ice" // set mission "survival/metallic" // set mission "survival/caverns" // set mission "survival/swamp" // set mission "survival/swamp_lakes" // Difficulty for mp survival: coop_easy,coop_normal,coop_hard,coop_brutal // set difficulty "coop_normal" // ---- OR -----//! Load existing game save: // set mission_save "SAVE_NAME"
Now, you can run the game with the following parameters:
cli=1 config=config.cfg
This will ensure the headless mode and force the game to read settings from your config file.
With this example config, the app will immediately boot into server mode and start a new Open Campaign on Normal Difficulty, starting in the Radioactive Desert biome. Let’s start listing all the available parameters so you can configure the server exactly how you want.
Let’s start with the key line:
set app_mode "server"
This line is required to work correctly. Without it, the server app will wait for the menu state and get stuck in an infinite loop. Setting the app to server mode skips that. Include this line in your config and never change it.
set campaign "TYPE"
This line defines the game mode to run. There are three modes you can choose from:
Replace the TYPE in the option above to choose the game mode you want to run. Remember to keep the “quotation marks”.
set mission "TYPE"
This parameter is required for the game to start correctly in the Open Campaign and Survival Modes. It will tell the game which map to load. Without it, the game will fail to load. If you intend to play the Story Campaign mode, skip this option. Story Campaign always begins in the Tropical Zone biome.
Here’s the full list of mission names to use, according to the game mode you choose:
Open Campaign:
Survival:
set difficulty "LEVEL"
This is also required. Choose one of the following, according to the game type you want to run:
Open campaign:
Story campaign:
Survival:
Optional Server Settings:
set disable_steam “0/1” - Setting this option to 1 will disable the Steam-operated networking protocols. This can be useful if you intend to run the game on LAN. Otherwise, skip this option or keep it set to 0. (This does not apply to our users on other platforms. You can skip this option.)
set server_name "My Server" - Sets the publicly visible server name that other players will see in the server browser.
set server_password "" - This allows you to protect access to your game session with a password. Leave it blank if you don't want to set up a password.
set server_max_players_count "1/2/3/4" - Sets the maximum number of players allowed to join the session. The officially supported maximum number is 4. Each player above that number tanks performance considerably. Experiment at your own risk.
set server_broadcast_enabled "0/1" - Setting this to 1 will make the server visible in the in-game server browser. Set it to 0 if you don’t want that.
set server_pause_game_when_empty "0/1" - After enabling this option, the server will automatically pause the game progress when nobody is online. It will prevent your base from getting destroyed when you are away. Once someone joins, the server will resume play.
Note: the game ignores everything after // symbols. If you put these at the beginning of a line, the corresponding setting will be skipped. Deleting // and saving the file will re-enable that option. It works just like a toggle switch.
We also support remote execution of commands on the server if you are the client. We call this RCON, short for remote control. The relevant option is included in the sample config file above. If it is enabled, clients can activate commands on the server remotely by typing in the console. Rcon needs a password to be set up on the server to allow for remote control. If you want to execute any commands from a remote client, first you must enter the password using:
server_rcon_password YourPasswordGoesHere
Then, you will be able to execute remote commands like this:
rcon command argument, for example: rcon cheat_god_mode 1
Simply uncomment the options you want to run, and you’re all set! If you have any additional questions about running the Dedicated Server, customizing its options, or changing its behavior, feel free to let us know. We will do our best to help you!
EXOR Studios
