Server Tutorial

[airborneguy]

Hello everyone, I am new to this and wanted to set up a server on gameservers.com. Are their any tutorials out their for that or can someone offer their assistance. I have nrver set up a server before. I am also a noob when it comes to computers. If someone could like come on TS and give a class and walk me through the proccess I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

[ck-claw]

Is is a game server or dedicated server?

[Günter Severloh]

Hi airborneguy
Welcome to BIS forums.

Do you have a game server with Gameserver.com currently or are looking to get one with them?
As I'd suggest better gameserver hosts then them.

What game are you looking to setup?

Just a thought, and am throwing it out there, if you got an NFO gameserver
http://www.nfoservers.com
I could show you how to set it up.

NFO and other gamservers tbh are better then gameservers.
My buddy and I tried a gameserver from gameservers.com for Arma back in the day, and it was a headache,
we also had one with them for 2 server for RO and DH, but now currently have NFO for Arma2CO which is very easy to get onto, upload a missions, files ect,.

but theres a few things in general you will need to know, and work on.

you'll need:

-start up parameter to launch the game
-server profile
-Server Basic Config file -(basic.cfg)
-Server Config File -(server.cfg)
-an FTP to upload files, mods, missions ect,. too

its not simple, but its not hard either, i can provide a working example if you decide to get one.

Also is your server going to be public or private?

[RavenDK]

What if its a beta server?

[Günter Severloh]

Beta server of what, I mean you have a host with a gameserver, and what game Arma2, or Arma2OA?
I just know about game server setup, not how to setup a dedicated, i do have references if you guys need them.

[airborneguy]

Hi airborneguy
Welcome to BIS forums.

Do you have a game server with Gameserver.com currently or are looking to get one with them?
As I'd suggest better gameserver hosts then them.

What game are you looking to setup?

Just a thought, and am throwing it out there, if you got an NFO gameserver
http://www.nfoservers.com
I could show you how to set it up.

NFO and other gamservers tbh are better then gameservers.
My buddy and I tried a gameserver from gameservers.com for Arma back in the day, and it was a headache,
we also had one with them for 2 server for RO and DH, but now currently have NFO for Arma2CO which is very easy to get onto, upload a missions, files ect,.

but theres a few things in general you will need to know, and work on.

you'll need:

-start up parameter to launch the game
-server profile
-Server Basic Config file -(basic.cfg)
-Server Config File -(server.cfg)
-an FTP to upload files, mods, missions ect,. too

its not simple, but its not hard either, i can provide a working example if you decide to get one.

Also is your server going to be public or private?

Thanks for replying, its going to be a public server to play a vanilla version of Arma 2 OA. I just started a new unit and we would like to have it live by saturday. Wow, I looked at the prices and it seems very affordable. Thanks for posting this. I am very stupid when it comes to this and have never setup a server before. Would a game server limit how many people can join the game? Also I am not sure what you are talking about when you say this...

-start up parameter to launch the game
-server profile
-Server Basic Config file -(basic.cfg)
-Server Config File -(server.cfg)
-an FTP to upload files, mods, missions ect,. too

This is the first time I have ever had to set up a server because I am really fed up with my current unit. If you could help me out it you would be a great help. How does NFO run with a full 40 person room?

[Günter Severloh]

Hi again airborneguy,

Would a game server limit how many people can join the game?

yes it would, when you buy/order a gameserver, you choose how many slots you want on the server,
the number of slots equal to the number of player that will be allowed to join your server at one time.
So basically for example a 40 slot server, your server can allow only 40 players.

Also I am not sure what you are talking about when you say this...

-start up parameter to launch the game
-server profile
-Server Basic Config file -(basic.cfg)
-Server Config File -(server.cfg)
-an FTP to upload files, mods, missions ect,. too

theses are the configuration files that would already be setup by your host, so for example,
if you ordered a game server from NFO servers, on the FTP of the server you would find these files in certain locations.

These files you would have to edit and setup, they are basically files that configure your server for what you wish to do on it,
so like if you wanted to lock your server with a password then you would need to have a small line of code with a word of your choice setup for that to work.

but to break it down:
-start up parameter is a code you use to load certain files like mods or basically the version of the game you are playing, it just tells the server what game and files to launch.
-server profile this is where you have the name and title of your server, among other things.
-Server Basic Config file -(basic.cfg)this is for server's connectivity, and for performance tuning.
-Server Config File -(server.cfg)This is a configuration file used to configure various game server settings such as the difficulty, voting, and welcome messages, and other stuff.
-FTP is like a hosting site for all the files for the server, and the files would be the game files, mission files, any mod files, and all the cfgs,
you will need access to this which the NFO or other game erver hosts provide a link too wehn you order.

This is the first time I have ever had to set up a server

Np we all got to start somewhere if you want a server, My buddy and I had quite a few gameservers in the day, we currently have 2 servers.

If you could help me out it you would be a great help.

Absolutely I can hook up with you on a voice chat program (I use ventrilo as it comes with our server) and walk you through how to set the cfgs up and so forth,
probably cant do it today though as Im trying to get a patch out for a mod I released this morning, so i'll get back to you.

But if you order from NFO, up to you of course I highly recommend them, then i can def help you setting up their type of server,
as i am admin of the servers my buddy and currently use.

How does NFO run with a full 40 person room?

Performance wise i have no idea, we have a 4 slot server and our server is private, but it should run ok,
once you setup your basic config you can adjust the ratios accordingly.

[Günter Severloh]

airborneguy has this figured out now, He hooked up with me on my ventrilo, and has a NFO server,
walked him through the setup of the following:

Control panel
FTP
profiles
Basic.cfg
server.cfg
log files
Rpt files

All good to go.

[ck-claw]

Good man Gunter

[Günter Severloh]

Thank you.
I had talked him out of gameservers.com as my buddy and I had a couple of servers with them, and they were a headache to work with.
With NFO servers which we currently have, the control panel is easy to use, and ftp is easy to access, and get around, very simple.

All the configs are easy to get to, and adjust.

I think i may create a nice tutorial for those interested in setting up their own gameserver with NFO,
or just need a good example of how to setup their
own gameserver with whomever host they have got.
NFO isn't the only gameserver host company out there, in general the components to a gameserver are
pretty much the same for the Arma games.

For those interested and need a good idea on how to setup a gameserver, I will use my NFO Gameserver as an example,
for servers through other hosts the startup parameters, FTP, folders, and cfg's as well as other files should be roughly the same:
================================================== ====
GameServer Setup Tutorial
The following is a tutorial on how to setup your Gameserver so you can play online in Multiplayer with some friends, or your clan, squad, or unit.

#1. Gameserver
Info on what a gameserver is can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_server

Once you Order a Gameserver
Once you order a gameserver, you should acquire an e-mail from the gameserver host whom you had rented the server from.
the e-mail should have a link to a control panel of the server, and another link to the server's Ftp which usually at least for
my server you can access through the panel.

#2. Control Panel
For your reference and an example I will use my control panel to from NFO to give you guys a
visual example of where to go and what to do, here is a pic of my control panel:
http://image81.webshots.com/81/6/26/...5slltwZ_fs.jpg
On the control panel the only things you need to be concerned about are the following:

-The Server control
this is where you will stop, start, restart the server, and setup and or change the startup parameter.

-The Startup parameter
http://image81.webshots.com/81/0/66/...5ACHBFt_fs.jpg
The startup parameter, is the parameter that tells the server what to launch, so you can launch or start the game with or without mods, and other files.
Arma2CO - Arma2 Combined Operations Startup parameter code

arma2;expansion;ca

this is the basic code to launch vanilla Arma2CO or Arma2 Combined operations, for Arma2 only it should be:

arma2;ca

-mod=
As seen on my control panel the -mod= is indicated and the code is added after seen below:

-mod=arma2;expansion;ca

Running mods
To run a mod just add the mod accordingly:

-mod=arma2;expansion;ca;@mymod

with CBA which is usually required for most mods:

-mod=arma2;expansion;ca;@CBA;@CBA_A2;@CBA_OA

Now that you have the startup parameter setup we will need to locate and setup the server's cfg's (Configuration Files).

Server FTP
the FTP is the part of the server where you can setup/change/adjust configuration files, upload missions, mod
and access/view any logs generated by the server.

The picture below is the page from my NFO server control panel, this page is called the file manager
http://image81.webshots.com/81/3/7/5...5HrfImp_fs.jpg

For NFO you would right click that link and choose from the list of how to open the ftp,
but in general you should have a link in the email sent to you by the game server host to access the FTP.

For Firefox Browser users, i would suggest getting the FireFTP addon-->http://fireftp.mozdev.org/
When you access the fireftp (for firefox) right click the link and in the drop down menu click on "open link in Fireftp"
This is what the fireftp looks like once opened see pic below:
http://image86.webshots.com/86/3/64/...5ftGXjP_fs.jpg
Left is your computer files
Right is the gameserver files


Gameserver Files
The following Gameserver files are the files you need to be concerned about, they are:

-keys
this folder is where you add any keys for mods

-mpmissions
this folder is where you upload your mpmission pbo files too yes only pbo files

-cfg
this folder is where you adjust/change your configuration files, and review any log files for the server

the rest of the files you do not need to worry about or touch.

CFG folder
The pic below shows the files in the cfg:
http://image87.webshots.com/187/7/96...5mJpoba_fs.jpg

users folder and profiles cfg
in this folder, open the folder /cfg/Users/server til you run into this script file: server.ArmA2OAProfile

server.ArmA2OAProfile
Setting up your server profile.
the server profile has to do with the difficulty settings of the server, see here for further details and example on how to set it up
http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/server.armaprofile

class Difficulties
{
	class Recruit
	{
		class Flags
		{
			3rdPersonView=1;
			armor=1;
			autoAim=0;
			autoGuideAT=1;
			autoSpot=1;
			cameraShake=0;
			clockIndicator=1;
			deathMessages=1;
			enemyTag=0;
			friendlyTag=1;
			hud=1;
			hudGroupInfo=1;
			hudPerm=1;
			hudWp=1;
			hudWpPerm=1;
			map=1;
			netStats=1;
			tracers=1;
			ultraAI=0;
			unlimitedSaves=1;
			vonID=1;
			weaponCursor=0;
		};
		skillFriendly=1;
		precisionFriendly=1;
		skillEnemy=0.55000001;
		precisionEnemy=0.10000001;
	};
	class Regular
	{
		class Flags
		{
			3rdPersonView=1;
			armor=1;
			autoAim=0;
			autoGuideAT=1;
			autoSpot=0;
			cameraShake=1;
			clockIndicator=1;
			deathMessages=0;
			enemyTag=0;
			friendlyTag=1;
			hud=1;
			hudGroupInfo=1;
			hudPerm=1;
			hudWp=1;
			hudWpPerm=1;
			map=1;
			netStats=1;
			tracers=1;
			ultraAI=0;
			unlimitedSaves=1;
			vonId=1;
			weaponCursor=0;
		};
		skillFriendly=0.5;
		precisionFriendly=0.5;
		skillEnemy=0.5;
		precisionEnemy=0.1;
	};
	class Veteran
	{
		class Flags
		{
			3rdPersonView=1;
			armor=0;
			autoAim=0;
			autoGuideAT=0;
			autoSpot=0;
			cameraShake=1;
			clockIndicator=0;
			deathMessages=1;
			enemyTag=0;
			friendlyTag=1;
			hud=1;
			hudGroupInfo=0;
			hudPerm=0;
			hudWp=1;
			hudWpPerm=0;
			map=1;
			netStats=1;
			tracers=0;
			ultraAI=0;
			unlimitedSaves=0;
			vonId=0;
			weaponCursor=0;
		};
		skillFriendly=0.5;
		precisionFriendly=0.5;
		skillEnemy=0.5;
		precisionEnemy=0.1;
	};
	class Mercenary
	{
		class Flags
		{
			3rdPersonView=0;
			armor=0;
			autoAim=0;
			autoGuideAT=0;
			autoSpot=0;
			cameraShake=1;
			clockIndicator=0;
			deathMessages=0;
			enemyTag=0;
			friendlyTag=0;
			hud=0;
			hudGroupInfo=0;
			hudPerm=0;
			hudWp=0;
			hudWpPerm=0;
			map=0;
			netStats=0;
			tracers=0;
			ultraAI=0;
			unlimitedSaves=0;
			vonID=0;
			weaponCursor=0;
		};
		skillFriendly=1;
		precisionFriendly=1;
		skillEnemy=1;
		precisionEnemy=1;
	};
};
shadingQuality=7;
shadowQuality=3;
singleVoice=0;
maxSamplesPlayed=32;
activeKeys[]=
{
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty1",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty2",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty3",
	"BIS_MorningDew",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty4",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty5",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty6",
	"BIS_SOM_INFO_HINT_1",
	"BIS_SOM_INFO_HINT_2",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty7",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty8",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty9",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty10",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty11",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty12",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty13",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty14",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty15",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty16",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty17",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty18",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty19",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty20",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty21",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty22",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty23",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty24",
	"BIS_IAmBeingNaughty25"
};
sceneComplexity=300000;
viewDistance=2500;
terrainGrid=10;
volumeCD=6.5;
volumeFX=8.5;
volumeSpeech=5.5;
volumeVoN=6.5;
vonRecThreshold=0.029999999;

Back to the gameserver folders
CFG folder
the following files below are what we are concerned with:

-basic.cfg - (this file is mainly for performance and tuning of the server see here for further details)
http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/basic.cfg
leave this file alone unless you have issue with performance or lag on your server

-server.cfg - (The server.cfg is where you will setup a few of the following for your server):further detail of the
server.cfg http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/server.cfg

I will bold and explain what you need for the basics

// Password for private servers. Uncomment this if you wish to run a private server
password = "car";<---If you ordered a public server then leave this code alone, for private server remove the // lines

/*
 * Password to protect admin access
 * type: #login mypassword <--when ingame if you wish to access the server control then type this code into the chat #login mypassword then hit enter
 * in ingame client chatbox to login as admin
 * type: #missions
 * in ingame client chatbox to display the mission list
*/
passwordAdmin = "mypassword"; <---create a password and put it in replace of mypassword, the password will be for when you login as admin to your server while ingame

// The name of the server that shall be displayed in the public server list
hostname="my gamesserver"; <--in between the quotes put the name /title of what you want you want your server to be called, this name will be seen on the server list in multiplayer

/*
 * Message of the day. It can be several lines, separated by comma
 * empty messages "" will not be displayed at all but are only for increasing the interval
*/
motd[]=
{
	"Welcome to the my Combined Ops Server", <--to have a message showup when you enter the server type one between the quotes
	
};

// Time interval (in seconds) between each message of the day <---self explanatory
motdInterval=1000; 

/*
 * 25% or more players need to vote for mission to become effective
 * set to 1.5 to turn off missions voting
*/
voteThreshold=1.5;


/*
 * Maximum amount of server slots
 * server will always display 64 slots if maxPlayers is >64 and server is empty
*/
maxPlayers=4;

/*
 * Gamespy reporting url for public server list inclusion
 * use 127.0.0.1 for LAN server
*/
//reportingIP="arma2pc.master.gamespy.com";

/*
 * If specified player connects/disconnects and player id are written to file.
 * log file is persistent and appends data on server restart.
*/
logfile="server_console.log";


/*
 * Specifies the mission rotation and related difficulty settings.
 * leave blank i.e   class Missions {};
 * to enable player's selection from mission list & difficulty settings
 * (voted on if no admin logged in)
*/

class Missions
{};

// If class missions is blank start voting when 1 players connect.
voteMissionPlayers=1; <---this is is for when a player connects to the server it will take only 1 player to start the voting process for a mission

// Do not allow players with duplicate ids to connect
kickduplicate=1; <--leave this as is

// If set to 1 players must use exactly the same -mod= startup parameter as the server. <--important
equalModRequired=0; 

// If set to 1, Voice over Net will not be available
disableVoN=0;

/*
 * Quality from 1 to 10
 * refer to:
 * http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA:_Multiplayer#VOIP_support
 * for codec info. 7 is the best.
*/
vonCodecQuality=7;


/*
 * Set the timestamp format used on each report line in server-side RPT file.
 * possible values are:
 * none (default), short & full
*/
timeStampFormat=full;

/*
 * Enables persistent battlefield
 * dependent on the mission specifying persistence, otherwise has no effect.
 * missions must contain either instant respawn or base respawn options located in the missions description.ext file
*/
persistent=0; <--use this only if you want to have your server run the same mission continuously until you restart the server 0 means no,  set to 1 to enable

/*
 * Enables signature verification for addons
 * this will prevent pbo hacks by only allowing pbos that pass servers public key checks
*/
verifySignatures=0; <--use this for public servers 0 means no, 1 means yes set to 1

// Signature timeout fix
regularcheck="{}";

// See ArmA Biki for additional signature commands

battleye = 0; <--add this code if you do not have it 0 means no, 1 means yes set to 1 to enable

// EOF

-RPT
http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Crash_Files
The Rpt is generated log file, it is generated once you or another player is on the server in a mission.
Any errors, or problems with the server like crashes, server not loading, freezes, will be seen listed somewhere in this log file.

Installing & Setting up mods
To put a mod on your server, you will need to create a directory.
A directory is a folder.
-so for a mod use the standard mod format title -->@mod
-once created then create another folder inside the folder you made and label it addons
-once that is setup, then on the left of the ftp should be your computer's files, choose the mod you want to install,
and then go to the addons folder, and then transfer the files from the left to the right using the middle arrow buttons on the ftp, from addons and to addons.
===================================
This concludes this tutorial, i hope this is easy enough to understand and help you get setup with your server,
any questions or things i may have missed then please let me know in a reply, i will try to clarify/fix anything needed.

If you need assistance for a gameserver setup, i will be happy to help, just send me a pm and i will get back to you.