Dedicated Server Setup
A dedicated server is nothing special. The term "DEDICATED" just means you're trying to give all your system resources to the server in order to give clients (players) maximum performance (best ping/speed).
Dedicated servers run in a DOS prompt box (doesn't load any media, eg menus, into memory for max performance.), and you should have this box MAXIMIZED and keep it ON-SCREEN, any alt+tabbing (or that Windoze button) will give clients lag. Note that when you type at the server prompt (you can type in commands and variables while your server is running), you'll probably give clients lag; a small pause with each keypress. Also, disable your screen saver, disable any hardware sleep modes if left idle, install latest drivers, defrag your HD, ETC ETC. Also, try and have as many programs closed in your taskbar. You don't need ICQ on, nor do you need your SOUND SYSTEM, might as well disable it.
"The best machine is the simplest and 'cleanest' one" -- Cal Ounapuu
Note that a dedicated server MUST be started directly from the SiN command line, it cannot be done so through the console (A Game protected write error will be returned). SiN has to be started in dedicated mode.
Here's da pewp:
1. Right click on your SiN shortcut, go to PROPERTIES.
2. Select the Shortcut tab.
3. In the target field, add this after "....sin.exe":+set dedicated 1 +exec server.cfg
It should look like this:
Target: c:\games\sin.exe +set dedicated 1 +exec server.cfgReplace the directory structure with your own, to wherever you have SiN installed. If you plan on using your dedicated server over and over, best make a new shortcut just for running a dedicated server. (keep reading to find out what those parameters after sin.exe mean)
4. Once the shortcut is complete, dbl click and your server is running.
+set dedicated 1 sets it to dedicated mode, +exec server.cfg loads the file server.cfg from sin\base\ (see below). Without +exec server.cfg, your dedicated server will still load, but it will just sit there, unless you type in all of the commands and variables yourself (tedious). Thats what server.cfg is for, see next.
server.cfg will be a text file you put in your base dir (sin\base\server.cfg). It'll contain the lines you'd regularily type in manually when you start a dedicated server, but this way they all get processed auto, so you can just dbl click the run server icon, and go to your GF's house or whatever, without the hassle of manually typing in everything.
1. Open Notepad (found in
Start_button/programs/accessories).
2. Copy the following lines in there
(hi-light, press ctrl+c, go to Notepad, and press ctrl+v).
Lines beginning with // are comments, they
do no harm, you can delete them or leave them for reference. Explanation for each variable
can be found here. DMflag info can be found here: dm flags.
dmflags 17668
public 1
deathmatch 1
hostname "foo bar's are goo!"
maxclients 12
timelimit 30
fraglimit 30
sv_maplist
"oilrig,eisenblatt,skeen"
sv_gravity 550
map sincity
The order in which you have those lines inside server.cfg doesn't matter, except that map <map.name> MUST be the very last line, as the game will run that line (load the map) and if any lines are after it, they will not be processed at all.
(Some hardcores out there may be saying, "Where the hell are the "set"'s?". Well you don't need set variable value, set is only needed when a variable does not exist (for example, set email ounapuu@home.com will appear in Gamespy in the server information as Email ounapuu@home.com, this does NOT work in SiN, only in Quake2.) variables that already exist in a game DO NOT in no way need to have "set" before them.
Once the server is up...
Now all you have to do is tell your friend(s) that the server is up, and he/she can connect to you. They do this by going to the console over at their computer, and type: connect <ip.address>. (read furthur on how to find your IP address) For example:
connect 24.112.43.56
SiN's default port is 22450, so unless you're running SiN on a different port, than people don't need to include the port at the end of the address (e.g. 24.113.43.56:22450). SiN will automatically try the default port (22450) when it connects to an IP, if the port is not specified. This goes for all similar games (Q2), not just SiN. Alas, you can't define what port you'd like to use using the "Normal" server setup. It's more of a techy thang (plugin dedicated server, and server.cfg).
How to find your IP address:
1. Start button/Run
2. Type winipcfg
3. WinIPcfg shall open up (it's a small util in windows)
4. IP Address: in this field is your IP address, TA-DA
Remember, there's 2 kinds of IP addresses: STATIC which means you have the same IP address all the time (high-end connections, ISDN, cable, Tx.. they're on all the time), and DYNAMIC which means it changes each time you dial-up to your ISP (modems, 28.8, 36.6, 56k). If you have a dynamic address, forget about running a server. First of all, your connection is probably too slow to do it, but also, if your address changes all the time, how will people come back and play?
Thats about it, on the main page you should go through the other pages for more info.