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Quake 3 Basic Server Setup
(1362 total words in this text)
(20998 reads) 
The Q3A Guide
(by Dekard for PlanetQuake)
So, you have your Quake III Arena CD and you're itching to get started by running a server on your "l33t" cable modem or Internet connection. Well, it's pretty simple out of the box to set up; if you want to customize, it's a little more work, but more or less it's a piece of cake.
There are two types of servers: Listen and Dedicated. Listen is in-game and is the easiest to set up. Dedicated is strictly console mode, where you have access via the scrolling text and to join you have to run another instance of the game (which isn't advised as it adds to server lag that your clients will feel on your server). I would suggest only dedicated mode if you have an extra box that you won't be playing on or don't plan on using for other than gaming.
The Listen Server
First off, lets start with a Listen Server. Your friends will need your IP address to connect to you. You can wait for the in-game browser update from id, but it could take up to an hour for your server to show up in the in-game browser. So, lets find that IP -- go to Start->Run and type in winipcfg (for win9X) and you'll see your IP address. Tell your friends what your IP will be and tell them to try and connect in a few minutes. For most users, 56k or less and cable modemers, this will work for you. If you are using DSL or ADSL, you may see your proxy port there, and you can find out your actual IP by hitting a network ip site that reports your IP to you. Network Tools will do that.
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Start up
Quake3. Click on "Mulitplayer. |
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Click on
"Create" in the bottom right corner. |
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On the next
screen you can pick a map, pick a gameplay option, Team DeathMatch, Free For
All, or Capture the Flag. Then you can click "next". |
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This is last
screen is the "server settings" screen here is where you set fraglimits,
timelimits, turn Pure Server on or off, & specify your hostname.
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If you and your friends also want to add some bots you can do that as well by adding them at this point. You can also add them in game by typing this in the console:
/addbot [botname] [skill 1-4] [team] [msec delay] [altname]
If I typed /addbot ranger 4 100 weiner in the console, it would spawn a bot named weiner with a skill 4 with a 100 ping (like movements). If I was playing team DM or CTF I would also add which team I wanted him or her on. If at anytime you'd like to add bots to your game make sure the CD is in the drive!! To disable bot's and the CD requirement you can type this in the console or add it to your config "set bot_enable 0". You can also change maps by simply typing /map mapname in the console.
After this is set, click on "Fight". You're now in the game and playing. If you'd like to learn some more, read on; if not, enjoy the game!
The Server Config
If you have a certain config with map configuration and special settings, with the setup you can also bring down the console and run it now simply by typing in /exec myconfig.cfg. What follows is an easy config made from the existing config's located in your Quake III ArenaBaseQ3pak0.pk3 file, which you can open up with your favorite zip file application. Take a look at the ffa.config. As you can see, the included config's are pretty self-explanatory. You can also download any of the existing applications that make this easy for you, I have tried many of them, and they all work really well.
That's pretty much it to get your "listen mode" server up and running and start fraggin' as quickly as possible.
The Dedicated Server
If you'd like to run a dedicated server you can simply create the same type of config and make a shortcut on your desktop to start the server.
Right-click on your desktop, and then click New->Shortcut, and map to your quake3.exe file. Now that you have your new Quake3.exe shortcut on your desktop, we can now add our options. Right click your new shortcut and click on "Properties". On the Shortcut tab you should have something like this:
"C:Quake III ArenaQuake3.exe"
Now what we need to do for a dedicated server is add some command line parameters. Here are the ones I am using on my server:
"C:Quake III ArenaQuake3.exe" +set dedicated 2 +set net_port 27970 +com_hunkMegs 50 +exec ffa.cfg
What this is doing is setting it to dedicated 2, where it's reporting to id master, setting my port manually to a port and not the default, setting my memory dedicated to Q3 to 50, and then finally executing my ffa.cfg file.
You'll notice the quotes around the shortcut area, this is one of Windows' many quirks; for Windows to understand long file names with spaces and such, you need to leave them in. If you try and put the commands in there it will think that it's a Windows executable and say the path is invalid, so you need to put the commands after the quotes.
You should now be up and running with more or less a basic dedicated server for you and a few friends.
Some common admin commands
If connecting remotely, you'd be using /rcon (or "remote console").
/status
gives players status, id fields, ping, score, and port.
/kick [playername or id field]
will kick player from server.
/map mapname
will change map to map specified.
Some common server related misconceptions
If the server is running sv_pure 1, I will be kicked out, and sv_pure only allows "id" approved pak files.
This is not true. Running sv_pure 1 protects you, the gamers, from hacked pack files and cheats that are capable via pack files. The sv_pure option works like this: if it's turned off, any pak file is visible that the client has; with sv_pure 1, however, only the pak files located on the game server are allowed on that particular server, so if you want your favorite hud replacement available to you in game see if the admin will load it to his baseq3 directory! Also, since the point release you no longer will get kicked back to the main menu if you have other pak files; that was a bug in the code that id fixed. (side note: Please be aware, if you're an admin, that you need to verify that the pack file is legit, and not a pak file that may have a cheat in it.)
All servers must run cg_syncrounousclients 1 so I can record a demo!
This is untrue as well. Actually if the server is running cg_syncronousclients 1, it may actually hamper clients' playability -- they may experience packet loss, lag or even connectivity problems. Recording a demo is all controlled client side, not server side as once thought. To record client side, the clients simply type /g_syncronousclients 1, /record demoname, /Recordstop all within the console.
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