You run a server when you select to host a game, and others connect to you. Dig?
What is a Dedicated Server?
When you set up a server, and you want the machine to be a stand-alone server,
where you aren't playing the game, you're just serving as the...uhh, server.
The important aspect to note is that you aren't playing the game. Your computer
also isn't bogged down displaying 3d stuff, and such...making your server much
more pleasant for your players.
Why would I want to run a server?
To abuse bandwidth. To serve the community. To play with friends on a LAN.
To host clan events. To win the praise and admiration of thousands. And yes, to
meet girls. Chicks dig server operators.
How do I run a server?
Coming from a Quake/Quake2 background, I couldn't be any more pleased with
the way the Unreal Engine (and thus, Deus Ex) handles server setup. Sure, if you want
to tweak text files, you're welcome to...but it isn't really needed for a simple Deus Ex
Server. We assume that you have downloaded the Multiplayer patch. If not, check out
our file section.
Here we go:
Start Deus Ex (CD is required, of course)
Select the Multiplayer Option
Depending on gametype, select Internet game (to host an Internet server)
or LAN game (to host on a LAN)
See that little button labelled 'HOST' ?? Click it
Now we get to the Juicy bits. All kinds of options here. Clickies, toggles, sliders, oh my!
Starting from the top:
Game Type - One of the following:
Deathmatch -- No skill management needed. Players run and shoot
Basic Team Deathmatch -- Same as above, but with teams
Advanced Team Deathmatch -- My favorite. Run, shoot, and gain augs and skills with each frag.
Custom Team Deathmatch -- Like above, but more buttons to click, and things to tweak
Maps - Which map to start on, or which map to continuously play. By default, you can only select
the maps that shipped with the multiplayer patch. I'll fill you in on how to add your custom maps later.
# of Players - Maximum number of players. Ranges from 1 to 16.
Friendly Fire - Slider to adjust friendly fire between 0 (none) and 1 (100%). .5 by default, meaning
you only do 1/2 damage to your teammates.
Initial Augs - How many Augs you start with.
Available only in Advanced Team Deathmatch and Custom.
Augs/Kill - How many Augs does the player get per frag.
Available only in Advanced Team Deathmatch and Custom.
Starting Skill Level - Trained, Skilled, Master
Available only in Advanced Team Deathmatch and Custom.
Initial Skill Points - How many Skill Points you get to start out with.
Available only in Advanced Team Deathmatch and Custom.
Skill Points Per Kill - How many Skill Points you are awarded for each frag.
Default is 2000.
Available only in Advanced Team Deathmatch and Custom.
Victory Condition - How the game is won. Toggle between Kill Limit and Time Limit.
Kill Limit - How many frags constitutes a won game.
Time Limit - How long to play until loading a new map.
Map Cycle - Choice of:
Repeat -- Repeats the same map, erm, repeatedly.
Random -- Random map cycle.
Loop -- Map1, Map2, Map3, Map4, Map1, Map2, etc. Loops through all maps.
Server Mode - Choice of:
Dedicated -- the choice of folks who want to run a dedicated server.
Non-dedicated -- the choice of those who wish to serve the maps, and still play with the kids online.
Fiddle with the above options, and click Start.
If you chose Dedicated Server, you'll dump back to the desktop, and a lovely little
Deus Ex Icon will appear in your taskbar. You can right-click that to pull up a console
and see what's going on, talk to people online, switch maps, etc. More on that later.
If you chose Non-Dedicated, you'll load up your selected map, and run around until people join you.
Have fun!
My server shows up as my IP address, and not some swank name!!
Technically, that isn't a question. But I'll help anyway. Just this once:
Crack open the file DeusEx.ini (it's in C:\DeusEx\System\ by default) in
notepad, Word, whatever.
Find the section that is labelled [Engine.GameReplicationInfo] and in
there is this line:
ServerName=
Well, put something in there! Use quotes for stuff that has spaces, I
believe.
I should note that if you do not have anything for the ServerName set, your
games will appear without *any* name in GameSpyArcade. The rest of your
gaming info will be displayed, but users will only see a blank line instead
of an IP address. This may change with updated versions of GameSpyArcade,
and when it does, this paragraph will be annotated to indicate such a
status.
Hey, look! I've got a dedicated server! Now, how do I serve up custom maps?
You're well on your way to server admindom. Now you want to host community maps,
your own maps, or hacked Single Player Maps? It's easy:
Make sure your maps are in the Deus Ex Maps directory (C:\DeusEx\Maps by default)
Double check that your maps are in there
Name your multiplayer maps with DXMP_ in front of the name. I have a super new map
in progress called Shed.dx. It's a shed inside the world famous "Your First Square Room."
I would want to rename it DXMP_Shed.dx before putting it in the maps dir to serve up.
Crack open DeusEx.ini (C:\DeusEx\System\ by default) and look for a line called [DeusEx.DXMapList].
Add your new map to the list of maps below
Add any other information, such as Map Sizes, as applicable.
How do I run a server without having to use the Deus Ex GUI?
This is where it gets fun. Once you have your server all tweaked the way you want it,
you can start your dedicated server in one swell foop:
Head in to the System\ Directory (C:\DeusEx\System by default)
Highlight DeusEx.exe
Right-Click DeusEx.exe, and drag it off to the left/right, let go, and you'll be prompted
as to what to do with the file. Select 'Create Shortcut here.'
Right-Click the newly created 'Shortcut to DeusEx.exe' and select Properties
See where it says Target? Add a space to the end of that line, and add a dash, and the word "server."
Mine looks like this:
Target: C:\DeusEx\System\DeusEx.exe -server
Badda bing! Close it up, and you're done. Double-click the shortcut to launch your dedicated server.
It'll grab all the information from the last time you created a server. Coolio, eh?
What is a server console?
A server console is a little window to the online world inside your dedicated server.
Gobs of text scroll by, and you can see who killed who, with what, etc. as well as any
system information. This is all cached by default in C:\DeusEx\System\DEUSEX.log
as well.
Where are server logs?
Oh, jeez...I already answered that one. By default, they're in C:\DeusEx\System\DEUSEX.log
What does the stuff in the log mean?
Absolutely nothing. It's all double ROT13 encoded. First person to crack the code wins
an autographed JC Denton lunchbox (Signed, "To Lordie...where did you think I was keeping all
those bags of soy food and chips? JC").
Actually, there's lots of juicy stuff in the logs. You can see when people
join and leave, what maps are loading, etc. The console log is also handy
for when the game crashes, as the last few items in the log are generally
what caused the crash. My humble opinion is that the Unreal console is a
bit tougher to casually follow than the QuakeX consoles. There's an amazing
amount of information that passes by.
Anything cool I can do in the Console?
Yeah, lots of tweaking. I'm not going to list everything you can do.
Do a web search on Unreal Dedicated Server FAQ if you're really curious.
For now, here's how to talk to the folks on your server, and change maps:
SAY <text>
example: say Hello how are you do you like my really cool server lordie showed me how to set it up hey wanna start a clan we can name it
red dawn just like the movie and when we win we can all yell WOLVERINES! just like in the movie icq me okay bye
SERVERTRAVEL <mapname>
example:
SERVERTRAVEL DXMP_SHED.dx
will load up the Shed Multiplayer map.
Anything else I need to know?
There's lots more tweaking possible for a dedicated server. I'm not getting into it in this revision of the FAQ. If people want to know more, they're welcome to ask, and if it is asked Frequently enough, I'll add it to the Frequently Asked Questions. This isn't an APQ (All Possible Questions) for dedicated servers, just the kinds of questions people have asked us in the past. Dig?
A Private server is a server that has a password attached to it. Only those
with passwords can access the server.
How do I create a private server?
There's an easy way, and a hard way...
Easy: Start it as a LAN game. LAN games can be connected to over the internet but they don't show up on Internet game searches (they don't connect to the master server).
Hard: This is kinda tricky, so pay close attention. Open your DeusEx.ini file, and scroll on down to where you see GamePassword= Type the password you want after the = sign. Save your changes, and start
up a server. Anyone who wishes to join your server will have to enter a password.
How do I join a private server?
Easy way: LAN games can be connected to over the internet by entering the IP address in the DeusEx join-game screen
Hard way: Many thanks to Hydra, [CPA]Slicer[DEA], and [S]Punisher for posting their
findings to the ION Storm message board. I repeat their findings nearly
verbatim:
Start Deus Ex. Connecting via GameSpy or GameSpyArcade will not work
with this method.
At the splash screen (DX logo, music) press your Talk button (T by
default). This will bring up the in-game console. Delete the part that
says "say" and type the following
open 192.168.3.122:7790?password=shortpants
and hit enter. Obviously, you'll need to change the IP address to your
servers IP, and change the password to something other than 'shortpants.'
That's it. Got it?
Hey! (llama player) is a camping cheater, and they're calling me names!! And this is my server!!! How do I make them go away?
Need to flex some authoritative muscle? Someone killing people on their own
team on purpose? Don't get mad, just kick 'em. Here's how:
First, you'll need to set an admin password. To do this, open up DeusEx.ini
and look for
AdminPassword=
Put your password after the equals sign. Tell your closest of close friends
the password. Next time someone is abusing your server while you're
playing, press your TALK button (T by default) and delete the part that says
"say." Next, type in
adminlogin shortpants
(change 'shortpants' to whatever your password is)
There, now you're logged in as an admin. You are The Alpha AND The Omega.
Wield your power fairly. Now, to get rid of the player:
kick PLAYERNAME
where PLAYERNAME is the FULL name of the player you now hate. Simple, huh?
Kickban is a variation on kick, where the person once kicked will not be
able to join should work as well...but that's far too harsh. Normally, a
mere kick will suffice. When you have satisfied your thirst for power and
attention, type
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