Down to the Last Save

Big Edit: I updated this post to reflect the upcoming changes for the retail release on the 18th.

So the Left 4 Dead early access demo for the PC and 360 went live today and I figured I should grab it and setup a Left 4 Dead dedicated server. Getting the files was easy, but setting up ( and getting my L4D dedicated server up wasn’t).

I did a lot of searching for how to setup a Left 4 Dead dedicated server and found next to nothing for resources. Thankfully, my prior experience with setting up Source dedicated server helped a little. I figure I will share my steps for setting up a Windows Left 4 Dead dedicated server so maybe it will save somebody else some time.

First off I am using a Windows host, so if you are using linux you will have to change your steps accordingly.

If you are starting from scratch, you will have to grab the hldsupdatetool and install that. Then either by making a batch file, or by using the command line, use this to grab the files for your Left 4 Dead Dedicated server. I will depend on where you installed the hldsupdate tool and where you want to put the files. For me it looks like this:

C:HLServerhldsupdatetool -command update -game l4d_full -dir C:HLServer

This will hit Valves server and grab all the files you need for your Left 4 Dead Dedicated server; this is also how you keep your dedicated server up to date. This is the easy part.

Now what you should do is head to HLServerl4dleft4dead and make two text files named mapcycle.txt and maplist.txt. Then put l4d_hospital01_apartment and l4d_dem_hospital02_subway in both. This will allow your server to switch between the two demo mapsEdit: the maps are all in there now. Now all of the maps should be in there allready.

Next head to HLServerl4dleft4deadcfg and make a text file named server.cfg and put this in as a minimum:

hostname Server Name Here
// Rcon Cvars
rcon_password “your recon password” //Set’s remote control password
// Server Cvars
mp_disable_autokick 1 //Prevents a userid from being auto-kicked
sv_allow_color_correction 0 //Allow or disallow clients to use color correction on this server.
sv_allow_wait_command 0 //Allow or disallow the wait command on clients connected to this server.
sv_alltalk 0 //Players can hear all other players, no team restrictions
sv_alternateticks 0 //If set, server only simulates entities on even numbered ticks.
sv_clearhinthistory 0 //Clear memory of server side hints displayed to the player.
sv_consistency 1 //Whether the server enforces file consistency for critical files
sv_contact “your_admin@whatever.com” //Contact email for server sysop
sv_downloadurl “” //Location from which clients can download missing files

// Lan or internet play, Server region cvars
//sv_lan 0 //Server is a lan server ( no heartbeat, no authentication, no non-class C addresses )
sv_region 255 // Region Codes: 0 – US East coast, 1 – US West coast, 2 – South America, 3 – Europe, 4 – Asia, 5 – Australia, 6 – Middle East, 7 – Africa, 255 – world

// Server Logging
sv_log_onefile 0 //Log server information to only one file.
sv_logbans 1 //Log server bans in the server logs.
sv_logecho 0 //Echo log information to the console.
sv_logfile 1 //Log server information in the log file.
sv_logflush 0 //Flush the log file to disk on each write (slow).
sv_logsdir “logs” //Folder in the game directory where server logs will be stored.

//Server Rates
sv_maxcmdrate 100 //(If sv_mincmdrate is > 0), this sets the maximum value for cl_cmdrate.
sv_unlag 1
sv_maxunlag .5
sv_steamgroup //this is your group’s steam group id.. allows members to join from main menu add
//sv_steamgroup_exclusive 1 //to make it exclusive and private
z_difficulty “Impossible” “//this is the difficulty setting

You could probably put more cvars and whatnot in there, but for now this will give you a basic setup that will get you going. Edit: I added the last cvar to make it so anybody can join from the server broswer. I found a list of Left 4 Dead server commands and cvars; It weighs in at a whopping 21 pages. From what I have seen, you could use a Team Fortress 2 config generator, but I am not sure what will work and what wont.

The last step for getting your Left 4 Dead Dedicated server up is to start it,by the command line, a batch file or making a shortcut to the srcds.exe in your left4dead directory. I did it the last way and added this to the end of the Target parameter:

-console -game left4dead +ip “your ip address” +hostport 27015 +map l4d_hospital01_apartment.bsp

All you have to change is the ip address (take out the “” characters) and your Left 4 Dead dedicated server will be up and running in no time. By having the -console in there, it will bring up a console of the server when you double click on the shortcut, making for easy administration. The +map will start your server with the specified map. If you don’t have it, your server won’t work properly. If you want to setup your server for VS, put in a VS map in there ( like l4d_vs_farm01_hilltop.bsp)

If you have any questions, leave a comment or post in this thread in my forums.and I will help you get your Left 4 Dead dedicated server up as best I can.

Also, don’t forget to check out Left 4 Dead 411, they have all the info you need ( like how to open the server browser in Left 4 Dead) and if you want to directly connect to my server you can use tf2.last-save.com as the host name

Video Game Rentals Delivered. Start for only $8.95.

Edit: For Exclusive Versus. Campaign or Survival modes for your Left 4 Dead Dedicated server all you have to do is set the mp_gamemode [coop,versus,survival] is your dedicated server config.

Edit Again: DOA wrote up a very useful guide on setting up a Left 4 Dead dedicated server on Ubuntu

4-21-09
Since the new survial DLC came out, this is how you connect to your own server from the lobby

• As the lobby leader, bring up the console
• type “ms_force_dedicated_server ” (enter your own IP and port for your server)
• Start the game and it will automatically join your own server! It’s that easy!

If you need to contact me for help, you can follow me on Twitter

Here are some related posts

• Left 4 Dead 2 Dedicated Server Setup
• Left 4 Dead 2 new ‘Scavenge” Multiplayer Mode
• Left 4 Dead 2 Dark Carnival Campaign at PAX

Tags: Left 4 Dead