1. How many Players can I have on my server? How big of a connection do I need?

These are our current estimates, err on the high side, and aim for best performance (sure you could get more on less but that's when you get laggy/crummy servers):

'How big' primarily depends on bandwidth.

A *good* DSL connection (1.5/768) can handle about 8-10 players MAX. Slower DSL (such as residential 1.5/256) would only be able to support about 4 players at best (same for cable as that is usually 256 to 384 on the upload). If you have a 1 Mb SDSL connection (or 1 Mb on your cable upload) you should be able to support a 12 player server.

As a rough rule of thumb, each player requires anywhere from 50 to 80 KBps. You need a *minimum* of a T1 to support a 16 player server, dual T1 (3 Mb) for a 32 player server, and just over 6 Mb for a 64 player server (although that can hit up to 7 or 8 Mb/sec depending on how many people are connecting and downloading maps). Basically you need some serious bandwidth for anything over a 16 player server and it should be dedicated hardware (i.e. it's only a server, no GUI or other apps running on it).

General rule of thumb:
Cable Modem: 4 - 6 players.
DSL Line: 8 - 10 players
T1+ 16 - X players. (X is dependant on your connection)

THE SERVER WILL CONSUME 85 TO 100% OF YOUR CPU. This means YOU CANNOT RUN AN INTERNET SERVER ON AND PLAY FROM THE SAME MACHINE. SERVERS MUST BE DEDICATED FOR OPTIMAL AND PROPER PERFORMANCE.

2. How do I run a dedicated server without having to enter my info into the DedicatedServer.exe every time?

You need to enter the server config parameters into its config file. The file is called ServerSettings.con, located in Settings folder for the application (usually C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 1942 Multiplayer Demo\Settings). The DedicatedServer.exe can be used when first setting up the server, then you can manually edit the ServerSettings.con after the first time it is run.

DO NOT USE DedicatedServer.exe MORE THAN ONCE if you do not want to enter your info every time you start the server. You must start the server from a shortcut which starts the game as a server, or start the server as a service (more below), or write a batch file to start the server (FAQ-todo). The simplest method is to modify the shortcut file on your desktop to include the following switches:

+restart 1 +hostServer 1 +dedicated 1

So the Target for the shortcut would look like: "C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 1942 Multiplayer Demo\BF1942Demo.exe" +restart 1 +hostServer 1 +dedicated 1

Rename that shortcut to something apropriate like 'BF1942 MP Demo Server' and double click it. The server should launch with the settings you entered into the ServerSettings.com file.

3. How do I setup my server behind a firewall?

If you do not care about (or want) the server being listed in Ga*spy, then you only need to open udp port 14567 into your network. If you are behind a firewall/router that is also doing NAT, you will need to port forward udp port 14567 from your firewall/router to your internal server. On some routers you may also make your server a 'DMZ' host which effectively puts the server on the outside of the firewall. However, please realize that exposes your server and all of its potentially open ports (and exploitable code) to the rest of the dirty public internet :)

If you do want your server to be listed in Gamespy you will need a number of additional ports opened up:

allow udp port 14567
allow udp 22000 (THIS IS ONLY FOR LAN GAMES. If you don't want that accessible from the net, don't open it)
allow udp range 23000 23009
# Gamespy Master Server UDP Heartbeat allow udp port 27900
# Gamespy Master Server List Request allow tcp port 28900

In addition you may or may not :) need to open the ports listed in the "Working Around the Firewall / Proxy" section of this Gamespy page: http://www.gamespyarcade.com/support/firewalls.shtml (thanks to mibsc123 for the link)

4. How do I set the admin password and use remote commands?

You must first set the server admin password at the server console. Get in front of the server/black window and hit the ` key to bring up the console (also called the ~ key). This will take the console out of status display mode (where it shows you FPS) and into entry mode where you can enter console commands. When you get the > prompt, type: admin.enableremoteadmin where is any password of your choice that is all numbers OR letters, BUT NOT BOTH AND NO SPACES!

After you have set the password on the server console, you can use the same command from your client when you connect to the server. So, fire up your game and connect to your server. Now open the console ingame with the ` key and issue the following command: admin.enableremoteadmin where is the password you set before at the server console.

You should now be authed as an admin and able to issue remote commands.

To issue a remote command, use the following command: admin.execremotecommand "command" where command is any command you would normally run from the server console. For example, to kick a user number 15 you would issue this: admin.execremotecommand "admin.kickplayer 15" or to ban player 15: admin.execremotecommand "admin.banplayer 15"

5. How do I kick/ban people from my server?

Read #2 again if you are not sitting in front of the server/console. If you are sitting in front of your server/console (i.e. NOT remote), then you just issue the admin command right into the console (i.e. game.listplayers and admin.kickplayer )

COPYRIGHT 2002 g8@the.whole.net "Restecp" to the CE and BF Community - http://cebf.ws
----------

To modify your server settings, see the following:

Server Settings

When hosting a server, the server settings are read from Settings/ServerSettings.con. They are as follows:

game.serverName "Bf Server" > server name
game.serverDedicated 0 > 0 - non dedicated, 1 - dedicated
game.serverGamePlayMode GPM_CQ > gameMode: GPM_CQ - Conquest, GPM_CTF - Capture the Flag, GPM_TDM - Team Death Match, GPM_COOP - Coop
game.serverGameTime 0 > round time limit in minutes. 0 = unlimited game.serverMaxPlayers 32
game.serverScoreLimit 24 > score limit in TDM and CTF. 0 = unlimited
game.serverInternet 0 > 1 - internet server, 0 - local server
game.serverNumberOfRounds 3 > number of rounds before map change
game.serverSpawnTime 20 > spawn time in seconds, i.e. time between waves
game.serverSpawnDelay 10 > spawn delay in seconds, i.e. the time the wave is active
game.serverGameStartDelay 20 > delay before game starts
game.serverSoldierFriendlyFire 100 > friendly fire in percent versus soldiers
game.serverVehicleFriendlyFire 100 > friendly fire in percent versus vehicles
game.serverTicketRatio 100 > ticket ratio in percent. 100 % = default ticket settings. 200 % = twice the number of tickets
game.serverAlliedTeamRatio 1
game.serverAxisTeamRatio 1 > team ratio Allied versus Axis. 1-2, means twice the number of axis players
game.serverPassword "" > password (DO NOT USE ANY SPACES)
game.ServerBandwidthChokeLimit 0 > Limit: bytes / second. 0 = unlimited
game.ServerAllowNoseCam 1 > Nose cam on/off (1/0) when flying planes
game.ServerFreeCamera 0 > Free camera on/off (1/0)
game.ServerExternalViews 1 > external views on vehicles on/off (1/0)
game.ServerAutoBalanceTeams 0 > external views on vehicles on/off (1/0)
game.ServerNameTagDistance 50 > name tag distance
game.ServerNameTagDistanceScope 300 > name tag distance when using scope
game.ServerKickBack 0 > kickback. damage received when hurting teammates. (in percent)
game.ServerKickBackOnSplash 0 > kickback. splash damage received when hurting teammates. (in percent)
game.setServerSoldierFriendlyFireOnSplash 100 > friendly fire from splash damage in percent vs soldiers
game.setServerVehicleFriendlyFireOnSplash 100 > friendly fire from splash damage in percent vs vehicles
game.setServerIP > Ip of server
game.setServerPort 14567 > port of server