How to Host a TF2 Server

Team Fortress 2 is a popular multiplayer game with dedicated servers.

Team Fortress 2 is a popular first person shooter (FPS) made by Valve. It is multi-player only, and players looking for a game of Team Fortress 2 have to browse a list of servers. These servers are highly customizable and they can even be hosted by player themselves. However, unlike some games where a player simply hosts a match and the match ends if the host leaves, servers in Team Fortress 2 are dedicated. This means that they run separate from the game client and are not dependent on a particular player being in the game.

Instructions

How to Host a TF2 Server

1. Download the Windows HLDS Update Tool from Steam's website. It is only available through the Steam website and cannot be found in the Steam store using the Steam client.

2. Install the HLDS Update Tool. Make sure the installation directory is not the same as the directory where the installer was downloaded or else an error will occur. Be sure to select the correct region when prompted by the installer. The rest of the installation is handled by the installer.

3. Create an update.bat file in the folder where the HLDS Update Tool was installed. This is usually best accomplished by creating a .txt file and then renaming it. Once the file is created, edit it using notepad to include the following text:<br /><br />HldsUpdateTool.exe -command update -game tf -dir \"c:\\HLserver\" -verify_all -retry pause<br /><br />Save the changes and close the notepad file.

4. Double click on the .bat file which was just edited to run the file. This will cause two windows to open. The HLDS tool will begin downloading the information which it needs. This may take some time because the files it is downloading come to well over two gigabytes. One of the windows should display the download status. When the download is finished, the HLDS window will disappear.

5. Create a new text file in the c:\\HLsever\\orangebox\\tf\\cfg directory called server.cfg. Open the file and insert the following text.<br /><br />hostname \"server_name\"<br />rcon_password \"Rcon_Password\"<br />sv_contact \"[e-mail]\"<br />mp_timelimit \"30\"<br /><br />The parts in quotations are simply placeholders. Fill them in with the information desired.

6. Create a text file in the main HLserver directory with the name of tf.bat. Open and edit the file to include the following text.<br /><br />c:\\HLserver\\orangebox\\srcds.exe -console -game tf -hostport 27015 +maxplayers 24 +map ctf_2fort<br /><br />The map section can be changed to the map of choice. The maxplayers section can also be changed to dictate the maximum number of players who can join the server. Once these settings are edited, run the tf.bat file. The server will start automatically and may take a minute or two to fully launch.

Tips & Warnings

• The information here will start a server, but there are many ways to customize it. Srcds.com is a great source for information on tweaking a server.<br /><br />These instructions assume that the HLDS Update Tool is installed into c:\\HLserver. If it is installed into a different directory, then replace all instances of C:\\HLserver in these instructions with that installation directory.

• Make sure that filename extensions are not hidden in Windows. If they are, then changing the file types to .bat and .cfg will not be possible.<br /><br />Some actions in this guide may require administrator privileges in Windows Vista.

References

• Source Dedicated Server
• TF2 Server Command List

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• HLDS Download Site