UT2004 Server Setup HELP

[Adrayic]

I have a couple of friends that I play UT2004 regularly with. We usually get together at my house and play via LAN but I was wondering if it were possible for us to play on our own server over the internet? I am a total NOOB when it comes to servers / game servers so bare with me. I've done some preliminary research as to how game servers work and such but I still have a few questions.

Ok, so I know there are two different types of servers -- listening and dedicated. When we play at my house, I host a game with my machine over my network... everything works beautifully and there is virtually no lag. (this is with 4 people playing, including myself).

Is there a way I can broadcast my listening server over the internet so that only my friends can join? If so, how much of a performance hit would I take when compared to running a LAN server? I have a wireless radio internet connection (I live on a farm so our internet options are limited) that is equivalent or slightly better than a cable connection -- at least where bandwidth is concerned. FYI -- the max amount of players I would have on my server is 5 - 6, with the average probably being 4.

I've also looked into running a dedicated server. I have a spare computer that I dont really use much anymore. Its a P4 1.6ghz, 512mb PC2700 memory. Would it be better to run a dedicated server on this machine or a listening server on my machine (3700+ San Diego @ 2750mhz w/ 1gb ram)? Any insight you guys could give me would be very helpful. Tx

-Adryaic

 

[Blankfile]

You might want to take a look at this:

http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?...ns&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=13&page=1

It explains all the "how to" voodoo when it comes to creating a UT2K4 server. Have fun

If you don't feel like reading it, basically you have to download "UT2004-3186-DedicatedServer.zip" on epic's website, then run it with a special cd-key from their website, open the required port on your router and tell your IP to your friends.

Please take note that i never actually ran this kind of server, so yeah i may be really wrong.

 

[xAndrA]

Broadcasting your game over the internet without having others see it wouldn't be very feasible. There are good compromises, though...

• The first, simplest one: Password it!
• The second one: Don't broadcast on the net. Simply have people join by IP address, or even a DNS alias from one of the few hundred free DNS sites out there.
• The third one implies GRE tunnels over IP to establish a LAN with the other computers, but I won't even get into that as it's quite overkill.

That spare P4 of yours should be able to run UT2k4 dedicated fine. I've run it on a K7 650mhz with 256mbs of RAM before... But 256MBs will barely support 2-3 players. A UT2004 server is a memory hog, especially if it involves a game of Onslaught. As for bandwidth... It's hard to say how many players you can support without knowing the exact bandwidth of your connection and how much you'd dedicate to the server, but it's safe to say one player needs 6-8kBs per second. And that doesn't include latency... Radio/satellite connections tend to have bad latency, even if they have good bandwidth.

I'm assuming you'll want to run a Windows-based server... That site linked isn't very thorough besides. I had an excellent resource on UT2k3 servers over on the Unreal Tech site, but they shut down shortly after UT2k4 went live, and no site on google is worth anything. So if you have any questions, just ask me, I'll answer as I can.

 

[Adrayic]

Thx for the help guys.

xAndra -- right now I'm running a listening server via IP address w/ password protect (not broadcasting it on the master server). I've only tried it w/ 3 players (including myself) and the other two players report that they had very limited lag. I'm not sure how this will work once I have 5 players but hopefully it will be OK.

When in listening mode, is there a way that I can get to the Web Admin interface in firefox? I want to be able to change all the advanced server settings that just arn't available in the game.... things like map voting and such. Also, when hosting a listening server, is there a way for me (the admin) to change things like time limit, frag limit, switch individual players to other teams, add bots.... etc w/ the console?

I am seriously thinking about giving the dedicated server a try w/ my P4 1.6 but it looks a little more difficult. Again, is there a web admin interface that makes for easy configuration? I mean -- can I configure the server via graphic interface from my main computer while running the server on the P4 1.6? Sorry for my ignorance but this is all very new to me. Thx

-Adrayic

 

[Timdog]

Most likely you'll only be able to support 4 players max with a standard connection.

 

[xAndrA]

Of all the things, you have to ask me about the web panel. It's one of the few things UT that I haven't touched... =p

Anyway, if you want to finetune your connection and the amount of players allowed, you'll have to play with these settings a bit. As a rule of thumb, (your bandwidth) / (max client rate) = amount of players. But if you set it too low, clients won't get enough updates, making others much harder to hit. There's a lot more involved than this, but I'll spare you the gory details for now.

[IpDrv.TcpNetDriver]
MaxClientRate=15000
MaxInternetClientRate=10000

Defaults, 10kB/s per player (or 15kB/s on LAN clients)

For the in-game console control... Set something on AdminPassword in this section:

[Engine.AccessControl]
AdminPassword=foo
GamePassword=

Then, when in the game, you can do:

adminlogin foo

to login as admin. Afterwards, you can execute console commands on the remote server with "admin (command)"... For example:

admin addbots 8

(adds 8 bots)

admin kick xAndrA

(kicks that aimbot)

admin servertravel CTF-FaceClassic

(changes map to CTF-FaceClassic, may not be exact syntax)

admin spawn UnrealI.StoneTitan

(spawns a stone titan)

And that's the very basics. You'll have to familiarize yourself with the actual console commands to use the admin command... But it's worth it, if you ask me. Once you feel confident with these basics, head over to UnrealAdmin to check the UT2004 server tutorials. I haven't had the chance to use their documentation, as I've always used UnrealTech's, but it seems pretty thorough.

Good luck! =)

 

[Adrayic]

xAndra -- thank you muchly. I found all I needed to know @ UnrealAdmin. I am still working w/ the listening server and it seems to be working great. I'll try the dedicated server next month -- I have already reached my download limit for this month (12gb.... brutal) and the dedicated server is nearly 1gb. Thanks again bro.

-Adrayic

 

[Gunther]

If I recall making a server isn't that different from LANing, just don't click off the "dedicated server" button, or YOU won't be able to play. Now bear in mind, unless you have a high performance computer, you will get lag. LAN servers are easier to play on, it seems like there is always less lag to be had.

 

[WingsofGOD]

As far as lag goes, i play with 3 other people on my dedicated server. Then add 10 bots, we dont notice any lag at all. For what it's worth...

I have a pretty good connection though.