How do you create a Half-Life 1 Server?

[J-Lord]

Hey guys,

 

Latley I have bee having problems creating a Half Life server, well to be more exact I am trying to create a server for a Half Life mod know as The Specialists (A Matrix type half life mod). Years ago they use to have Role Playing servers which are now pretty much all dead and me and my brothers and a few friends wanted to create our own server but I have no clue where to start and there aren't that many tutorials on the net on how to actuly make one, only to add plug-ins and stuff to make the RP server.

 

So does anyone here have any idea how I would go about making and running a Half-Life server?

[JohnFlower]

For dedicated servers it is recommended that you use hldsupdatetool and install the server that way. This way supports multiple OS's.

There is also the option of running it through Steam by installing the 'Dedicated Server' under tools (I think you might need to own the game, not too sure).

In the end, it comes down to your needs and your technical skills. hldsupdatetool requires knowledge of CLI, and a fair bit of time to read manuals and other bits n pieces. The upside is that you do not need a Steam account nor to own the game. You also have a lot more control over what mods you can install, what maps you can play on, etc. You can read the official guide to setting up a dedicated server here.

Installing mods for the server is the same as installing mods for the client, but keep in mind the players also need the files. If you would want the players to download the mods you have installed, you would likely need to setup an external http server with the files you want them to download. In the Source games I used to host, you would normally just use the 'addons' folder. But, as I said, I don't know the folder layout, nor if the 'addons' folder method is supported in Half Life.

EDIT: There is a tool called SourceRSC that I used extensively. Perhaps it is worth checking into if it works for the older games.

Edited April 13, 2013 by JohnFlower

[J-Lord]

Thanks a bunch, after 3 hours of messing around with CMD, learning how to navigate with CMD and a few other things I got a server to work. Now I just need to figure out how to change game modes using the server and create a Role Playing server. I guess it is time to do some more searching into what makes up these servers and the best ways to set them up. I got a feeling it won't be easy with such an old game. Once again thanks for your help!

[GeekyAlex]

If you are using this as a public server, I'd reccomend renting a dedicated server or VPS for latency and connection reasons. Seeing your location is in Australia, you may benefit from a Los Angeles VPS listed on http://lowendbox.com as most cheap VPSes with lots of bandwidth to Australia are in LA. Personally for such a project, I'd reccomend SemoWeb. The guy who owns that company works as the head sales guy at the datacenter the servers are at, and the support is well, OK. But I believe they allow Source-based game servers. If you need any help, ask me. Thanks.

[J-Lord]

Thanks anyway Alex but I dont exactly have the funds to rent a server plus this is something I want to set up and control, I am attempting to turn this deathmatch server into a roleplay server, but seeing as this Mod has been dead for ages most of the sites created for it are not dead or dying, plus there are no detailed tutorials and sites that explain how to set up all the plug-ins, maps and bots etc.

 

Have spent most of today and yesterday figuring it out and searching the internet with no luck.

[GeekyAlex]

I understand. I rent a VPS in New York, which is pretty cheap ($7.20 a month), but I know not everyone can do it.

 

I just said LA cause a lot of the Australia VPSes on that site have a tiny amount of bandwidth (less than 50GB in a month) due to bandwidth being like, $0.25 to 0.75 USD per GB down there.