Dedicated Conversion Pack Server Guide

[IdolNinja]

I've read all over the net on just about every swbf2 forum how it is "impossible" to setup a dedicated conversion server. So, I went ahead and set one up anyway to see if I could make it work.

I'm actually hosting my second dedicated Conversion server now for Penny Arcade, and thought I would put together a guide for other admins to use:
http://finalack.com/Idol/swbf2/SWBF2..._IdolNinja.rar

The archive contains:
* Spreadsheet with the full map list for both vanilla and conversion
* Step by step install instructions for the server
* A working batch file that just needs some parameters defined like path, and servername and pass
* Command reference to use for tweaking the server settings like hero unlock rules, bots, etc

Feel free to hit me up with any questions here in this thread if you run into any snags. Enjoy!

[triphamm3r]

Originally Posted by IdolNinja

I've read all over the net on just about every swbf2 forum how it is "impossible" to setup a dedicated conversion server. So, I went ahead and set one up anyway to see if I could make it work.

I don't know who told you it was impossible. If you go online in game, you can always see a server or two running some of the conversion maps, so most would know it's not impossible. If you had started out at the Gametoast forums... the first thing they would have told you was that you could only host the conversion pack on a dedicated server with a .bat.. it's not news.

I'm not saying you wasted your time. It's nice to see that you've put everything together in one place for those that need to know without going all over the net... but you could have done the same thing with links instead of an .rar, and linked the info all in one thread. It's clear you copy and pasted right from some of the sources that could just have been linked.

Good work getting it all together though.

[IdolNinja]

Originally Posted by triphamm3r

I don't know who told you it was impossible. If you go online in game, you can always see a server or two running some of the conversion maps, so most would know it's not impossible. If you had started out at the Gametoast forums... the first thing they would have told you was that you could only host the conversion pack on a dedicated server with a .bat.. it's not news.

I'm not saying you wasted your time. It's nice to see that you've put everything together in one place for those that need to know without going all over the net... but you could have done the same thing with links instead of an .rar, and linked the info all in one thread. It's clear you copy and pasted right from some of the sources that could just have been linked.

Good work getting it all together though.

If that info exists out there then it is so deeply buried that I couldn't find it. I even read through the Gametoast forum you're referencing. In fact, I posted there asking for help a while back asking for map names for the conversion pack so I could setup the batch and got zero responses:
http://gametoast.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=24274

To get those maps names I had to use the modding tools to look inside the map files and put that all together myself. I even offered up a previous version of this archive on that forum that nobody bothered to respond to. (The current updated version linked here is better documented, and has a better map rotation and settings.)

Also, none of the example batch files out there had settings that worked well with a powerful server. The throttle especially causes problems if set too low like in most examples.

Nothing was "copied and pasted" from any source, and I resent that implication. The work is my own. The only outside reference included was the batch parameter one and I linked back to the original site in the readme.

[triphamm3r]

My appologies dude.. didn't mean to offend. I've seen the information before.. so it looked familiar I guess.

Your command line parameters (as you mentioned) are actually the list Kurgan made up. Besides that... you can find them in a few places including the SWBF2 TweakGuide and a few in the remote admin guide:

http://www.tweakguides.com/SWB_7.html
http://www.globalwf.com/gwl/download...ef_Nov2005.pdf

I saw your post at Gametoast when you posted. I assumed no one answered because it's been brought up before and they have a habit of coercing ppl to just search their forums for the answer. There's few subjects they haven't talked about already with regards to SWBF2. A quick search of the Gametoast forums using the string "dedicated server conversion pack" brought up a few threads asking the same question you did.

How to create a .bat file and examples can be found right in the Lucas Arts forums as a sticky.. and has been there since the SWBF2 beta:

http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?t=152834

All you need is the map names and drop the "beta" in the command line. In the past when I set up a dedi with the conversion maps... all I had to do was determine which maps would run.. and which ones wouldn't because not all of them will run on a dedi. I know the codes for the maps based on the format of the name... so a list became useless once you knew the codes as long as you knew the map abrev. You've taken out the guesswork.

The fact is I'm glad to see someone actually contributing to the SWBF2 community TBH. Nice to have it all in one place. Good job.