Setting Up a TF2 Server: The Basics

This is part one of a series of tutorials I plan to make involving creating a dedicated Team Fortress 2 server. I plan on using an obsoleted machine to run this myself and hopefully by the end I will have a fun and creative server.

The following tutorial will help you set up a strict vanilla server. That is to say, this is what setting up a bare bones basic server is like.

Installation

1) Download Steam's HLDSTOOLUPDATE tool from the Steam page here.

Install the program to wherever is most desirable.  Personally, I feel that just sticking to the root C drive is easiest since it is easy to find and shortens the length of the commands you need to run.  

2) Now you need to obtain all the files for the dedicated TF2 server.  To do this, you need to create a .bat file containing one short line.  Let's assume you installed HLDSTOOLUPDATE to c:\tf2server, the line would look like:

c:\tf2server\hldsupdatetool -command update -game tf -dir c:\tf2server

If you put the updater somewhere else then just change the two path names.

Now just run the .bat file and wait.  It will start downloading the 1.8 Gb file so sit back since it will take awhile.  

If the update tool fails just run it again and again until it seems there is nothing left to download.  This may seem frustrating but it is the easiest way to make sure you get everything. 

Set Up

Now you need to configure all of the files for use.  To do, download this very small server.cfg file I put together.  It only contains the basics for running a server.  If you want to edit it or just check it out you can easily boot it up in notepad or as I always prefer, notepad++ and check everything out.  Most of the settings have a short description with them.

There are a more complete list of server commands here in case you want to add anything, but it may require a little digging because there are a lot of them.

Execution

To start your server you just need to know how many players you want and what map you want to use.  Keep in mind that in vanilla TF2 the max players possible is 24.  

Now just run the command: 

c:\tf2server\orangebox\srcds.exe -console -game tf -hostport 27015 +maxplayers 24 +map cp_dustbowl

Go ahead and change the bold parts to suit your preference.  Just make sure that you only use official maps for now as those are the only ones you will have.  Also remember to change the file location if you used a different path.