Easy Tutorial For Jaymod Settings!

The server.cfg-sample file is available on http://www.v-nessa.net/et/server.cfg

I figured I would do my community service by writing a much-needed manual on how to setup a server for anyone who?s new to it. This tutorial is going to be Windows-specific, step-by-step and straight forward, and is mainly intended for someone who has never set up a server before but familiar with how to use ET. You might find it helpful to print this out.

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Setting up a basic Jaymod server is VERY easy, but configuring the .cfg files can take a lot of time, so you will have to be patient, and follow along with the Jaymod documentation. Everything you really need to know about Jaymod is in there, and if you take the time to read it you?ll have a better understanding of how all the features and commands work.

The first thing you want to do is find a game server host that fits your needs, and make sure you have access to the ET command line (which the server host will provide) and FTP.

Download your preferred version of Jaymod at http://www.jaymod.clanfu.org/download.php and unzip its contents into a folder.

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I. Configuration files
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1. Server.cfg

This is the file that will hold the basic configuration for the server itself. You can download a sample .cfg from the link below and edit the variables as needed. All the variables are explained in the file itself:

http://www.v-nessa.net/et/server.cfg

One thing you need to know about is BITFLAGGED variables. These are variables that you have to add together. For instance, ice cream = 1, sex = 2, and candy = 4. If you want ice cream and candy, you would put ?5? as your value. If you just want sex, you would use ?2.? These show up a lot in the Jaymod config. Not ice cream, candy, and sex, but you know what I mean

Notice the two lines at the end of server.cfg:

?exec maprotation.cfg? refers to the file that contains the order of the maps. If this line is missing or incorrect, your server will hang! i.e. ?Awaiting Connection?.1?..2?.3????35???..100?

?exec jaymod.cfg? is required in order to load Jaymod. If it?s not there, stock ET will load.

Also, there?s a place in the file where you can specify where users can download files from the server. If you have custom maps and you?re using Jaymod, you?ll need to allow your players to download the maps and Jaymod client. Unfortunately, ET runs an incredibly SLOW download speed, so you have to set up a redirect. Redirects can be tricky, but if you search the forums you?ll find many posts on how to configure them.

2. Jaymod.cfg

Inside the Jaymod folder, you?ll see ?jaymod.cfg-sample.? Rename it to ?jaymod.cfg and open it in a text editor. This is where you?ll configure all the Jaymod-specific features that you want on your server. It is VERY important that you follow along with the included documentation, because every variable in the jaymod.cfg file is explained clearly to help you avoid any problems with configuration. This will take some time to set up.

3. Shrubbot.cfg

The shrubbot.cfg file is the self-updating file that specifies your admin levels and permissions, as well as who the admins are and what they can do. The flags and config for shrubbot.cfg are explained on pages 39, 40, and 41 of the documentation. Download a basic one from here and modify it to your needs:

http://www.v-nessa.net/et/shrubbot.cfg

For more detailed information, see this post:

http://jaymod.clanfu.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3084

Put this in your Jaymod folder.

3. Maprotation.cfg

For the purpose of simplicity, we?re going to set up a single-map objective server using a file we?ll name ?maprotation.cfg.? First, you need to figure out what maps you want on your server, gather them up, and put them in their own folder on your desktop, for now. Download this utility:

http://www.v-nessa.net/et/maprotation.zip

Run the utility and add all the maps from the folder you just made, then save the file as ?maprotation.cfg.?

Note: When you download maps, avoid changing the .pk3 file name, because that name usually reflects the name of the .bsp map file located inside?and a mismatch can cause problems!

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II. Command Line
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Now you have to set up your command line. This is how a basic command line should look, with most the ?set? commands already having been added to server.cfg:

Code:
\…\ETDED.exe +set com_hunkmegs 128 +set fs_game jaymod +set sv_punkbuster 1 +exec server.cfg

The ?fs_game jaymod? specifies where the mod files are located. That would be your Jaymod folder. ?Exec server.cfg? tells the server to read server.cfg before actually running the server.

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III. Upload Files
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This is the easiest part, as long as you put the files where the server can find them. For the sake of this tutorial we?ll follow the standard rules, but you?ll realize there are many other ways to organize your files.

1. Start by opening your FTP utility to the root of the ET installation. This is the folder that contains ET.exe, ETDED.exe and maybe a few other files and folders. Create two folders: ?etmain? and ?jaymod? (if they aren?t there already). For simplicity, try to keep everything here lowercase.

2. Upload all your maps to the ?etmain? folder.

3. Put the ?server.cfg? and ?maprotation.cfg? files in the ?etmain? folder.

4. Upload ALL the Jaymod files into the ?jaymod? folder on the server, including ?shrubbot.cfg? and ?jaymod.cfg?

Some people here will argue that these files should go elsewhere, and they can, but this type of installation is proven to work without difficulty. Once you get more experienced you can start moving shit around.

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IV. First Run
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Now that you have all your files up, it?s time to run the server for the first time. You may have to keep going back to change the configs as needed, and you?ll probably have a few problems. To start the server, you should have an option (usually where you find the command line) to Start/Stop the server. Stop the server first, if it isn?t already, then start it up again. Your game should now load Jaymod and execute the first map in your map cycle.

If you’re not sure whether Jaymod is running (which you should!), you can always hit your ESC key in game and look for the colorful Jaymod menu.

Next you need to make yourself an admin. Remember the RCON password you set up in server.cfg? You need that to log in to RCON. Bring down your console with the ~ key and type:

Code:
/rconpassword <password>

then

Code:
/rcon setlevel <player> <level>

You should now be able to use the admin commands for your level as specified in your shrubbot.cfg!

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And that?s pretty much it! A few notes though:

– Capt. Obvious: If you change a config file on your computer, don’t forget to re-upload it to the server.

– If you make a major change to a config file and you don’t see it take effect, try /exec filename.cfg in the console or restart the server. Some changes actually do require a restart, though.

– You can use RCON to re-set just about every CVAR in your config files. There’s ?set? or ?seta?. ?set? is temporary, while ?seta? will write that value to the configs, thus permanent.

– RCON sets follow this format:

Code:
/set <variable> <value>

i.e. /set g_speed ?500?

– Here?s a list of RCON commands: RCON commands

– Most every shrubbot command can be done silently in RCON, regardless of your set admin permissions. For instance, ?!ban v-dawg? would be ?/rcon ban v-dawg?. ?!listplayers? would be ?/rcon listplayers?. You don?t need the ?!? when using admin commands through the console.

– Getting shrubbot to work can be tricky at times. Some people prefer to start their server without one, because Jaymod will auto-generate its own shrubbot.cfg if there isn’t one already. Then all you have to do is open, edit, upload, then restart the server. Keep in mind that Jaymod auto-configures two levels: 1 and 0. 0 = no powers, 1 = all powers. You can easily RCON yourself to level 1.

Also, the shrubbot.cfg updates itself when new admins are set in-game, so you never really need to edit shrubbot.cfg unless you want to change permissions of a particular admin.

– IMPORTANT: If you want your shrubbot and XP save to work properly, you MUST have Punkbuster enabled. These features use a GUID identification system that only PB provides. This is set in the command line as

Code:
+set sv_punkbuster 1

As you learn more about servers you?ll be able to add configs, campaigns, etc. You WILL encounter problems at first, which is ok. Please read the documentation and search the Jaymod forums for solutions BEFORE asking questions. Chances are if you’re having a problem, it’s been posted here before.