Gloom Server Admin Guide (v.2004-06-28)

This guide will contain all the information you need to run a Quake II Gloom dedicated server. It is recommended you use an alternate Quake 2 binary such as r1q2ded / dedicated.exe instead of the vanilla Q2 binaries as they are subject to numerous bugs and security flaws which will result in crashes and possible security compromises.

Quick links: [Getting Started] [Server Variables] [Server Commands] [Permissions System] [Client Admin Commands]

Getting Started

First of all you'll need to get the latest Gloom DLL. Goto ftp://ftp.planetgloom.com/files/dll/ and download the appropriate version for your operating system and extract it to your Gloom directory.

quake2 +set dedicated 1 +set game gloom +map gloom

Your server will now be running and accepting connections on port 27910. Be sure this port is open to the outside world on your firewall or router if needed!

Now create a text file called server.cfg in your gloom directory. This is where you will put any server variables (cvars) and other commands you want to happen when the server is started. Here's an example server.cfg you may want to use:

// ========================
// Gloom important settings
// ========================
set voting 255
set deathmatch 1
set public 1
set bandwidth_mode 0
set dmflags 989855760
set secure_modulate_cap 1
set logfile 0
set timelimit 45
set login 0

set maxclients 20
set maxplayers 20

set _url "www.planetgloom.com" s

set suddendeath 5
set sv_connectmessage "Q2 Gloom - www.planetgloom.com\n"

// ==============
// Admin password
// ==============
set rcon_password "secretrcon"

// ==================
// anti bot reconnect
// ==================
set reconnect_address "1.1.1.1:27910"

// ====
// Caps
// ====
set reconnect_wait 10
set xmins 5
set max_cl_maxfps 90
set min_cl_maxfps 25

// ==============
// Accounts/tking
// ==============
set bantime 3600
set autokick 1

// =================
// Download settings
// =================
set allow_download 1
set allow_download_sounds 1
set allow_download_maps 0
set allow_download_models 1
set allow_download_players 1


// ==============
// Server aliases
// ==============
alias s status
alias i serverinfo

set hostname "My Quake II Gloom Server!"

// ========
// mapcycle
// ========
set default_maps "gloom/maps.txt"

set accounts "gloom/accounts.dat"
set wordbans "gloom/wordbans.dat"
set iplogs "gloom/iplog.dat"
set ipbans "gloom/ipbans.dat"

// ==================
// Ping master server
// ==================
setmaster master.planetgloom.com

Don't forget to change the rcon_password and reconnect_address variables above! It is generally recommended NOT to have any map or gamemap commands in your server.cfg file and have it mostly as set commands to configure the server. To then start the server, you would use the following command line:

quake2 +set dedicated 1 +set game gloom +exec server.cfg +map gloom

Now look at the gloom-specific server variables below to set up your server exactly how you want.

Server Variables

Server variables take the form of the command set variable "value" (eg, set teameven "1"). Keep in mind some variables must be set before the Game DLL loads (this means in your server.cfg or anywhere before a 'map' command). The following table contains all the recognised server variables by Gloom itself.

Boolean variables may have either a 1 (enabled/on) or 0 (disabled/off) value. Integer variables may contain any whole number. String variables may contain a string of text. Float variables may contain any real number.

Server Commands

Server commands are accessed through the server console and rcon by using the command sv command. Some server commands require a player id - this can be either the player number as shown by the status command or a partial/full match of their name.

Map Rotations

Gloom reads the map rotation from a file pointed to by the default_maps server variable. The maps should be in a plain text file separated by a new line. The format is mapname [minplayers] [maxplayers]

Example map rotation:

refine6 0 16
abbey 8
hellround 0 12
gloom5
hazmatb 12
gloom
deserted-r1 6
mines-1
gloom3a
r1wrecked 0 12
ore1 4

Permissions System

Gloom features a very fine granulated permissions system for in-game admins. Using the calculator at http://www.planetgloom.com/permissions.cgi you can select which privileges you wish to grant a user.

To set up the permissions system, you must run a server with the accounts variable set to a valid path and add users with the sv adduser command with the permissions you want. Users can only be added with permissions from the server console or rcon. It is recommended that your rcon password not be distributed to anyone as gloom contains enough built-in admin functions to make rcon unnecessary. Anyone with rcon access has complete unrestricted control over the server as they are able to add new users with every permission possible as well as quit the server and other such things.

Once users have been added on the server, the client must authenticate themselves to gain in-game admin status. To do this, the userinfo variable 'user' must be set on the client before connecting. For example, if a user has username fred password test, the following line in the client's config would set them up to automatically admin upon connecting:

set user "fred:test" u

Alternatively a client may login after connecting using cmd login username password from the client console, however it is recommended to use the automatic method where possible.

Client Admin Commands

About
In-game admins have limited permissions as set by the server administrator. To log in as an admin, refer to the permissions system section.

Syntax
A lot of commands have optional or required parameters and sometimes you must choose from a list of options. The following syntax is used in the client admin commands table:

id - the parameter id is not optional and must be present each time.
[] - the parameter(s) in between the brackets are optional and may be omitted.
one|two|three - you must choose either one, two or three from the list.

Example: @addip ip time-unit [reason]
This means the command may be used as follows: @addip 24.26.244.55 2 days, @addip 24.26.244.55 3 weeks sum1: tking base

Example 2: @summon tele|egg|spiker|healer|depot|gasser|turret|mgturret|detector|obstacle
This means you must choose one of the items separated by the |'s, eg: @summon tele, @summon healer, @summon detector

Example 3: @search subip|subname|ip|name match
This means you must choose either subip, subname, ip or name and specify the match parameter, eg @search subip 24.46, @search name R1, @search subname noname35

Player IDs
Often you will have to supply a player id to a command. This can be obtained using the command playerlist from the console, or you can specify a partial or full name match. Eg, @kick 1, @kick SomePlayer and @kick SomeP are all valid ways of supplying a player id.

Client Admin Command List
These commands may be entered at the client console after you have logged in: