Counter-Strike 1.6: connect to and set up your server

Here's how to connect to your Counter-Strike 1.6 server and adjust the most important settings.

Connecting

1. Open the server page in the client area and click Start.
2. Wait until the status shows “running”. You can follow the progress in the Console tab.
3. Copy the address (IP:Port) at the top of the server page.
4. Open the console in Counter-Strike (key ~; you may need to enable it in the options first) and enter connect IP:Port. Alternatively, add the address to Favorites in the server browser.

Important settings

In the Startup variables tab:

• Map (SRCDS_MAP) – the start map, e.g. de_dust2.
• Beta branch (SRCDS_BETAID) – leave empty for the current version; steam_legacy for the older version from before the anniversary update.
• Auto update (AUTO_UPDATE) – updates the server on every restart.
• Game Name (HLDS_GAME) – must stay cstrike.

Server name, passwords and game rules are in the file cstrike/server.cfg in the Files tab, for example:

• hostname "My server" – name in the server list
• sv_password "…" – password for joining
• rcon_password "…" – password for admin commands via RCON

Changes take effect on the next restart.

Important settings in server.cfg

Besides name and passwords, these values control the game:

• mp_timelimit 30 – minutes per map
• mp_roundtime 2.5 – minutes per round
• mp_freezetime 5 – seconds of buy time at the start of a round
• mp_friendlyfire 0 – friendly fire off
• mp_autoteambalance 1 – balances teams automatically

Map rotation and custom maps

• The map order is in cstrike/mapcycle.txt, one map per line.
• Upload custom maps (.bsp) to the cstrike/maps folder and add them to mapcycle.txt.
• So that players can download missing maps quickly, you can set web space as a download source with sv_downloadurl.

Admins with AMX Mod X

1. Install Metamod and AMX Mod X in the cstrike/addons folder.
2. Add admins in cstrike/addons/amxmodx/configs/users.ini, for example with SteamID and permissions.
3. After a restart, admins open the menu in the game with amxmodmenu in the console.

How much memory?

Counter-Strike 1.6 is very lightweight. The base configuration is enough even for a full server. You only need more memory with lots of plugins.

Good to know

• Counter-Strike 1.6 does not need a Steam token (GSLT).
• The server applies a change of beta branch after Manage → Reinstall – create a backup first.
• Upload add-ons such as Metamod or AMX Mod X via SFTP into the cstrike folder.