Battlefield 2 (BF2) Dedicated Server

[James Bourne]

How To Run BattleField2 Dedicated Server (BF2 DS) as a Windows Service with FireDaemon

Battlefield 2 (BF2) is a first person military action game. The dedicated server component can be run as a Windows Service using FireDaemon. FireDaemon will allow you to have the dedicated server start automatically at boot prior to login, allow you to start multiple instances of the dedicated server and so forth. This HOWTO will show you how set it up. You can also use Trinity or PanelDaemon to manage FireDaemon and other Windows services via a web browser.

Also check out the Battlefield 2 Command and Control Daemon HOWTO. BF2 CCD allows much better control of BF2 DS including RCON access to the server.

BF2 Dedicated Server Setup Under FireDaemon

1. Download and install BF2 DS (if you use the retail CD set it should have already been installed). It can be downloaded from EA Games. v1.4 was the latest at the time of writing! The download is large (> 300MB).

2. Install BF2 DS into the directory of your choice (typically C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2 Server). Make sure you install PunkBuster if it is a public server.

3. Install FireDaemon Pro into the directory of your choice (typically C:\Program Files\FireDaemon). FireDaemon can be downloaded from here.

4. BF2 DS requires two configuration ("con") files. One configuration file contains the map list and the other the server settings. The simplest way to create a "con" file is to start the BF2ServerLauncher (look for "Run dedicated server" icon in the the Start menu heirarchy: Start -> All Programs -> EA Games -> Battlefield 2 Server -> Run dedicated server).



If you click on the Start button in the BF2ServerLauncher, the dedicated server will launch using the default settings. Two "con" files (_mapList.con and _serverSettings.con) will be created in the directory: C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\My Documents\Battlefield 2\ServerConfigs. <user> is the name of the user you logged in as. For example:



The "con" files are text files are be edited simply with Notepad (or your favourite text editor). Example "con" files can be found at the end of this HOWTO.

If you wish, you can create your own server configuration "con" files instead of using the default ones. To do this click on Plus (+) button in the BF2ServerLauncher. You will see the following dialog box. Type in a configuration name for your server and click OK - remember you can create multiple server profiles.



You will now be able to edit all the server settings and choose the maps to include your map cycle.





Once you have finished click on the Save button in both sections.

GOTCHA #1: If you use this technique to create custom configuration files the map cycle is included with the server settings in one file. You will need to hand edit the "con" file and place the map cycle in a separate file otherwise BF2 DS doesn't pick up your custom map cycle.

GOTCHA #2: If you use the +maplist command line option ... the BF2 DS only reads the file named _mapList.con. Any other file name will not work!

GOTCHA #3: "con" files can be stored anywhere on your hard disk. The default "con" (maplist.con and ServerSettings.con) files are found under the BF2 installation directory in a the mods\bf2\settings folder. Edit these directly if you don't wish to set command line options (see below).

4. Next start the FireDaemon GUI from the desktop shortcut. Click on the "Create a new service definition" button in the toolbar (or type Ctrl+N) and enter the information into the fields as you see below. Obviously adjust paths to suite your installation. Pay special attention to the Parameters list.



The most important field on the tab is the Parameters. The Parameters defines the location of your "con" files.

If you choose to use the default "con" files (_mapList.con and _serverSettings.con), the complete value of the parameters field is (adjust your paths and configuration file names to suite your installation and remember to quote paths that have spaces in them - yes the slashes ARE the wrong way around):

+config "C:/Documents and Settings/jbourne/My Documents/Battlefield 2/ServerConfigs/_serverSettings.con" +mapList "C:/Documents and Settings/jbourne/My Documents/Battlefield 2/ServerConfigs/_mapList.con" +modPath mods/bf2 +ignoreAsserts 1

If you run the FireDaemon service as a specific user this command line can be shortened to:

+config "@HOME@/ServerConfigs/_serverSettings.con" +mapList "@HOME@/ServerConfigs/_maplist.con" +modPath mods/bf2 +ignoreAsserts 1

5. Now click on the Settings tab. If you DON'T want to see your dedicated server running, uncheck the Interact with Desktop check box. Also uncheck Graceful Shutdown as BF2 DS doesn't respond to it. You can optionally run BF2DS as the user you installed it as. In the Logon Account field type your username (eg. Administrator) and then enter the user's password twice in the Password and Confirm fields.



6. Now click on the Advanced tab. You can change the Process Priority to allocate more CPU time to the dedicated server or specify which CPU or core the dedicated server will run on (in the case of multi-processor, hyperthreaded or multi-core CPUs).



7. Now click on the Dependencies tab. Make sure the service depends on the lanmanworkstation (Workstation) service to ensure the TCP/IP and CIFS stacks are both up prior to starting BF2DS.



Now click on the Install button to install and start the BF2 DS!



Issues ... other problems? Please post in the Public Support Forums!

Below are two sample configuration files:

ServerSettings.con

v.serverName "FireDaemon"
sv.password ""
sv.internet 0
sv.serverIP ""
sv.serverPort 16567
sv.welcomeMessage ""
sv.punkBuster 0
sv.allowFreeCam 0
sv.allowExternalViews 1
sv.allowNoseCam 1
sv.hitIndicator 1
sv.maxPlayers 64
sv.numPlayersNeededToStart 2
sv.notEnoughPlayersRestartDelay 15
sv.startDelay 15
sv.endDelay 15
sv.spawnTime 15
sv.manDownTime 15
sv.endOfRoundDelay 15
sv.ticketRatio 100
sv.roundsPerMap 3
sv.timeLimit 0
sv.scoreLimit 0
sv.soldierFriendlyFire 100
sv.vehicleFriendlyFire 100
sv.soldierSplashFriendlyFire 100
sv.vehicleSplashFriendlyFire 100
sv.tkPunishEnabled 1
sv.tkNumPunishToKick 3
sv.tkPunishByDefault 0
sv.votingEnabled 1
sv.voteTime 90
sv.minPlayersForVoting 2
sv.teamVoteOnly 1
sv.gameSpyPort 29900
sv.allowNATNegotiation 0
sv.interfaceIP 
sv.autoRecord 0
sv.demoIndexURL ""
sv.demoDownloadURL "http://"
sv.autoDemoHook "adminutils/demo/rotate_demo.exe"
sv.demoQuality 1
sv.adminScript "default"
sv.timeBeforeRestartMap 30
sv.autoBalanceTeam 0
sv.teamRatioPercent 100
sv.coopBotRatio 50
sv.coopBotCount 16
sv.coopBotDifficulty 50
sv.voipEnabled 1
sv.voipQuality 3
sv.voipServerRemote 0
sv.voipServerRemoteIP 
sv.voipServerPort 55125
sv.voipBFClientPort 55123
sv.voipBFServerPort 55124
sv.voipSharedPassword 
sv.useGlobalRank 1
sv.useGlobalUnlocks 1
sv.noVehicles 0
sv.sponsorText ""
sv.sponsorLogoURL ""
sv.communityLogoURL ""
sv.radioSpamInterval 6
sv.radioMaxSpamFlagCount 6
sv.radioBlockedDurationTime 30
sv.numReservedSlots 0
sv.friendlyFireWithMines 0

MapList.con

MapList.append kubra_dam gpm_cq
MapList.append gulf_of_oman gpm_cq
MapList.append greatwall gpm_cq
MapList.append fushe_pass gpm_cq