PlanetThinkTanks2.com

Dedicated Servers

Dedicated Servers

Launching a 'dedicated server' will create a server that you can leave running without having to be in the game. It wwill also provide a console window showing output from the game.
The screenshot below shows the console window which is opened when a dedicated server is launched. It shows which scripts have been loaded, and will show when people join a game, leave a game, when a level is reloaded and so on.


Launching a Dedicated Server

PC

If you have purchased the game from GarageGames, then you should have a whole load of extra shortcuts built into the start menu, inside the 'ThinkTanks' section. You should see a 'Launch Dedicated Server' which then expands to show 'Lush', 'Spooky' or 'Frantic'. Each of these will then expand to show the game type you want to play: 'Battle', 'Scrum', 'Team Battle' or 'Team Scrum'. Each of these will expand once more to show you the available maps for your choice so far, including a 'Use Random Mission' option which will cycle through the four available maps for after the other. If you right hand click on one of these five shortcuts (in each section) you can edit the shortcut. If you put -log 1 at the end (with a space before the -log and between it and the 1) then all the output to the console window will be saved to a file called 'console.log' in your ThinkTanks folder.

If you purchased the game from ShockWave, or you dont have these shortcuts, you can instead use one of a whole load of preconfigured batch files which can be found in:
BraveTree\ThinkTanks\Dedicated\

These batch files can be edited in Notepad and -log 1 can be added to the end of the program path (on the second line of the file). Next time this file is run (after you have saved it) all the console window output will be saved to a file called 'console.log' in the main ThinkTanks folder.

For example, this is what file 'TT1_2TS.bat' looks like:



The first line, 'cd..' is the DOS command to go to the parent folder

The second line is the line that launches ThinkTanks with a whole load of extra parameters

These parameters are:
-dedicated tells it to run the game as a dedicated server
-mission 'filename' tells it which mission file to use, where 'filename' is one of the following:
game/data/missions/TT1_1.mis Medulla Mesa
game/data/missions/TT1_2.mis Hypothalamus Hills
game/data/missions/TT1_3.mis Cranium Crater
game/data/missions/TT1_4.mis Freudian Flats
GREEN Random mission (cycles through the lush maps)
game/data/missions/TT2_1.mis Hippocampus Hollow
game/data/missions/TT2_2.mis Comatose Canyon
game/data/missions/TT2_3.mis Greymatter Gorge
game/data/missions/TT2_4.mis Pituitary Plateau
BLUE Random mission (cycles through the spooky maps)
game/data/missions/TT3_1.mis Synaptic Slopes
game/data/missions/TT3_2.mis Ganglia Gully
game/data/missions/TT3_3.mis Neurotic Nexus
game/data/missions/TT3_4.mis Receptor Ridge
RED Random mission (cycles through the frantic maps)
ALL Random mission (cycles through all maps)
-game XX defines what type of game it is, where XX is either
B Battle Mode
S Scrum Mode
TB Team Battle Mode
TS Team Scrum Mode
-log 1 will log the console window to 'console.log'

e.g. The following path
ThinkTanks -dedicated -mission GREEN -game TB -log1
Would launch a Team Battle game on a random lush map as a dedicated server and would log the console window to 'console.log'

For Mac (OSX):

If you are using a Macintosh, you will do similarly as with PC, but you need to type the name of the application inside the application package. So, on the command-line from the directory that contains the the ThinkTanks application, you would type:
./ThinkTanks.app/Contents/MacOS/ThinkTanks\ OSX -dedicated -mission 'missionName' -Game 'XX'
where 'missionName' and 'XX' are as listed above under the PC info

Again, adding -log 1 to the end of that command line, should log all the output in the console window to a plain text log file.

<b>Perhaps making it a bit easier for Mac owners, 'Spunky' has contributed this method:</b>
1. Open Terminal, which is located in Applications - Utilities.
2. Re-name your Think Tanks folder to ThinkTanks, if it already isn't named so.
3. In Terminal type cd (with a space) and drag your folder into the terminal window. It'll automatically make the path for it.
4. Press enter.
5. Type./ThinkTanks.app/Contents/MacOS/ThinkTanks\ OSX -dedicated -mission game/data/missions/TT1_?.mis -Game B (the ? Is replaced by the corresponding number of the mission)
6. It should automatically start, but if it doesn't, press enter.

Then what?

Once you have your console window open, your server should be visible in the game's server list. If you now launch ThinkTanks normally (leaving the console open) you should see your server in the list. The extra settings for your server (eg password, number of bots etc) are all taken from your prefs.cs, (ThinkTanks\Game\Server\prefs.cs)

If you launched the dedicated server from one of the PC batch files, then you can close the DOS window and just leave the console window open (which will look similar to the above screenshow).

See this page for more information about this configuration file.

Text and images taken from http://www.planetthinktanks.com/about-dedicated.asp

These things are copyrighted (at least i think) by -z- and Dan Mac...
If they are you need a written permision to post them somewhere else without breaking laws.

There is no copyright on anything from PTT.

Ok, I just thought id tell you in case there is. I wasn't sure..

how can i get a group of mission files to rotate? I can not see it anywhere on this site and of course the old site is down. any help is appreciated.

belikin

here is a copy of what i use to launch a server

cd\
cd f:\Program Files\Shockwave.com\ThinkTanks\product
thinktanks -dedicated -mission game/data/missions/MM_Lush11.mis -game tb -log 1

or use thinktanks -dedicated -mission green -game tb -log 1

put all the missions you want to rotate in game/data/missions

using green will rotate TT1_1.mis (medulla mesa) TT1_2...etc

back these up and then use the same naming convention to rotate whatever maps you want

if there is an easier way id like to know

B

Belikin, you need the mission loader,, pm me and I'll set you up. Its easier if you want to host modded maps.

thanks guys. CB is exactly right on with my problem. To host modded ter. files i do need a mission loader file. i have that file but still haveing trouble. I only host for the occasional army that needs a map for a match now and then so i am not very good at working the files around.

@ CB
I will talk to you sunday night if you can make it to our little get together, look in email.

Thanks,

part time hoster, full time player

To be completely accurate, you do not need the mission loader to host modded missions.

You can host any mission using a .bat file. What you can not do is host a series of modded missions with a .bat file unless you rename the missions to correspond to a red, green, or blue series.

If you want to run a variety of missions the mission loader is the way to go. Works pretty well. No renaming or anything funky like that.

If you just want a dedicated server that plays the same mission time after time.

Use



Obviously change the name of the mission.

If you don't have a dedicated folder in TT just make a folder and name it dedicated. Create a wordpad document with the code above and save it as whatever you want.bat I.E. AlexanderHill.bat

I really needed this! Thnx PLAYER36-SA-