Here is a guide on SRCDS I decided too make to make life easier.
If you are planning too run SRCDS on the same machine you play on, that is not a good idea. Mainly because SRCDS, once tweaked for performance, will used a lot of CPU and memory.
Which is better AMD or Intel. I have no idea!
AMD is excellent on heavy applications like games. This is because it has lower clock speed but higher FSB, higher FSB is for fast data transfer.
Intel is good on desktop applications like Microsoft Office, because of the higher clock speed but lower FSB, higher clock speed results in high speed calculating on processes.
You can srcds on a Pentium 3 machine, but you will be limited to how many player slots. (About 8 - 10). I would personally recommend a Pentium 4 3.0GHz, with a 800mhz FSB, and 1MB cache. If you want too the AMD way, a AMD Athlon 64 3200+. This should be able to achieve your 16 player slot server easily. (Up too 32 if you are keen).
A machine with more memory will perform better with SRCDS, the more players you have, the more memory being used. And based on how much memory you have, depends on how you can used the "-heapsize" start up command. (Explained later). 1GB DDR 1 or 2 is good, however more will be needed if you want more player slots.
I recommend a SATA HDD for quick map rotation, and quick loading time. However 7200RPM PATA HDD's are alright. I would recommend at least 1GB of room for SRCDS.
Bandwidth
The more the better! ADSL/ADSL 2+ has slower Download speeds then cable, however ADSL has higher uploads. The higher upload speed you have, the more players you can have. Here is the table.
IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU HAVE AT LEAST 6kb/s A PLAYER SLOT! However SourceForts uses more bandwidth. Here is a basic table I have found out due to personal experience.
Upload Max players
64-----------1
128----------2
256----------3 - 4
512----------6
1024---------10 - 12
2048---------16+
The more blocks and players you have, the more bandwidth you need. So keep it too a good old 35 - 30 Blocklimit.
Windows or Linux?
Windows has more support SRCDS wise, however Linux uses far less resources, meaning you can probably host more then one game server on the physical server. I have limited experience in Linux so experiment and decide for yourself. =)
Where do I get this "SRCDS"?
Here.
http://storefront.steampowered.com/d...updatetool.exe.
How do I install it?
1) Select the program you just downloaded and install.
2) Navigate too where you installed hldsupdatetool. Generally x:\Program Files\Valve\HLServer
3) Select hldsupdatetool. A command prompt screen should pop up for a while, and depending on your connection it will update hldsupdatetool too the latest version.
To install SRCDS for SourceForts.
We need too allow SRCDS too download, this can take some time.
1) In x:\Program Files\Valve\HLServer, create a new shortcut.
2) Where it says: "Type the location of the shortcut" Type "Command" Now you have a shortcut of DOS.
3) Right Click on the new shortcut, and select Program.
4) Where it says "Working" Type the dictionary of where hldsupdatetool is installed "x:\Program Files\Valve\HLServer"
5) Open the shortcut.
6) Type HldsUpdateTool.exe -command update -game hl2mp -dir <X/where you want too install SRCDS>
7) Hldsupdatetool will now download all the files required too run SRCDS and hl2dm. This will take time too download, usually a few hours.
Congratulations, now its time too download and install SourceForts Dedicated server.
First, you need SourceForts Dedicated server files, which are found here:
http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/index....site_downloads. The copy this folder into X/SRCDS (Or where you installed it). Make sure its named "sourceforts". Its case sensitive.
More to come.