*Note: This basic tutorial assumes that:
1) You already know how to start a server using the Unreal Game Console.
2) That you know how to setup your server's settings in the advanced options of the server console.
<<Section 1 - General Info>>
QUESTION: What exactly is a Script ?
ANSWER : A script is a text file that contains instructions for a program to carry out. The instructions can be “scripted’ or written using a basic word processor.
Some examples include:
and…
QUESTION: Why should I make a Batch File ( .bat file)?
ANSWER: In a nutshell, It's a much faster & easier way to start your Unreal Server. Some mutators, can only be started from within a script. Also, you can setup several batch scripts for starting different kinds of games or maps.
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<< Section 2 - The Command Line>>
A basic understanding of what it does
The command line is the script that contains the instructions for starting the game and will look something like this:
Start C:\<Path_to_Unreal>\Unreal.exe <MapName>?game=<GameType>?difficulty=<0-4> -server
Note: the colored items are what you'll have to fill in and are explained next.
Here's a breakdown of the sections and what they do:
‘Start’ tells the PC to Start the specified program (in this case: Unreal.exe)
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‘C:\<Path_to_Unreal>\Unreal.exe’
The path to Unreal is: C:\Unreal\System\Unreal.exe
The path to UnrealGold is: C:\UnrealGold\System\Unreal.exe
(Note:you must Include a blank space after "Unreal.exe")
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<MapName> This will be the filename for the map you want to use.
examples: to start "Nyleve Falls" the mapname is: Nyleve
to start "DMdeck16" the mapname is: DMdeck16
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?game=<GameType>
The two most popular GameTypes are:
?game=Unreali.DeathMatchGame
?game=Unreali.CoopGame
Note: If you have Jcoop4 & want to start a Joss' coop game type:
?game=jcoop4.jcoopgame
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?difficulty=<0-4>
This is NOT necessary for DeathMatch unless you intend to add bots to the server game.
The basic difficulty levels supported in the console are: 0 - 3
?difficulty=0 Easy /Novice
?difficulty=1 Medium / Average
?difficulty=2 Hard / Skilled
?difficulty=3 Unreal / Masterful (Most Difficult)
?difficulty=4 This “difficulty=4” setting isn’t documented very well, and is NOT available in the game settings console.
BUT… IT WORKS !!!
Try this and see for yourself:
1. Open unreal and in the command console type: open thesunspire?difficulty=3
2. Play a little bit of the game. Pretty normal, right?
3. Now, try it again but this time use: ?difficulty=4.
4. Play the game. This time there is an extra SkaarjTrooper that shows up just beyond that wooden plank near the beginning of “The Sunspire” map.
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“ -server” is a switch that tells the PC to run the game as a dedicated server. Place this last in the command line.
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<<Section 3 - Examples of command lines>>
Examples for regular Unreal:
Start C:\Unreal\System\Unreal.exe DMdeck16?game=Unreali.DeathMatchGame? -server
Start C:\Unreal\System\Unreal.exe vortex2?game=Unreali.CoopGame?Dificulty=4 -server
Start C:\Unreal\System\Unreal.exe vortex2?game=Jcoop4.JcoopGame?Dificulty=4 -server
Examples for regular UnrealGold:
Start C:\UnrealGold\System\Unreal.exe DMdeck16?game=Unreali.DeathMatchGame? -server
Start C:\UnrealGold\System\Unreal.exe vortex2?game=Unreali.CoopGame?Difficulty=4 -server
Start C:\UnrealGold\System\Unreal.exe vortex2?game=Jcoop4.JcoopGame?Difficulty=4 -server
Notes:
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Some mutators must be started from within the script.
Read the Documentation that came with the mutator to find out how to install & use it.
For example: Joss’s popular Jtool3 documentation tells you, “Add "?mutator=jTool3.psiMut" to the command line ...”
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<<Section 4 - Writing the Batch Script>>
Use one of the two following methods. They are both very easy!
Since we are only using a one-line command, you can create a shortcut instead of a *.bat file.
C:\Unreal\System\Unreal.exe vortex2?game=Jcoop4.JcoopGame?Dificulty=4 –server
<< Additional Info>>
http://unreal.epicgames.com/Console.htm
Epic's web site that explains more command line parameters:
Joss's website describes and contains lots of useful info, for running an unreal server