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Tips

The single most important tip I can give you is to get Unreal patch 227. This community patch by OldUnreal contains tons of improvements, bug- and crash fixes and is far better suited for modern hardware. The improvements are for standalone installations, online play and servers. It includes supports OpenGL, DirectX8, DirectX9 graphics and OpenAL 3D sound and adds a new version of Unreal's level editor UnrealED which is much more stable.

Download Unreal patch 227

Update: Here used to be an installation guide for the high resolution (S3TC) textures and how to avoid issues. But DieHard at UnrealTexture.com explains it much better, so I suggest to use their guide instead:

Installation Guide for S3TC textures in Unreal
The Unreal ReTexturing project

Your unreal\cache folder contains all maps and mods you downloaded when joining servers. Unfortunately, with the default settings the files will be lost soon. use these tips to ensure you keep your cache and prevent accidental deletion.

• In Unreal.ini, Under [Core.System], set the setting PurgeCacheDays= to PurgeCacheDays=0 to stop your cache from being deleted.

• The files in your cache folder never cause conflicts. Don't delete this folder hoping it fixes your version conflict: It won't.

• Make the cache files read-only from time to time. This prevents accidental deletion. (For example when you delete your .ini and the 30 days option comes back)

• When you have a lot of cache, it might be worth to burn it to CD/DVD as backup. It can be quite frustrating when you have to download all those files again.

• Cache files can be compressed quite well. When you use the NTFS file system (Win2000, XP) you can enable compression of the cache folder to save disk space. (Properties, advanced)

More info: Unreal Reference

The GemDagger instruction has moved to a separate page. Click here to read it.

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Tips: admins and level designers

Use Winged Unicorn's Map Converter to make Unreal 226 maps Unreal 224/225 compatible. You cannot use this for incompatible Unreal 227 maps because these maps use new technologies which are not available in earlier versions of Unreal.

Unreal 226b, 226f and Gold should NEVER be used as server. 226b and 226f are not network compatible; servers of one type will exclude the other. Also, maps edited with either versions will become incompatible and unplayable with older versions of Unreal.

227:	Unreal 227 has much improvements for servers, and as long as you use 225-compatible maps and mods you can set 227 servers to accept older clients as well. This option can be found in advanced options. Maps made with 227 can or cannot be compatible with older versions, depending on if 227-only features are actually used. If they are not used, you can even make your maps 225 compatible with Winged Unicorn's Map Converter. A good point of 227 is that it also comes with a much more stable level editor.
226f:	Some 226f servers have strange issues about some effects which are not working. Clients of all versions except GOLD can join 226f servers. 226f not recommended for servers. NEVER USE THIS TO EDIT MAPS!
226b	226b is GOLD and adds another package UPAK which adds tons of new problems for servers. GOLD should never be used to host a server (only other GOLD clients can join) or edit maps!
226b RtNaPali	226b RtNaPali is GOLD for Return To NaPali and commonly used for the mission pack. It has the same problems as normal 226f concerning networking insecurities and incompatibilities, but as a gaming machine, you CAN join normal 225f servers with this one. Hosting public servers with this version is not recommended and NEVER USE THIS TO EDIT MAPS!
225f	225f used to be the most commonly used server version before 227 was released. 225f has NO compatibility problems and performs well.
224v	224v makes an excellent server. The performance of this version is even better as 225f, but is has a bug: If you play with 224 and login as administrator to a server you sometimes cause the server to PAUSE once you exit, so you should go back without logging in as administrator to see if your server is still running and not paused.

You can download the different patches here.

Taken from: Unreal Reference

Read one or more of these guides if you want to know how to make a server:
Epic's Server Tips
TheMaster[NL]'s Server Setup (coop)
UnrealSP Coop server guide
Aeon's Unreal Config
When you are making a server, be sure to visit Unreal Reference too!

The most important setting to avoid lag and packet loss in your server is called MaxClientRate. It is essential that this setting is configured correctly. If it is too low, there might not be enough bandwidth to send all events on the server to the client. (Resulting in invisible rockets, monsters and so on) When it is set too high, the server will try to send more data than the connection allows, which will result in packet loss and huge lag for all players. A too low setting is still better than too high! The correct value is dependent on your servers upload speed and the number of players + spectators. To calculate the correct value, use this calculator.

Netspeed Calculator (requires JavaScript to be enabled):
(Taken from the Nephthys manual. Full credits go to Zora and Winged Unicorn.)

Server's Bandwidth [kbit/sec]:		e.g. Modem=56, ISDN=64, T-DSL=128, etc. (if you have asymmetric bandwidths enter the upload bandwidth, usually the smaller value!) If you're unsure ask your ISP or use the experimental way, e.g.: broadband » Speed tests. This value is related to your server computer's internet connection and not a setting of the Unreal server!
MaxPlayers:		Advanced Options -> Game Settings -> MaxPlayers
MaxSpectators:		Advanced Options -> Game Settings -> MaxSpectators
MaxClientRate:		Advanced Options -> Networking -> TCP/IP Network Play -> MaxClientRate (= max. NetSpeed the server will accept from clients, 500 is lowest possible (very bad), 2600 is low, 5000 is medium)
Usage instructions: Always fill in the server's bandwidth. Fill in two of the Max... values and press enter to calculate the third Max... value. If you provide MaxPlayers and MaxSpectators then don't set your server's MaxClientRate higher than the calculated value. If you provide the desired netspeed then don't set your server's MaxPlayers or MaxSpectators higher than the calculated value.

People setting up Unreal servers behind firewalls and routers have been asking for a summary of the TCP/IP ports Unreal uses. Here goes:

• UDP 7775 and 7776 are used only for LAN games. You don't need to route them through a firewall.
• UDP 7777 is for gameplay.
• UDP 7778 is for server querying.
• UDP 7779+ are allocated dynamically for each helper UDPLink objects, including UDPServerUplink objects.
• UDP 27900 is for server querying, if you enable the master server uplink. Some master servers use other ports, like 27500.

If you are running Unreal as a server behind a Cable/DSL Router you need to go to the port forwarding menu on your router and forward Unreal's ports to the internal IP that your server has.
Consult the manual and support page of your router / firewall vendor for instructions.

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