Glossary

The server

HLDS

Half-Life Dedicated Server: Valve's server program for Half-Life and the games built on it, including Counter-Strike 1.6.

ReHLDS

A rebuild of HLDS made by reverse engineering the original, with bug fixes and an extended API for plugins. See the ReHLDS reference.

xHLDS

Hostsrc's fork of ReHLDS. See the xHLDS docs, or xHLDS licence and prices.

steamcmd

Valve's command-line tool that downloads and updates dedicated servers.

Console

The text window of the server. It shows what the server prints, and you type commands and settings into it. On a hosted server, the control panel shows it.

Cvar

Short for console variable: a named setting with a value, such as sv_maxrate 25000. Typing the name on the console shows its value; typing the name and a value sets it.

server.cfg

The config file the server runs when it starts and at every map change (cstrike/server.cfg for Counter-Strike 1.6). Settings you want to keep go here.

rcon

Remote console: running server commands from your game or a tool, protected by rcon_password. For example, rcon changelevel de_dust2.

Plugins

Metamod

A loader that sits between the engine and the game and loads plugins such as AMX Mod X. Metamod-R is the version made by the ReHLDS team.

AMX Mod X

A Metamod plugin that runs scripts (also called plugins, .amxx files) for admin tools, game modes and more.

Plugin and module

In AMX Mod X, a plugin is an .amxx script; a module is a native library (.so on Linux, .dll on Windows) that adds functions plugins can call, such as fakemeta or hamsandwich.

ReAPI

An AMX Mod X module that gives plugins access to the extra functions of ReHLDS and ReGameDLL_CS.

ReGameDLL_CS

A rebuild of the Counter-Strike 1.6 game library, with fixes and its own settings.

Network

Rate

The most data a player's connection takes, in bytes per second. The player sets it with rate; the server limits it with sv_minrate and sv_maxrate.

Update rate

How many world updates a second a player asks for (cl_updaterate), limited by the server's sv_minupdaterate and sv_maxupdaterate. A world update tells the player's game where everyone is.

Command rate

How many packets with the player's moves their game sends each second (cl_cmdrate).

Server frames (FPS)

How many times a second the server runs the game: reads players' moves, runs physics, sends updates. sys_ticrate sets the target.

Ping

The time a packet takes from the player to the server and back, in milliseconds. Check yours with the CS 1.6 ping test.

Packet loss

Packets that were sent but never arrived.

Choke

Updates the server held back because the player's rate could not take them yet.

Reliable and unreliable data

Reliable data must arrive, so it is sent again if it is lost: chat, scores, menus. Unreliable data can be lost without harm and is not sent again: sounds and effects.

Maps and files

Precache

The list of models, sounds and other files the server tells players to load when a map starts. Each kind of list has a fixed size limit, so too many custom files stop a map from loading.

FastDL

Players downloading the server's custom files over HTTP, from the web address in sv_downloadurl, instead of through the much slower game connection.

HLTV

A proxy that joins the server as a spectator and relays the match to viewers.

Admin

Kick and ban

A kick removes a player, who can join again. A ban keeps them out: banid bans a SteamID and addip an IP address. writeid saves SteamID bans to banned.cfg and writeip saves IP bans to listip.cfg, so they survive a restart.