How to I enable fast downloading?

CS:S, TF2, DOD:S, etc.
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aMies|NFo
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How to I enable fast downloading?

Post by aMies|NFo »

The Fast HTTP Asset Downloading (sv_downloadurl) function for Half-life significantly speeds up resource downloads by retrieving them from a website instead of through the game server. Because the map downloads are limited only by the speed of the web server (up to 100mbps), instead of the poky 10 to 20 KB/s that the game server can send at, the end result is clients not having to wait as long for custom maps and sounds to download.

When you connect to a server using Fast HTTP Asset Downloading, and you are missing one of its resources, it remembers your connection attempt and disconnects you so that your Steam client can automatically download the map from the website specified by the server's sv_downloadurl variable. When it's finished downloading the resources, your Steam client reconnects to the game server and you re-take the slot that the server saved for you there. The whole process requires no user intervention.

Automated Method
You can do this quickly and easily through your control panel's Website tab, by clicking Sync files. Or, you can do it manually as we describe below:

Manual Method
1. Create a free webspace if you don't have one already by clicking on the Website tab in your control panel and filling out the form, the webspace should be created instantly.

2. Use the FTP to create a directory on your webspace called "server". Within that directory, create another folder called "maps". This will be the starting directory structure for your custom maps.

3. Take your custom maps/sounds/wad files off your game server's FTP and upload them to the same place within the "server" folder of your free webspace. For instance, if you download "fy_iceworld.bsp" out of the "maps" folder on your game server, you will put it in the "server/maps" folder on the free webspace. A ".wad" file would go directly into the "server" folder since it is not in a subfolder on the game server. If your custom files came from a folder on the game server that does not exist in the "server" folder of the webspace, you will need to create the folder there.

Note: If you are uploading previously untested custom maps, we highly recommend uploading them one at a time and testing each individually (by changing to the map on the server and having someone connect who does not have the map). Many maps are missing links to important resource files or those files themselves, which may force you to upload more files than you thought and potentially fill in the gaps with a .res file for the map.

4. Update the server.cfg on your game server and add a line at the bottom like this:

Code: Select all

   sv_downloadurl "http://yourwebspacesubdomain.nuclearfallout.net/server/" 
5. Restart the server or wait for a map change for the setting to take effect.
-Andrew "aMies" Miesner
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