[chinagreenelvis]

I've got an issue with running my server, and since the Allied Modders forum is slightly more helpful than the Steam or SRCDS forums, I figured I'd post the question here.

I run a server behind my router on my LAN. I connect to it from another computer on the same LAN. Both use different ports.

If I turn on the server and let it sit, I get random connections to it, presumably by people using lobbies. I can join these games directly.

If I use a lobby to connect to my server while it is empty, I sometimes get random connections while playing.

If I connect to my server directly (non-lobby), I can play but I never get random connections.

What's the deal? I need to be able to direct connect to my server in order to bypass certain problems that lobby connecting gives me (unable to use fcvar sv_cheats 1 on myself amongst other things), but I also want other people to be able to join in. Is there anything I can do?

[avril-lavigne]

what about port forwarding it in your router settings ? just set it up

[marvel]

Originally Posted by avril-lavigne what about port forwarding it in your router settings ? just set it up

People can join his server so I doubt it's that

Anyway, I think you have sv_allow_lobby_connect_only set to 0. If u use l4dtoolz this cvar is set as well, so that means if you directly connect you won't get any players anymore through matchmaking (i.e. quick match players).

So what you need to do is connect to your server through a lobby yourself. You can set the preferred dedicated server you want to connect to (in console type: ms_force_dedicated_server [ip]:[port].

However, you still won't be able to use sv_cheats since enabling cheats will disable VAC and drops your servers connection to the steam servers.

I wonder why you want to use cheats anyway. Just use plugins for your needs.

[chinagreenelvis]

Thanks for the replies.

I haven't yet found a plugin that allows me to circumvent the restrictions on client side cheats if I use a lobby to start a game on my server - namely hidehud, fog_override, and the r_flashlight cvars.

I don't turn sv_cheats on, but I have used a combination of sm_unreserve and sm_fcvar to send my client machine a fake sv_cheats 1, but in order to make it all work the way I'd like, I have to start a game on my server using a lobby, use sm_unreserve, then disconnect and reconnect directly. Then and only then am I able to adjust the settings the way I want.

I've been trying all sorts of workarounds, including the direct connection to my server from the start, but as you just pointed out, that excludes new players.

I feel like L4D2 ruined so many things by putting restriction after restriction on the kinds of things we can do in our games. If it weren't for all the new guns and weapons, I'd still just be playing L4D instead.

All I really want to do is hide the player names in co-op and survival, widen the radius on the flashlight a bit, and still be able to play on my own server with others. Seems like a pretty simple goal, but you'd be surprised at how many things I've tried that just don't work.

On the player names alone, L4D allowed me to edit the clientscheme.res and that was that. No more floating names. Along comes L4D2, and the old method no longer applies. Not only did I have to edit clientscheme, I had to open Pak001_dir.vpk in Notepad ++ and find the one little bit that governs which file to use and alter the name so it was forced to use my custom file. That worked great for a year, though the .vpk would get overwritten on updates and I'd have to go back and change it again.

Now all servers force consistency for the file. So if I want to get rid of the names using that method, I can play on my server and my server only. I'm suddenly cut off from the rest of the gaming community.

So I thought creating a custom .vpk addon with the altered clientscheme.res would do it. No such luck. Sure, I can download a dozen addons which change the rest of the hud drastically, but nothing touches those goddamn names.

The fog and the flashlight, when it really comes down to them, I suppose I can just live with the defaults - though I'd really like the ability to change the flashlight settings since the regular one makes my eyes hurt after playing for so long - plus it makes playing on a 1920x1080 monitor pointless, since most of the time my field of vision is limited to a 400-pixel square.

In the end, I'm probably just going to stop playing the game altogether, and simply regret ever having bought it in the first place. Screw Valve. If they want to make it so hard to mod their games - something they themselves were freaking built on - then they can just go jump off a cliff.

[marvel]

for cvars you don't need sv_cheats enabled. Just use sm_cvar.

For hiding the hud try this: http://forums.alliedmods.net/showthread.php?p=1262385

For consistency use sv_consistency 0

Really there's an option and method for everything, you only need to know where to find it

And hey, if you feel so sorry for yourself purchasing the game just play l4d1.

[chinagreenelvis]

Damn. I didn't realize that you could use sourcemod locally. All my problems are solved by hosting a local server instead of using a dedicated one. Then and only then does sm_cvar do the trick for client-side variables.

Thanks for getting me thinking on the right track.

[gringos]

I use sv_cheats 1 a lot when playing with friends on my local dedicated server. The only way they can connect is using the connect ip_adress command from console. Then cheats work fine, but when changing the map or gamemode, people have to reconnect directly to the server. It only works when i also use the connect "wan_ipadress" command. e.g. connect 84.0.0.0. Hope this helps.