HowTo: Move Settings from a Commandline Into the .ini Files

[Dubious]

In the original release it was necessary to manually specify a large number of settings in the command line. As part of the patch a significant amount of these settings are no longer required. In fact, they may actually be HURTING you. The software now automatically detects some settings that used to be required. Other settings have been optionally moved into the .ini files.


If your server no longer appears in the browser, the problem may be caused by unnecessary settings in the command line.


It used to be that this was a 'standard' command line:

ut3.exe server vCTF-Suspense?Game=UTGameContent.UTVehicleCTFGame_Conte nt?GameMode=3?numplay=4?maxplayers=12?NumPublicCon nections=12?NumPrivateConnections=0?NumOpenPublicC onnections=12?NumOpenPrivateConnections=0?bShouldA dvertise=True?bIsDedicated=True?PureServer=1?timel imit=20?goalscore=5?botskill=3?AdminPassword=MyAdm inPassword -login=MyGamespyLogin -password=MyGamespyPassword -unattended
Since applying the patch, this exact same command line can be shortened to this:

ut3.exe server vCTF-Suspense?Game=UTGameContent.UTVehicleCTFGame_Conte nt?numplay=4?maxplayers=12?botskill=5?AdminPasswor d=MyAdminPassword -login=MyGamespyLogin -password=MyGamespyPassword -unattended
In fact, if I really wanted to push this to be as short as possible, this works too:

ut3.exe server vCTF-Suspense?numplay=4?Botskill=5 -login=MyGamespyLogin -password=MyGamespyPassword -unattended


So, how did I get it so short? Its simple, yet complicated.

The short answer is that almost all of these settings are now located in the .ini files. If you know what to change then you can change it, and remove it from the command line. When the server starts it will read the .ini files and load your desired settings.

The long answer is that these settings are scattered throughout the .ini file(s) so there are a lot of places to edit them. Below are some examples. Obviously you will have to modify these to suit your desired gametype and settings.

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?Game=UTGameContent.UTVehicleCTFGame_Content

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [Engine.GameInfo]
- DefaultServerGame=UTGameContent.UTVehicleCTFGame_C ontent

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?GameMode=3

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [not needed] - The server now knows to set the GameMode to 3 when its set to load a UTVehicleCTFGame. Same goes for any other gametype.

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?numplay=4

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [not found] - I can't find an .ini setting that states the desired # of bots

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?maxplayers=12

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [Engine.GameInfo]
- MaxPlayers=12

-----

Old commandline settings:
- ?NumPublicConnections=12
- ?NumPrivateConnections=0
- ?NumOpenPublicConnections=12
- ?NumOpenPrivateConnections=0

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [not needed] - The server automatically determines these settings.

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?bShouldAdvertise=True

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [not needed / none found] - The server now advertises itself by default. I could find no setting in an .ini file to control this. I suspect that you can disable server advertisement by using this in the commandline as '?ShouldAdvertise=False' if you wanted.

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?bIsDedicated=True

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [not needed] - The server now knows whether it is operating in dedicated mode or not.

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?PureServer=1

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [not needed] - The server now knows whether it is "pure" or not.

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?timelimit=20

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [UTGameContent.UTVehicleCTFGame_Content]
- TimeLimit=20

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?goalscore=5

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [UTGameContent.UTVehicleCTFGame_Content]
- GoalScore=5

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?botskill=3

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [not found] - I can't find an .ini setting that states the desired botskill. Leaving this out of the commandline sets the botskill to Average.

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?ServerDescription=This Is My Server Description

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [Engine.GameReplicationInfo]
- ServerName=This Is My Server Description

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?AdminPassword=MyAdminPassword

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [Engine.AccessControl]
- AdminPassword=MyAdminPassword

-----

Old commandline setting:
- ?GamePassword=MyGamePassword

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [Engine.AccessControl]
- GamePassword=MyGamePassword

-----

So there you have it. Your commandline can be VERY short as long as you hard-code the settings in your .ini files.

[sCaryDeth]

Wow holmes. Someone at Epic should be paying you for the tremendous amount of support you've been giving the UT community.

Thanks for the tips. I'll get to work on cleaning up my command line asap!

[Bob!!!!!!]

That's a big help, thanks for all your hard work. I have some other stuff in my command line, do you know if it is needed and what it does?

?OwningPlayerName=
?PingInMs=
?bIsListPlay=
?bUsesArbitration=
?bUsesPresence=

[Dubious]

I have some other stuff in my command line, do you know if it is needed and what it does?

?OwningPlayerName=
?PingInMs=
?bIsListPlay=
?bUsesArbitration=
?bUsesPresence=
None of that is needed for any reason AT ALL that I can think of. You can completely rip that out and have no ill effects.

[Haunting]

Bump, Bump, Bump this to the top of the forum

[hanuta]

hm, is there a way to bring the game and the adminpassword to the ini?
i mean its a security problem in linux, when we get the linux server.
everyone who has shell access to the linux box can see the admin/game pw.
i dont want this!


cheers
hanu

[Mr_Beanie]

Hi thanks for the hot tip, With your help i was able to narrow down the exact problem, the -nohomedir in the command line was the culprit. remove that and youre good to go. but shortening your command lines wont hurt either but just dont forget to remove -nohomedir if you use it

[Dubious]

Hi thanks for the hot tip, With your help i was able to narrow down the exact problem, the -nohomedir in the command line was the culprit. remove that and youre good to go. but shortening your command lines wont hurt either but just dont forget to remove -nohomedir if you use it
Some people require the -nohomedir switch. Like me, for example. It causes no problems and is a legitimate command switch. If you do not want to use it, but still need your .ini files stored in a specific location then you can use the '-configsubdir=xxxxxx' command switch.

[Mr_Beanie]

well the nohomedir command sets the server to go to the main ut config directory because the earlier versions would search for the my documents directory configs. since being patched it doesnt seem to do that anymore and defaults the way its meant to. If it doesnt cause problems for some good stuff but i found that when i removed it it worked like it should still using the configs in the default directory.

[Dubious]

well the nohomedir command sets the server to go to the main ut config directory because the earlier versions would search for the my documents directory configs. since being patched it doesnt seem to do that anymore and defaults the way its meant to. If it doesnt cause problems for some good stuff but i found that when i removed it it worked like it should still using the configs in the default directory.
You are correct in its usage - it does change the config file location. And even with the first patch installed it still does that. You are the first person who has said that it stopped working for them. I suspect that there may be something else working here but if you fixed it to your liking then thats all that matters.

[Ice Nine]

Well, I've tried all this, and my server still doesn't advertise. *sigh*

I'm pretty dismayed at the lack of QA from Epic these days.

[Dubious]

Well, I've tried all this, and my server still doesn't advertise. *sigh*
Since you only have two posts to your credit I will assume that you haven't had this problem troubleshot yet. You should try it. This thread is specifically related to people who had a functioning, advertising server prior to applying the patch, but since have lost the advertisement function.

The most common root cause of not being able to see your server in the server browser is a failing Gamespy login/password. Even if you think you are fine, go ahead and login to the game as a player, using your server username/password. Make sure that it works. Remember that your server must have its own unique login.

The second most common root cause is that your server is running a mutator, and you forget to set your server browser search parameters to 'Any' for "pure" servers.

The third most common root cause is that you have a software firewall active on your PC and did not set an exception / open necessary ports for UT3.

[Entil'Zha]

I just took this from my ut2004.ini and it works

UTGame.ini
[Engine.AccessControl]
AdminPassword=xxxxx
GamePassword=xxxxx

[Mr_Beanie]

I apologize for my earlier post. as i was wrong about the -nohomedir apparently this is not the culprit. I guess just shortening the command line works.

[Dubious]

I just took this from my ut2004.ini and it works

UTGame.ini
[Engine.AccessControl]
AdminPassword=xxxxx
GamePassword=xxxxx
Nice efforts - I will have to check that out.

[UT3sysop]

Wow holmes. Someone at Epic should be paying you for the tremendous amount of support you've been giving the UT community.

Thanks for the tips. I'll get to work on cleaning up my command line asap!

Dude... You Give Great Tech Support Dubious!! You Should be Proud!! To bad You Dont Work For Epic! They Could Use People Like You That Give Good Tech Support!... U DA MAN!!! :D:D:D

[Entil'Zha]

The command lines can now definitely be shortened.

So the only parameters should be: map name, the gamemode, number of bots and the botskill. And of course followed by -login -password -unattended.

Optional are -nohomedir or -configsubdir=
or none of these two for the default MyDocuments location of your ini files and logs.

So for each gamemode:

DM

ut3.exe server DM-Deck?Game=UTGame.UTDeathmatch?numplay=4?Botskill=5 -login=MyGamespyLogin -password=MyGamespyPassword -unattended

TDM

ut3.exe server DM-Deck?Game=UTGame.UTTeamGame?numplay=4?Botskill=5 -login=MyGamespyLogin -password=MyGamespyPassword -unattended

CTF

ut3.exe server CTF-Hydrosis?Game=UTGameContent.UTCTFGame_Content?nump lay=4?Botskill=5 -login=MyGamespyLogin -password=MyGamespyPassword -unattended

vCTF

ut3.exe server vCTF-Suspense?Game=UTGameContent.UTVehicleCTFGame_Conte nt?numplay=4?Botskill=5 -login=MyGamespyLogin -password=MyGamespyPassword -unattended

WAR

ut3.exe server WAR-Torlan?Game=UTGameContent.UTOnslaughtGame_Content? numplay=4?Botskill=5 -login=MyGamespyLogin -password=MyGamespyPassword -unattended

Duel

ut3.exe server DM-Deck?Game=UTGame.UTDuelGame?numplay=4?Botskill=5 -login=MyGamespyLogin -password=MyGamespyPassword -unattended

In your UTGame.ini will be a section with the name of each "Game" as listed above. If doesn't exist yet it will be added to the bottom of the ini. (For example look for the section UTGameContent.UTVehicleCTFGame_Content for vCTF etc.)

These sections are for the gamemode specific settings and will override the general settings if duplicate.
The general settings can be found under Engine.GameInfo and UTGame.UTGame.

In addition to the original post you can set your AdminPassword and optional GamePassword under Engine.AccessControl

like this:
[Engine.AccessControl]
IPPolicies=ACCEPT;*
AdminPassword=xxxxx
GamePassword=


@OP: feel free to add this to the first post

[AZ-{OVGY}]

The command lines can now definitely be shortened.

So the only parameters should be: map name, the gamemode, number of bots and the botskill. And of course followed by -login -password -unattended.



Gamemode isn't needed in commandline either, you can add it here,

[Engine.GameInfo]
DefaultServerGame=

:)

[Flying_Dutchman]

Bump. Somebody please sticky this....

[DeadSoul]

Bump. Somebody please sticky this....

maybe Dubious can add it to his admin's start here thread that is already stickied.

[Entil'Zha]

I Pm'ed him about it, asking this :o

[Aquos]

With only minimal help from the maker of this game, I managed to get a server running. Yes it even appeared in the online list. Played, played, played.
Then patch 1 comes out. Game runs fine, but not even mildly better, when my (dedicated server) nolonger appears in the list. I read this posting by dubious, spend hours trying to get my server to reappear online. I've had enough, and I mean enough. I spent $79 on this game. I download the (dedicacted server) as well. Unreal is all about the server one plays on. This game I will not recomend to anyone whois not a computer programmer. You would think the game you buy in a store is playable as in, installs, loads up, and doesn't screw up your PC. UT3 not only creates hardware crashes, but nearly does damage to ones pc. Yes I actually follow up on those blue screens it creates. You would think someone would test the game before they offer it for public sale. UT3 was never tested. I don't care what you think or say. Read the forums, full of thousands and thousand of people begging for help. There is none. Games usually come with manuals that nobody ever reads but have the info in them if you should . UT3 comes with nothing. Its like a free for all. Trial and error. By the way, if the game truly was finished, and polished as we certainly were told by the maker, why is there no server management? They tell us "the next patch" Proof positive "NOT FINISHED" Well I'm not waiting around for the next patch. UT was a PC game. I say "was" because it is nolonger. Its an unfinished work. Patched up for the pc world while our struggle gives the maker time to polish it up for the console world.

I gave Unrealtournament too much effort.
I recently installed Halo2 and World in Conflict. These games were so poorly made they barely stayed 10 minutes each on my hard drive.
UT3 will be Uninstalled forever.
If you want my install key send me a message, its yours just for the asking.
I'll take caller number 10 as is said in radio. Winner who knew the name of my server gets it.
I'm done.

[Entil'Zha]

So when is the sticky going to be updated? tyvm

[Flying_Dutchman]

bump again :)

[Snick66]

Where i can find UTGame.ini at Linux server?

# find . |grep \\.ini
./Engine/Config/BaseEngine.ini
./Engine/Config/BaseEditor.ini
./Engine/Config/BaseEditorUserSettings.ini
./Engine/Config/BaseInput.ini
./Engine/Config/BaseCompat.ini
./Engine/Config/BaseGame.ini
./Engine/Config/BaseUI.ini
./Engine/Config/BaseEditorKeyBindings.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultUI.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultDemoCompat.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultWeaponDefaults.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultEditorUserSettings.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultEditorKeyBindings.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultInput.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultWeapon.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultEngine.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultCustomChar.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultInputDefaults.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultEditor.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultGame.ini
./UTGame/Config/DefaultCompat.ini

:confused:

[Aberration]

Start the server once & it'll be created.

[Smaz]

Bump :) :)

[Snick66]

I found it... in my homedir:
~/.Unreal Tournament 3/UTGame/Config/
:)

[Flying_Dutchman]

Bump bump bump bumpety bumpety bump.....

[Karnage]

Bumpme baby?? Sticky???

[Brad.G]

Great post ;) a new feature about to appear in the UT3 Tweaker i feel ;)

[13th_Disciple]

Great post ;) a new feature about to appear in the UT3 Tweaker i feel ;)
t'would be good to see.. handy add-on for server admins.

even added inspiration to the existing link i had to the tweaker for you, Brad.G! ;)

[Brad.G]

t'would be good to see.. handy add-on for server admins.

even added inspiration to the existing link i had to the tweaker for you,
Brad.G! ;)

Brad.G UT3 Tweaker - Soon to have server admin features... right Brad?


lmao.... hum. you have me over a barrel there. ok it will be in the next release .... along with xbox controller support, cache convertor, pipe switching, mulitple profile management ..... greedy gits :D lol

[Kinsman]

Old commandline setting:
- ?ServerDescription=This Is My Server Description

New UTGame.ini file setting:
- [Engine.GameReplicationInfo]
- ServerName=This Is My Server Description

I have tried this, and what i put there appears as my Server Name, not Description.

Does anybody know where the Server Description goes?

[Slaughter]

There is a MessageOfTheDay= entry in that same ini file section that you might be thinking of as a "description".

[Kinsman]

No, our descriptions work fine in the commandline, there just doesnt seem to be any place in the INI for them, so I leave them in the commandline for now.

http://www.bur.st/~trevor68/Stuff/servername.jpg

[Slaughter]

Then it is the ServerName= entry in the UTGame.ini file.



[Engine.GameReplicationInfo]
ServerName=Slaughter's Place Warfare - (Vote|Customs|Team Balance)


http://slaughtersplace.com/images/ServerNameEntry.gif

BattleRPG Invasion and Battle Freezetag Arena are done the same way.

Make sure you are 1) editing the correct UTGame.ini file and 2) that you have removed ?ServerDescription from the commandline.

[Dozinator]

Slaughter you Rock.;)

[Kinsman]

Ah, *penny drops* Server Descriptions are now redundant seeing as you can make nice long server names.

In my screenie anything after : was added in commandline, we will just move that into servername now.

Thanks

[$!xk!ller]

Hi,
can anyone tell me how i can get Mutators to thi ini ?

Thx

[AZ-{OVGY}]

Hi,
can anyone tell me how i can get Mutators to thi ini ?

Thx

You don't, add them via commandline.

[$!xk!ller]

My server is rent, and i have no acces to the Commandline and the server Reeboots every day.
Than i must hope that anyone make a tool like Proasm´s Comline for ut2004.