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Synergy Documentation

Documentation: Server Install

Server Installation

Setting up a Synergy Dedicated Server is no easy task, though being on Steam does make it easier than the old Synergy 1.1. All you need to do is follow the instructions below, and you should have your server up and running within a few hours (provided you've got a decent upload rate).

  1. Install and setup Steam or the HLDS Update Tool (http://store.steampowered.com/about/)
  2. Install or Download Synergy
    Steam Servers:
    Open the Steam Games List, open the "Tools" section and double-click on "Synergy Dedicated Server".
    This will install Synergy on the Steam account you are currently logged in with.
    Make sure you also own "Half-Life 2" on the same Steam account, or Synergy will have problems running.
    Stand-Alone Servers:
    Run the following command to install Synergy:
    hldsupdatetool -command update -game synergy -dir "" Note: Replace "<srcdsInstallDir>" with the path to your Source Dedicated Server Installation Directory.
    Make sure the directory exists before trying to update to it.
    Linux users need to replace "hldsupdatetool" with "./steam"
  3. If you are running a dedicated server using the Steam client software, just skip ahead to step 6. Otherwise, just continue on to step 4.
  4. Once Synergy is installed (and should be fully updated) on your dedicated server, you will need to upload the Half-Life 2 content, which is NOT automatically downloaded for you.
    The Half-Life 2 content exists in the Steam cache (GCF) files. You will need to use GCFScape or Crafty's Filesystem Browser to extract the content.
    You then will upload the extracted content to your server in the following directory: "<hldsInstallDir>/orangebox". You should then have an "hl2" directory there.

    For a complete list of files you'll need to extract and upload, check this page. Make sure you extract the content in the order they are listed.
  5. Now that Synergy has the minimum required files, the server should run correctly without problems. Setup your server the way you normally would with any other game
  6. (Optional) Lastly, should you decide you want to include other games to be played in Synergy on your dedicated server, more files and content will need to be uploaded to your server.
    And a special file, "mount.cache", will need to be modified with Notepad (or if you're using Linux, vi).

    This process is explained further below.

Include additional games on your server

If you wish to play Half-Life 2: Episode 1 or Half-Life 2: Episode 2 or any other Source engine game or mod on your dedicated server, you'll need to follow the instructions below.

  1. Upload the required game or mod required files to your server's "orangebox" directory. (This includes the Game Definition Files and Level Tag / Game Include Data Files.)
    Check this page to see if we've listed the files you'll need to extract and upload to your server for the perticular game.
  2. Add the required game tag to your "mount.cache" file (which exists in the "synergy" directory).
    Example "mount.cache" file: hl2 ep1 meta A game's tag can be found at the first line within the game's Definition File: "MyGameTag" { ... }