Tag: windows

Dedicated Server Configuration options on your windows PC

I really like the arma3 community’s set of dedicated hosting tools …

… but some of them don’t allow me to feed in my Missions > Params fully – which is a big deal if your mission PBO depends on certain settings.

So here is some of my findings that I had to learn to do more …

For starting out I recommend you use something from armaholics which has great reviews.

  • Tip
    • I started with Tophe’s – Link
      • The disadvantage being that it rewrites the file everytime it opens & runs so you can’t paste in your own parameters

Using a shortcut

  • Advantage
    • amazingly simple
    • Arma3 takes a wide range of parameters so it works really well
  •  Disadvantages
    • You have to specify the full path of file locations if they aren’t in the arma3 server directory (which if you test more than one server or map … ouch)
    • This is a problem as windows shortcuts have a maximum character count (how many things you can do)
    • arma3server.exe – Link
    • Not meta data scripting
      • Do you want track how often you call this?
      • Do you want to display the paths being called before this?
      • Do you want to list the actual memory allocated and memory used by the machine before starting out?
  • Tip
    • This limit of character count for the shortcuts can be by passed by using windows environmental variables to hold the path of the -config & other commandline parameters for the arma3server.exe – Link
    • My setup for the shortcut
      • “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Arma 3 Server\arma3server_x64.exe” -port=2302 -name=test-server -cfg=%ArmaBasic% -config=%ArmaServer% -profiles=%ArmaProfiles% -serverMod=@AntistasiServerMembers`
      • The environmental variables contained – Link

Using a batch file

  • Advantage
    • You can do just about anything
  • Disadvantage
    • You need to learn how to use this huge wide open system
  • Tip
    • Find some of the simple examples
      • Here is mine file – Link
    • Use echo %var% & Pause to read the variables are correct before executing the start of the server
      • Might need to enabled delayed variable usage – Link
    • I got my reminder to use batch files from
      • Last Resort Gaming – Link
      • My batch
      • Example of output

Dedicated Server – understanding the setup

  • Maps
    • names
      • map folders are stand in’s for the names
      • should only have a single .
        • the part after the dot is base map name which the mission runs – not sure why this is a thing, but if you mess it up – it will be an issue
      • should not have _ character
    • Multiple player maps go in mpMissions
  • Arma 3 Server app has to have it’s own steam app ID, but you have to change it to the Arma 3 ID later

Atom, gitlabs.com, ssh keys & git config

Installed Atom the other day.

Tried to start out using Git-Plus in place of Github package for atom … git-plus doesn’t have a clone feature … so there is no way to work with an existing repo right off the bat as Git-Plus will drop a git file & the clone fails.

Issue #1:

The git-plus extension when I did the Shift+Control+P > typed in ‘git clone’

Fix:

Had the choice of using Github or Git Bash for Windows & then use Git-Plus extensions.

Switched back to using the github.com extension which can also be pointed at the gitlabs stuff too

Result …

Was able to get my ssh key generated fine in the git-bash & clone the repo using the commandline tool as outlined in gitlab’s instructions – Link

Issue #2:

Not sure the cause, but when prompted for password – didn’t get one in & it saved blanked password to my credentials.  Research says it’s either in the git repo settings, the C:\<user dir>\.ssh or the windows credential manager …

  • SSH
    • C:\Users\mattr\.ssh
      • id_rsa – our authentication
      • id_ras.pub – the public file we give to the other server
      • known_hosts – the glue letting the ssh know which server addresses get which keys
  • GIT
    • C:\Users\mattr\Downloads\arma3\jps\.git
    • Github version of switching to SSH – Link
  • Windows credentials
    • Caching git credentials –Link 
      git config --global credential.helper wincred
    • Might have POSIX conversions (now windows slash symbols in path falls into this) are an issue with the credential.helper wincred
    • Turns out this was saved in the %HOME% environmental variable

Issue #3

Fix 1: After I blew out the windows credential, I got a user/pass prompt, but put it in wrong – so had to blow that out again.

Result:  no prompt for password still – despite no window’s credentials – so git was caching somewhere.

Fix 2: My git repo had an entry for

[remote "origin"]
url = git@gitlab.com:...

I also had an entry in windows credential manager for gitlabs now (possibly conflicting

C:\Users\<user>\Downloads\arma3\jps
git@gitlab.com:<user>/<repo name>.git

Random side error:

  • 80004005 unspecified errors deleting repo’s atom has touched – Link
  • Restarting computer and deleting repo folders before we open atom is easiest fix

Issue #4

The root of all evil!

Environmental variables … my git command & git bash installs had created a home directory for themselves.  The entire time I thought I was fighting against a hard coded call to my home directory.

Fix #1:  Based on tip from Jens Bodal changed %HOME% in the windows environmental variables

Fix #2:  Restart

Fix #3:  Looked like the repo clone worked

Alternative - clone via git bash once the %HOME% var was fixed.

Keep in mind that ssh keys and configuration can be stored in several layers …

Git as a technology looks for 3 or 5  locations depending on your setup … the repository configuration file, the global settings, the .ssh in the user directory & git’s own program folder.  If on windows they might have it turned on to check windows credential manager.