Starting the Counter Strike server without starting the game itself saves resources on the game server and prevents possible freezes. Also, the server can be installed on a Linux system that does not support launching CS, but is capable of supporting gameplay.
It is necessary
hldsupdatetool
Instructions
Step 1
Download the hldsupdatetool file for your operating system. For Windows it comes as an.exe file, for Linux the installer has.bin permission. Run it and wait for the update check procedure to finish.
Step 2
Run the hldsupdatetool file again, but with the appropriate parameters. To do this, in Windows, right-click and select "Properties". In the topmost item of the "General" tab, add the required properties. If you are starting the server on Linux, then start the Terminal, use the cd command to change to the directory where the program is located and similarly make a request (replacing hldsupdatetool.exe with./steam). For both operating systems, the line will look something like this:
hldsupdatetool.exe -command update -game cstrike -dir directory
The -dir command is responsible for the folder where the server will be loaded (this attribute can be omitted, then the server will be installed in the same place where the file is located). The procedure can take a long time, it all depends on the speed of your Internet connection.
Step 3
To configure the server, open the server.cfg configuration file located in the cstrike folder. The hostname command is responsible for the name of your server, mp_timelimit for the amount of time allocated to the map, and mp_autoteambalance enables or disables automatic balance (0 or 1).
Step 4
After completing all the settings, the server is ready to start. For Windows, you can create a shortcut from the hlds.exe file (right-click on the file - "Create shortcut") and specify parameters in its properties. For Linux, the launch command can be executed from the Terminal:
hlds.exe (./steam for linux) -console + sv_lan 0 -insecure -game cstrike -nomaster + port 27015 + ip your_ip + maxplayers number of players + map map_name
Step 5
The sv_lan parameter is responsible for starting the game for the local server, and in + map specify the name of the map for the game. In + maxplayers, specify the maximum number of players. You can find out your IP on one of the free resources for determining IP. Server setup is complete.
