How to Run Left 4 Dead as a Windows Service with FireDaemon Pro.

Left 4 Dead can be run as a Windows service using FireDaemon Pro. This allows you to start and run the dedicated server automatically when Windows boots and before login. FireDaemon Pro also allows you to start multiple instances of the game server, monitoring them and automatically restarting those instances in the event they crash. FireDaemon Fusion can also be used to manage your Left 4 Dead service, plus other Windows services via your web browser.

Left 4 Dead Dedicated Server Setup Under FireDaemon Pro

Please follow the steps below to set up a Left 4 Dead as a Windows service with FireDaemon Pro

Step 1: Download and Install SteamCMD for Windows

SteamCMD is a command-line version of the Steam Client. Its primary use is to install and update various dedicated servers available on Steam using a command-line interface.

1. Create a folder on your system, for SteamCMD, C:\SteamCMD
2. Download SteamCMD to this folder. A single ZIP file steamcmd.zip is downloaded.
3. Extract the contents of the ZIP file into the folder. A single program file, steamcmd.exe, is extracted.
4. Double-click steamcmd.exe. This will download SteamCMD and corresponding support files into the C:\SteamCMD folder.

Step 2: Download and Install FireDaemon Pro

1. Download FireDaemon Pro installer
2. Double-click installer and follow the installation wizard to complete the installation.
3. For more information about installing FireDaemon, see the FireDaemon Pro Users Guide.

Step 3: Download and Install the Left 4 Dead Dedicated Server

Download the Left 4 Dead server files via the Steam SteamPipe servers. Go to the directory where you installed SteamCMD and create a shortcut to "SteamCMD.exe". In the shortcut, edit the properties and in the target box, at the end of it (with a space before the following), put:

+login anonymous +force_install_dir "C:\L4D" +app_update 222840 validate +quit

If the server successfully downloads, the command window will close on its own. Otherwise, it will stay open and tell you what went wrong (most likely you don't have enough free disk space).

Step 5: Set Up Left 4 Dead as a FireDaemon Pro Service

The most important field on the tab is the Parameters. The Parameters define the initial setup of your server. The full parameter list should be as follows:

-console -game left4dead -secure +map l4d_hospital01_apartment -autoupdate +log on +maxplayers 4 -port 27015 +ip 1.2.3.4 +exec server.cfg

• "-console” enables text base server display. The server can only be automatically restarted in text based mode.
• “-game” loads the game.
• “-secure” enables VAC (Valve Anti Cheat) protection of your server. You can remove this command if you do not want to use VAC.
• “+map” loads a specified map on server startup. You can change “c1m1_hotel” to whatever map you want. This command should never be removed.
• “-autoupdate” Enables auto update of the server. Valve has not implemented this in Windows so you will have to manually update Left 4 Dead yourself. It’s here for the sake of legacy support if Valve ever decides to add it.
• “+log on” Displays the output of information on the screen. You may turn it off (+log off), but keeping it on makes it easier to debug any errors you might encounter.
• “+maxplayers 4” This controls the maximum of amount of players you want your server to run. You can only control the max players on server startup. This command should never be removed. Left 4 Dead can only handle up to 4 players.
• “-port 27015” This is the default server port. You can change it to anywhere from 27015 to 27020. Changing it is generally used when you host multiple servers (as each server has to use its own port when using the same IP). This command should never be removed.
• “+ip” should be the IP of your computer (not 127.0.0.1, go here to get your IP). This command should never be removed.
• “+exec server.cfg” This executes your server.cfg file on server startup. If you run multiple servers from the same installation, you can specify other config files (eg. server2.cfg)

Next, click on the FireDaemon Pro Settings tab:

Enter appropriate values in the fields on the Settings tab as follows:

• (Optional) Logon Account: Enter the Windows account under which the game is to be run, e.g. the current user account.
• Password / Confirm Password:  Enter the logon account's password twice.
• (Optional) Interact with Desktop: If this setting is enabled (default), the game server's output messages can be seen in the console window on Windows Session 0. To switch to Session 0, it may be necessary to install FireDaemon Zero and ZeroInput. Alternatively, this setting may be disabled, in which case the game server's messages will be hidden.
• (Optional) Priority: To allocate more CPU time to the game server, select a higher scheduling priority in this field.
• (Optional) CPU Bindings: To run the game server on a specific CPU, specify the appropriate CPU in this field.

Step 7: Verify that Left 4 Dead is Running Correctly