Skulltag is a port for the original Doom and Doom II that allows players to play Skulltag (Doom) online. The dedicated server component can be run as a Windows service using FireDaemon Pro, which allows you to start the dedicated server start automatically at boot prior to login, start multiple instances of the dedicated server and more. This HOWTO will show you how to set it up. You can also use FireDaemon Fusion to manage FireDaemon and other Windows services via a web browser.
Note: You need a copy of Doom (or Heretic, Hexen, or Strife) to play or host a Skulltag server. If you don't have one, Steam sells it cheapest for $5. Once you download it, Skulltag takes care of the rest.
Skulltag Dedicated Server Setup
First download the latest version of Skulltag from here. There is no server-specific version; the client includes the server.
Extract Skulltag someplace on your hard drive. For the rest of this HOWTO we will be using “C:\Program Files\Skulltag” as the installation directory.
Skulltag uses two configuration files to store its settings: “server.cfg” & "server.rsp". "server.rsp" contains the startup parameters for your server and "server.cfg" contains the settings for your server. Edit (or create) the file server.rsp and in it put the following:
+teamplay 1 -config ideserver.cfg -iwad "Doom2.wad" -port 10666 +exec Server.cfg
You can also generate this file by running IdeSE.exe.
To edit (or create) your server.cfg file, run the IdeSE.exe server GUI tool (Start Server tab). You can configure most parameters and save the file. After you have all the settings configured, click "Make Batch" to create the configuration file. Make sure to name it "server.cfg" or if you use another name, update the paramters field to reflect the new name.
FireDaemon Pro Setup
Download and install FireDaemon Pro into the directory of your choice, typically C:\Program Files\FireDaemon.
Next start the FireDaemon GUI from the desktop shortcut. Click on the "Create a new service definition" button in the toolbar (or type Ctrl+N) and enter the information into the fields as you see below. Adjust the paths to suit your installation. Note the required parameters.
In the Executable section, enter the path to your “skulltag.exe” (e.g. “C:\Program Files\Skulltag\skulltag.exe”)
In the Working Directory section, enter the path where your server.cfg file is located, this path should be the same folder as the Server (e.g. C:\Program Files\Skulltag).
In the Parameters section, enter the following:
-host @server.rsp
Now click on the Settings tab. If you DON'T want to see your dedicated server running, uncheck the Interact with Desktop check box & select "Hidden" from the "Show Window" dropdown. You can optionally run Skulltag as the user you installed it as. In the Logon Account field type your username (e.g. Administrator) and then enter the user's password twice in the Password and Confirm fields. You can change the Process Priority to allocate more CPU time to the dedicated server or specify which CPU or core the dedicated server will run on (in the case of multi-processor, hyperthreaded or multi-core CPUs).
Now click on the Lifecycle tab. Uncheck Graceful Shutdown as Skulltag doesn't respond to it.
Now click OK to finish setup and start your Skulltag dedicated server!
Example Configuration File
Below is an example server.cfg file:
alwaysapplydmflags 1 skulltag_masterip skulltag.servegame.com:15300 sv_defaultdmflags 0 sv_maxclients 16 sv_maxplayers 16 sv_gravity 800 sv_aircontrol 0.00 sv_rconpassword changeme sv_forcepassword 0 sv_forcejoinpassword 0 sv_broadcast 0 sv_hostname "My Server" sv_motd "Important News" sv_website "[URL]http://www.example.com[/URL]" sv_hostemail "" skill 3 botskill 3 fraglimit 0 timelimit 20 duellimit 0 pointlimit 0 winlimit 0 dmflags 20612 dmflags2 0 compatflags 0 teamdamage 0 sv_maprotation 1 sv_randommaprotation 0 addmap map01