Zombie Panic Source is a first person action game. The dedicated server component can be run as a Windows Service using FireDaemon Pro, which allows you to start the dedicated server 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.


Zombie Panic Source Dedicated Server Setup Under FireDaemon Pro

First download and extract SteamCMD. The download is small (< 2 MB). For the purposes of this HOWTO, we have installed SteamCMD to C:\SteamCMD.


Go to the directory where you installed SteamCMD and create a shortcut to "SteamCMD.exe". Next edit the properties of the shortcut and in the target box, at the end of it (with a space before the following), put:

+login anonymous +force_install_dir "C:\ZPS" +app_update 17505 validate +quit

The target box should now look something like:

C:\SteamCMD\steamcmd.exe +login anonymous +force_install_dir "C:\ZPS" +app_update 17505 validate +quit


Now click the shortcut you created and let it run to download the Zombie Panic Source server files. It might take a few hours to update everything. You should also run the shortcut every week or so to grab the latest server updates. Make sure to stop your server first.


Zombie Panic Source uses one configuration file to store its settings. Create the file "server.cfg" in "C:\ZPS". You can find an example configuration file at the bottom of this HOWTO.


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.



Executable: The path to your srcds.exe file. The default path is C:\ZPS\srcds.exe.


Working Directory: The directory containing your srcds.exe file. The default path is C:\ZPS.


Here’s the full parameter list you should have:

 -console -game zps -secure +map zps_cinema -autoupdate +log on +maxplayers 32 -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 mod.
  • “-secure” enables VAC (Valve Anti Cheat) protection of your server. You can remove this parameter if you do not want to use VAC.
  • “+map” loads a specified map on server startup. You can change “zps_cinema” 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 Zombie Panic Source 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 can turn optionally it off (+log off), but keeping it on makes it easier to debug any errors you might encounter.
  • “maxplayers 32” 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.
  • “-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)


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 Zombie Panic Source 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 Zombie Panic Source doesn't respond to it.


firedaemon-zps-nograceful-noconsole.png


Now click OK to finish setup and start Zombie Panic Source!


Example Configuration File

Below is an example server.cfg file:

hostname "Zombie Panic Source"
rcon_password "CHANGEPASSWORD"
fps_max 600

sv_allowdownload 1
sv_allowupload 1
net_maxfilesize 64
pausable "0"
// Voice Comm
sv_voiceenable "1"
sv_alltalk 0

sv_pure 0
mp_chattime 20

sv_allowdownload 1
//sv_downloadurl ""
sv_filetransfercompression 0

mp_timelimit 20
mp_friendlyfire 0
mp_tkpunish 1
mp_autokick 1
mp_fadetoblack 1
mp_falldamage 0
mp_logmessages 1
mp_weaponstay 1
sv_region 0
sv_lan 0

// bandwidth rates/settings
sv_minrate 0
sv_maxrate 0
sv_minupdaterate 10
sv_maxupdaterate 66
sv_mincmdrate 10
sv_maxcmdrate 66
sv_client_cmdrate_difference 1
sv_client_predict 1
sv_client_interpolate 1
sv_client_min_interp_ratio -1
sv_client_max_interp_ratio -1

//sv_timeout 300
sv_timeout 21600

decalfrequency 60

log on
sv_logbans 1

sv_rcon_banpenalty 60
sv_rcon_maxfailures 10
sv_rcon_minfailures 5
sv_rcon_minfailuretime 45

// Source TV
tv_enable 0

// Exec Configs
exec banned_user.cfg
mapchangecfgfile server.cfg
mapcyclefile mapcycle.txt