KF2 Dedicated Server with SteamCMD on Windows (German Guide)

This page translates a German Steam guide on setting up a Killing Floor 2 dedicated server on Windows with SteamCMD. You need at least 31 GB of free disk space. For other approaches see KF2 dedicated server with SteamCMD.

Ports

Forward these ports: UDP 7777 (server port), UDP 27015 (server list), UDP 20560 (Steam port) and TCP 8080 (WebAdmin).

Install

1. Download SteamCMD (steamcmd.zip from Valve) and unpack it into its own folder, then run it.
2. Log in: login anonymous
3. Set the install folder: force_install_dir ./kf2_ds/
4. Download the server: app_update 232130 validate
5. Leave SteamCMD when done with quit.

Start the server

In your server folder create or edit a .bat file; double-clicking it launches the server. It defines the start map and the admin password, and by default runs Survival (standard wave mode). Close the window with the X to stop the server. To switch to Versus, add ?Game=KFGameContent.KFGameInfo_VersusSurvival to the launch line.

Configuration

Edit KFGame\Config\DefaultGame.ini:

• Difficulty: [Engine.GameInfo] GameDifficulty= where 0 is Normal, 1 Hard, 2 Suicidal, 3 Hell on Earth.
• Under [KFGame.KFGameInfo] set the message of the day (ServerMOTD), BannerLink, WebsiteLink and GameLength.
• Server name: [Engine.GameReplicationInfo] ServerName= and ShortName= (also in PCServer-KFGame.ini).

WebAdmin

In KFGame\Config\DefaultWeb.ini change bEnabled=false to bEnabled=true. When the server runs, open the server IP followed by the port, for example 127.0.0.1:8080. The default login is admin with the password set in the batch file.

Steam Workshop

Open PCServer-KFEngine.ini, scroll to the bottom, leave a blank line after the last section and add:

[OnlineSubsystemSteamworks.KFWorkshopSteamworks]
ServerSubscribedWorkshopItems=605633924
ServerSubscribedWorkshopItems=605551918

One line per item. The ID is the number at the end of the Workshop URL (?id=...).

FAQ

• Server not visible or friends cannot join: check router port forwarding; ask your ISP if it still fails.
• Alternative to forwarding: host over a VPN such as Hamachi; only people in that VPN will see it.
• Change the port: add -port 27015 (or another) in the batch file.
• SteamCMD download fails: just try again.
• Update: log in and rerun the file download step with validate.

The author also made a server creation tool for several games, available through his Steam group.