How to change the map on your Counter-Strike 1.6 server

To change the map on a Counter-Strike 1.6 server on PlayNHost right away, type changelevel and the map name in the Console tab, for example changelevel de_inferno. Players stay connected and the new map loads without a restart. To choose the map the server starts on, set Map in Settings, Game Settings.

Change the map now

1. Open your server in the panel and click the Console tab. The badge must say Online.
2. Type changelevel de_inferno in the Type a command box, with the map you want, and press Enter.
3. The map loads. Players on the server move to it with you.

Use the map's file name without .bsp. The maps your server has are the .bsp files in cstrike/maps, on the Files tab. If the name is wrong, the Console prints changelevel failed: 'mapname' not found on server.

Change the map with a task on Quick Tasks

The Change Map task on Quick Tasks sends the same changelevel command. It is handy to pin to Overview or to put on a schedule.

1. Click Quick Tasks in the left menu.
2. Under All tasks, open Default tasks and find Change Map. It says Loads a different map right away, without restarting the server. There is no world to save on these match-based games.
3. Click Run. The Configure task window opens.
4. Type the map in Map name, for example de_inferno, and click Save task.
5. Click Your tasks above the list and click Run next to your saved task.

Only letters, digits and underscores are kept in Map name, up to 32 characters.

How do I choose the map the server starts on?

1. Click the Settings tab, then Game Settings under Server Settings.
2. Type the map in Map, for example cs_assault. It is de_dust2 on a new server.
3. Press Enter, then click Restart now.

The Map setting is loaded at every start and every restart, whatever map was played last. It accepts letters, digits, - and _ only.

How do I set up a map rotation?

When a map's time runs out, the server loads the next map listed in cstrike/mapcycle.txt. Edit that file to choose the rotation:

1. On the Files tab, open cstrike/mapcycle.txt.
2. Write one map name per line, without .bsp, in the order you want.
3. Click Save content.
4. Click Restart. The ReGameDLL game library reads mapcycle.txt once per server start, so a restart makes sure the new list is used.

Maps that are not on the server are skipped. Each map runs for mp_timelimit minutes, which is 20 in cstrike/game.cfg on a new server (ReGameDLL settings: 0 means no limit). To change it, see How to change the game rules on your Counter-Strike 1.6 server.

Two stock AMX Mod X plugins also run on a new server: mapchooser.amxx lets players vote for the next map, and nextmap.amxx shows which map is next in the rotation. A map won in a vote is played instead of the next one in the file.

Can admins change the map in the game?

Yes. An AMX Mod X admin with the access flag f types amx_map de_inferno in the game console, or uses the maps menu in amxmodmenu. See How to become admin on your Counter-Strike 1.6 server.

To play a map that is not on the server yet, upload it first: How to add custom maps to your Counter-Strike 1.6 server.