These are the options on the Settings, Game Settings page of a PlayNHost Counter Strike 2 server, taken from the panel's own definitions. Rows marked read only are set by your plan or the server and cannot be changed.
All settings
| Setting | What it does | Allowed | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server name | The name players see in the in-game server browser and on the scoreboard. | up to 64 characters, no double quotes or backslashes | A PlaynHost CS2 Server |
| Join password | Set this and players have to type it to connect, which is how you keep a server to your own group. Leave it empty for a server anyone can join. Letters, numbers, dashes and underscores only. | 1 to 30 characters, letters, numbers, dashes and underscores | empty |
| Game mode | How matches are played. competitive = Competitive 5v5, casual = Casual, wingman = Wingman 2v2, deathmatch = Deathmatch, armsrace = Arms Race, custom = Custom (plugin-driven). Players can vote for a different map without changing the mode, so this stays until you change it here and restart. | one of: casual, competitive, wingman, deathmatch, armsrace, custom | competitive |
| Starting map | The map the server loads when it starts, for example de_dust2, de_mirage or cs_office. Any map installed on the server works. Players can vote to change map while the server runs; this only decides where it begins. | letters, numbers, dashes and underscores | de_dust2 |
| VAC anti-cheat | Valve Anti-Cheat, on by default and the right setting for almost every server. Turning it off marks the server insecure, which the game tells players when they connect. Some heavily modified community modes need it off; nothing else does. | on or off | on |
| RCON password | Set this to run admin commands from an RCON tool while the server is up. Leaving it empty keeps remote administration switched off, which is the safer setting. This is not the join password, and it should not be the same one. Letters, numbers, dashes and underscores only. | 1 to 30 characters, letters, numbers, dashes and underscores | empty |
| Steam Game Server Login Token | A Steam Game Server Login Token, and Counter-Strike 2 will not accept internet connections without one. On boot a server with no token prints "No Steam account token was specified ... Connections will be restricted to LAN only", logs into an anonymous game server account, and from then on only a machine on the same LAN can join. It is not listed either. Create a token for free at https://steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers using App ID 730, paste it here, then start the server. Use your own Steam account: a token belongs to the account that made it, and Valve expires tokens that go unused, revokes them, and invalidates one used on two servers at once. | exactly 32 letters and numbers, or empty | empty |
| Plugin support (Metamod + CounterStrikeSharp) | Installs Metamod:Source and CounterStrikeSharp, the pair that replaced SourceMod for CS2. It installs the loader only: you upload the plugins yourself, into game/csgo/addons/counterstrikesharp/plugins under Files, then restart. The loader and the game's search path are re-checked on every start. That is deliberate: a Counter-Strike 2 update rewrites gameinfo.gi and would otherwise leave your server running perfectly normally with none of your plugins loaded and nothing in the log to explain it. Turning this off takes the loader back out of the search path and leaves your plugin files alone. | on or off | off |
| CounterStrikeSharp version | Optional. Pins CounterStrikeSharp to one version, for example 1.0.373 - digits and dots only, no leading v. Leave it empty to track the latest release, which is almost always the only one built against the current game build. After a Counter-Strike 2 update there is usually a gap of a few days before a matching CounterStrikeSharp release exists. Through that gap the server starts and plays normally but loads no plugins; the startup log names the game build and the loader version it settled on. | up to 16 characters, numbers and these symbols: . | empty |
| Auto-update server | Check for a game update each time the server starts. Counter-Strike 2 will not connect to Valve on an out-of-date build, so leave this on unless you are deliberately holding a specific build for plugin compatibility. | on or off | on |
| Max Players (read only) | The player limit included with your plan. This field is read-only. To run with fewer players, click Players on your server overview and pick any number up to your plan limit - you can raise it back whenever you like. Upgrading your plan raises the limit itself. | set by your plan or the server | set by your plan |
| SourceTV port (read only) | The port SourceTV broadcasts on, so spectators and demo recording can watch a match without taking a player slot. It comes with your server and cannot be changed here. | set by your plan or the server | assigned to your server |
Good to know
- Settings are read when the server starts, so restart the server after changing any of them. Game mode only decides how a match begins, so a change takes effect on the next restart, not on a map vote.
- The panel saves a value when you leave its field. If the value is not allowed, the panel tells you and keeps the old one.
- Passwords and tokens are not listed with a value. Each server starts with one set for you, or with none, as the row says. Set a password before you invite players if you want a private server.
- To open the page, follow How to set up your Counter Strike 2 server or How to change your server settings.
