Most Day of Defeat: Source server problems on PlayNHost come from a wrong Steam token, a setting that applies only after a restart, or a map name the server cannot find. A server stuck on Starting after you added a token has a wrong token: empty Steam Game Login Token and restart.
Starting
The badge stays on Starting after I added a Steam token
Why: the panel marks the server Online when the Console prints the Steam logon line with gameserver Steam ID. A wrong token stops that logon, so the badge stays on Starting even though the game may be running. On Counter-Strike: Source, which runs the same engine, we measured the Console printing Could not establish connection to Steam servers. (Result = 18) instead; we have not reproduced it on Day of Defeat: Source itself. Steam also expires a token that goes unused for a long time.
Fix:
- Click the Settings tab and find Steam Game Login Token under Game Settings.
- Empty the field, or paste a new token made for App ID
300, and press Enter. - Click Restart now in the message that appears.
- On the Console tab, wait for the line with
gameserver Steam ID. The badge changes to Online.
How to make a token: How to add a Steam login token to your Day of Defeat: Source server.
The badge stays on Starting on a new server
Why: the first start installs the game from Steam first. Install and first start took about 4 to 5 minutes in our own test.
Fix: watch the Console tab. If it prints SteamCMD failed to install app 232290 after 3 attempts., Steam did not deliver the game files. Contact support through the website chat or a ticket, and quote that line. If nothing has moved for 10 minutes, click Restart once, then see How to fix a server that will not start.
This server ran out of memory
Why: the server needed more memory than its plan gives it, and the system stopped it. The Overview page shows the card This server ran out of memory with the date and how often it happened.
Fix: click See the usage on the card to see when memory ran high. If it began after you added plugins or maps, remove the last one you added and start the server again. See How to read your server's usage graphs.
Joining
Nobody can connect at all
Why: the server is not Online, or the address was typed without its port.
Fix: check the badge, then copy the address again with Join on Overview and type connect with the whole address, port included: How to join your Day of Defeat: Source server.
My server is hard to find in the server browser
Why: without a Steam token, the server is listed but ranked lower. The panel's own message for this game says so, and on Counter-Strike: Source and Team Fortress 2, which run the same engine, the Console says it at every start: Server ranking in server browser will be negatively impacted due to sv_setsteamaccount not being set.
Fix: players can always join with connect and the address. To rank normally, add a free token: How to add a Steam login token to your Day of Defeat: Source server.
The game asks for a password, or refuses the one I typed
Why: the server has a join password (sv_password), and the player typed none or a different one.
Fix: the player types password and the join password in the game console, then connect and the address. To change or remove it, see How to set a join password on your Day of Defeat: Source server.
The server is full
Why: every player slot is taken. Your plan sets the most slots you can have: 12, 24 or 32.
Fix: check Slots on the Overview server card. If it is lower than your plan's number, raise it with the pencil: How to change player slots on your Day of Defeat: Source server.
Players cannot download my custom map
Why: by Valve's defaults the server sends missing maps to players itself, but only files up to net_maxfilesize, 16 MB by default. These are engine defaults from Valve's documentation; we have not tested map downloads on our servers.
Fix: add net_maxfilesize 64 to dod/cfg/server.cfg (64 MB is the most the game allows) and restart, or give players the map to install by hand. See How to add custom maps to your Day of Defeat: Source server.
Settings
The value format is invalid.
Why: you typed a Server name or Map with a space, a quote ", a backslash, * or ?. These values go into the server's start line, so those characters are refused.
Fix: use - or _ instead of spaces, for example My-DoDS-Server. See How to change your Day of Defeat: Source server name.
The value may only contain letters, numbers, and dashes.
Why: an RCON password with other characters, such as a space, a dot or !. Underscores are accepted too. It must be 1 to 30 characters.
Fix: use only letters, digits, - and _.
The value must be 32 characters.
Why: a Steam Game Login Token is always 32 letters and digits. A shorter or longer value is a copy mistake, often a missing character or a space at the end.
Fix: copy the token again from Steam's page and paste it whole.
A setting I changed did nothing
Why: Game Settings apply the next time the server starts. The panel says so after a save: Saved. The server must restart before these take effect.
Fix: click Restart now under that message. Install SourceMod is different: a restart does not install it. After you switch it on, click Update and reinstall to apply in the note that appears. See How to install SourceMod on your Day of Defeat: Source server.
The server name or RCON password is not the one I typed in a file
Why: at every start the panel writes the Server name and RCON password from Settings into its own file, dod/cfg/pnh_autoexec.cfg, and runs it. A second hostname or rcon_password line in dod/cfg/server.cfg competes with it.
Fix: delete the hostname and rcon_password lines from dod/cfg/server.cfg and set both in Settings, Game Settings. Editing pnh_autoexec.cfg does not help: it is written again at every start.
Admins and RCON
My RCON tool cannot log in
Why: the RCON password in Settings is empty, which switches RCON off, or the tool uses a different password or address.
Fix: set an RCON password, restart, and use the Server Address and that password in the tool. The Console tab of the panel never needs it. See How to use the Console and RCON on your Day of Defeat: Source server.
sm_ commands are unknown
Why: SourceMod is not installed. Switching Install SourceMod on and restarting does not install it: it needs Update and reinstall.
Fix: type meta list in the Console. If it is unknown, install SourceMod as described in How to install SourceMod on your Day of Defeat: Source server.
Maps
The map does not change
Why: there is no .bsp file with that name in dod/maps, or the name is misspelled. Map names are typed without .bsp. The Change Map task also drops every character that is not a letter, a digit or _, so a map named with - or . cannot be loaded with it.
Fix: open Files, then dod/maps, and copy the file name without .bsp. For a name with - or ., type changelevel and the name in the Console instead. To add one, see How to add custom maps to your Day of Defeat: Source server.
The server starts on the wrong map
Why: the Map in Settings, Game Settings is loaded at every start and restart, whatever map was played last.
Fix: set the map you want there. See How to change the map on your Day of Defeat: Source server.
Something else? See the Day of Defeat: Source server FAQ or contact support through the website chat or a ticket.
