How to add custom maps to your Sven Co-op server

To add a custom map to a Sven Co-op server on PlayNHost, upload the map's archive to the svencoop_addon folder on the Files tab, tick it and click Unzip, then load the map with changelevel in the Console. The official wiki says custom content belongs in svencoop_addon, never in the svencoop folder.

Add the map

1. Download the map's archive to your computer. Most Sven Co-op maps are on scmapdb.com, a community map database the official manual links to. It is not run by the Sven Co-op team.
2. Open your server in the panel and click the Files tab.
3. Open the svencoop_addon folder. If it is not there, click Create Directory and name it svencoop_addon.
4. Click Upload and pick the archive, or drag it onto the page. Wait for the upload to finish.
5. Tick the archive and click Unzip in the bar that appears. The files land in svencoop_addon.
6. Open the folders that came out and check that the map file is at svencoop_addon/maps/<name>.bsp. Then delete the archive to keep the folder tidy.
7. Click the Console tab and type changelevel and the map name, for example changelevel mymap for svencoop_addon/maps/mymap.bsp. Wait for Started map "mymap".

The file manager unzips .zip, .rar and .7z archives. It does not upload whole folders: upload an archive and unzip it, or use SFTP: How to connect to your server files with SFTP.

What should the folders look like?

The Sven Co-op wiki describes a well packed map:

• The archive holds folders such as maps, models, sound, sprites, gfx and scripts, often with .wad files. They all go straight into svencoop_addon, so the map file ends up at svencoop_addon/maps/<name>.bsp.
• An archive with only a .bsp file, and maybe a few .txt or .cfg files, goes into svencoop_addon/maps.
• An archive that holds a single svencoop folder: move what is inside that folder into svencoop_addon instead.
• A scripts folder should hold only a maps folder. The wiki calls anything else in it suspicious: do not keep it.

Do players need to download the map?

Players who do not have the map download it from your server when they join. The official manual lists sv_allowdownload with a default of 1, "Allow players to download custom content from your server". The manual's faster option is sv_downloadurl, a web address where the same files are kept "so players can download it very fast", which it calls "essential to get players onto your server while it's running non-standard maps". It needs a separate web host with the same files.

How do I add the map to the map vote?

Players can vote only for maps listed in svencoop/mapvote.cfg. Open it on the Files tab, add your map, and click Save content. Keep the list under 200 maps: the official manual warns that "Exceeding 200 maps may prevent players joining due to "reliable channel overflowed"!"

How do I make it the starting map?

Type its name in Default Map in Settings, Game Settings, and restart. See How to change the map on your Sven Co-op server.

How do I remove a custom map?

Delete its files from svencoop_addon on the Files tab: at least maps/<name>.bsp, plus its own models, sounds and sprites if no other map uses them. Take a backup first so you can put them back: How to back up and restore your Sven Co-op server.

More on the file manager: How to upload, edit and manage your server files.