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github-actions[bot] edited this page Sep 11, 2026 · 2 revisions

Quake 2

This guide covers the q2server module in AlphaGSM.

q2server is currently PASSED on the documented Ubuntu 24.04 Linux baseline. The checked-in GitHub validation path for this server currently follows the native Linux direct-download and source-build Yamagi Quake II lifecycle, with demo baseq2 content and Quake II status validation.

Requirements

  • gcc
  • make
  • screen
  • Python packages from requirements.txt

Quick Start

Create the server:

alphagsm myq2server create q2server

Run setup:

alphagsm myq2server setup

Start it:

alphagsm myq2server start

Check it:

alphagsm myq2server status

Stop it:

alphagsm myq2server stop

Setup Details

Setup configures:

  • the game port (default 27910)
  • the install directory
  • downloads the official Yamagi Quake II source archive and builds release/q2ded
  • builds release/baseq2/game.so
  • bootstraps the official Quake II demo baseq2 data so a fresh install can start anonymously
  • uses demo1 as the default start map on fresh demo-backed installs

AlphaGSM launches Yamagi with -portable, keeping generated server data in the installation directory for both process and Docker runtimes. This avoids startup failures when the operating-system user's XDG data directory does not exist or is not writable. CI validation of this startup fix is pending.

Useful Commands

alphagsm myq2server update
alphagsm myq2server backup
alphagsm myq2server set servername "AlphaGSM Q2"
alphagsm myq2server set gamedir custom
alphagsm myq2server set map demo2

set servername, set gamedir, and set map rewrite <gamedir>/server.cfg immediately through the schema-backed config-sync path.

If you later add the full retail baseq2/pak0.pak content, you can switch to retail multiplayer maps such as q2dm1 with set map q2dm1.

Notes

  • Module name: q2server
  • Default port: 27910
  • Fresh-install default map: demo1

Server variables

After create q2server, inspect or change these with set:

alphagsm myserver set --list
alphagsm myserver set KEY --describe
alphagsm myserver set KEY VALUE
Key Aliases Type What it does
dir — string Install directory for the server.
download_mode — string How the server should be installed.
download_name — string Cached archive filename.
exe_name — string Server executable filename.
gamedir game string The active Quake 2 game directory. Example: baseq3.
hostname servername, name string The advertised server name.
port gameport integer The game port for the server. Example: 27960.
startmap map, gamemap, level, world string The startup map.
url — string Download URL for the server archive.
version — string Requested upstream release version.

Developer Notes

Run File

  • Executable: release/q2ded
  • Location: <install_dir>/release/q2ded
  • Engine: Custom

Server Configuration

  • Config file: <gamedir>/server.cfg (default baseq2/server.cfg)
  • Schema-backed sync: AlphaGSM keeps hostname, gamedir, and startmap aligned with set
  • Template: See server-templates/q2server/ if available

Maps and Mods

  • Map directory: <install_dir>/<gamedir>/
  • Mod directory: <install_dir>/<gamedir>/
  • Workshop support: No
  • Fresh install content: AlphaGSM stages the official Quake II demo baseq2 data so anonymous installs can start and answer query/info without retail files

Mod Sources

Quake 2 supports AlphaGSM-managed direct url mod sources for content-only .pak payloads.

Supported payload shapes:

  • a direct .pak URL
  • an archive containing bare .pak files at the archive root
  • an archive containing <gamedir>/<name>.pak

AlphaGSM installs approved .pak content into the active gamedir, tracks only the files it owns, and adds that active content directory to the managed backup targets.

Examples:

alphagsm myq2server mod add url https://example.com/pak1.pak
alphagsm myq2server mod add url https://example.com/custom-content.zip
alphagsm myq2server mod apply
alphagsm myq2server mod cleanup

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