How To Setup A Quake Live Map Pool

A crucial part of customizing your Quake Live server on Game Host Bros is setting up a specific map pool. This guide explains how to configure your map pool and, if desired, lock your server to a single gametype.

Accessing The mappool.txt File

1. Access the Game Host Bros Panel and select your Quake 3 Arena server.
2. In the sidebar click on Management > File Manager.
3. Select the baseq3 folder.
4. Open the mappool.txt file.

By default there are some pre-configured mappool files for you to use. They can be changed by setting Map Pool in Configuration > Startup Parameters to one of the files below.

Game Mode	Config
Default	mappool.txt
FFA	mappool_ffa.txt
Clan Arena	mappool_ca.txt
Capture the Flag	mappool_ctf.txt
Duel	mappool_duel.txt
Race	mappool_race.txt
Team Deathmatch	mappool_tdm.txt

Understanding Map Pool Entries

The mappool.txt file determines the maps available for play on the server.

• Entries follow the format: map|factory
  • ‘map’ refers to the map name.
  • ‘factory’ refers to the game type or rule set for that map.

Ensure each map|factory pair is on its own line. Refer to the default ‘mappool.txt’ provided for examples. If you’re using custom factories (custom game settings/rules), specify them in the ‘mappool.txt’ file. Properly configured, these will appear in the map voting system at each game’s end.

You can specify a different map pool file by setting Map Pool in Configuration > Startup Parameters to the path of your custom map pool file. Simply make a copy of the default map pool file and rename it.

Locking Server to a Single Gametype

If you prefer to keep your server dedicated to one game type (e.g., Duel), ensure your ‘mappool.txt’ contains only maps from the desired factory. Add 8 to g_voteFlags in your server.cfg file. This adjustment disables the “callvote map” option’s factory argument, locking in the gametype.