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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.
  2. Select your Quake 3 Arena server.
  3. In the sidebar click on Management > File Manager.
  4. Select the baseq3 folder.
  5. 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 ModeConfig
Defaultmappool.txt
FFAmappool_ffa.txt
Clan Arenamappool_ca.txt
Capture the Flagmappool_ctf.txt
Duelmappool_duel.txt
Racemappool_race.txt
Team Deathmatchmappool_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.