Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 remains a popular first-person shooter, and for players wanting a customized multiplayer experience, hosting your own dedicated server is the way to go. Running your server as a Windows service using FireDaemon Pro provides significant advantages, ensuring your server is automatically launched at system boot, operates reliably in the background, and can be easily managed. This guide will walk you through setting up your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 dedicated server as a Windows service using FireDaemon Pro, allowing for a seamless and robust server hosting experience. While the process detailed here focuses on enhancing your server setup with FireDaemon Pro, understanding the initial game installation is crucial.
Step 1: Setting Up Your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Dedicated Server
The first step is to get the dedicated server files for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. These are available through Steam. It’s recommended to use a separate Steam account for your server, especially if you’re installing it on a different machine. This avoids being logged out of your primary Steam account when the server updates or downloads files.
If you don’t already have Steam installed, download and install it from here. If you need to create a new Steam account for your server, you can do so here. Keep your chosen username and password handy. If you’re using an existing Steam account, proceed to the next step.
Once Steam is installed and you’re logged in, navigate to the “Library” section at the top of the Steam window. Underneath “Library”, you’ll see a dropdown menu, typically set to “Games”. Click this and change it to “Tools”.
In the “Tools” list, find “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Dedicated Server”. Right-click on it and select “Install Game…” from the context menu. Click “Next” on the installation window.
Be aware that the server files are substantial, around 14GB, so the download may take some time depending on your internet connection. Steam will provide an estimated download time. After the download completes, it’s important to run the server application once. This initial run extracts necessary files and ensures the server is set up correctly for subsequent starts. You can close the server once it launches and you see the “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Dedicated Server” logo appear in its window.
Configuration for your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 server is managed through the server.cfg file and recipe files. These are located in the directory: C:Program Files (x86)Steamsteamappscommoncall of duty modern warfare 3admin. Modify these files to customize your server settings, such as server name, map rotation, and player limits.
Step 2: Installing FireDaemon Pro
Now that your dedicated server files are set up, the next step is to install FireDaemon Pro to manage the server as a Windows service.
- Download the FireDaemon Pro installer from the official website: FireDaemon Pro Download.
- Locate the downloaded installer and double-click it to begin the installation process. Follow the on-screen instructions in the installation wizard to complete the installation.
- For detailed guidance on installing FireDaemon Pro, you can refer to the comprehensive FireDaemon Pro User Guide.
Step 3: Configuring Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Server as a FireDaemon Pro Service
With FireDaemon Pro installed, you can now configure your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 server to run as a service.
Launch the FireDaemon Pro GUI, which you can find via a desktop shortcut. Click the “Create a new service definition” button on the toolbar (or press Ctrl+N). Fill in the service details as shown in the example below, adjusting the file paths to match your specific installation location. Pay close attention to the “Parameters” field, as these are crucial for server startup.
The “Parameters” field is key for defining your server’s initial settings. The essential parameters are:
+start_map_rotate +set sv_maprotation map_rotationLet’s break down these parameters:
- +start_map_rotate: This command initiates the server and begins map rotation.
- +set sv_maprotation map_rotation: This sets the map rotation for your server. Replace map_rotation with the name of your desired map rotation configuration file (e.g., “default”, “custom_rotation”).
Next, navigate to the “Settings” tab in FireDaemon Pro. If you prefer the dedicated server to run in the background without a visible window, uncheck “Interact with Desktop” and select “Hidden” from the “Show Window” dropdown menu. For security and permissions, you can specify a user account to run the service as. In the “Logon Account” field, enter the username (e.g., your Administrator account), and then type the user’s password in the “Password” and “Confirm” fields. The “Process Priority” setting allows you to allocate more CPU resources to the server, and “CPU Affinity” lets you specify which processor cores the server will utilize, which can be beneficial on multi-core systems.
Move to the “Lifecycle” tab. For reliable server shutdown, it is recommended to select “Shutdown By Forceful Termination”. This ensures the server service stops even if it is unresponsive during shutdown.
Finally, click “OK” to save your configuration and start your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 server as a FireDaemon Pro service! The game server will now be running in the background as a Windows service, typically on Session 0.
Step 4: Verifying Server Operation
To confirm that your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 server is running correctly as a FireDaemon Pro service, check the FireDaemon Pro Services List. Look for your newly created service and ensure the “Status” column shows “Running” and that a numeric Process ID (PID) is listed.
Step 5: Checking Network Ports
To ensure your server is accessible to players, you need to verify that it’s listening on the correct network ports and that your firewall and router are configured accordingly.
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Locate the Process ID (PID) of your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 service from the FireDaemon Pro Services List.
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Open Command Prompt as an Administrator.
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Run the following command, replacing
<pid>with the PID you noted:netstat -anob | find "<pid>"This command will display the network ports that the game server process is currently listening on. You’ll need to configure your Windows Firewall and your router (if applicable) to forward traffic on these ports to your server’s machine. You should see output similar to the example below, listing the ports in use by the server.
Example Server Configuration File (mp-server.cfg)
Below is an example of an mp-server.cfg configuration file, which you can customize for your server settings:
// Modern Warfare 3 Server Configuration
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Server command-line parameters (this section is for documentation only)
// Specify server configuration file (this file)
//+set sv_config "filename" (default "server.cfg")
// Specify server visibility (1 = LAN, 2 = Internet (default) )
//+set dedicated 1
// Open game port (Steam-visible server game port)
//+set net_queryPort 27014
// Secure game port
//+set net_port 27015
// Steam authentication port
//+set net_authPort 8766
// Steam master server (server browser) port
//+set net_masterServerPort 27016
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Server.cfg-configurable settings
// Server host name. This should always be set by the server admin.
seta sv_hostname "Modern Warfare 3 Server"
// Dedicated server play list (DSPL) specifying server map rotation.
// Valid game options are controlled via DSR (dedicated server recipe) specified in the DSPL.
seta sv_maprotation "default"
// Maximum number of clients that may connect to this server (range 1-18)
seta sv_maxclients 16
// Server password. If set, users will be prompted on join attempt.
seta g_password ""
// Maximum number of private clients allowed on the server (range 0-18 (clamped to sv_maxclients) )
seta sv_privateClients 0
// Password for the private slots on this server. If set, users will be prompted on join attempt.
// Users providing this password will have access to all slots.
// Users providing an incorrect password will have access to the (sv_maxClients - sv_privateClients) public slots.
seta sv_privatePassword ""
// Remote console password. If set, users will have access to a remote console, allowing server administration from a connected client.
seta rcon_password ""
// Server voice chat configuration ( 0 = "No Chat", 1 = "Free Chat", 2 = "Team Chat" (default) )
seta sv_voice 2
// Toggle voting for [player kick/map restart/next map] (0 or 1 (default) )
seta g_allowVote 1
// Toggle allowing dead players to chat with living players (0 (default) or 1)
seta g_deadChat 0
// Time in seconds before the server will kick a user for inactivity (range 0 - 10000)
seta g_inactivity 120
// Time in seconds for a player temporary ban (on kick/tempban) (range 0 - 3600)
seta sv_kickBanTime 300
// Toggle flood protection (throttling of user commands - should be enabled for non-password-protected Internet servers) (0 or 1 (default))
seta sv_floodProtect 1By following these steps, you’ve successfully configured your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 dedicated server to run as a Windows service using FireDaemon Pro. This ensures your server is always available, running in the background, and easily manageable, providing a superior hosting experience for you and your players. Explore the advanced features of FireDaemon Pro to further customize and optimize your game server environment.
