How To Make A Private TF2 Server With Your Friends! Including Playing With Bots!

Hello! This is me CFalcon075 here and I will be showing you how to make a TF2 server with your friends privately! Without using LogMeIn Hamachi or using the "Create Server" button.

This guide might be complicated for some people but take aware of this, this guide requires only one asset for you to be able to do this.
* - Knowing how to port forward.

That's all on what you should have in your knowledge, if you don't know how to port forward please Google this up or search this up on any search engine you use.

This guide doesn't teach you how to make a dedicated server or using SteamCMD, it doesn't teach you how to use LogMeIn Hamachi either. This guide is the total opposite and it should work just fine if you follow all steps and know what you're doing.

---Port Forward Instructions---

This is what you have to do when you port forward. So what you wanna do in order for any of this to work like magic is you have to have to set the TCP and UDP to this port number: 27015.

All else will fail just keep it simple and use 27015. That is the main TCP/UDP ports that TF2 uses. So use that at all costs.

Basically this tutorial is using in-game hosting, if you don't like in-game hosting then I'd completely suggest you to use your own dedicated server using SteamCMD.

BEFORE READING ANY OF THIS, I HAVE AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE.

Please be aware that this guide doesn't teach you at all how to port forward, it shows you how to setup an assignment for TCP/UDP and everything else besides knowing port forwarding. So please, learn how to port forward and don't come to the guide unless you fully understand what you're doing since we all make mistakes. You might not get the gist of the guide since a lot of this takes your brain and it makes you brainstorm a lot. If you don't know what to do, you could be lead the wrong direction/path and then not knowing what to do and then you might be very confused.

So read closely on what I am going to give to you guys to learn how to make a private server with friends without using a dedicated server like SteamCMD and or LogMeIn Hamachi.

---All Steps Provided---

These are all of the steps that I have provided down below to help you setup your server!

1. Once you're ready to launch the game go ahead and launch it.

2. Then once the game is done loading for you hit the ~ key on your keyboard to enable the developer console. This will allow you to setup your server.

3. Type in the following so that way your friend can join without a LAN network: sv_lan 0.

(Remember to do step 3 every time you launch the game, because it turns itself back on.)

4. Then once you've done that type in the following: maxplayers (whatever amount you want to set it to like for an example: 12, 24, 36, 6, and 8 or any amount it doesn't matter).

5. So then once you've done those you gotta type in the following: map (whatever map you wanna choose, and if you want to play with bots. That's gonna be a hard part, they're programmed to be played at the maps you see in training. So other maps don't work besides the training maps, so I'd suggest for any custom maps you have to skip step 7 and look for the extra steps provided.)

6. The next thing you gotta do after setting up the selected map on your server, you then will be greeted by your TF2 server! Then you'll have to add bots, you'll have to type in this command in the developer console: tf_bot_quota (Insert the amount of how many bots you want in there, the suggested amount of bots should be 12-24. 24 Is the maximum amount of bots you can add in your server.)

7. Then once you have your server all the way setup let's tell our friend on either Steam chat or Discord how to join!

---How To Make Your Friend Join The Said Server---

This is how you make your friend join the said server, like said in the title. The first thing you gotta do is find your IP address; don't worry if you don't know your IP address, there is a simple website that'll show you your IP address! It is this website right here, just click the following link:

https://whatismyipaddress.com/

Then once you see your IPv4 address please copy and paste that IPv4 address into notepad. Then what you're going to do is you're going to do this in notepad then type this in for example with the IPv4 address: connect 84.10.27.103:27015

So, basically you need to type a colon after your given IPv4 address since that is the TCP/UDP port that you got there that was explained before. The 27015 UDP/TCP port. And the word connect is self-explanatory really. This helps you connect to the said server that you had just setup.

What you need to do now is copy and paste the "connect 84.10.27.103:27015" in your friend's chat and make them go into developer console. Tell them to paste the "connect EXAMPLEIPADDRESS:27015" in their console then they will be able to hit enter/return on their keyboard and then they should be able to join the server with nothing wrong happening!

This should be able to work! It should be able to work correctly, but if it doesn't please contact me for some TF2 support and I will be able to add you as a friend on Steam and talk you out through this and explain it a little bit better than what I have already done on this guide. Yet again you need some knowledge on knowing how to get into port-forwarding.

It is very simple to know what to do first and foremost if you know how to port forward. Sadly this guide doesn't show how to port forward since it is a lot of explaining to do. A LOT OF EXPLAINING.

---EXTRA STEPS---

How To Make Bots Work In Custom Maps/Unsupported Maps: Firstly you have to download the custom map, if you have no idea on how to download a custom map, I'd suggest watching this YouTube video here:

After you're done watching this please read the following: You have to then do step 5. Again, PLEASE check every time before you launch any map if you just booted into the game, remember to change sv_lan 1 to 0!

Then, you're going to do step 6 and 7. Then you want to go in the custom map or whatever unsupported map, you need to do "sv_cheats 1" in the console with the ~ console key, then you want to type the following: "nav_generate"

Then it will go ahead and build a navigation mesh for the bots to roam around your map, then what you want to do is wait for it to load, and then it should restart your game, then you can invite your friends to play! Or unless you want to only do singleplayer on the custom map or whatever, the choice is yours!

Please like, share and favorite this guide!

[✠CFalcon075✠]

@Annihilus You're very welcome!

[Ghost Rider]

Thank u so much!