How to install the community FoF server-list update (2025-02)

Guide for downloading and installing the community-developed server-list update for Fistful of Frags (FoF).

0 - Translations & Revision History

Available Translations:

• Portuguese, not a full translation, but related - graciously provided by: Paralhama
  
• Google Translate (a last resort): Do NOT click the URL below. Copy and paste the text below into your browser! Just clicking the link will NOT work - due to how the Steam Community web-site mangles URLs.
  

  https://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&sl=en&tl=auto&u=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3442390182

Revision History:

NOTE: Latest updates at the top.

Revision Date	Revision Notes
20250317	Added translation information.
20250315	Adjusting alignment of images.
20250313	Initial publication.
20250312	Various grammatical changes.
20250311	Moved credits section closer to the end of the guide (from #3 to #12). Expanded installation section. Expanded credits section. Various grammatical changes.
20250310	Initial creation, pre-publication.

1 - About this update

The purpose of this update it to resolve some issues with the in-game server-list features of Fistful of Frags (FoF).

In particular, the default (developer-supplied / developer-managed) manually-curated list of servers is severely out-of-date.

Currently, two-thirds (2/3) of the information it uses is old / "stale" (e.g. servers that do not exist any more, or have changed IP addresses).

In short, what this update does, is to accomplish this:

2 - Wait, which "server-list"?

Fistful of Frags (FoF) actually has two different lists of servers, which are related but not the same. This can cause some confusion, especially for new players.

These two server-list features are:

• The "Highlighted Server Browser" (or HSB). list.
  
• The "Full" server-list.

Highlighted Server Browser (or HSB):

• This is the screen you see when you first enter the game, showing thumbnail preview images of different maps running on available game-servers. Because of its visual nature (images), this is referred-to as the Highlighted Server Browser (or HSB).
  
• This feature is how most Fistful of Frags (FoF) players find and connect to servers to play the game. This is especially true for those new to the game.
  
• This list is heavily curated to only include select servers that are "known-good" so-to-speak. By default, the behind-the-scenes source for the HSB server-list is only updateable by the game developer directly. Unfortunately, the developer has been effectively missing-in-action for some time.
  
• Consequently, this list has grown very "stale" (out-of-date) over the last couple of years. Two-thirds (2/3) of all the details provided by that list are for servers that no longer exist, or have undergone IP address changes.
  
• This update changes the way that list gets updated - to use a community-managed source for the list (stored in a public GitHub) instead of a hidden URL.

Full Server List ("Find Servers"):

• On the initial screen, there is also a Find Servers option. This will display a more complete list of current Fistful of Frags (FoF) game-servers, but without any map-preview images.
  
• This feature is how many Fistful of Frags (FoF) long-term players find and connect to servers to play the game. In particular the "Favorites" tab is used extensively by experienced players.
  
• That list is also entirely un-curated, and may contain servers that are too electronically distant from you to be playable, or are otherwise problematic.
  
• This update does not alter the way that "Full" server list works in any way.
  
• If you use this feature and like it, please feel free to continue doing-so. I still recommend you apply the update. However, if you rarely use the HSB you may see little benefit.

3 - Prerequisites (things you need before updating)

Things you need to do or know before updating:

• You must already have Fistful of Frags (FoF) installed.
  
• If you have Fistful of Frags (FoF) open, close it.
  
• If you did NOT install FoF to the default location, you must know exactly where you installed it. The default location (on Windows) is typically:
  

  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fistful of Frags

• For example, you might have installed it to a different Steam "Library" on a different hard-drive, resulting in it being installed somewhere such as:
  

  D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Fistful of Frags

NOTE: You may need to be an "Administrator" on your computer to be able to install software.

4 - Where to get the update?

The Windows installation program for the community server-list update for Fistful of Frags (FoF) is hosted in the "Project Spittoon" GitHub[github.com]. Specifically, the current "release" version is available in the "releases" page[github.com].

https://github.com/Mecha-Weasel/spittoon/releases

5 - How to install the update (using the installer)

NOTE: An automated installer program is only available for Windows. For Linux desktop installations, please see notes further in this guide regarding manual installation.

To start the installer program (FoF-Community-Server-List-Update.exe), just double-click on it - in whatever Windows folder you downloaded it to from your web-browser. Typically, this defaults to your "Downloads" folder.

6 - Potential Windows warning

When to try to start the update installer program, Windows may warn that you are trying to run an "unrecognized program" or "unrecognized app", as shown below:

If so, you will need to click the "More info" option, to display the "Run anyway" button to proceed, as shown below:

7 - Update installation prompts

Once you start the installer program, it will prompt you to select a language. This is the language the installer program itself will use, and has no bearing or effect on your existing Fistful of Frags (FoF) installation. Select the language you would like, and/or click the Next button to continue.

---

On the next screen, you have to opportunity to select where your existing Fistful of Frags (FoF) is located. If you have installed to some alternative location (such as a Steam "Library" setup on a secondary drive), use the Browse button to select the "Fistful of Frags" folder. Click Next to continue.

---

If you forgot to exit FoF (or have any other video-game currently running that happens to be based on the same "Source" game-engine) an error will be displayed - giving you an opportunity to switch back to that game and exit it, before continuing with the update installation.

---

If a valid existing Fistful of Frags (FoF) installation is NOT detected at the location you select, an error will be displayed, and the installation of the update will be cancelled. Otherwise, the next screen shown will display the location where the installer is about to apply the update to. Click Next to continue.

---

After the update installation completes, a screen will be displayed indicating so. You may click the Finish to close the installer.

8 - How to use the update

Once the update is successfully installed (either using the installer program or manually), just use Fistful of Frags (FoF) like normal. The only difference you should see is some changes to which servers may appear in the various preview thumbnails shown in the Highlighted Server Browser (HSB) area of the screen.

For example, you may notice some servers that previously were not displayed:

Of course, exactly which servers you see listed will vary greatly based on your location / region, communication rates (pings) to various servers, whether or not a server is full, etc.

Also, you can still play on servers that do not show-up in the HSB at all - by finding them in the "Full" server list, and right-click on them to add them to your "Favorites" tab.

9 - How to uninstall the update (if installed using the installer)

If you installed this update using the Windows installer program, it should show-up in Windows Control Panel, under the "Programs and Features" area - just like any other Windows program.


The update can be uninstalled from there. For additional information, see also the uninstallation notes in the GitHub:

https://github.com/Mecha-Weasel/spittoon/blob/main/FoF-Community-Server-List-Update.md#uninstallation-installer

10 - How to install the update (manually)

To install this update manually (either on Windows without using the installer program, or on a Linux desktop client), please refer to the instructions in the GitHub:

https://github.com/Mecha-Weasel/spittoon/blob/main/FoF-Community-Server-List-Update.md#installation-manual

11 - How to uninstall the update (manually)

If you installed the update manually (either on Windows without using the installer program, or on a Linux desktop client), please refer to the instructions in the GitHub:

https://github.com/Mecha-Weasel/spittoon/blob/main/FoF-Community-Server-List-Update.md#uninstallation-manual

12 - Who created this update?

This update was created by Weasel, with the a lot of assistance from various server operators and/or active players that among the broader Fistful of Frags (FoF) community, including (but not necessarily limited to):

• Weasel (as mentioned above) = A long-time community server operator for FoF (and other games, dating back to 1999).
  
• Judge = A long-time FoF community advocate / community organizer, active player and some-time server operator.
  
• Paralhama = A long-time active FoF player, server operator, and community map contributor.
  
• Wolfgang = A long-time active FoF player.

Speaking of the broader Fistful of Frags (FoF) community, numerous additional players from several Discord-based communities have participated in testing this update, including:

• The "Saloon" (a long-established FoF-supportive community)
  
• The "Salty Spitoon Saloon" (a recently-established community for active FoF advancement).

13 - Additional Information

Links to various additional information are included below:

• The "Project Spittoon" GitHub[github.com]
  
• Information about "Project Spittoon"[github.com]
  
• Information about this HSB server list update[github.com]
  
• Information about the (related) HSB thumbnail previews update[github.com]
  
• Frequently-Asked-Questions (FAQ)[github.com]

FYI: Anyone is welcome to plagiarize this guide as desired, to make alternative versions in different languages, or fulfill other needs.