Creating a Listen "LAN" Server in CS:GO

A short, step-by-step guide to help a small LAN party host create a local CS:GO server for him/her and his/her guests to play on.

Photo Credit: The author of this photo has released it to the public domain, but can be found here:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEthernetCableGreen.jpg

I. The Premise of This Guide

This guide will help serve any prospective LAN party host create a local CS:GO server to play with friends who are with him @ LAN. It's an entry-level guide that will not go too in-depth on the finer points of the process, but should suffice for any host looking to easily create a CS:GO LAN server.

You are encouraged to read beyond this guide to adjust the server to your needs, but if you have the resources, I'd recommend creating a separate, dedicated server to accompany your LAN for several reasons.

• A dedicated server (i.e. a computer separate to the one running your CS:GO client) will very likely have more CPU resources to expend than your client computer as your client computer is all ready expending CPU (and GPU) resources running the game. With more CPU resources available, the likelihood of perceived "lag" formed as a result of task overload on the CPU at any moment in the game will be reduced (and very likely zero).
  
  
• With a dedicated server, one has more granular control over the server's behavior (while using FTP is unnecessary, though who've used it to remotely host a server for any Source-based game has experienced the heightened level of control granted to its owner compared to controlling it constantly through the console line).
  
  
• Lastly, depending on the cables used, a dedicated server will have its own connection, and will give your own connection to your switch some "breathing" room so as to prevent saturation and bottlenecking. However, the most commonly sold Ethernet cables very likely will have plenty of room to begin with; ergo, be sure to check the category of all your cables (e.g. Cat. 5E and Cat. 6 are essentially ubiquitous in the networking sphere as of 5/30/15, and both standards offer a very high transfer speed to more quickly send data and prevent bottlenecks).

II. Minimum Requirements

While not quantitative, for your server to be at its best (which is marked by an absence of your guests reporting problems), you'll need the following:

1. Your computer needs to be connected to your switch over Ethernet (i.e. a wired connection)
   
   
2. Your computer should have a CPU strong enough to run your CS:GO client and the local server simultaneously (expect the combined load to be quite demanding for older computers and a breeze for computers built today using "mainstream" gaming hardware).
   
   Tip: If that's not possible and you're on a budget, remember to lower your video settings to a comfortable level that can run both the server and the client as well as add the "-high" tag to your Launch Options
   
   (Right Click the CS:GO title in your Steam Library, hit "Properties," and look for "Set Launch Options" in the menu.)
   
   
3. An up-to-date CS:GO client (Tip: ask your guests to update and/or download CS:GO before they arrive to maximize playtime)
   
   
4. An enabled developer console (Game Settings -> Enable Developer Console {bound to the ` / ~ key [should be just below the Escape key on nearly all keyboards] by default})

III. The Setup

You:

1. Load CS:GO as you normally would.
   
   
2. Click the "Play" tab and click "Offline with Bots."
   
   
3. Select the game-mode you want (for the sake of argument, I'll set up a Competitive game).
   
   
4. Select the map you want to play (in Competitive, the map will reload itself after a game is completed).
   
   
5. Select an appropriate difficulty for the Bot players (if you want to play with only your friends, select "No Bots") and click "Go" when ready.
   
   
6. Wait for the team selection screen to load, and then pick the team you want to play.
   
   
7. In the developer console, set the convar sv_lan to 1.
   
   
8. Type "status" into your developer console and look for the "udp/ip" line (it should be a string of numbers resembling 192.168.#.#). Share this number with your friends.

Them:

1. If they haven't done so all ready, have them enable the Developer Console.
   
   
2. When finished, ask them to type "connect [The IP you gave them]". Notice the space between "connect" and the IP;
   
   Tip: It is normal, if done properly, for the loading screen to not change to the map loading screen for a few seconds. The error "Connection failed after 5 retries" should appear if done incorrectly (which is attributed to a bad IP; this guide does not cover this issue).
   
   
3. If done correctly, the map loading screen should appear, indicating that the connection was successful.

Finally, for both parties: have fun.

IV. Conclusion

With that process out of the way, enjoy your "home-made" CS:GO LAN server. With it, you can do things like 3v3 games in a comp atmosphere, try to do 1v5 against an outstanding player in the group, and more.

If you have any questions or encounter any problems, you are encouraged to dive into the Web for your answers, which can offer more in-depth help on the finer points or the troubleshooting aspects of running such a server.

Just remember that, on a closing note, because your server is on LAN, you can do the following things:

• Practice strats and tactics under the same roof.
  
• Minimize the amount of unfair misses by way of ping difference (all players should definitely get less than 10 ms ping, and will usually have 5 ms ping reported to the server [for comparison, 5 ms is half the time it'd take for an adequately adept person to start and then stop a stopwatch in succession].
  
• Maximize your bragging rights for landing those weird trickshots you wouldn't have otherwise done to your friends in CS:GO (e.g. a Five-Seven 180 to the head).
  
• Most importantly: not have to worry about port forwarding

[silly_Pros]

doesn't work

[scooty]

It works, but my friend still has about 100 ping

[chunghwahardpack]

It doesn't work for me, I followed the instrustions as it was written and I sent the ip that was shown and it didn't work. This is annoying. Please help!

[BH]

dose it also require steam ?

[Zazer]

Sometimes I get an IP of 0.0.0.0.X, and my friends can't join, while other times it works fine and I get a normal IP. Any way to fix this?

[✪ fōrg | cs.money]

<3

[Kenny's]

Got it ... working perectly for me .... thanks

[SxN]

I have a network with 20 computers, they are in the same network, all have cs go installed , i put in one computer to be a server , before works , now when i select the mode and the map, when i'm the game, i open de console and type "sv_lan 1" , before the computers can connect to the server, now they can't , cuz shows a error "Failed to connect to the game server. This game server restricts clients to connect from a internal local area network only". Can u help me to fix this?

[PáR1S]

i did that with a friend, and he keept getting +100 ping after a while.. any help ? thx

[Sanji]

Thanks Man !🎉