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**Hosting a Listen Server**
To host a listen server on Northstar, go to the lobby and press the `Private Match` button to begin a private match.
While this does allow you to host a server, other people won't be able to join it, so you'll need to port forward 2 ports to allow other people to join.
The ports you'll need to forward are 37015-37020 UDP, and 8081 TCP by default, if this works as it should, this should result in your server being displayed on the server browser, and other clients being able to connect to it.
**Hosting a Dedicated Server**
Dedicated servers allow you to host a Northstar server without having to use a full client, making them more lightweight and easier to host for longer periods of time. Dedicated servers are still in development for Northstar, so while they do work, expect some bugs and general jank.
To start a dedicated server on Northstar, launch NorthstarLauncher.exe with the argument `-dedicated`, this can be done manually, but releases also provide the batch file `r2ds.bat`, which will also do this.
When using a dedicated server, arguments are read from `ns_startup_args_dedi.txt`, rather than `ns_startup_args.txt`.
**Dedicated Server Caveats**
At the moment, dedicated servers still require DirectX 11 to work, which typically requires a physical GPU, though they use almost no GPU processing power while in use, this can be an issue especially on GPU-less setups, so the launch argument `-softwared3d11` can be used to force DirectX to run in software mode.
While this is absolutely not ideal, it's the best solution for truely headless dedicated servers at the moment, and surprisingly hardly uses any CPU time, though it can use roughly up to 1GB of RAM.
Regarding RAM usage, dedicated servers also use significant amounts of RAM at the moment, often requiring 1.5-2GB, though I expect this to lower as development continues.
**Server Configuration**
Whether you're running a listen or dedicated server, you'll generally want to mess with the configuration at least a bit. While I do think the default configuration settings are pretty ok, being able to change your server's name or password, or increasing your server's tickrate is often something you'll want to do. Server configuration can be modified in the file `R2Northstar/mods/Northstar.CustomServers/mod/cfg/autoexec_ns_server.cfg`, which will be executed on server startup.
Below are a series of variables and commands you can use for server configuration:
| Name | Description | Default Value |
| ---- | ----------- | ------------- |
| `ns_server_name` | Your server's name on the server browser | `"Unnamed Northstar Server"` |
| `ns_server_desc` | Your server's description on the server browser | `"Default server description"` |
| `ns_server_password` | The password required to join your server, can be bypassed if clients directly connect and you are using insecure auth | `""` |
| `ns_report_server_to_masterserver` | Whether your server should report itself to the masterserver, for use in auth and the serverbrowser | `1` |
| `ns_report_sp_server_to_masterserver` | Whether your server should report itself to the masterserver if started on a singleplayer map, for use in auth and the serverbrowser | `0` |
| `ns_auth_allow_insecure` | Allows clients to join your server without authenticating with the masterserver, currently required to allow clients to connect directly to your IP, rather than through the server browser | `0` |
| `ns_erase_auth_info` | Whether your server should erase authentication information after it is used, this is useful for development but should normally be kept at 1 | `1` |
| `ns_player_auth_port` | The port used for the server's local authentication server, this is the TCP port we forwarded earlier | `8081` |
| `everything_unlocked` | Whether all items, weapons, etc should be unlocked on the server | `1` |
| `ns_should_return_to_lobby` | Whether the server should return to private match lobby after completing a game, if 0, this will go to the next map/mode in the playlist | `1` |
| `ns_should_log_unknown_clientcommands` | Whether unknown clientcommands should be printed in the console, worth disabling if they get on your nerves | `1` |
| `net_chan_limit_mode` | If 0, don't limit the netchannel processing time individual clients are allowed. If 1, kick clients that go over the limit. If 2, log clients that go over the limit in console | `2` |
| `net_chan_limit_msec_per_sec` | The number of milliseconds of server netchan processing time clients can use per second before triggering the response set in net_chan_limit_mode | `30` |
| `base_tickinterval_mp` | The delay between each tick ran on the server, your tickrate will be 1 divided by this value | `0.016666667` |
| `sv_updaterate_mp` | The maximum number of times per second your server will send information to connected players, if a player's cl_updaterate_mp value is lower than this, their rate will be limited to it | `20` |
| `sv_max_snapshots_multiplayer` | The number of snapshots stored locally for use in replays, this should be set to sv_updaterate_mp * 15 | `300` |
| `host_skip_client_dll_crc` | Whether the server should allow clients with modified client.dll files to connect, these are used for visor colour edit mods | `1` |
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