Tutorials

Metamod is the GoldSrc plugin loader that sits between the engine and the game DLL, letting AMX Mod X and other plugins hook the mod without patching cs.so, plus how liblist.gam and plugins.ini wire it in.

How to configure Valve Hammer Editor 3.5 for Counter-Strike 1.6: game configuration, the FGD, the WAD list, the ZHLT/VHLT compile tools, and the run map paths.

How to build a GoldSrc texture WAD in Wally: the 16-color-per-transparency rules, the 16-pixel dimension requirement, blue transparency and {\ textures, and getting the WAD into your map without the missing-texture error.

Install SteamCMD on Linux and use app_update 90 to download a CS 1.6 dedicated server, including the 32-bit libraries people forget.

Install dproto to admit non-Steam clients on an original HLDS server, configure it through dproto.cfg, and understand how it differs from Reunion on ReHLDS.

A curated, opinionated set of AMX Mod X plugins every new public CS 1.6 server should run: admin control, map voting, stats, adverts, name filtering and basic anti-abuse, with load order.

The channels that actually bring CS 1.6 players to a new server: community forums, Discord, toplists and trackers, and how to post the connect link so it converts instead of getting deleted.

An honest look at where CS 1.6's remaining population actually is in 2026, why the numbers are hard to count, which regions and mods still thrive, and what that means if you want to run a server.

How to migrate a CS 1.6 server to a new IP without losing your regulars, using a redirect on the old address, favorites, and re-registration in the master list.

What the SVC_BAD network error means, why a plugin writing malformed messages is almost always the cause, and how to find and disable the offending plugin.

Why the whole server stalls the instant a plugin touches MySQL, the difference between blocking and threaded SQLX queries, how SQL_ThreadQuery avoids the freeze, and how to spot the offending plugin.

Why a server loops one map forever, the mp_timelimit-is-zero trap, how mapcycle.txt and the nextmap plugin decide what comes next, and pointing the engine at the right cycle file.