Open Game Panel / News: Recent posts

I finally got an XP test machine built for testing hldstart. XP and it's version of IIS is much different than on Windows 2000, so testing on it was a must. I have found many permissions problems when trying to write to files and run various exe's. While it's pretty solid on Win 2000, but I want to shake out some of the troubles on XP before I release it, also I will be out of the country on vacation all next week. This version will be out soon though, I promise. Thanks everyone.

Development is ending for this version, as I would like to get it out sooner than later so Win32 users can start working with it. The steam client webgui is working very well under Linux/Apache, Windows 2K/Apache, and Windows 2K/IIS. It will do a complete install of any steam/hldsupdatetool supported game. There is still a minor problem with the hlds server startup under IIS. Once that is fixed, testing will start on all platforms. I hope to release version 1.4 in the next few weeks.
hldStart is a control panel for Half-life and Source dedicated servers. It can start and stop servers, as well as manage mapcycle files, logs, and monitor server statuses.

The next version of Half-Life control panel is now under development, with some great advancements already. The steam web gui is under way and working very well. During testing, Counter-Strike dedicated server was installed using the control panel's steam gui, then started using the control panel right after the install was done. I never even had to open a shell. More updates to come.

Testing for hldStart on Win32 platform has begun. The test device is a Windows 2000 machine with Apache 1.3.33 and PHP 4.3.11 as a module, not CGI. Every feature of hldStart works except for starting and stopping of the hlds instance. This is due to how the programs start and stop hlds/srcds. Unix specific commands and POSIX php fuctions are used (which don't work on Win32) The next version of hldStart will have Win32 server start/stop capabilities. (At least start). For now, Win32 users can enjoy the rest of hldStart Control Panel's features.

hldStart-v1.3.2 is here! Visit http://www.gamehound.net/~hldstart/ for the download and documentation. Thanks for using hldStart.

This release has fixes for better HL2:Source support. A logout link has been added to end the session. A shell script has been created for setting permissions on all necessary files and directories. Testing has begun on this version and should be complete and a couple of weeks.

This new version now works with PHP "Register Global Variables" On or Off. There is also a new login system, that is modeled after the Unix passwd file. It allows for multiple users of hldStart, who can also have different paths to their hlds server installations. There are also some fixes to work with Source/Half-life2 servers. This version will start them, but doesn't report their status correctly, those fixes will be in the next version.
Hldstart is a php based web control panel for Half-life based game servers.
Visit http://www.gamehound.net/~hldstart/ for more information.

This next version of HLDS control panel has some significant changes. One change is that it will now run with php "global variables" Off as well as On. Also, the login system has been updated and is much better. It is modeled after the Unix passwd file, and hldStart now has a gui page for adding and removing users. With this new login system, you can specify each user's path to the hlds installation. This release will also work with CS:source server, but it is not completely functional or supported. More info to come!
http://www.gamehound.net/~hldstart/

Development and Testing is complete on hldStart v1.3 and it is ready for download - just in time for my 25th birthday! This release has a few new features as well as some improvements. Read more in the release notes: http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=288163
Thanks for using hldStart, please visit it's home page at http://www.gamehound.net/~hldstart/

Development of hldStart v1.3 is complete and is looking very good. It is not quite ready for it's December 1st release date however, another week or so of testing is needed before I am confident to release it. The steam web gui did not make it into this version, it will hopefully be out in the next version. Logfile administrator, email notify list, server monitoring, and hldStart activity logging are all complete and will be included in v1.3. Visit http://www.gamehound.net/~hldstart/ for more info.

Development has begun on hldStart v1.3. This release will include some new tools, such as a log administrator, action logging, a web GUI for steam, and the capability to stop a running hlds instance.
Log administrator will allow users who have logging enabled on their hlds server to view the build up of logs and delete or archive logs that are older than a defined number of days.
Activity logging is simply logging for the hldstart application. Events such as successful and failed logins, map editing activities, log purging activites, and when an hlds instance has been started.
Steam will have a web gui as well, allowing users to update games from a form driven web interface.
I am hoping to have hldStart v1.3 completed by December 1, 2004. Visit the hldStart home page at http://www.gamehound.net/~hldstart/

hldStart v1.2.1 is now available! This release features Mapcycle Administrator v1.0. Mapcycle administrator is an easy to use web application that allows users to edit mapcycle files in a simple point and click manner. Manual text editing is also available. Other changes include some "under the hood" changes to the login system, nothing visible to the user. HldStart is a web application for starting an hlds server from a php web page. Vist http://www.gamehound.net/~hldstart/ for more info.

This is the first release of hldStart on Sourceforge.net. Before it was hosted here, the 1st version was being hosted off of gamehound.net.
This new version (v1.2) of hldStart is much better than before. Some of the improvements include much less CPU usage in the startup loop, dynamically generated drop down box map lists using the actual mapcycle.txt file, and a login page. All of the improvements are listed in the change log on the project's homepage. There are more features coming in the next version, so keep an eye out!
-Greg