Please someone help. Mods on server, Not showing up in ARMA Launcher Server Browser

[lordprimate 159]

Hello fellow armaholics. I never noticed this before but i feel as though its an issue i need to resolve. Every day i see hand fulls of poeple trying to join my server but cannot.. I imagine because the server is telling them they dont need mods when they do.

 

My server has several mods on it. Some of them are required, some of them not... 

 

My friend also has a server, His server has mods as well. some required some not.. 

 

When i look at his server in the ARMA 3 Launcher, and click join. it tells me what mods are required, and what mods are suggested. 

 

On my server when i look at it in the ARMA 3 Launcher, and click join. It tells me to disable all the mods(that are required to join) and does NOT suggest any of the ones that are allowed. 

My friend use TADST to run his server

My server is hosted by BluefangSolutions  and i use a .par file to select mods. if that helps

 

can someone please help me I would like to populate this server its only a 16 man server and no one can get on when using the arma launcher (which is how most public players join the server)

 

Does anyone have any in site they can share?

 

None of the server's mods are showing up in the launcher, it doesnt even show the DLC loaded on the server, I also cannot get MY arma 3 units page to recognize the server. Someone Please help me

 

 

[RCANTEC 4]

Your server launcher parameters must contain -mods=@CBA_A3;@RHSUSAF; for example. The mods must be loaded in your servers root directory. 

https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma_3_Dedicated_Server

[lordprimate 159]

@rcantec, when you say server launcher perameters you mean my .par file.  because this is what is in my .par file. And All mods are loaded on in the servers root directory.

 

arma3.par:

 

class Arg
{
    checkSignatures="-checkSignatures";
    mod="-mod=Kart;Curator;Heli;Mark;Expansion;dlcbundle;@cba_a3;@CUP_Terrains_Core;@CUP_Terrains_Maps;@CUP_Terrains_CWA;@CaribouFrontier;@RHSAFRF;@RHSUSAF;@RHSGREF;@RHSSAF;@mcc_sandbox;@ace3;@acex;@AliveServer;@ALiVE;@Spyder_Addons;@Ares;@3denEnhanced;@Mocap;@AdvancedSlingLoading;@AdvancedTowing;@AdvancedRappelling;@AdvancedUrbanRappelling;@SAN_Headgore;";
    servermod="-servermod=@SLX_A3;@asr_ai3;@tpwcas_a3;@zeu_TK;@L_Align;@L_Mount;@BloodLust;@JSRS4APEX_SS;";
};

 

[lordprimate 159]

i feel hated... :(   

 

 

Someone please. help.

[lordprimate 159]

Ok, My server provider had a new feature that was hidden unless asked for. Command line access. So I have removed the .par file and added everything to my startup parm's... It still doesnt work as it should. The server launches the mods just fine. however the original problem still persists my server is not shown on My units page and the mods/dlc/difficulty are not properly shown on the launcher. 

 

In the launcher my server shows up as in Recruit difficultly even though i have it set to Forced Custom. It also shows that no DLC is required when there is. And it also lists my server as not having/allowing any mods to join. the following is my commandline.

 

-nosound -nosplash -nopause -profiles=Profile -filePatching -ip=xx.xx.xx.xx -port=xxxx -config=server.cfg -cfg=basic.cfg -malloc=tbb4malloc_bi -servermod=@SLX_A3;@zeu_TK -mod=@cba_a3;@CUP_Terrains_Core;@CUP_Terrains_Maps;@CUP_Terrains_CWA;@CaribouFrontier;@RHSAFRF;@RHSUSAF;@RHSGREF;@RHSSAF;@asr_ai3;@tpwcas_a3;@mcc_sandbox;@ace3;@acex;@AliveServer;@ALiVE;@Spyder_Addons;@Ares;@3denEnhanced;@Mocap;@AdvancedSlingLoading;@AdvancedTowing;@AdvancedRappelling;@AdvancedUrbanRappelling;@SAN_Headgore;@L_Align;@L_Mount;@BloodLust

 

The mods load fine and i can launch and join with the launcher manually. However, if i try to just use the join button it unloads all my mods and then cannot connect. 

 

Someone please help. The rpt seems clean as the server starts and runs fine. but if it will help i can post it.

[terox 316]

are you sure all those mods should be on the server.

Shouldn't @AliveServer be a -servermod?

Some if not all of these should be servermods.....    @AdvancedSlingLoading;@AdvancedTowing;@AdvancedRappelling;@AdvancedUrbanRappelling

These sounds like they could be clientside mods....  @SAN_Headgore,  @BloodLust

 

I don't use BIS launcher and we advise and only support clients that launch via a desktop shortcut so I cant help you out with this issue.

 

Sounds like you have multiple issues, the first thing I would do is get a vanilla server to show up on your arma units page.

Then once you have that done rework your custom difficulty class to get that listed correctly

Then you can start adding mods a few at a time

Start with the following -mods

@cba_a3;@CUP_Terrains_Core;@CUP_Terrains_Maps;

@RHSAFRF;@RHSUSAF;@RHSGREF;@RHSSAF;

;@ace3;@ALiVE;

 

plus -servermod=@Aliveserver

 

then once you prove these add a few more at a time until you either discover an issue or have them all loaded

Don't be impatient trying too much at a time, this is a methodical process and if you add in small bunches it makes it easier to debug

 

ALWAYS prove a vanilla server before you add complexity otherwise you will run around in circles like so many before you who jump the gun all the time.

You would do yourself a favour if you posted your rpt to pastebin then linked to it, the first few lines tell us exactly what you are running regardless of what you think you are running, so that is pretty important for us to see

 

[flexgrip 20]

4 hours ago, terox said:

I don't use BIS launcher and we advise and only support clients that launch via a desktop shortcut so I cant help you out with this issue.

 

 

I think it's astonishing you think there's a difference between launching with a desktop shortcut and the command line UI he's using from TCAdmin.

 

The real goal here is figuring out how the required and suggested mods are determined during launch and passed to the steam API. The rpt log will probably give you a vague idea if something major is wrong but will mostly be filled with warnings and spam from all the mods you are running. I'd grep the logs for words with steam in them to find out if it's for sure connecting properly.

 

I've been wondering this too so I'll google it and see if I can find something. I've been looking for time to get us switched over to the workshop anyway.

[flexgrip 20]

After skimming this post I think I am making a little more sense out of this: 

So it seems you double check your keys and also in your mission sqm you can define the required addons. Perhaps you can dig further and find the suggested ones. My guess is the suggested ones are guesstimated by the class names referenced, but not in the required section.

 

Would be sweet if BI could document this. Unless I'm missing a page in the wiki...

 

Just tested this on a dedicated box for our milsim group and it indeed gets the required mods from the mission sqm. So that's probably why yours is messed up.

[lordprimate 159]

5 hours ago, terox said:

are you sure all those mods should be on the server.

Shouldn't @AliveServer be a -servermod?

Some if not all of these should be servermods.....    @AdvancedSlingLoading;@AdvancedTowing;@AdvancedRappelling;@AdvancedUrbanRappelling

These sounds like they could be clientside mods....  @SAN_Headgore,  @BloodLust

 

I don't use BIS launcher and we advise and only support clients that launch via a desktop shortcut so I cant help you out with this issue.

 

Sounds like you have multiple issues, the first thing I would do is get a vanilla server to show up on your arma units page.

Then once you have that done rework your custom difficulty class to get that listed correctly

Then you can start adding mods a few at a time

Start with the following -mods

@cba_a3;@CUP_Terrains_Core;@CUP_Terrains_Maps;

@RHSAFRF;@RHSUSAF;@RHSGREF;@RHSSAF;

;@ace3;@ALiVE;

 

plus -servermod=@Aliveserver

 

then once you prove these add a few more at a time until you either discover an issue or have them all loaded

Don't be impatient trying too much at a time, this is a methodical process and if you add in small bunches it makes it easier to debug

 

ALWAYS prove a vanilla server before you add complexity otherwise you will run around in circles like so many before you who jump the gun all the time.

You would do yourself a favour if you posted your rpt to pastebin then linked to it, the first few lines tell us exactly what you are running regardless of what you think you are running, so that is pretty important for us to see

 

 

I have to disagree about the arma 3 launcher. with all the integrated mod/server stuff its suppose to be super easy for new player / and expecially experienced players to find their way into any modded server. I cannot believe how many people have tried and still try to get on my server. but cannot . and my only guess is that they are trying to get on via the launcher. and think that because the launcher is saying they need No mods ... they are not loading any.. or because the server says they need No DLC and my server has all and often requires it. its a legit problem and i would be super thrilled just to fill up my super small 16 man server, with tacticool arma players that love ACE ACRE Alive and a ton of immersion mods. but i cannot because no one seems to be able to join( except me i can join fine...). 

 

Your right about the server side mods. all of those are pretty much just server side. the advanced urban repel does require clients to have it if they want to use the animations and get the sounds. Bloodlust and head gore are required to be on the server and the client, to work correctly. headgore actually has a mission module placed in the editor. so it creates a requirement. After dealing with trying to get the mods to show up i had the exact thought... why am i doing this i should figure out if i can get it to work with just a vanilla mission. I had given up after my last post (for the day) Ill be doing this for the night.

 

1 hour ago, flexgrip said:

After skimming this post I think I am making a little more sense out of this: 

So it seems you double check your keys and also in your mission sqm you can define the required addons. Perhaps you can dig further and find the suggested ones. My guess is the suggested ones are guesstimated by the class names referenced, but not in the required section.

 

Would be sweet if BI could document this. Unless I'm missing a page in the wiki...

 

Just tested this on a dedicated box for our milsim group and it indeed gets the required mods from the mission sqm. So that's probably why yours is messed up.

This is done and done. my server is signature protected. via verifysigs=2; 

I have several keys in the keys folder. I join my server with several clientside mods that are allowed on my server. 

my mission.sqm's check out with all the required mods they should. regardless of weather or not a mission is loaded the launcher never shows any mods needed or suggested. 

If the suggested mods ran off of what is in my Keys folder. then i should see a ton and i mean a TON of suggested client side mods. and if the mission.sqm was referenced for what is required then something is definatly wrong. because there not being shown in the launcher.

i am at a real loss as to whats going on hence my begging.... 

[lordprimate 159]

so far i have rename the keys folded created a new one and added the a3.bikey so i have a vinalla keys folder that allows No mods.

 

then i removed all unnecessary parameters from the command line. starting with the Bare minimum. -ip=xx.xx.xx.xx -port=xxxx -profiles=Profile -config=server.cfg -cfg=basic.cfg

 

The server shows up properly in the launcher. but still cannot be connected to my units page.. so im going to have to move past that. and just add one mod and its key at a time to make sure it works. until i find the mod and key that causes the issue. 

 

im baffled as to why the arma 3 units page cannot connect to my server given the correct ip and port... i have check soo many times its the right ip and port.

[lordprimate 159]

Same command line. as stated the mods and the dlc and the difficulty shows up correctly now. however, my units page cannot connect and detect my server, And when the server has a mission loaded the arma 3 launcher doesnt show it running a mission. it shows everything else correctly in the information just not the mission info

 

further testing indicates that a faulty key was causing my problems with certain info not being shown (difficulty, dlc, and mod info). However, the launcher for some reason will not show the mission type or name. and still cannot connect to my units page.

 

progress was made so thanks

 

ill post up a rpt soon just want to do some more testing

[terox 316]

11 hours ago, flexgrip said:

 

I think it's astonishing you think there's a difference between launching with a desktop shortcut and the command line UI he's using from TCAdmin.

 

The real goal here is figuring out how the required and suggested mods are determined during launch and passed to the steam API. The rpt log will probably give you a vague idea if something major is wrong but will mostly be filled with warnings and spam from all the mods you are running. I'd grep the logs for words with steam in them to find out if it's for sure connecting properly.

 

I've been wondering this too so I'll google it and see if I can find something. I've been looking for time to get us switched over to the workshop anyway.

 

You have totally misunderstood my point

Because I don't use the BIS launcher to launch my client, and we don't advise our community to use the BIS launcher to run their clients, I have ZERO experience with any client issues related to using the BIS launcher, I was in  no way referring to using a desktop shortcut server side although there is nothing wrong with that.

I have good reasons to advise our clients to use desktop shortcuts which is outside of the scope of this topic, so I wont go into it other than to say it makes things a lot less problematic

So I was making it clear (Or I thought I was) that I could offer no support for the BIS Launcher side of the issue before I started advising on other issues that could be causing the problem.

 

 

From a community point of view, unless you have an active community that regularly play on your addon server the chances of getting a random player to join your server with your required mods is just about nil.

Let me explain why.......

 

The players that you see that are connecting to your server with missing addons are probably not even aware of addons and are most likely new to the game or casual  players who have little knowledge of the inner workings of ArmA.

They are most likely filtering by ping or player numbers, , seeing your server with some players on it and are trying their luck

 

What you are hoping, is these clients will spend a lot of time and effort downloading your "addon pack" which they would have to manually search for and build themselves, hopefully get all the right versions to play on your server which they will know little about.

Anyone who is capable of this is most likely already a member of a community and that community will either have their addon pack requirements well documented or run an Arma3Sync repo

 

If you were just to run lets say TFAR, then you would have a far greater chance of newcomers dropping into your server because this addon is a pretty common addon used on a lot of "Near vanilla" servers

 

If you were to run CBA, ACE, Alive and RHS you may have the odd player who already has those addons that may pop in

They may even have CUP, however that's a very big download that no casual player is likely to bother with

 

But hoping a player has 

@CaribouFrontier;@asr_ai3;@tpwcas_a3;@Spyder_Addons;@Mocap;@SAN_Headgore;@L_Align;@L_Mount;@Blood

is really expecting a lot.

 

My advice.........

If you want to build an addon server, you must first get yourself a player base. This can really only be achieved by making it very easy for players to connect, which means hosting a good vanilla server where the casual player can drop in and see what you have to offer with little or no effort

 

 

ArmA3 servers and automatic addon download does not exist

The way we have things set up is as follows

1 x public pure vanilla server that allows the optional use of a clientside addon pack that we host (This is our entry server which is heavily adminned during peak gaming times)

1 x Main Addon servers that runs an addon packs that is around 10GB in size which we host ourselves via an Arma3sync repo

Other miscellaneous use servers, for testing, special events etc

 

Players initially join our vanilla server, hang around become part of the community and then migrate to our addon server (This is how a lot of communities run)

If we didn't run a vanilla server we would have a dead addon server or certainly not very well populated.

So you may need to rethink your strategy, I believe your current approach is going to cause you a lot of frustration and isn't going to achieve your end goal

 

 

Now let me try and explain how the entire addon system works

 

Keys folder: 

This contains Bikeys which is basically the whitelist of the addons you allow on your server

 

Mission.pbo\mission.sqm

This defines the actual addons that are required when the mission is being run.

 

On Player connect

if verifysignatures is enabled

When a player connects, the server and client communicate, there is a check done that validates all of the addon  Bisigns that the client currently has loaded  to one of the Bikeys in the server keys folder

There is also a check done that verfies the client has the addons required by the current mission

If either of these validations fail, the client is not allowed to connect.

There are some addons that are only required serverside, these can be loaded either by -mod= or by -servermod=

The latter isn't publicised on the arma server browser and should be the defaulkt choice if you know the addon is defintely serverside only

 

For your specific requirements,

Any addons the server requires but the client doesn't should be run in -servermod=

Any addons that have mission dependancy that the client MUST have, (eg ones that your missions actually require) should be loaded via the -mod=

Any Clientside only addons, eg non mission dependant addons that are nice to have , that you allow but not actually required to play, should have their assosciated Bikey hosted in your keys folder and should not be launched via any -servermod or -mod param unless there is a requirement to do so.

These "optional" addons need to be documented somewhere so that if a player asks what sound mods or clientside mods are allowed, they can be pointed to it. (Automatically inserted into every briefing via an addon would be an option to document this)

What you should not do is manually add any non essential addons to the mission.sqm, that's just gonna cause another loop that players have to jump through that is not necessary

[lordprimate 159]

i read and understand what you said, however, i do disagree a lil bit. I never thought that a corrupt key would have caused my problems. I knew that once i went vanilla everything would work. I again didnt fathom a faulty key causing my issues. 

 

however, on that note i have it working. all except the units page seeing my server. 

 

and please dont take this the wrong way but your explanation of the way it works, was a bit much. I have over 6000 hours in arma. Ovbiously didnt stop me from chasing my tail. but i know about what you speak. the reason why i listed those (server side addons as "mods" was because some of them are required by the client (ie they have to be on both the server and the client to work properly) i know how keys work, i know how verify sigs works. i know how server mod and mod works as command parameters. 

 

I just didnt think that a corrupt key would cause my server to not provide its mod info to the launcher.

 

And about creating a player base. I just recently quit a group. after 5 years of busting my ass making missions (vanilla and modded) after 5 years i noticed one think people are or there not going to play. the biggest hurdle was making sure they knew where to get the mods. and have them up to date.. It has been made obvious that you dont use the arma launcher. maybe your not to keen on how it works now but when you set up your server with out a corrupt key like i had, players get a list of mods that are required and ones that are suggested. It makes it super easy to locate and download the mods. I know there is a small change that people will play on my server. However, the major hurdle, the one that caused all my connection problems, has been crossed, people now know exactly what is needed to get on my server. 

 

And further more, Its my server for My use. I pay for it and I pay to create and experience I like to have in arma. that is the bottom line. Just like everyone else, My desire is to share my experience with others. people will join my server. they may trickel in... but again the main purpose / problem was people not knowing what mods are required and what are not. Since all that info is now made public. it will be alot easier (since all the mods are on steam) for people to aquire the mods.

 

I also can say that as often as i am on my server, and do see people try to get on. they try to get on Over and Over. most of them at least 2-3 times. before they give up. and that is when they Dont know what mods are required. I can only hope that now the mod requirements are more obvious that may change to them getting on the 2-3 time rather then giving up...

 

Thanks for all your help.

Sincerely,

Lordprimate/BigAl

 

 I still need to post my RPT to figure out why the arma 3 units page cannot connect to my server.

[flexgrip 20]

No no no. I think the disconnect in the discussion you are having (and the way I read it at first) is by definition of the "arma launcher". One of you is talking about the vanilla launcher clients use to connect to the server. The other is talking about the dedicated server launcher that nobody uses. I see where the discrepancy is.

 

The problem is this comment:

Quote

These "optional" addons need to be documented somewhere so that if a player asks what sound mods or clientside mods are allowed, they can be pointed to it.

 

The entire point of using the new vanilla client launcher is that people can find the server in the server list and it will show them the list of "Required mods" and "Suggested mods". The mission dependent mods show up in the "required" section. And my best guess is that if a mod is listed in -mod= but not used in the mission.sqm, then it shows up under the "Suggested and Additional mods". I'll test this later today and try to figure that out.

 

... That's why dude in the other post mentions the keys have to be perfect. I'm assuming a lot of this fails if you have signatures < 2.

[flexgrip 20]

Found something else. 

 

https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/How_to_enable_Steam_Workshop_support_in_Server_Browser

 

In summary, that says you have to make sure each mod has a meta.cpp with the workshop ID that matches. That way people can join and automatically get the mods they need. Kind of a stupid way to do it, but awesome nonetheless. Now we just need Dahlgren to get his workshop mod support and all of the old ways of doing things will be easier.

[terox 316]

The reason the BIS launcher is unsuitable for our community is that we have integrated updating systems that sign all the addons with our own custom date stamped Bikeys (with the exception of TFAR)

This is done for various reasons, but mainly aimed at ease of use, version synchronisation and reduction in user support.

 

Our clientel click a button which synchronises their mod folders with the server versions, no having to search armaholics or steam and manually install etc

BIS has taken a long time and still has a lot of work to do to get auto addon download configured correctly. Its good to see them developing in this area, however for our purposes it has a long way to go before it can replace our current home grown system

 

At least your getting somewhere, good luck with the rest of it

[WolfFullSail 3]

I had this issue with my server just now. I had forgotten to place the " " around the mod names in the command line, also, I switched the command line from running -servermods first, so now it loads -mods first, and then -servermods.

 

After those two changes the launcher now shows the mods required for my server. Hopefully this helps you.

[Mr Hanky 0]

Had the same issue (mods not showing up in Launcher), and stumbled over this thread, which did point me into the right direction to look.

 

Everything worked until a mod had an update today. After a while checking this and that, I noticed that I still had the old key in my keys folder, plus the new one. Since I use symlinks (Linux Server), the old key did point into nothing. Removed that broken link, and everything shows up again in the Launcher.

 

Might me interesting for the next guy who's getting grey hair because of that ;)

 

Hanky