How to Add Custom Maps to an Open Fortress Server

Q: Where do I put custom maps on an Open Fortress server?

In openfortress/maps/ inside the server folder, as .bsp files.

Q: How do I change the map on an Open Fortress server?

Type changelevel followed by the map name, without .bsp, in the server console or through RCON.

Q: Do players need to download custom maps?

Yes, if they do not have them. Enable svallowdownload, or set up svdownloadurl for faster downloads.

Q: How do I make a custom map part of the rotation?

Add its name to openfortress/cfg/mapcycle.txt and make sure a time or frag limit is set.

To add a custom map to an Open Fortress server, upload the .bsp file to open_fortress/maps/, load it with changelevel mapname in the server console, and add it to open_fortress/cfg/mapcycle.txt so it stays in the rotation. Players who do not have the map need to get it: either let them download it from the server with sv_allowdownload 1, or, much faster, host compressed copies on a web server and point sv_downloadurl at it. Names must match exactly, without the .bsp extension in commands.

Where Open Fortress maps live

On a dedicated server, everything for the game sits in the open_fortress folder:

open_fortress/
  maps/        custom .bsp files go here
  cfg/
    server.cfg
    mapcycle.txt

Stock maps such as dm_2fort come with the alpha. Custom maps you add go in the same maps folder. Map file names are case sensitive on Linux servers, so DM_Arena.bsp and dm_arena.bsp are different files.

Open Fortress, a Source engine arena shooter

Step 1: Get the map files

Community maps for Open Fortress are shared as .bsp files, sometimes with extra content packed inside. Get them from the mapper's own release or a trusted community source. Avoid maps made for other Source games unless the author says they work in Open Fortress, because entity and texture differences can crash the server or leave holes in the map.

Step 2: Upload to the server

Stop the server, or upload while it runs on a different map.
Copy the .bsp into open_fortress/maps/ with SFTP or your file manager.
Check the file size matches the original. A partly uploaded map crashes the server on load.

Step 3: Test it with changelevel

In the server console (or with RCON from your game), switch to it:

changelevel dm_yourmap

No .bsp on the end. If the console reports it cannot find the map, the file name differs from what you typed, often in letter case. Load it with players on and walk around: missing textures appear as purple and black checkerboards, which means the map needs content it did not pack in.

Step 4: Add it to the map cycle

open_fortress/cfg/mapcycle.txt lists maps one per line. When a round ends, the server moves to the next line:

dm_2fort
dm_yourmap
dm_anothermap

Make sure your server.cfg sets a time or frag limit, for example mp_timelimit 15, or a map may never end and the cycle never advances. To boot straight into a custom map, set it as the start map on the launch line with +map dm_yourmap.

Step 5: Let players get the map

When a player connects to a server running a map they do not have, Source can send it to them. Two ways:

Direct download from the game server

sv_allowdownload 1

Simple, but slow. The game server sends files at a limited rate, and big maps can take minutes, which loses impatient players.

FastDL from a web server

FastDL serves maps over HTTP from any ordinary web host, which is far quicker:

Compress each map with bzip2 so you have dm_yourmap.bsp.bz2.
Upload it to a web folder with the same layout: https://yourdomain/of/maps/dm_yourmap.bsp.bz2.
In server.cfg:

sv_downloadurl "https://yourdomain/of/"
sv_allowdownload 1

The client adds maps/dm_yourmap.bsp.bz2 to the URL and fetches it. If the web folder layout does not match, clients fall back to the slow direct download or fail.

Alternatively, share the map pack in your Discord before match night so everyone installs it in their own open_fortress/maps folder.

Open Fortress gameplay screenshot

Common problems

Problem	Cause	Fix
Map not found on changelevel	Name or case mismatch	Use the exact file name, no `.bsp`
Server crashes on map load	Corrupt upload or incompatible map	Re-upload, try the map locally first
Purple and black textures	Map relies on content it did not pack	Get a packed version from the author
Players kicked with a map differs error	Their copy is a different version	Remove their copy so they download yours
Cycle never changes map	No time or frag limit	Set `mp_timelimit` or `mp_fraglimit`

After an alpha update

Open Fortress alpha updates can change entities and assets. A custom map that worked last month might misbehave after an update. When a map breaks after a Beans update, take it out of mapcycle.txt until the author updates it, so it does not crash the rotation in the middle of a night. Remember the coming Steam release will differ from the alpha, so treat any map collection as something you will revisit.

On a hosted server

On a GamezServers Open Fortress server, the maps and cfg folders are in the file manager and over SFTP for big map packs, the live console takes changelevel directly, and the Default Map field in the panel sets the map the server boots into. Take a one click backup before a big map pack change. Setting up from scratch instead? Start with how to host an Open Fortress server, and if players cannot join after you add maps, see the Open Fortress connection fixes.

FAQ

Where do I put custom maps on an Open Fortress server?

In open_fortress/maps/ inside the server folder, as .bsp files.

How do I change the map on an Open Fortress server?

Type changelevel followed by the map name, without .bsp, in the server console or through RCON.

Do players need to download custom maps?

Yes, if they do not have them. Enable sv_allowdownload, or set up sv_downloadurl for faster downloads.

How do I make a custom map part of the rotation?

Add its name to open_fortress/cfg/mapcycle.txt and make sure a time or frag limit is set.