OpenRA Tiberian Dawn Lobby Options Explained (Admin Guide)

In an OpenRA Tiberian Dawn lobby, the admin (the first player to join an empty dedicated server) controls the match through the options panel: Starting Cash (2,500 to 20,000, default 7,500), Starting Units, Tech Level, Game Speed, Short Game, Crates, Fog of War, Explored Map, Build Off Allies, Limit Build Area, Separate Team Spawns, Time Limit, and two Tiberian Dawn specific switches, Redeployable MCVs and Stealth Deliveries. None of these live in the server's config. They reset with each new lobby, so the admin sets them every session.

A GDI base in OpenRA Tiberian Dawn

Who gets to change them

On a dedicated server nobody "owns" the lobby. The first player in becomes admin, and if they leave, admin passes to the player who has been connected the longest. Only the admin can change the map, change options, add bots, close slots, move players to spectator and start the game. Everyone else sees messages such as Only the host can change the map. if they try.

The server itself only decides who may get in (name, password, public listing, single player). Those are covered in OpenRA dedicated server settings explained. If you have not set up a server yet, start with how to host an OpenRA Tiberian Dawn server.

Economy and starting forces

Option	Choices	What it changes
Starting Cash	2,500 / 5,000 / 7,500 / 10,000 / 20,000	Credits at the start. 7,500 is the default
Starting Units	MCV Only, Light Support, Heavy Support	What spawns next to your MCV
Redeployable MCVs	On by default	Lets a Construction Yard pack back up into an MCV and move

Starting Units differ by faction, which matters for balance in Tiberian Dawn:

Light Support gives GDI five minigunners, two rocket soldiers and a Humvee, and Nod six minigunners, two rocket soldiers and a buggy.
Heavy Support adds armor: GDI gets Medium Tanks (with an APC in one variant), Nod gets Light Tanks and Flame Tanks.
MCV Only is the cleanest choice for 1v1s, where any free army skews the opening.

Redeployable MCVs is useful on large maps and in team games where a base on a fresh Tiberium field wins the long game. Competitive 1v1 players often leave it on as well, since it is the modern default.

Tech and pace

Option	Choices	Effect
Tech Level	Low, Medium, No Superpowers, Unrestricted	Which units and support powers can be built
Game Speed	Slowest to Fastest	How fast time runs. Faster games are shorter and harder on micro
Short Game	On or off	Players are defeated when their bases are destroyed, instead of having to lose every unit
Time Limit	Off or a set time	Highest score wins when time runs out

No Superpowers is the setting most groups argue about. It keeps everything except the support powers, which in Tiberian Dawn means no Ion Cannon for GDI and no nuclear strike for Nod, and no airstrikes. For casual nights with newer players, it stops games from ending to a single click. Short Game is almost always worth turning on: without it, a match can drag on while someone hunts a last engineer hiding in a corner.

Map and vision

Option	Effect
Fog of War	You need line of sight to see enemy forces. Without it, explored areas stay visible
Explored Map	The whole map is revealed at the start, but enemy units still need vision if fog is on
Crates	Random crates appear (between one and six at a time) that give a bonus or a penalty when a unit drives over them
Separate Team Spawns	Players without a chosen spawn start as far as possible from their enemies
Build Off Allies	Lets you place buildings inside an ally's build area
Limit Build Area	Restricts placement to the area around your Construction Yards
Debug Menu	Turns on cheats and developer commands. Leave it off for real games

Crates fit chaotic free for alls and bot games. Leave them off for anything competitive.

Stealth Deliveries

This is Tiberian Dawn's own option and it is off by default. When on, the Nod cargo plane that delivers vehicles from the Airstrip is cloaked, so GDI players cannot see reinforcements arriving. It makes Nod harder to scout and is popular in Nod heavy fun games. In a balanced 1v1, most players keep it off.

Bots and teams

The slot admin tools sit above the player list:

Configure Bots: Add fills open slots with AI, Remove clears them. Tiberian Dawn ships three bots: Cabal, Watson and HAL 9001. You can also pick a bot per slot from the slot dropdown.
Configure Teams: Humans vs Bots puts every player against every AI, Free for all removes teams, or choose a team count to split people evenly.
Slot dropdown: set a slot to Open, Closed or a bot. Closing slots keeps a 1v1 from turning into a 1v1v1 when someone wanders in.

If you want one person to be able to start a match alone against bots on the server, the server needs Enable Singleplayer turned on. On a GamezServers server it is a switch in the control panel.

Kicking, temp bans and vote kick

The admin can kick anyone in the lobby. The kick dialog has a Temporarily Ban checkbox that stops that player rejoining for a while. After the game starts, only spectators and defeated players can be kicked.

If the admin is the problem (or has left the game running AFK), other players can Vote to kick this player. Vote kick is on by default. Kicking the admin this way also removes the bots they added, and admin moves to the next longest connected player.

For a permanent block on a private group's server, a password is simpler than bans: set one in the panel and only share it with your group.

OpenRA Tiberian Dawn cover art

Suggested presets

Night	Settings
Competitive 1v1	MCV Only, 5,000 or 7,500 cash, Unrestricted or No Superpowers, Short Game on, Crates off, Fog on
Team game with friends	Light Support, 10,000 cash, No Superpowers, Short Game on, Build Off Allies on
Newcomers vs bots	Humans vs Bots, Heavy Support, 20,000 cash, Explored Map on, Crates on

A lobby that is always there

All of this assumes a lobby exists when your group wants to play. A GamezServers OpenRA Tiberian Dawn server keeps one up without anyone hosting from home: whoever arrives first becomes admin and sets the options above, and the server name, password, public listing and Enable Singleplayer are fields in the control panel. A private lobby runs on the 1 GB plan, and the group can split the bill between up to 10 friends.

FAQ

How do I become admin on an OpenRA dedicated server?

Join while the lobby is empty. The first player in is admin. If you join later, admin only reaches you when everyone who joined before you has left.

Can the server save my lobby options?

No. Options are set per lobby by the admin. The server config only covers who can join.

What does No Superpowers do in Tiberian Dawn?

It disables support powers such as the Ion Cannon, the Nod nuclear strike and airstrikes, and leaves every unit and building available.

Which bot is hardest in Tiberian Dawn?

The bots play differently rather than on a strict ladder. Try each against your group and add more bots per side if one is too easy.

Why can I not kick a player mid game?

Once the match starts, only spectators and defeated players can be kicked. Use vote kick in the lobby, or close their slot before the next game.