Apexium Forge — CS 1.6 Multi-Mode Network

A modular Counter-Strike 1.6 / GoldSrc server built for private LAN play and Linux hosting. The project uses SteamCMD HLDS, Metamod-P, AMX Mod X and Pawn. ReGameDLL_CS supplies the continuous-round controls required by the respawn-based arcade modes.

The current development baseline contains eight playable modes, centralized mode ownership, mode-specific map/mode voting, and a permission-checked in-game administration panel. XP, coins, rankings, persistent profiles and the website are not implemented. See hosted synchronization notes for the latest module changes and validation limits.

Release status: v1.0.0 is the first stable source release. Automated checks and isolated lifecycle checks passed; the server owner confirmed live gameplay, administration and mode/map transitions. See release notes for verification scope and deployment requirements. Individual plugins retain independent module versions; /serverinfo reports the project release.

Features

• Classic: nine balanced and unbalanced formats, team limits, warmup, ready-up, scoring, halftime, overtime and match administration.
• Deathmatch: free-for-all targeting, automatic respawns, weapon selection, spawn protection and session leaderboard.
• Arms Race: free-for-all 17-level weapon progression, immediate loadouts, respawns, HUD and final knife-kill victory.
• AWP Only: free-for-all AWP/Knife restriction, respawns, protection, standings and configurable awp_ map selection.
• HE Battle: team-aware HE-only loadouts, automatic grenade replenishment, enemy-kill standings, purchase/pickup restrictions and respawns.
• Knife 35HP: team-based knife-only rounds with 35 HP, no armor/buying, and routing to installed 35hp/ka_ maps.
• Football: team-based ball physics, dribbling, shoot/pass controls, goal scoring and kickoff resets on a configured pitch. See Football setup and tests.
• Combat Surf: scoped surfing physics, respawn/loadouts, speed HUD and configurable jail bypass on separately installed Surf maps. See Surf setup.
• Player settings: /settings or /set opens ordinary-player crosshair, DM loadout, personal status, leaderboard, voting/next-map, and rules shortcuts.
• Arcade refinements: distributed Deathmatch/Arms Race spawns, stricter Arms Race pickup controls, two-kill gun levels with knife demotion, and optional grounded/stationary weapon tuning.
• Voting: /rtv, /votemode, /votemap and /nextmap with installed-map validation and one authoritative next mode/map decision.
• Administration: /admin and /adminmenu for confirmed mode, map, Classic, YaPB, player and server actions.
• Player customization: persistent /crosshair styles plus separately deployed optional HD player/Butterfly cosmetics.
• Optional bots: pinned YaPB integration for development and solo validation, disabled by default.
• Safe operations: non-destructive installers, isolated ReGameDLL trial/rollback workflows, ignored runtimes and reproducible PowerShell tooling.

Runtime stack

• SteamCMD application 90, steam_legacy branch
• Metamod-P v1.21p109
• AMX Mod X 1.10.0-git5487
• ReGameDLL_CS for arcade continuous-round policy
• ReAPI 5.29.0.358 for verified ReGameDLL weapon/purchase hooks
• Optional YaPB 4.4.957

Repository layout

config/cstrike/          Tracked vanilla server configuration
docs/                    Installation and validation documentation
scripts/                 Windows setup, launch, stop, and firewall scripts
src/amxmodx/             Modular Pawn plugin sources and shared API includes
tests/                   Static, regression and isolation checks
runtime/                 Local HLDS installations (ignored by Git)
downloads/               Download cache (ignored by Git)

Quick start

Run these commands in PowerShell from the repository root. A normal user account is sufficient for installation and launch; use an Administrator PowerShell only for the firewall step.

.\scripts\install-server.ps1
.\scripts\install-addons.ps1
.\scripts\install-reapi.ps1
.\scripts\build-plugins.ps1
# Administrator PowerShell:
.\scripts\configure-firewall.ps1
# Back in a normal PowerShell:
.\scripts\start-server.ps1

The default installation is the pre-anniversary baseline at runtime\hlds-steam-legacy. Every installer accepts an explicit path. The installer refuses unrelated non-empty targets and will not mix anniversary and legacy engine files. Detailed instructions are in docs/SETUP.md; verification steps are in docs/VALIDATION.md.

Optional Phase 3 solo testing with pinned YaPB bots is documented in docs/SOLO_TESTING.md. Bot files and the development ready bridge remain disabled by default and are not part of the production plugin build.

Keep passwords and private values in an ignored *.local.cfg or *.secret.cfg file. Never commit Steam credentials, RCON passwords, compiled plugins, downloaded runtimes, logs or third-party archives.

Player and admin commands

Command	Purpose
/menu, /modes, /mode	Open the main menu, inspect modes and show the active mode.
/match, /ready, /unready, /score, /teams	Classic match status and ready-up controls.
/dm, /top	Deathmatch loadout and standings.
/ar, /artop	Arms Race progression and standings.
/awp, /awptop	AWP Only status and standings.
/rtv, /votemode, /votemap, /nextmap	Player voting and planned-change status.
/admin, /adminmenu	Apexium Forge administration panel for authorized administrators.
/crosshair, /ch	Select a custom crosshair style and color.

The admin panel requires the standard AMX Mod X flags documented in docs/ADMIN_MENU.md. Phase 5 voting must be deployed before mm_admin because it owns map validation and cross-map mode persistence.

Production-only additions synchronized back into source control are documented in docs/CUSTOM_MODULES.md.

Roadmap

• Phase 1 — foundation (implemented): HLDS provisioning, baseline configuration, Metamod-P, AMX Mod X, lifecycle scripts, mm_core, and LAN validation.
• Phase 2.1 — main game-mode menu (implemented): native /menu and /modes menus, six mode choices, /rules, and nine informational Classic formats.
• Phase 2.2 — real mode management (implemented): authoritative mode/format state, administrator confirmation, configuration transitions, fallback, public Pawn natives/forwards, and /mode status.
• Phase 2.3 — voting design (superseded by Phase 5): the initial voting placeholder was replaced by the centralized Phase 5 implementation.
• Phase 3 — Classic (implemented): nine team formats, enforced capacities, warmup/ready/live/paused/halftime/finished lifecycle, MR3/MR5/MR12 rules, MR12 overtime, side switching, scoring, HUD, and admin controls. Unbalanced matches remain casual.
• Phase 4.1 — Deathmatch MVP (implemented): FFA targeting, respawns, weapon selection, ammunition replenishment, spawn protection, and a transient leaderboard.
• Phase 4.2 — Arms Race MVP (implemented): configurable FFA gun progression (now 17 levels), respawns, HUD/leaderboard, and a final knife-kill victory.
• Phase 4.3 — AWP Only MVP (implemented): FFA AWP/Knife restriction, respawns, protection, standings, and configurable dedicated-map selection.
• Phase 4.3.1 — shared round fix (implemented in source): centralized arcade round/objective policy with required-versus-optional ReGameDLL cvar detection.
• Phase 4.3.2 — isolated ReGameDLL trial (core validation passed): clone-only setup/install/start/stop/status/rollback scripts, pinned official artifact verification, separate port/state, and observed Classic/arcade transition checks. Arms Race final completion and the complete AWP map-change path remain manual checks.
• Phase 4.3.3 — safe production migration (prepared, not executed): read-only prerequisites, timestamped verified backup, manifest-bound install/status/rollback scripts, and a production smoke-test matrix. See docs/REGAMEDLL_PRODUCTION.md.
• Phase 4.4 — HE Battle and hosted arcade refinements (implemented): HE-only respawn gameplay, Arms Race purchase/pickup enforcement and two-kill progression, distributed DM/AR spawns, v3 crosshairs, and pinned ReAPI-backed weapon tuning.
• Phase 4.5 — hosted rules and Knife 35HP (implemented): team-based Knife 35HP, mode-specific map routing, HE standings/kill limit, shared AR/HE spawn protection, and persisted Deathmatch loadouts.
• Phase 5 — Map & Mode Voting (implemented in source): /rtv, /votemode, /votemap, /nextmap, installed-map validation, mode-specific pools, Classic-safe deferral, and single-use cross-map mode restoration. See docs/MAP_VOTING.md.
• Phase 6 — Custom Admin Menu V1 (implemented): permission-checked native menus for modes, maps, Classic lifecycle, YaPB, player actions and safe server controls. The owner confirmed hosted gameplay validation for V1. See docs/ADMIN_MENU.md.
• Later shared systems: SQLite profiles, global XP/levels/coins, separate competitive rating, mastery, achievements, enhanced HUD, cosmetics, leaderboards, missions and events.
• Optional later: Next.js/TypeScript management dashboard and public-hosting hardening.

Each later phase must remain independently testable. Gameplay modes must not directly own persistence or shared progression, and only the selected mode may control gameplay state.

Version policy and sources

The add-on script pins Metamod-P v1.21p109 and AMX Mod X 1.10.0-git5487. It downloads from the maintained Metamod-P GitHub releases and the official AMX Mod X build channel, then checks SHA-256 before extraction. SteamCMD comes from Valve's official CDN; HLDS itself is installed from app ID 90 on the steam_legacy branch. Phase 1 starts with -insecure -nomaster because it is LAN-only; public hosting requires a separate Steam-services and security review.

This is a GoldSrc/AMX Mod X project. SourceMod and Source-engine plugins are intentionally out of scope.