Frequently Asked Questions About The Transition And Server Configuration

• Do I have to change anything in my server to have it work with the new authentication system?
  
  
  
  Users that have registered their server with the America's Army server registration system will receive an E-Mail with detailed instructions as to exactly how to configure the server. Server providers and honor licensees whose information was migrated automatically to the new system do not need to make any changes to their game server startup process to support the new system if they were specifying the server authentication information on the server command line (see the next question for more details about the command line options).
  
  If you are a server provider and have not received an E-Mail indicating your information has been migrated automatically please be prepared to provide a list of your customer's server authorizatoin information (Server Name, Server IP, Server authorization account name, server authorization account password, and your contact information) when we contact you so that we can assist you with the migration proces. Please watch for an E-Mail from the America's Army Honor program for more information and to arrange for data migration.
  
  Those players and server providers needing to register their servers will have to set the authorization information on the server's command line using the same syntax supported in America's Army 3.1.1 and earlier.
  
  

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• What's the command line for my server to communicate with the new authentication system?
  
  
  
  The command line for America's Army 3.2 and later servers using the new server authentication system remains as it was for 3.1.1 and earlier.
  
  

  Please note that the use of the AA3Game.ini authentication fields to configure authentication access is no longer supported and the command line must be used.

  
  
  The following command line would be used to configure a server at IP "66.117.38.180" that has the server authorization user name of "AATestServer" and a password of "SomePassword":
  
  AA3Game.exe" server Alley_day_cloudy?GLOBAL?MissionType=vip?MissionSize=large?MissionTourID=inf?MissionVariant=dev?MaxPlayers=26?MaxSpectators=0?AuthServerUserName=AATestServer?AuthServerPassword=SomePassword?AuthServerIP=66.117.38.180 /STEAMSERVERIP=66.117.38.180
  
  Players hosting their own servers will probably want to take advantage of the "HOST A SERVER" option in the new "Welcome to America's Army" front end application that will help you set up and start your server without needing to know any details about the server command line.
  
  Server Providers may wish to offer access to the "aa3loader.exe" application to their customers. Starting "aa3loader.exe" with the "/DS" (for dedicated server mode) command line switch allows use of the "HOST A SERVER" option without requiring the Steam client to be installed or running.The following demonstrates the command:
  
  [AA3InstallDirectory]/Binaries/AA3Loader.exe /DS
  
  The "HOST A SERVER" option gives users a very simple way to select maps, configure authentication information, and other server options. Players wishing to run LAN games where an Internet connection is not available will also find this an easy way to get the server setup and get playing sooner.
  
  

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• How are server installations and updates going to be handled in the future?
  
  
  
  It is our intent to provide access to America's Army game server updates (or for new installations) both through the Steam client (look in the "Tools" download section) as well as through the Steam "HLDSUpdate" tool (available by clicking here).
  
  The HLDSUpdate tool provides players and server providers with an easy way to always keep their America's Army server up to date without needing to run the Steam client. This makes it ideal for dedicated server environments.
  
  Note that we still recommend that players hosting their own servers simply run the server from the game client using the "HOST A SERVER" button in the "Welcome to America's Army" front end application or use the Steam client to download the "America's Army 3 Dedicated Server" tool and run it from the Steam client to activate the dedicated server's "HOST A SERVER" tool.
  
  

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• What ports are required to be configured to run an America's Army server
  
  
  
  The following ports need to be configured to properly allow your server to communicate with Steam and player's game clients:
  
  

  • 8777 (UDP)
  • 8778 (UDP)
  • 1200 (UDP and TCP)
  • 4380 (UDP and TCP)
  • 9987 (UDP)
  • 27000-27030 (UDP and TCP)

  
  When running your server using NAT (Network Address Translation, something commonly used by users running servers at home and connecting through a router) you must specify the "/STEAMSERVERIP=x.x.x.x" line to use your system's local LAN IP address.
  
  You must also set the "MULTIHOME=x.x.x.x" option to your system's local LAN IP address.
  
  Your Steam authentication IP address should be your system's external WAN (Internet) IP address and not a LAN IP address (which is commonly something like 192.168.x.x or 10.10.x.x).
  
  

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• If I don't update my server to America's Army 3.2 will my existing honor server continue to run using America's Army 3.1.1 and my old account information?
  
  
  
  No, only America's Army 3.2 servers have the required changes to work with the new authentication system. The current authentication system will be fully disabled in the near future and any servers attempting to authenticate through it will not be able to resulting in the server reverting to "LAN" mode.
  
  

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