ReHLDS-M

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Rehlds-m is a modern, cross-platform launcher for the Half-Life Dedicated Server (HLDS), written from scratch in C++17. It acts as a replacement for the standard hlds.exe executable, providing enhanced performance, stability, and a host of new features for server administrators, while maintaining full compatibility with the original engine libraries (swds.dll on Windows, engine_i486.so on Linux) and game mods.

Key Features & Differences from original HLDS/ReHLDS

• Modern Codebase: Written in C++17 using modern practices and the Standard Template Library (STL).
• Performance: Compiled for modern CPUs with SSE4.2 instruction set support for maximum efficiency.
• Enhanced Console:
  • Advanced Input: Full support for HOME, END, and DELETE keys for easier command editing.
  • Command History: The last 100 commands are saved to input_history.txt and loaded on startup. Navigation with arrow keys is fully supported.
  • Improved Status Bar (Windows): The server status bar is no longer tied to the first line and is always visible.
• Full UTF-8 Support: Ensures correct display of all characters without requiring OEM conversions on Windows.
• New Performance Modes:
  • Added -pingboost levels 4 and 5 for more aggressive performance tuning on both Windows and Linux.
  • Introduced the -targetfps parameter for adaptive real-time FPS management.
• New Utility Parameters:
  • -conclearlog: Clears the qconsole.log file on server start.
  • -ignoresigint: Prevents the server from shutting down on a CTRL+C keypress.
  • -pidfile: Saves the server's process ID to a specified file.
• Stability:
  • Fixes for several bugs present in the original ReHLDS.
  • Advanced memory dump creation on Windows for easier crash diagnostics.
  • Uses Winsock 2.2 on Windows (up from 2.0).

Requirements

• Operating System:
  • Windows 7 - 11 (x86)
  • Linux with Glibc 2.18 or higher (e.g., Debian 8+, CentOS 8+, Ubuntu 14+).
• CPU: A modern processor with support for the SSE4.2 instruction set.
• Dependencies (Windows): Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015-2022 (x86) must be installed.

Installation

1. Backup: Make a backup of your original server executable (e.g., hlds.exe on Windows, or hlds_linux/hlds_run on Linux).
2. Replace: Copy all files from the release archive into your server's root directory.
   • For Windows, this includes hlds.exe.
   • For Linux, this includes hlds_linux and several library files (lib*.so). Ensure the main executable has execute permissions (chmod +x hlds_linux).
3. Launch: Start your server using the new executable as you normally would, with any desired command-line parameters.

Command-Line Parameters

This launcher supports all standard HLDS parameters. Below are the new or significantly modified parameters introduced by rehlds-m.

Performance Tuning

-pingboost <level>

This parameter adjusts the server's sleep policy to control CPU usage and server FPS.

• 0: (Default) Standard 1ms sleep. Minimal CPU usage.
• 1: (Linux only) Uses setitimer for a 1ms sleep cycle.
• 2: (Linux only) Uses poll instead of the legacy select function for a 1ms sleep.
• 3: The original engine's implementation (NET_Sleep_Timeout). Behavior is unchanged.
• 4: (New) A more aggressive boost. The CPU sleeps for a shorter duration (1 microsecond), resulting in higher FPS and responsiveness. Available on both Linux and Windows.
• 5: (New) Maximum performance mode. The server thread yields instead of sleeping, aiming for the highest possible FPS. This will cause one CPU core to run at 100% load.

-targetfps <value>

This is a modern alternative to pingboost and sys_ticrate. It dynamically adjusts the server's sleep time in real-time to maintain the desired FPS.

• Usage: -targetfps 1000
• It becomes more aggressive as the server's performance drops to meet the target.
• For this mode to work correctly, you must set sys_ticrate to 0 in your server.cfg or command line (+sys_ticrate 0).

Utility Parameters

-conclearlog

If present, this parameter will clear the contents of the qconsole.log file every time the server starts.

-ignoresigint

When used, this prevents the server from shutting down when CTRL+C is pressed in the console. The server can then only be shut down using the quit or exit command.

-pidfile <filename>

Writes the current process ID (PID) of the server to the specified file.

• Usage: -pidfile "hlds.pid"

Building from Source

To compile the project yourself, you will need:

• Git
• CMake (version 3.21 or higher)
• A C++17 compatible compiler (e.g., Visual Studio 2022, GCC 9+, Clang 10+)

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/hun1er/rehlds-m.git
cd rehlds-m

# 2. Configure the project with CMake
cmake -B build

# 3. Build the project
cmake --build build --config Release

The compiled binary will be located in the build/bin/ directory.

Advanced Build Options

Optimizing for the Server's CPU

You can compile the launcher with optimizations tailored for the specific processor where the server will run. This enables the use of additional instruction sets (beyond the required SSE4.2), which can result in an FPS boost.

To enable this option, use the -DOPTIMIZE_FOR_CURRENT_CPU=ON flag in step 2 of the example above:

# 2. Configure the project with CMake, optimizing for the current machine's CPU
cmake -B build -DOPTIMIZE_FOR_CURRENT_CPU=ON

Warning: Use this flag only if you are building the launcher on the same machine where it will be used.

F.A.Q.

• Q: UTF-8 characters are not displaying correctly in the console.

  • A: Change your console font to one that supports UTF-8 characters, such as Consolas or Lucida Console.

• Q: The server won't start on Windows, complaining about a missing msvcp140.dll.

  • A: You need to install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015-2022 (x86).

• Q: The status bar is not visible on Windows 11.

  • A: Go to Settings -> Privacy & Security -> For developers -> Terminal, and change the default terminal application to "Windows Console Host".

License

This project is licensed under the terms of the provided LICENSE file. It also utilizes components of the Half-Life 1 SDK, which is subject to the license agreement from Valve Corporation.