Server Configuration

Older/Work In Progress Page

This page was initially written for an older version of Helix, has not been updated, and may be out of date!
Contributions are more than welcome (see buttons at the top right of the page).

All you need to know to Configure your server!

Server Configuration File#

The server Configuration file Config.toml is generated automatically when the server is launched for the first time. This file will always be overridden with the proper pattern after the server is loaded.

Tip

HELIX Config files use TOML (Tom’s Obvious, Minimal Language), please refer to https://github.com/toml-lang/toml for more information and syntax.

# server configurations
[server]
    # server name
    name =              "HELIX server"
    # server description (max 127 characters)
    description =       ""
    # server logo URL (recommended size: 150x75)
    logo =              ""
    # max players
    max_players =       10
    # leave it blank for no password
    password =          ""
    # server IP. we recommend leaving it 0.0.0.0 for default
    ip =                "0.0.0.0"
    # server port (TCP and UDP forwarding needed)
    port =              7777
    # query port (UDP forwarding needed)
    query_port =        7778
    # announce server in the master server list
    announce =          true
    # server tick rate in milliseconds (dangerous! server will tick at each [tick_rate] ms, affecting both server and client performance. 33 ms means 30 ticks per second and is the default and recommended value)
    tick_rate =         33
    # log Level. (1) normal - (2) debug - (3) verbose
    log_level =         2

# HELIX configurations
[world]
    # game-mode package to load (set the main game-mode package to load - you can load only one 'game-mode' package type at once)
    game_mode =         ""
    # packages script list (leave it blank to load all packages, this is usually useful when you have tons of packages downloaded and only wants to load one or some)
    packages = [

    ]
    # asset packs list (this will additionally load the asset packs you define here)
    assets = [

    ]
    # default startup map
    map =               "default-blank-map"
    # banned HELIX account IDs
    banned_ids = [

    ]

Settings Detailed#

Setting	Description
`name`	Name of the Server
`description`	Description of the Server
`max_players`	Max amount of players allowed to join
`password`	Password to be able to connect
`ip`	Server IP. We recommend leaving it blank
`port`	Server main Port and HTTP Port (UDP/TCP)
`query_port`	Server query Port (UDP)
`announce`	Whether to announce or not in the Server List
`tick_rate`	Server Tick in ms. We recommend leaving it 33
`log_level`	Which Log level to output
`game_mode`	game-mode package to load - you can only load one game-mode at once.
`packages`	script packages to load
`assets`	Additional assets to force to load
`map`	Defines map to load (Different maps can be loaded by importing custom maps)
`banned_ids`	List of banned HELIX account IDs

Logo Image#

It is possible to have a custom image to be displayed in the server list. For that, add a file called Server.jpg besides the server executable with the logo you wish. The recommended size is 300x150.

Map & Level#

The Map (or Level) is defined in the Server’s config file, this level will be loaded when the player joins the server and the Path is supposed for be or a built-in asset or an asset which is located at Assets/ folder.

HELIX counts on (for now) 2 built-in maps: default-blank-map, and "default-ocean-map" which can be used in your server without needing to download any Asset Pack. Different maps can be loaded by importing custom maps

Server Console#

Built-in Commands#

Command	Description
`chat <message>`	Sends a chat message
`kick <player_d> <reason>`	Sends a chat message
`map <map_path>`	Changes the Map, reloads all Packages and reconnect all Players
`stop`	Stops the server
`players`	lists all players connected
`package run <package_name> <lua_code>`	Runs a code in a package
`package reload <package_name>`	Reloads a package
`package hotreload <package_name>`	Hot-reloads a package (reloads all files but keeps the memory as is)
`package reload all`	Reloads all packages and restarts the Lua Virtual Machine
`package unload <package_name>`	Unloads a package
`package load <package_name>`	Loads a package

Custom Commands#

All (non built-in) commands will be sent into an event to the scripting/server-side:

Server/Index.lua

Server.Subscribe("Console", function(my_input)
    Console.Log("Console command received: " .. my_input)
end)

Command Line Parameters#

It is possible to override the Server Configuration with Command Line Parameters. Note: this will not write to the Config file.

Parameter	Value Type	Description
`--name`	string	Server name
`--description`	string	Server description
`--logo`	string	Server Logo
`--password`	string	Server password
`--ip`	string	Server IP
`--map`	string	Map to load
`--port`	number	Server port
`--query_port`	number	Server Query port
`--announce`	0 or 1	If announce in master list
`--game_mode`	string	Server game-mode
`--packages`	string list	Server packages
`--assets`	string list	Server assets
`--token`	string	Server authorization token
`--max_players`	number	Max allowed players
`--dedicated_server`	0 or 1	If to start as a Dedicated Server or P2P
`--async_log`	0 or 1	If to use async or sync logs (async provides better performance) - default is 1
`--log_level`	1, 2 or 3	If to use Normal, Debug or Verbose logs
`--custom_settings`	string	A list of Custom Settings to be passed to scripting
`--compression`	0-9	Sets the compression level to use in some networking operations - 0 disables it, 1 is the fastest and 9 is the slower but highest compression ratio
`--save`	flag	If to save the parameters in Config.toml
`--profiling`	flag	Enables Performance Profiling Logs for debugging
`--auto_download`	flag	Automatically downloads Packages and Assets from Vault if needed
`--log_show_thread`	flag	Shows the current running thread of each outputted log

Tip

Flag Value Types don't require any argument, just pass the parameter like --parameter.

One-liner Server Configuration#

With Command Line Parameters it is also possible to automate the full server installation, here's an example:

CMD

# Starts the server with all configs set
HELIXGameServer.exe --name "HELIX Amazing Sandbox" --description "Awesome Sandbox Server" --map "helix::TestingMap" --gamemode "sandbox" --packages "battlefield-kill-ui,ts-fireworks-tools" --port 7777 --query_port 7778 --max_players 32 --logo "https://i.imgur.com/U1rZp5v.png"

Another shorter example:

CMD

# Starts the server with all configs set and auto downloads the packages and assets if needed
HELIXGameServer.exe --name "HELIX Amazing Sandbox" --description "Awesome Sandbox Server" --map "helix::TestingMap" --gamemode "sandbox" --packages "battlefield-kill-ui,ts-fireworks-tools" --port 7777 --query_port 7778 --max_players 32 --auto_download 1 --logo "https://i.imgur.com/U1rZp5v.png"

Common Console Messages and Errors#

`Server Tick too/extreme high! Verify the server performance! Server got stuck for Xms...`#

It means the server got stuck for X milliseconds. The warning yellow is not something to worry about, but too many messages in red could mean your server infrastructure is not that good or your scripting code is not that optimized.

Usually the server runs at 33 ticks per second (or the value configured at Config.toml), the server runs in an infinite loop in that frequency, and inside that loop all server operations are executed, such as receiving and sending network packets, triggering lua events, executing functions or callbacks, and so on.

If a single tick takes more than 33 milliseconds, this warning will appear up.

Tip

In some shared VPS, this warning may appear up more frequently due how the VPS handles the scaling of it's machines, sometimes the provider may think your VPS is "idle" (due HELIX server using extremely low CPU) and may decrease your processing power, causing this warning show up as well.

`Lua Stack Error: Should be X, is Y...`#

This is an internal error and should not supposed to happen. Those are guards set around our Lua Scripting implementation to prevent bad things from happening. If this error appears it means a implementation bug happened. Please communicate immediately with the devs, and if possible how to reproduce that!

Server Configuration