Basic Setup

  1. Move the files sapp.dll, strings.dl*l and the server executable (*haloded.exe or haloceded.exe) to a safe location. This folder will function as your Halo dedicated server folder.

  1. Create a text file named init.txt in this folder. This will act as the server init file You will need to customize it later. For now, use the following commands.

    init.txt 
    sv_name "!!!@@@_dancing_warthogs_@@@!!!"

load

  1. Copy the “maps” folder from your Halo installation directory (or download) to your Halo dedicated server folder.

  1. Run the dedicated server to initialize the SAPP files. Just run it once, then close it once you see SAPP load.

    Best practice would be to run it with the -path command line argument as shown below. (see: Command Line Arguments) Here we have selected the root folder (.) as the path:

    > haloceded.exe -path .

    Caution

    It is highly recommended that you specify the path argument when running the server. Otherwise your savegames, logs, and sapp folder will default to your documents folder and you will have trouble managing your files, since they are in two separate locations.

    Tip

    You can setup a batch script or shortcut to do this efficiently. See: Launching the Server with Arguments

  1. Configure the server as explained in the next section, and start the server again. Now your server should be ready to go!