Determining Optimal Maxplayers
The maxplayers setting should be optimized related to your uplink connection. If you are unsure of your uplink connection speed, go to
http://www.dslreports.com and run the free speed test.
You will see two numbers, download and upload (or uplink).
Download is how fast you can get data to the server. Upload/uplink is how fast the server can send data out to players.
Basically for internet connections (bits/second):
128k uplink = 4 players (2 players for srcds)
256k uplink = 7 players (4 players for srcds)
320k uplink = 9 players (6 players for srcds)
512k uplink = 14 players (9 players for srcds)
768k uplink = 21 players (14 players for srcds)
1024k uplink = 28 player (19 players for srcds - note 16 players is max for HL2DM)
1140k uplink = 32 players (max for HLDS) (21 players for CS:S)
1708k uplink = 32 players for CS:S (max)
Your particular optimal setting may vary depending on your connection. Local players on LAN are not included in this count.
A good rule for HLDS is 35.6Kbits per player.
A good rule for SRCDS (Source Games) is 53.4KBits per player (about 1.5x more than HLDM).
Certain maps and MODs may take more uplink bandwidth.