Ghosts? My server changed itself...

[Aro2220]

I set up srcds for l4d on linux (CentOs) on a vps I rented.

I've never used this before but I was able to get it running and the server is hosted publicly just fine.

I have it hosting a vpk (custom map) and currently I'm trying to figure out how to get that map to automatically download for players or, at the very least, display a web link like it does when I host it on my home computer (Windows 7).

I came back a couple hours later and connected to my server ... and 3 people were playing on one of the regular L4D maps on it.

What on earth? How did this happen??? How did my map get switched?

After I played with them a bit they left and I left and when I logged back on 20 minutes later ...my original custom map was being hosted again.

I'm at a loss.

[Dragineez]

If players create a lobby and select a campaign and yours is the "best available", your server will switch to that map/campaign so they can play. It happens all the time on my server, nothing to worry about.

[Aro2220]

lol, really? I wanted to set my server up so that it's always around to play a custom map we're making.

Of course the major problem is that you can't seem to automatically download the map.

The second major problem is that even though with the VPK you can get it to pop up that "add on needed, go to this site to download it" box when I host in windows...when I host in Linux I can't figure out how to get it to show up!!

It just says the user doesn't have the map and doesn't tell them where to get it.

[Dragineez]

You can go ahead and my your server private so the general player community can't use it. Either use a password or steam group id options. I've implemented fast download of bsp directly from the Linux web server, but I don't know if that works for vpks. If you had a cfg directive that provided a message/link under a Windows server, that same directive should work in Linux.