Installing a map on a Garrys-Mod server

By default, a Garry's Mod server starts on a stock map such as gm_construct or gm_flatgrass. To give your DarkRP, TTT or sandbox server a real identity, installing a custom map from the Steam Workshop is pretty much a must. Good news: from your Lordhosting panel, the whole operation only takes a few minutes and requires no manual file transfer.

Prerequisites

• An active Garry's Mod server at Lordhosting
• Your credentials for the game panel
• The map of your choice, found on the Garry's Mod Workshop
• A Workshop collection linked to your server - if you have not set one up yet, follow our guide to create a Workshop collection first

Step 1: Add the map to your collection

1. Log in to Steam and open the Workshop page of the map you want.
2. Click the "Add to Collection" button and tick the collection used by your server.
3. Check that the map now appears in the list of items in your collection.

As long as the collection ID is set in your server's startup parameters, any item added to the collection will be downloaded automatically at the next start.

Step 2: Install the map on the server

First, you need to go to your game panel, log in, and follow these steps:

1. Select your server and open the "Console" tab.
2. Restart your server: the map will be installed automatically during startup.
3. Watch the progress in the console - depending on the size of the map, the download can take a few minutes.

Step 3: Set the startup map

Once the map is installed, you still need to tell the server to load it at launch:

1. Go to your panel, in the "Startup" category.
2. In the field dedicated to the map, replace the current value with the exact name of the MAP, meaning the name of the .bsp file without its extension (for example rp_downtown_v2, not rp_downtown_v2.bsp).
3. If in doubt, open the "File Manager" tab and look inside the garrysmod/maps folder: you will find the freshly downloaded file there.
4. Restart your server one last time: it now loads your new map.

Common issues

The server keeps starting on the default map. The name entered in the Startup tab does not exactly match the installed file. Check the spelling and case in garrysmod/maps via the File Manager: a single character off is enough for the server to fall back to gm_construct.

The map does not install on restart. Make sure your collection ID is set in the Startup tab and that the collection is public on Steam: a private collection cannot be read by the server. The console shows any Workshop download errors during startup.

Players get stuck when joining. They need to download the map when connecting to the server: check that it is part of the collection linked to the server, otherwise every player will have to subscribe to it manually on the Workshop.

Conclusion

Installing a map comes down to three actions: add it to your Workshop collection, restart the server to install it, then enter its exact name in the Startup tab. To go further, round out your server with addons or a gamemode that fits your new map.

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