Team Fortress Classic is the 1999 original, nine classes, grenades on everyone, and rocket jumping as it was first written. To play it with friends you need a dedicated server. This guide shows how to host one on 2hours.gg by the hour, with the official maps already built in, so nobody has to download anything.
What you are hosting
TFC runs on the GoldSrc engine. Under the hood the server is Half-Life Dedicated Server (HLDS) running the tfc game folder. On 2hours.gg that whole stack is prebuilt, so you do not touch SteamCMD or edit config files. You pick a map and a size, and the server boots with the tfc mod already installed.
- Engine: GoldSrc (HLDS), the tfc mod folder from Half-Life Dedicated Server, app 90.
- Players: 2 to 32, set by the size you pick: 8, 16 or 32 seats.
- No GSLT, no port forwarding: The server runs on a public IP. No Steam game-server token, no router setup, no VPN.
Host a server in about 5 minutes
The deploy page does the whole build. You only choose three things.
- Map: The starting map. 2Fort is the default. The full list is below.
- Size: 8, 16 or 32 players. Same GoldSrc hardware, more seats.
- Join password: Leave it empty for a public server anyone with the IP can join. Set one for a private server only your friends can enter.
Maps that ship built in
Every official map comes with the game, so nobody downloads anything. Pick the starting map on deploy, then change it live from the console with rcon changelevel. The picker offers:
- Capture the Flag: 2Fort, Well, Badlands, Rock 2, Casbah, Epicenter, Ravelin. Grab the enemy flag and bring it home.
- Attack and Defend: Dustbowl, Avanti, Push. One team pushes control points on a timer, the other holds.
- Territorial Control: Warpath. Teams fight over a line of command points across the map.
- The Hunted: One player is the VIP the bodyguards escort and the assassins try to stop.
How friends join
A dedicated server is joined by IP, not by a Steam friend invite. Give your friends the IP shown on the server card. They open the console with the ~ key and connect.
connect IP:27015- Public: Join password left empty. Anyone with the IP can join and the server lists in the browser under 2hours.gg.
- Private: Set a join password on deploy. Friends set it before connecting: password yourpass; connect IP:27015
Run the server as admin
TFC has no in-game admin menu. You run admin over RCON. Your server has a random RCON password, shown on the server card. Log in once, then prefix commands with rcon. You can do this from the in-game console or from the web console on 2hours.gg, both speak GoldSrc RCON.
rcon_password yourpassword
rcon changelevel dustbowl
rcon mp_timelimit 30
rcon mp_friendlyfire 0
rcon status- rcon changelevel <map>: Switch map now, for example rcon changelevel well. Players briefly reconnect.
- rcon mp_timelimit <minutes>: Minutes before the map rotates. 0 means no limit, default is 30.
- rcon mp_friendlyfire <0|1>: Friendly fire off (0) or on (1). Off by default.
- rcon kick <name>: Remove a player by name.
Deploy a Team Fortress Classic server by the hour