How to Set Up an Aftershock Dedicated Server

How to Set Up an Aftershock Dedicated Server

Hosting your own Aftershock server gives you full control, reliable performance, and a persistent world for your players. Follow this detailed guide to set it up on a Linux machine using SteamCMD.

⚙️ System Requirements

• OS: Ubuntu 18.04+, Debian 10+, CentOS 8+
• CPU: Dual-core or better
• RAM: Minimum 8 GB
• Storage: At least 20 GB SSD
• Access: Root or sudo privileges

✈️ Step 1: Update Your Server

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum update -y

👥 Step 2: Create a Dedicated User

sudo adduser aftershock
sudo passwd aftershock
su - aftershock

🔐 Step 3: Install Required Packages

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt install lib32gcc-s1 screen wget curl nano -y

CentOS/RHEL:

sudo yum install glibc.i686 libstdc++.i686 ncurses-libs.i686 screen wget curl nano -y

💾 Step 4: Install SteamCMD

mkdir ~/steamcmd
cd ~/steamcmd
curl -o steamcmd.tar.gz https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
tar -xvzf steamcmd.tar.gz

📥 Step 5: Install the Aftershock Server

cd ~/steamcmd
./steamcmd.sh +login anonymous \
    +force_install_dir ./aftershock-server \
    +app_update 123456 validate \
    +quit

Replace 123456 with the actual Steam AppID for Aftershock.

🛠 Step 6: Create a Startup Script

nano ~/steamcmd/aftershock-server/start_aftershock.sh

Paste the following content:

#!/bin/bash

SERVER_NAME="MyAftershock"
PORT="7777"
QUERY_PORT="27015"
RCON_PORT="32330"
ADMIN_PASSWORD="YourAdminPassword"
MAX_PLAYERS="32"

screen -dmS aftershock \
  ./AftershockServer \
  -Port=$PORT \
  -QueryPort=$QUERY_PORT \
  -RCONPort=$RCON_PORT \
  -ServerName="$SERVER_NAME" \
  -MaxPlayers=$MAX_PLAYERS \
  -AdminPassword="$ADMIN_PASSWORD" \
  -log

Make it executable:

chmod +x ~/steamcmd/aftershock-server/start_aftershock.sh

🚀 Step 7: Start the Server

sh ~/steamcmd/aftershock-server/start_aftershock.sh

Stop the server:

screen -S aftershock -X quit

🌐 Step 8: Configure Firewall

UFW (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo ufw allow 7777/udp
sudo ufw allow 27015/udp
sudo ufw allow 32330/udp

iptables:

sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 7777 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 27015 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 32330 -j ACCEPT

✅ Step 9: Optional – Create a systemd Service

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/aftershock.service

Paste this:

[Unit]
Description=Aftershock Dedicated Game Server
After=network.target

[Service]
User=aftershock
WorkingDirectory=/home/aftershock/steamcmd/aftershock-server
ExecStart=/home/aftershock/steamcmd/aftershock-server/start_aftershock.sh
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable aftershock
sudo systemctl start aftershock

🔄 Step 10: Update the Server

cd ~/steamcmd
./steamcmd.sh +login anonymous \
    +force_install_dir ./aftershock-server \
    +app_update 123456 validate \
    +quit

sudo systemctl restart aftershock

🎮 Step 11: Connect to Your Server

• Launch Aftershock
• Find your server in the browser or use direct IP

🎉 Conclusion

Your Aftershock dedicated server is now live! You’ve got automated startup, secured user access, and a persistent game world under your control. Happy hosting!