I find that ozfortress[ozfortress.com] servers are the easiest to use.



Booking an Ozfortress Server

• 1. Go to the ozf server booking webpage.[ozfortress.com]
  
• 2. Click on the 'Book a server' button. An invite to Discord[discordapp.com] will pop-up. Join Discord and the #bookings channel.
  
• 3. Type '/book' into chat and you should receive a message from @BookerBot.
  
• 4. The message will contain the string, with the password and rcon_password
  
• Ta-da! You have your server!
  
• Commands include: '/book', '/unbook', '/string', '/demos [username]', '/servers' and '/help'.

Qixalite is another TF2 server provider.



Booking a Qixalite Server

• 1. Qixalite also has a Discord[discordapp.com] booking service.
  
• 2. If you are new to this Discord, you have to wait 10 minutes after joining, before proceeding.
  
• 3. After 10 minutes, join the #booking server and type 'book' into chat. You should receive a private message with the server details.
  
• Commands include: 'book', 'unbook' and 'extend'.

Besides these, you can also visit UGC.[www.gameservers.com] The downside to using UGC servers is that you can only book one server a day, and it requires Email Confirmation. This is unrecommended, as UGC servers are usually used for official matches.



Booking a UGC Server

• 1. Go to the UGC server booking webpage.[www.gameservers.com]
  
• 2. Click on 'Claim Now!', preferably on one of the '(AU) Sydney, Australia' servers.
  
• 3. The site will then prompt you for a web-captcha code and an email. Enter these in.
  
• 4. Change 'Time Requested' to however long you want the server for.
  
• 5. Press 'Go'.
  
• 6. Check your email account. There should be an email with a link to claim the server.
  
• 7. Click on the link. A new page should open with details for your server.

Other Info

• Remember, these servers are free services just for you, so do not abuse them and don't be afraid to donate to help keep the servers running.

You only need the server address, ip and rcon password to make lobbies.

Assuming you already have logged into TF2Center[tf2center.com] before, this should be relatively easy and self-explanatory.

• 1. Click the big yellow 'Create' button.
  
  
• 2. Enter in the server address and ip into the 'Server Address:' box.
  
• 3. Enter in the rcon password into the 'Rcon Password:' box.
  
• 4. For a highlander game, leave the 'Game Type:' box as 'Highlander'. For other game modes, click on that box, and a drop-down menu will appear. Select your preferred game mode.
  
• 5. In Aus/NZ, we usually use Highlander UGC configs and 6s ozfortress configs.
  
• 6. Make sure to enter in a map name. If you can't remember the whole name of the map, enter the first bit of the name, e.g. 'pl_b'. A drop-down menu will appear with suggestions: pl_barnblitz_pro6, pl_badwater, etc.
  
• 7. Under 'Special Options' tick 'Mumble required' and 'Region lock'.
  
• 8. Press the green 'Create lobby' button. It might take a minute to create.
  
• Voila! You've made your first lobby!

You can now join a slot. Make sure when the lobby fills and the pootis-master heavy yells "WHO IS NOT READY?" you click the green ready button, or you'll be kicked from your slot.

Well, you need 17 more players (for Highlander) or 11 more players (for 6s) to play!

Invite your friends by linking them to your lobby. If they are newcomers to TF2Center, you might find that they need to verify mumble.[tf2center.com]

To find more players you can announce. There are many TF2Center announcement groups, I mainly use TF2Center AUS Lobbies HL/6s. Join the group and to advertise (also known as 'announcing'), go to the Announcements page and post an announcement 3 times with the link to the lobby. Please do not spam.

Usually for ozf servers, you need to have at least 2 people on a server, so that server doesn't unbook, after a certain amount of time. Some people call this 'idling'.
To find an idle string:

• 1. Launch TF2
  
• 2. Open Console ( ~ , ` or 'tilde' button, located top left of your keyboard). If you have not enabled console, go to Options > Advanced > Enable Developer Console.
  
• 3. Type "rcon_address <server:port>; rcon_password <password>; rcon sv_password" into console and press enter. In the < > brackets, enter the relevent information.
  
• 4. Your console will then spit out a length of random letters and numbers. This is the password to connect to the server. Highlight and copy this.
  
• 5. Type "connect <server:port>; password <password> in console and press enter to find your connect string. If done correctly, you should be able to join to the server.
  
• 6. Bring console (~ or `) back up and copy that connect string and paste it into your TF2Center lobby chat. Usually someone will help idle and join off that connect string.
  
• 7. Ensure you have at least 2 people on the server.

If you know the lobby is going to fill fast, an idle string might not be needed.

If players do not join the server or mumble, you can report them by typing "!rep <our|their> <class>" in chat. Usually manual reports need 4 players to report. This results in that player getting a lower reliability.

For example:

• Our heavy is not in the server:. !rep our heavy
  
• Their scout is not in mumble: !rep their scout

Note: Demoman can be written as Demo, Engineer as Engie, as well as, Soldier as Solly.
!rep their demo / !rep their demoman

If you !rep yourself and wait for a replacement and this does not lower your reliability.

You can always visit the TF2C forums[forums.tf2center.com] or ask a fellow lobbyer.

Remember: Google is your friend.