Command-line flags
The Codename Eagle executable (ce.exe) accepts a series of space-separated launch flags, each prefixed with +. Parsing stops at the first token that does not start with +, so put your flags first. String values must be wrapped in double quotes - an unquoted string flag is silently ignored.
Historical patch readmes refer to the binary as game.exe; modern installs call it ce.exe. The two names are interchangeable here. Many of these flags map onto options you can also set from the in-game console or when hosting a game.
Flags
- +host [port]
- Host a game. An optional trailing integer overrides the UDP game port (default 24711).
- +connect <ip>:<port>
- Join a server. Four dotted octets plus a port; the :port defaults to 24711 if omitted.
- +maxplayers <2-30>
- Maximum number of players. Clamped to 30 at most.
- +name "<name>"
- Player name (max 10 characters).
- +team red|blue|auto
- Team selection.
- +hostname "<name>"
- Server name shown in the browser.
- +map "<name>"
- Level to load, resolved by name from
LEVELS.NFO. Case insensitive. - +game <type>
- Game type. Either deathmatch, teamplay or ctf (Capture the Flag).
- +dedicated
- Dedicated server mode: skips the menu and video setup and opens a server console. Host-only.
- +edit "<map>"
- Open the built-in level editor for the named map (forces single player, loads the editor level). Undocumented; a missing or unquoted map name is fatal.
Example
A typical dedicated CTF server, hosting the map Breakpoint:
game.exe +host +dedicated +hostname "CE" +maxplayers 9 +map "Breakpoint" +game"ctf"Ports
The game/session UDP port defaults to 24711 - this is what +host [port] and the :port in +connect override. The GameSpy query port (4711) is fixed and hardcoded; it cannot be changed. See the hosting guide for which ports to open.
Running under Wine
Under Wine, unquoted string flags can get dropped entirely. The reliable workaround is to launch the game from a .bat file, which preserves the quoting around string values.