How to Join a Counter Strike: Source server

Congratulations on setting up your Counter-Strike Source (CS:S) server with PingPlayers! Now that your server is live, it’s time to connect and start playing. If you’re new to this, don’t worry—we’re here to guide you through the process step by step.

How to connect:

Before you can connect to your server, you need to know its IP address and Port number, or set at least one Tag.

There are two methods to connect: Server Browser and Direct Connect.

Server Browser by Tag:

Go to the server configuration panel at My Servers > Manage Server.
Go to Basic Settings and locate the Server Tags variable.
Write a tag or multiple ones to your server. Eg. noobonly
Restart your server to apply the changes and wait for it to be running again.
Open your game (CS:S) and click Find Servers.
Type the tag you added in the Internet tab and select it.
Click the server and click Connect to join.

Direct Connect via Console:

Go to the server configuration panel at My Servers > Manage Server.
Find the IP Address and Port in the server's configuration panel.The format typically looks like this: 123.456.789.101:27015. In this example, 123.456.789.101 is the IP address and 27015 is the port.
Open the game in your PC.
Enable the in-game console if you didn't already. Click on Options > Keyboard > Advanced…
Press the ~ key (usually located below the Esc key on your keyboard) to open the console.
Type the connect command followed the server's IP+Port. The syntax is: connect IP:PORT
Example:
```
connect 205.209.116.30:11122
```
If the server has a password, you'll need to add the password in the same command line.connect (IP+port); password (password).
For example, if the password for the game would be “test123”, the full line command would be connect 205.209.116.30:11122; password test123
Hit Enter on your keyboard to connect.

That will be it, you should be taken to your custom server where you can join your friends and start playing!

Troubleshooting Tips

Server Not Responding: If you get a message that the server is not responding, it might be offline. Double-check your server status in the PingPlayers dashboard. Make sure the server is finished being set up, as well.
Incorrect IP/Port: Ensure you typed the IP and port correctly in the connect command.