Puck Guide

Getting Started - The Simple Way

There are TWO different ways of hosting your own Puck server, one is to simply open your game up normally and open the "SERVER BROWSER" menu and select "NEW SERVER" at the bottom

You will be presented with this screen

The Advanced Way

Want something more permanent, stable, dedicated and more performant?

VPS vs Home Server

VPS: Professional hosting, better uptime, monthly cost. Best for 24/7 public servers (CDL, Toasters Rinks & PHL).

Home Server: No ongoing costs, full control, uses your bandwidth/electricity. Best for friends & family servers.

VPS Providers

• Vultr

Vultr is a good provider, they have a lot of locations and are very cheap. Easy to setup and use.

• OVH

OVH is a french provider, they also have a lot of locations and are also very cheap.

Operating System

Debian (Recommended) - Stable, beginner-friendly, minimal resources.
Ubuntu Server - User-friendly, great community support.
Fedora Server - Modern features, cutting-edge packages.
Docker Container - Easiest deployment (Not available yet).
Windows Server - Familiar interface but resource-heavy. Not recommended.

Server Setup & Configuration

Step 1: Update Your System

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Prerequisites & SteamCMD

Install necessary tools and prepare SteamCMD:

apt install software-properties-common
echo "deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nonfree.list
dpkg --add-architecture i386
apt update
apt install steamcmd

Step 3: Create Server Download Directory

mkdir -p /srv/puck-download

Step 4: Download Puck Server Files

Use SteamCMD to download the server files:

/usr/games/steamcmd +force_install_dir /srv/puck-download +login anonymous +app_update 3481440 +quit

Note: 3481440 is the Steam App ID for Puck's dedicated server. You can verify it on SteamDB.

Step 5: Create System User for Running Server

Create a dedicated system user for running the server:

adduser --system --no-create-home --group puckd

Step 6: Set Up the First Server Instance

Create the server directory and assign permissions:

mkdir -p /srv/puck/server1
cp -r /srv/puck-download/* /srv/puck/server1/
chown -R puckd:puckd /srv/puck/server1
chmod +x /srv/puck/server1/start_server.sh
chmod +x /srv/puck/server1/Puck.x86_64

Step 7: Create Server Configuration

nano /srv/puck/server1/config.json

Paste and modify as needed:

{
  "port": 7777,
  "pingPort": 7778,
  "name": "My Dedicated Puck Server",
  "maxPlayers": 10,
  "password": "",
  "voip": false,
  "isPublic": true,
  "adminSteamIds": [],
  "reloadBannedSteamIds": false,
  "usePuckBannedSteamIds": true,
  "printMetrics": true,
  "kickTimeout": 300,
  "sleepTimeout": 60,
  "joinMidMatchDelay": 10,
  "targetFrameRate": 120,
  "serverTickRate": 100,
  "clientTickRate": 200,
  "startPaused": false,
  "allowVoting": true,
  "phaseDurationMap": {
    "Warmup": 600,
    "FaceOff": 3,
    "Playing": 300,
    "BlueScore": 5,
    "RedScore": 5,
    "Replay": 10,
    "PeriodOver": 15,
    "GameOver": 15
  },
  "mods": [
    {
      "id": 3493628417,
      "enabled": false,
      "clientRequired": true
    },
    {
      "id": 3491056040,
      "enabled": true,
      "clientRequired": false
    }
  ]
}

Step 8: Create systemd Unit

nano /etc/systemd/system/puck@.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=Puck Dedicated Server - %i
After=network.target

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/srv/puck/%i
User=puckd
ExecStart=/srv/puck/%i/start_server.sh --serverConfigurationPath /srv/puck/%i/config.json
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 9: Enable and Start the Server

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable puck@server1
systemctl start puck@server1

Check status:

systemctl status puck@server1
journalctl -u puck@server1 -f

Step 10: Open Firewall Ports

By default, Debian has no firewall configured, meaning all ports are open. On a VPS, this is a security risk.

Install ufw and open required UDP ports

apt install ufw
ufw enable
ufw allow 7777/udp
ufw allow 7778/udp

Adjust port numbers based on your configuration.

Managing Multiple Servers

Step 1: Duplicate Server Files

Copy the existing server instance to create a new one:

cp -r /srv/puck/server1 /srv/puck/server2

Step 2: Configure New Server Ports

Edit the configuration file and change the port numbers:

Change ports to one above both, example 7779 & 7780

nano /srv/puck/server2/config.json

Step 3: Set File Permissions

Mods & Logging will break if you skip this step

Give ownership of the new files to the puckd user:

chown -R puckd:puckd /srv/puck/server2

Step 4: Enable Auto-Start

Enable the new server to start automatically on boot:

systemctl enable puck@server2

Step 5: Start and Monitor

Start the server:

systemctl start puck@server2

Check if it's working with logs:

journalctl -u puck@server2 -f

Server Management Commands

• View logs: journalctl -u puck@server1 -f
• Restart: systemctl restart puck@server1
• Stop: systemctl stop puck@server1
• Update: Stop server, re-run SteamCMD in /srv/puck-download, copy over updated files.

Troubleshooting

Service won't start
Check logs with journalctl -u puck@server1

Can't connect
Double-check firewall and public IP on VPS

Your Puck server should now be live and ready for players.