Battlefield 1942 Linux Dedicated Server

Linux (Non-Privileged Runtime)

Automated Setup Script

This solution installs the legacy 32-bit Battlefield 1942 dedicated server using a dedicated, non-privileged account, following best security practices.

Overview

Single-Script Setup
One script handles OS dependencies, user creation, and game installation.
Secure Runtime
Runs entirely under a dedicated service account (bf1942_user).
Modern Compatibility
Automatically installs required i386 libraries and legacy libncurses5/libstdc++5.
Systemd Integration
Managed via standard systemctl commands.

⚙️ Configuration

The setup script contains several configuration variables at the top that you can customize before running.

Variable	Default	Description
BF_USER	bf1942_user	The system username created to run the server.
BF_HOME	/home/bf1942_user	The home directory for the service user.
BF_ROOT	~/bf1942	The actual game installation directory.
SERVER_TAR_URL	.../linux-bf1942-server.tar	URL to the game server tarball.

🚀 Usage

Prerequisite

Commands must be run by a user with sudo privileges.

1️⃣ Download and Run

This install script is for Ubuntu 24.0.3 servers. For other distros, please check the repository and adjust the file links accordingly.

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hootmeow/bf1942-linux/main/ubuntu/24.0.3_setup.sh
chmod +x 24.0.3_setup.sh
sudo ./24.0.3_setup.sh

🧪 Supported Distributions

Distro	Status	Notes
Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS	✅ Tested	Primary tested platform.
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS	📝 TODO	Likely works; may need minor package name adjustments.
Debian 12 (Bookworm)	📝 TODO	Uses the same multiarch structure as Ubuntu.
Fedora	📝 TODO	Requires converting apt commands to dnf.
CentOS Stream / RHEL	📝 TODO	Requires converting apt commands to yum/dnf.