Linking an Alpine Faction Server to FactionFiles for Statistics Tracking

From Red Faction Wiki

    • This step-by-step guide will walk you through linking your Red Faction 1 Alpine Faction v1.4+ dedicated server to FactionFiles for full statistics tracking.

    What is a Game Server Key (GSK)?

    • Each dedicated server links to FactionFiles via a Game Server Key. Once this link is established, game statistics from the server are automatically sent to FactionFiles.
    • A GSK is, in effect, a password for your server.
    • A new GSK means a new tracked server (from FactionFiles' perspective). You should make a new GSK whenever you create a net new server.
    • You should NOT make a new GSK every time you rename your server - GSKs identify unique servers, but it is ultimately up to you to determine what constitutes a "new" server.
      • For example, "Awesomeman's 24/7 DM" gets a GSK. If Awesomeman renames the server to "Awesomeman's Pub Server", it keeps the same GSK. However, when Awesomeman decides to start running a dedicated Gun Game server ("Awesomeman's Gun Game"), that gets its own GSK because it is, fundamentally, a different server.

    What is a Demo?

    • A demo (also known in other games as a "replay") is a saved file that contains a recording of all of the critical information about what happened during a game, so you can re-watch that game in your Alpine Faction client as it was originally played.
    • Demos can be recorded either automatically or on-demand by any Alpine Faction v1.4+ dedicated server, and are saved to RedFaction/demos/ on the system running the dedicated server.
    • If an Alpine Faction v1.4+ that is linked to FactionFiles via a GSK is automatically recording demos, those demos can be automatically uploaded to FactionFiles and served for download via the statistics page for that game.

    Step 1: Get a GSK

    • Navigate to FactionFiles.com, login, and click your username in the top right corner to edit your profile.
    • Scroll down to the Game Server Management section, and click Open game server management.
    • Click Register a new server in the top right corner.
    • Give your server a name and optionally a note, then click Register server. Note that the name and note here are entirely for your own purposes in identifying your server - they are never displayed to the public, and you do not need to update them if you rename your server.`
    • Under the Game Server Key column on the list of servers, click Copy under the masked GSK to copy your GSK to the clipboard.
      • IMPORTANT: A GSK is, in effect, a password for your server. It is important that you keep it private.

    Step 2: Apply the GSK to your server

    Open your dedicated server's ADS config file (the one you pass to AlpineFactionLauncher.exe with -ads).

    Add a fflink_gsk to the top-level (root) section, and provide your GSK in quotation marks - matching the format below. 

    fflink_gsk = "76995e7e2f5f053f9a73e13925e952dc"

    Save your ADS config file, then launch (or relaunch) your server. When your server starts, you should see series of log entries that look similar to the below. 

    -- Requesting FactionFiles session key --
FactionFiles session established (server id 0).

    If you see this, your server is successfully linked to FactionFiles, and statistics tracking is active. You do not need to do anything or change anything the next time you start your server - it will just work without issue as long as that GSK in is your ADS config file. If you do NOT see the above, something is not working right. Check and verify that your GSK is provided in the format above, and if it still isn't working, drop by the Red Faction Community Discord for some assistance.

    Step 2: (Optional) Automatically record and send demos

    In order to have demos from your server automatically recorded and sent to FactionFiles to be served on the statistics page for each game, add the following to the top-level (root) section of your ADS config file. 

    demo_auto_record = true

    This makes your server automatically record demos of each game played (and save them to RedFaction/demos/), and if you have a GSK configured, automatically upload them to FactionFiles.

    You should now see log entries that look like this when one map ends and another begins. 

    -- Level Initializing: dm01.rfl (DM) --
Demo recording started: C:\games\RedFaction\demos\dm01_20260824-200146.afd
-- Level Initializing: dm19.rfl (DM) --
Demo recording stopped: C:\games\RedFaction\demos\dm01_20260824-200146.afd
Demo recording started: C:\games\RedFaction\demos\dm19_20260824-200147.afd
Uploading demo dm01_20260824-200146.afd to FactionFiles...
Demo dm01_20260824-200146.afd uploaded (game 1352e6871dbb156f)

    NOTE: If you forcefully close your server in the middle of a game, the demo for that game will not be uploaded to FactionFiles. If you want to ensure a given demo is uploaded to FactionFiles before you close your server, wait until you see the log entry that says it has been uploaded.

    IMPORTANT: Demos from most servers are retained and accessible for 90 days after being uploaded. Demos from match mode servers are retained indefinitely. If you are running a match server, please contact us via Discord so that your server can be flagged for indefinite demo retention.


    There are some other completely optional settings that you can configure with regard to demos and their automatic uploading if you wish. Those settings are listed below for reference, with comments indicating what they do. The values shown below are the default values, which are used if you do not explicitly change them. 

    # Should in-game chat be included in recorded demos? Default: true
demo_chat_record = true

# Should automatically recorded demos be automatically uploaded to FactionFiles, if a GSK is configured for this server? Default: true
fflink_demo_upload = true

# What is the maximum file size of a demo that your server will send to FactionFiles? Default: 100MB
fflink_demo_max_mb = 100

# How many demos can possibly be queued for sending to FactionFiles simultaneously? Default: 32
fflink_demo_queue_max = 32

# Should demos that are sent to FactionFiles automatically be deleted from the RedFaction/demos/ directory on the server after being sent? Default: false
fflink_demo_delete_after_send = false

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