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To change the map on a FREAKHOSTING Counter-Strike 1.6 server right now, type changelevel de_inferno in the Game Panel Console, or amx_map de_inferno in game as an admin. To change the map the server starts on, set Start map in Game settings (or Map on Startup) and restart. The map rotation comes from the map cycle file.

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Which way should I change the map?

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How to set the start map

1

Open Game settings

Click Game settings under GAME SETTINGS.
2

Change Start map

In Start-up, type the map name without .bsp in Start map, for example de_inferno. The default is de_dust2.
3

Save and restart

Click Review and save, then Save changes, and restart the server.
Start map has a STARTUP badge: it sets the Map variable on the Startup page, which the server passes as +map when it starts. You can also change Map on Startup directly.

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How to change the map from the console

Open the Console and type:
The map must exist in cstrike/maps on your server. Use the name without .bsp.

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How to change the map in game

Log in as an AMX Mod X admin, open the game console and type:
amx_mapmenu opens a menu of maps, and amx_votemap de_inferno de_nuke starts a vote. Players can type nextmap or timeleft in chat to see what comes next.

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How to edit the map rotation

When a map ends (see Time limit per map, Rounds per map and Win limit in Game settings), the server loads the next map from the map cycle file. That file is normally mapcycle.txt in the cstrike folder; Map cycle file (an advanced setting in Game settings) sets which file is used.
1

Open the file

In Files, open cstrike/mapcycle.txt.
2

List the maps

Put one map name per line, without .bsp:
3

Save and change map

Save the file. The new list is used from the next map change.
The AMX Mod X maps menu reads addons/amxmodx/configs/maps.ini first. If that file doesn’t exist, it uses the map cycle file.

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How to add custom maps

1

Upload the map

Upload the .bsp file to cstrike/maps with the File Manager or SFTP.
2

Upload its resources

If the map came with other files (.wad, sounds, models, sprites, a .res file), upload them to the same folders inside cstrike as in the download.
3

Load it

Type changelevel <mapname> in the console, or add it to the map cycle.
Players who don’t have the map download it when they join. Large maps download slowly from the game server; set up fast download (FastDL) to speed this up.

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Frequently asked questions

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Why does changelevel say the map isn’t found?

The .bsp file isn’t in cstrike/maps, or the name is spelt differently. Map names are case-sensitive on our Linux servers.

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Why does the server go back to de_dust2 after a restart?

The server always starts on Start map. Set it to the map you want and restart.

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How do I make one map run forever?

Put only that map in the map cycle file and set Time limit per map to 0.

CS 1.6 server guide

Every Counter-Strike 1.6 page in one place.

Game settings

Time limit, rounds and win limit.

Admin and console commands

amx_map, amx_votemap and more.

Fast download (FastDL)

Faster custom map downloads.
Tested by the FREAKHOSTING team on our Game Panel on 30 October 2026 (Counter-Strike 1.6 on ReHLDS 3.14 with AMX Mod X 1.10). Steps may differ slightly if the game changes.

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Need Extra Help?

If you encounter any issues, our support team is ready to assist:

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Last Updated: October 2026