Setting up your own game server is only recommended if your players will be connecting to it locally, or if you have a fast and consistent enough connection to be able to sustain 8 players with low ping. Do not host a public server if your connection is slow or inconsistent in a way that may affect the experience of connected clients.

In order for users outside your local network to connect to a server hosted on your computer, you must properly configure your network, security software, and the game so that connection requests can reach your computer.

First, start by downloading the latest GoldenEye: Source Server patch release from the download page.

You must have administrative access to your network hardware (e.g. router) and on the computer in order to make some of the required changes. If you are not the owner of the network or computer, you will need to contact your network or computer administrator to request these changes.

Depending on what type of server you want will decide how you proceed next.

A local LAN server is for computers in the same house/building

A Public Listen server is where you are still hosting from you computer but you want friends and/or random public to join.

Start the game client as you would to play on a public dedicated server.

Click on “Create Server”

Choose the options you would like and create.

For you friends to join:

Click "Find Server" and go to the LAN tab at the top.  The server should be listed.

When in-game you can configure more settings by changing these commands Server Command Reference

You will need your public Internet IP address. This can be viewed quickly by visiting a site like whatismyip.com. This address identifies your connection to the Internet, similar to how a street address identifies your house.

You will need to set your firewall to allow unsolicited incoming connections for the game you intend to host. If you are unsure how to do this, please refer to the manual or contact the support provider for your firewall software, or temporarily disable your firewall for the duration that you host the server.

Forward port 27015 on both TCP and UDP protocols. If you specify an alternate port when creating the server, forward that port instead of port 27015. For guided instructions on forwarding a port for a large selection of home routers, please visit portforward.com and select the router model you have, or that best matches the one you have. Select “Half-Life 2 Steam Server” when you reach the list of applications.

Click on “Create Server”

Choose the options you would like and create.

When in-game you can configure more settings by changing these commands Server Command Reference