This guide covers common issues you may encounter when running a Garry's Mod dedicated server with Legion Hosting, along with their causes and fixes.

Table of Contents

1. Missing Textures / Pink and Black Checkerboards
2. Workshop Addons Not Downloading
3. Server Not Appearing in Server Browser
4. DarkRP Jobs Not Appearing
5. ULX Commands Not Working
6. High Ping / Lag
7. Server Crashes on Startup
8. Clients Stuck on "Downloading" or Slow Joins

1. Missing Textures / Pink and Black Checkerboards

Server-Side Fixes

• Mount Counter-Strike: Source: In GPanel, check if your plan includes mounting additional game content. If available, enable CS:S mounting in your server settings.
• CSS Content Addon: Add a community CS:S content pack from the Garry's Mod Workshop to your server's Workshop collection. Search for "Counter-Strike: Source Content" and add it.
• Manual Upload: If neither option above is available, you can manually upload CS:S content files via SFTP to garrysmod/addons/css-content/. See the SFTP upload guide for instructions.

Client-Side Fix

Players who own Counter-Strike: Source can mount it in GMod under Options → Game Content. This resolves missing textures on their end without any server changes.

2. Workshop Addons Not Downloading

If your server is not loading Workshop addons on startup, check the following:

3. Server Not Appearing in Server Browser

If your server is running but not showing up in the Steam server browser:

• Check sv_lan: Make sure sv_lan 0 is set in server.cfg. A value of 1 makes the server LAN-only.
• Check your GSLT: Ensure a valid Game Server Login Token is set via sv_setsteamaccount. An expired or revoked token will prevent public listing. Generate a new one at steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers.
• Wait a few minutes: It can take several minutes for a new server to appear in the Steam master server list after first startup.
• Test with direct connect: Try connecting via direct IP first (see the connection instructions) to confirm the server is actually running.

4. DarkRP Jobs Not Appearing

If custom jobs are not showing up in the F4 menu after setting up DarkRP:

• Check folder locations: DarkRP itself must be in garrysmod/gamemodes/darkrp/, not in addons/. DarkRPModification must be in garrysmod/addons/darkrpmodification/. This is the most common mistake.
• Check for Lua errors: Open the server console in GPanel and look for Lua errors during startup. A syntax error in jobs.lua will prevent all custom jobs from loading.
• Verify the gamemode: Confirm sv_gamemode "darkrp" is set in server.cfg and the server was fully restarted (not just map-changed).
• Check file encoding: If you edited Lua files on Windows, ensure they are saved as UTF-8 without BOM. Some text editors add a BOM (byte order mark) that can break Lua parsing.

Quick Debugging Steps

// Run these in the server console to check gamemode status:
lua_run print(engine.ActiveGamemode())
// Should output: darkrp

lua_run PrintTable(RPExtraTeams)
// Should list all custom jobs if DarkRP loaded correctly

5. ULX Commands Not Working

If ULX commands return errors or do nothing after installation:

• Both addons installed? ULX requires both ULib and ULX. ULX will not function without ULib. Verify both are present in garrysmod/addons/ or in your Workshop collection.
• Check console for errors: Look at the server console output in GPanel during startup for errors mentioning ULib or ULX.
• Verify your user assignment: Run ulx adduser with your exact Steam display name, or use ulx adduserid "STEAM_0:1:12345678" superadmin with your Steam ID for reliability.
• Addon conflicts: Some addons can conflict with ULX. If commands stopped working after adding a new addon, try removing it and restarting to isolate the issue.

6. High Ping / Lag

If your server is experiencing high ping or lag spikes:

• Too many addons: Large Workshop collections increase memory usage and loading time. Review your collection and remove addons that are not actively used.
• Entity overload (DarkRP): DarkRP servers with many spawnable entities (money printers, drug labs, etc.) can be CPU-intensive. Set reasonable entity limits in darkrpmodification/lua/darkrp_config/settings.lua.
• Auto-save lag spikes: If lag spikes occur on a regular interval (every few minutes), it may be the server auto-saving. This is normal behavior but the interval can be tuned.
• Player count vs. plan: Make sure your player count does not exceed what your plan's resources can handle. Consider lowering maxplayers in server.cfg if you are close to resource limits.
• Map complexity: Some community maps are poorly optimized. If lag began after switching maps, try reverting to a simpler map to isolate the issue.

7. Server Crashes on Startup

If your server crashes or fails to start:

• Check the console log: In GPanel, review the console output before the crash. The last few lines usually indicate the cause.
• Bad addon: A recently added addon may be causing the crash. Remove the last addon you added and try restarting. If the server starts, the addon is the problem.
• Corrupted gamemode files: If using DarkRP or another third-party gamemode, try reinstalling it fresh from the Workshop or GitHub.
• Out of memory: Too many addons can exceed your plan's memory allocation. Check resource usage in GPanel and consider trimming your addon list.

8. Clients Stuck on "Downloading" or Slow Joins

If players are stuck downloading content for a long time when joining:

• Set up FastDL: Without FastDL, clients download files directly through the game server which is very slow. See the FastDL section of the server setup guide.
• Use Workshop for addons: Addons delivered via Workshop download through Steam's CDN, which is faster than direct server download. Prefer Workshop collections over manual addon uploads when possible.
• Reduce addon count: Each addon adds to the client download time. Remove addons that are not essential to your server's gameplay.
• Check resource.AddFile usage: If you are forcing clients to download many files via resource.lua, review the list and remove entries for files that are not actually needed client-side.

Related Articles

• Garry's Mod Server Setup Guide — Server.cfg, Workshop, gamemodes, DarkRP, FastDL
• Garry's Mod Admin Setup (ULX) — Install ULX/ULib, admin commands, permission groups
• How to Upload Files via SFTP
• How to Find Your Server IP and Port