Protocol Families

Protocol families

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GameQ exposes named server identifiers, but many of those classes share one wire-protocol implementation. Understanding that relationship helps when choosing a type, interpreting gq_protocol, or changing a parent parser.

Type and family are different

For a Counter-Strike: Source server:

'gq_type' => 'css',
'gq_protocol' => 'source',

The type identifies the configured game class. The family identifies the parser that handled the response. A named subclass can supply its display name, default query-port offset, normalization map, or join link while inheriting all packet handling from its family.

Major shared families

Family	Transport	Representative identifiers	Characteristics
Source/GoldSource	UDP	css, tf2, cs16, arkse	A2S information, optional players/rules, challenges, and split packets.
GameSpy	UDP	bf1942, ut, mohaa	Backslash-delimited status and player/team fields.
GameSpy 2	UDP	arma, halo, swat4	Binary records; several implementations remain beta.
GameSpy 3/4	UDP	bf2, crysis, minecraft, ut3	Session/challenge handling and split key/value/player data.
Quake 2	UDP	quake2, kingpin	Text status response with server variables and players.
Quake 3	UDP	quake3, cod4, urbanterror, sof2	Text status response used by many id Tech 3-derived games.
Unreal 2	UDP	ut2004, killingfloor	Binary rules, players, and teams.
Doom 3	UDP	doom3, quake4	id Tech 4 server information and players.
Frostbite/Battlefield	TCP	bfbc2, bf3, bf4, bfh	Framed command responses with server and player records.
RakNet	UDP	minecraftbe, minecraftpe, raknet	Unconnected ping/pong server advertisement.
Valve WON	UDP	cs15, won	Legacy pre-Steam status format.
All-Seeing Eye	UDP	ase, mta, soldat	Compact legacy server status format.

Family names are not interchangeable. GameSpy, GameSpy 2, and GameSpy 3 use different packets, just as Quake 2 and Quake 3 do. Prefer the named identifier from the supported-server table instead of guessing a generic family.

Voice-server protocols

Voice servers use their own formats rather than a shared game-query family:

• TeamSpeak 2 and TeamSpeak 3 use TCP query services and require an explicit query_port.
• Ventrilo uses its status protocol and can return server and client information.
• Mumble has a dedicated status implementation.

Permissions, visibility settings, allowlists, and flood protection can affect the data a voice server returns even when its client port is reachable.

Dedicated game formats

Some identifiers implement a format specific to one game or a small group. Examples include SA-MP, Teeworlds, Terraria/TShock, OpenTTD, Tibia, StarMade, Stationeers, and Ultima Online/UOX3. They still use the same GameQ server, query, result, and filter pipeline; only their packet construction and parsing differ.

Other implementations obtain status through an HTTP API, query plugin, or master list rather than only a direct native socket. Their additional settings and service dependencies are documented under protocol-specific options.

Why shared families matter to developers

A fix in a parent parser can affect dozens of named games. When changing a shared family:

1. preserve the established initial request unless the family itself changed;
2. account for older and newer response variants;
3. run every child protocol fixture, not only the motivating game;
4. keep subclass-specific normalization and port offsets intact;
5. add malformed-response tests at the lowest shared layer that owns the rule.

See architecture and adding a protocol for the extension boundaries.