Pauses and backups

Pause types

Type	Started by	Ends when
Normal	.pause	Both teams type .unpause.
Tactical	.tac (or .pause with matchzy_use_pause_command_for_tactical_pause)	The timeout runs out.
Technical	.tech	Both teams unpause, or matchzy_tech_pause_duration runs out (then it unpauses on its own).
Admin	.forcepause	An admin types .forceunpause.
Auto	A team drops below matchzy_autopause_minplayers	The team is full again; the game resumes after matchzy_autopause_resume_delay seconds.

Technical pauses

Each team gets matchzy_max_tech_pauses_allowed per map. With matchzy_tech_pause_mode 1 (Get5 rules) a tech pause never ends on its own: once it has lasted matchzy_tech_pause_duration seconds in freeze time either team can .unpause, and the pausing team can cancel it with .unpause before freeze time without using it up.

While a technical pause lasts, every player sees a box in the middle of the screen: the team and player who called it, the time left (or who can unpause), the technical pauses left and which teams have typed .unpause. A regular .pause shows the same box (without a time limit or a pause count), and a tactical timeout (.tac) shows the team, the time left and the timeouts left. matchzy_pause_hud 1 shows a single line of text instead, 0 turns it off.

Overtime: tactical timeouts (.tac) follow the engine settings in live.cfg: 4 per team in regulation (mp_team_timeout_max) and one more when overtime starts (mp_team_timeout_ot_add_once 1, up to mp_team_timeout_ot_max 5). Wingman and rush (live_wingman.cfg, live_rush.cfg) give 1 timeout of 60 seconds per team and 1 more in each overtime. In every overtime period each team may also use .pause matchzy_overtime_pauses_per_team times (1 by default). Admin pauses are not limited.

Adjust to your needs

These are defaults. Both config.cfg and live.cfg can be edited to your needs:

• matchzy_overtime_pauses_per_team goes in config.cfg.
• The mp_team_timeout_* lines go in cfg/MatchZy/live_override.cfg (it runs right after live.cfg when the match goes live, so the same lines in config.cfg would be overridden), or per match in the match config’s cvars block.

Updates never replace config.cfg, live.cfg or an override file. See Updating.

Autopause replaces the game’s own sv_matchpause_auto_5v5 and ignores bot teams. Every pause and unpause is sent as a match_paused / match_unpaused event.

Round backups

MatchZy saves a backup at the start of every live round (Valve’s backup system plus MatchZy’s own state). Backups live in csgo/MatchZyDataBackup/ and can also be POSTed to matchzy_remote_backup_url.

Launch option required

CS2 only writes and loads round backups when the server is started with -allow_round_backup_files. Without it, the console says “Round backup files are disabled” and every restore fails. When the option is missing, MatchZy warns admins in chat (and in the console) when a match is loaded and when it goes live, and refuses .restore with a chat message.

Situation	Command
Both teams want to replay this round	.stop (both teams)
Admin replays this round	.restorecurrent / !rr
Go back one round	.restorelast
Go back to round N	.restore <n>
See what is available	.backups
Pick a round from a list	.ma → Match Control → Restore Round (asks for confirmation)
Server crashed mid-match	Nothing: the match recovers on its own (see Crash recovery). By hand: .ma → Restore Round, or .backups and then matchzy_loadbackup <file>.json

After a restore

• The match pauses (matchzy_pause_after_restore). Set matchzy_restore_auto_unpause true to resume on its own after matchzy_restore_unpause_delay seconds.
• The scoreboard is rolled back too: round history, kills, deaths, assists, damage, score and MVPs (matchzy_restore_scoreboard_stats).
• A restore is only announced once the server has actually loaded it; a failed load is reported in chat.

Crash recovery

A loaded match is kept in csgo/MatchZyDataBackup/active_match.json until the series ends or the match is cancelled. When the server crashes, restarts or MatchZy is reloaded in the middle of a match:

1. Automatic recovery (matchzy_auto_recover, default on): 10 seconds after the server is ready, with no match loaded, MatchZy restores the newest round backup of that match. The match config, teams, match id and score come back, and the round is played once both teams are ready. A match interrupted before its first round backup is loaded again from its match config. Matches last active more than matchzy_auto_recover_max_age minutes ago (default 180) are left alone. A panel that loads a match within those 10 seconds wins. The panel is told with a match_recovered event.
2. Players are not locked out: with matchzy_kick_when_no_match_loaded, a player on the interrupted match’s roster is let in while no match is loaded, and admins are told in chat.
3. Valve’s raw restore goes through MatchZy: mp_backup_restore_load_file <file>.txt only brings the score back, not the rosters, team names or pause state. With matchzy_raw_backup_restore redirect (default) it is run as MatchZy’s restore of <file>.json (a .json name works the same). When only the .txt exists, MatchZy rebuilds the .json from another backup of the same match (or the loaded or interrupted match) and works out each team’s side for that round; admins are asked to check the sides. block refuses it, allow runs it as is.
4. .restore, .restorelast and .restorecurrent without a live match list the newest backups on disk and the command to load one.

Runbook for tournament admins

Problem	Do this
Players are kicked on connect	Read the kick reason in the server log ([ConnectGate], [Disconnect]) or the panel’s player_kicked event. no_match_loaded: the match is not loaded, load it again (or matchzy_loadbackup). not_in_match: the SteamID is missing from the roster.
The server crashed or restarted	Wait 10 seconds for the automatic recovery, then both teams .ready. Without it: .recover (or matchzy_recover over RCON).
Wrong score or a round must be replayed	.restore <round>. Never mp_backup_restore_load_file.
A round does not end (everyone dead, timer at 0:00)	MatchZy ends it after a few seconds (matchzy_round_watchdog).
Check the connection to the panel	matchzy_test_event