A Python app that allows you to select which Valve matchmaking server you queue for in CS:GO on Linux systems

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GoRegion is a collection of Python scripts that allow you to select which Valve matchmaking server you queue for in CS:GO. What sets it apart from other similar programs is how it dynamically fetches addresses from Valve's relay info API, preventing maintainers from having to add them manually every time Valve changes their addresses. This benefit is ultimately passed on to the end user, who doesn't have to update the app every time this happens.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Setup
  • Requirements
  • Portable Usage
  • Installation
  • Uninstallation
• Usage
• Further Plans

Introduction

The inspiration behind making GoRegion is the state of North American matchmaking in CS:GO. When every other game in the silver bracket is filled either cheaters or smurfs, trying to rank up is discouraging at best. While your mileage may vary, my experience shows that other regions (such as EU and Japan) are far more balanced and reasonable in their rank distributions.

Programatically, the program works as a wrapper for iptables. It first gets the latest matchmaking IPs from Valve's SDR API to ensure that the calls to iptables use the most up-to-date information. An iptables chain is created for GoRegion to be able to append block rules to and destroy with ease.

Setup

Requirements

As of now, GoRegion only supports Linux-based systems. I haven't tested it extensively on machines other than my own (Debian 10/Buster), but the only requirements, defined by the commands referenced in the code, are as follows:

• Python 3.0 or higher
• sudo
  • Must be installed to allow a non-root user to run GoRegion
  • Permissions will be elevated as needed and you can run the program without sudo
• Netfilter iptables
• GNU grep
  • Presumably alternative implementations of grep may also have the needed flags (-F and -x)

Portable Usage

If you have any remotely standard Linux distibution, there is no setup other than cloning (or downloading a ZIP of) the repo and running the code. If you choose to run the program directly (./goregion.py), you'll need to first make it executable by typing the following in the repo directory:

chmod +x goregion.py

Then run it with:

./goregion.py
# OR
python3 goregion.py

Installation

If you'd like to install GoRegion to run it from anywhere, simply run the install script without arguments:

./install.sh

Then from any directory, just run the command:

goregion

Uninstallation

Assuming you installed using the included install script, simply use the -u or --uninstall options of the same script. For instance:

./install.sh -u
# OR
./install.sh --uninstall

Usage

The program without arguments runs in an interactive mode, showing you the available regions. Additionally, the following arguments are available:

usage: goregion [-h] [-p] [-r] [-v]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help     show this help message and exit
  -p, --ping     print latency to each region
  -r, --reset    resets goregion's iptables chain, allowing all regions again
  -v, --version  check installed goregion version

The --ping option will ping each point of presence (PoP) in the network diagram file. It starts with trying just one relay for that PoP, and will continue if a connection can be established, but if the relay is unreachable, it'll continue through that PoP's list of relays to try and get a ping.

Further Plans

Many features and improvements are in the works for GoRegion. For the full to-do list, see TODO.md