server help

Hey, im still a little new to esforces so... whats a server? do i need it to play a lan game against the computer or not and i need good websites for bots for esf, and pretty much all of the halflife games. does anyone have any good sites, im getting ready to transfer all of the files to my computer on cds and i need everything thats needed to play esf/halflife alright. and since i dont have the net i need to play lan games with bots.

A server is a online game server, where you play with other humans
First try play online.. if you never get a chance for attack them.. then start play lan game with some easy bots so you get a chance to learn game... then play online....
There should be bots for esf 1.2
Open your console, type this "bind * botmenu"
Then press * to get a bot menu...