Posts by Absalom

  • Hosting a multiplayer game

    I wouldn't make a rule, inbound or outbound, that allows java.exe to communicate on all ports. That's very unsecure. I would (as I stated in my reply above) create inbound rules for the specific ports).

  • A new script management system and script repository

    Thanks. I will get some more basic functionality in there as time permits today. My main goal is to create the initial tool so that:

    • It checks all ports are open that the game needs.
    • Allows the player to edit the server.properties file without having to open it directly, as well as save those settings, so if they get overlaid it's just a quick restore.
    • Compare the software in the download link on the dedicated server download page to what is installed and notify the admin that there is an update.
    • Allow the admin to download the update and install it through the server manager.
    • Allow the existing server(s) to be cloned.
    • Allow for multiple server instances to be created proposing sets of ports for each instance (the admin will have to ensure those ports are open).
    • Backup and Restore options using hobocopy for dirty backups while the server is running, and clean backups before every reboot.
    • View and edit lua scripts currently installed.
    • Alert admin of lua script updates for those hosted at risingworldmods.com. Also allow downloading the newest scripts.

    That's all I can think of at the moment. If the game's software allows, I may be able to put player inventory peek and things like that in there. If I get a good portion of this done this weekend, I will release what I have along with the source. It will probably be under the Apache license as it allows quite a bit of freedom.


    Also, once the server piece has been completed (or initially completed as there will be improvements) I will release that and source as well. With the server piece running on the remote server, where the game is, the front-end can be written in anything. I chose JSON as the mechanism for getting data back and forth. It's lighter weight than XML and well supported.

  • Example script: AreaProtection

    I was working on that. Yeah you can define a max size, and also create functionality to allow players to be admin for their own area, and invite others and assign them roles. None of that functionality exists, but it is 100% possible via scripts. I got side-tracked with creating a server manager/lua script patcher.

  • prima server

    Right, but what does the console output say? The console window really isn't big enough for the output so I have to redirect mine (because I don't know of another log available). I use " > log.txt 2>&1" on the tail end of the other arguments in the batch file that launches the server. This redirects all messages and errors to the log.txt file. Then I look for exceptions in the log, or other error messages.

  • prima server

    In the old map, when it crashed and what not, were there exceptions in the console output? I have held off on implementing the new areaProtection because I am busy with a server manager which will make it easy for someone to pick up and launch without much knowledge.

  • prima server

    Once all of these early release games make it to beta, all of these issues should be minimal. I can't wait for that day, but this one is pretty early, so it may be a while before everything is sorted out. It's one of the frustrations with alpha games, alpha has always been the least stable stage of development because it is pretty much nearly the beginning.


    I usually never get angry because I have a BS in game software development, and I know the dev phases. I was never fond of early alpha releases because it can hurt the dev team reputation, and it's not their fault; it's just the development process. What DOES make me mad is when developers like Facepunch (Rust) sloppily pop things in and out of the release without doing any form of regression testing (making sure new stuff doesn't break old working stuff). Facepunch is the sloppiest development team I have ever seen.

  • prima server

    Quote from Turbo614


    any decent server owner should not ever need to wipe a server,and if he feels the need to do so,,,,,,,,,,,,,ah nvm theres no reason to do that.i'd be pretty pissed if i had built so much as you,to have it all just get erased. @Absalom owns the deadlands server.i don't know who owns 518mafia.but as of now,they are the only two i'll play on....i do beleive jiw games is making an "official" server,but i could be wrong.


    There are only two reasons I have ever done a wipe in any game. 1) The update required it (Rust wipes on almost every major update, every couple of weeks). 2) Because data has become so corrupt that there is no choice (this is where regular backups come in).


    Also keep in mind, some hosters use hosting services, and they don't have very good backup facilities. Some even have rules that say you are not to download large downloads, which precludes downloading a backup via FTP. Silly I know, but they are cheap for a reason.


    I have my own VPS where I host multiple games. I don't backup rust at all because chances are the world save is incompatible with the next update. I backup 7DTD every hour. I back this server up about once per day, though my backup has been turned off for a couple of days due to other issues. It's back on now.

  • prima server

    Quote from green777

    Hi Ivansky , I checked out a few and cannot get deadland to come up I have seen it come up once, It would be nice to know who runs the servers, I have only seen a few German servers Yes it is a pain I really got into that one and spent ages mineing stone and was about to put a 3rd level on my house lol it took ages getting the ground level then it gets wiped. Would have been nice if they mentioned it would be wiped on updates etc there were loads of really good bases all gone!! This just seems like on 7dtd every damn update you had to start again from scratch, don't get me wrong I do understand being alpha etc, That's why I stopped playing 7dtd
    and bought this game but as its too early access and a few servers are poor and the fact you get griefers on some I mean my 2nd base I started I ended up with some idiot keep putting kitten pics all over the walls inside and out and followed by being killed by same person while I was sorting out blocks, and this time I never knew about the clipping mode etc so when I died I basically walked to try and get back, but never got back as they wiped the server, I did however keep a note of the person and if he appears again trying to ruin my game ill be ready for him. im not letting 1 person ruin my game I love this game But in general people playing have been very good like this forum you get great help


    The Deadlands server is near the bottom of the list now. It's running. I try and keep that up as much as I can. Sometimes the world falls apart, and sometimes the restart fails. I am writing a server manager for Rising World now so that it will have all of that stuff automated, crash detection, restarts, etc.

  • A new script management system and script repository

    Alright, off to a good start. I am creating an external application that will create a server for you, start and stop the server, allow you to edit Lua scripts, check for new versions of installed Lua scripts and let you download them, etc. Right now I am developing this to be run on the same machine just to get started; however, I plan on also creating a server-side piece that will communicate with the server manager (using the business logic currently in the client) so that the server can be run remotely through this server manager.


    I would like to put in some telnet functionality to pass commands to the game server, but I don't think the dedicated server has that functionality yet.


    https://www.dropbox.com/s/brwg…rw_serverManager.png?dl=0
    [Edit:] For the front-end I will be using Windows Forms Application because one of the libraries I use for the Lua script editing relies on Windows Forms Application controls. Booooo! As long as it works. Once the back-end is split out and run on the server, then different front ends can be developed by anyone with the interface documents.

  • A new script management system and script repository

    I think, instead of integrating this into the Lua object, I will make this an external application that can be started on demand. In fact, I may make it part of a Server Manager application. I may extend the HttpServer to include the Lua script version number in the luascripts web output since I am adding a version number to the lua script object. Just thinking out loud.

  • deadlands freezing game...

    If we get some sort of telnet command interface in the future, writing a game server manager would be a nice idea. I would include scheduling restarts, backups, restores (at the chunk level) etc. Much like the 7DTD Server Manager v2, which I love.

  • deadlands freezing game...

    I also want to add that I just incremented the delay between restarts to 5000 ms this morning. I think the previous was using a default of 0 delay, which would have caused some issues. Hopefully that fixes it.

  • The Deadlands Server (win.thedeadlands.net:30500)

    Quote from Leftoverjay

    Absalom how did you go about having the server reboot every 12 hours . Is this done through a script?



    Jay, I use FireDaemon Pro. You can do a lot of scheduling stuff with it. I have it set to restart every 4 hours now with a 5000 ms delay between the shutdown and restart because the world tends to fall apart and become corrupted if I go beyond 4 hours. You can even schedule pre and post start tasks. You can do the same with the windows scheduling service, but FireDaemon runs everything as a background service, and it is easier to manage than windows scheduled tasks, so I prefer that.


    I will also mention that you can't use Fire Daemon Pro if you are using a preconfigured game server with a control panel. I don't like those, as they usually greatly limit your control.