Setting up Default Servers

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Wombat
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Setting up Default Servers

Post by Wombat »

Setting up a Server

I request those adding to this thread not only say what isn't possible, but perhaps help come up with ways to overcome how it could be made possible in some other way as the game develops. I hope this could help encourage the "default server" option that might be available for 0.0.30 clients or better as well as encourage others to create new servers with a dream of what they'd like to see their TMW game work towards.

To allow GMs more leeway on rule enforcement, having more than one server could serve this purpose. It would allow different guidelines for each server on player behavior. It would also allow contributors to test equipment on some servers that might not meet the official desires of the developers. More equipment could be committed and implemented on one server, while the TMW developer's ideal server could put in place things that would make more sense to how they thing the game should function.

I don't have the fullest understanding of how this could happen, but from IRC discussions and some discussions in the forums, I have a basic idea on how this could occur:

- Accounts.txt could be shared between "official default" servers. The sharing of accounts.txt (and other similar files) would enable characters to move from one server to the next without a loss of items, equipment and levels that are shared between the servers.

- An official default server would have to have a 1/2 year of trusted behavior and regular communication with the developers before becoming accepted on the default list. Password hiding could play a role in making this more possible so no more secondary server admin/GM abuse of passwords could happen as it did with the BaseBallBoy and the BR server.

- Only primary devs (like Bjorn, Elven Programmer, etc.) could see the true passwords and offer reset passwords for any of the official default servers should a player forget the password. Even better would be for passwords to be reset via email and making password resets like many forums and website.

- The official default servers would only be seen on 0.0.30 (or better) clients. It would function like the "recent server" list does for 0.0.29, but would be recorded by default in the "recent" list.

- Clients could receive updates from updates.themanaworld.org or they could receive them from an alternative source like server.thealternateworld.org offers. Communicating between different update servers in some way with accounts.txt could help so that corresponding files would function while those not shared between them would only function on particular default servers. An example could be different item ids between "dev", "gm" and "con" hats, so being identified as a GM on one server wouldn't necessarily translate as a GM on another server. Same with monsters/items that were rejected by TMW dev team as committed could be accepted on another server, allowing some servers to have a (lower) quality of items, giving contributors more leeway to play with graphics that might not meet the standards TMW dev team desires, but other servers might want to test to give a more original flavor to their server.

- Some servers could be clone servers of the current official one, but allow different guidelines for different styles of play. Something that has returned many times in the suggestion forum is a "child safe" style of guidelines which has also been constantly countered by a "adult friendly" style of guidelines. Another has been requests that GMs only focus on removing technical threats like scammers, spammers and botters, while others have wanted to see the GMs to intervene more often in player conflicts. All these problems could be overcome to some extent with a variety of clone servers with different guidelines and character sharing in between.

Here are some examples of clone servers:

server.themanaworld.org: The current default server that maintains an equilibrium and would offer more "officially" accepted additions to the game.

testing.themanaworld.org: Only trusted contributors and developers are allowed access to test new items, equipment, monsters, particle effects, maps and quests.

child.themanaworld.org: PG only conversations are allowed with heavy player reporting and GM intervention for the sake of keeping the game "child safe" according to the GM panel's code of what constitutes "safe".

adult.themanaworld.org: GMs remain aloof, only observing for technical threats and allowing the players to say things in an R rated way to each other.

community.themanaworld.org: GMs are elected for term based periods, available items and quests are voted in and out and guidelines for how the GMs interact with the players are voted on in some way.

Non-clone servers that might require a different updates server:

sex.themanaworld.org: GMs also remain aloof like adult, only observing for technical threats and allowing the players to not simply say things in an R or XXX rated way to each other, but to also allow contributors to add items that might not be appropriate for an all ages server (full nudity sprites, for example).

junk.themanaworld.org: More items with lower graphic standards, more monster recolorings (thus more monsters) and maps that don't go anywhere (think Aethyra).

silly.themanaworld.org: Toilet seat helmets, arrows that make fart noises when shot, creatures that belch when killed and other otherwise joke based contributions could be added which may not be appropriate for other servers.

steampunk.themanaworld.org: Guns and rifles, steam powered armor, automatons (steam androids) and other similar things

primitive.themanaworld.org: loincloth, clubs, arrows, spears

horror.themanaworld.org: zombies, ghosts and skeletons dominate the maps with a high number of quests with horror themes

Most of these server ideas are more for people that want to make their own servers and not a request for the developers to make them happen. But it is to help give developers an example on why a default server option offered by new clients is a good idea and a great way to keep re-occuring problems from happening in the game community and to encourage contributors to experiment in different ways (and improve their skills) should there be servers to allow this type of experimentation.

Thoughts?
Current character is "Abolish".
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Jaxad0127
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Re: Setting up Default Servers

Post by Jaxad0127 »

Sharing characters between worlds would require massive changing to eAthena. The best we can do is share logins. But then if you get banned from one server, you're banned from all.

With that restriction in mind, most of your post is undoable.

As for password hiding, we can't enforce it. The best thing to do would be to keep reminding players to use different user names and passwords on different servers.
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Wombat
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Re: Setting up Default Servers

Post by Wombat »

I guess a way to possibly overcome it without the "massive changes" part, would be to use MadCamel's level/item equaling ability that he offers on TAW and to offer a level.txt log for all characters similar to the 50 top-highest-level.txt log offered currently.

This could prevent cheating between servers because server admins could see the level any character has so they can equal their level to player for a transferred character and offer equivalent items/equipment as well.

This might be more doable? Is it appealing?
Current character is "Abolish".
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Crush
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Re: Setting up Default Servers

Post by Crush »

An alternative to a shared account- and character database would be a system to import and export characters from server to server.

1. The client requests a "character sheet" file of his character from the server
2. The server generates an XML document with the characters stats, its inventory etc. and signs it with its private PGP key to prove that the character is legit.
3. The user can now upload the XML file to another server and ask for it being imported
4. The server checks the PGP signature against the public PGP key of the server it comes from to make sure that the character sheet has not been tampered with and then adds the character to the players account. A server may reject characters from servers it doesn't know or which are known for having significantly easier gameplay. It may also choose to remove items which are not supposed to be owned on this server.
  • former Manasource Programmer
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