Online multiplayer is now working.

[ace123]

I was basically saying that the initial list of admins is hardcoded to anybody who connects to "localhost" (127.0.0.1).

If you want to change this, you'd have to edit the python script (that auth=1 line I suggested). Once you've run /setadmin on yourself and saved your game, you can remove the hack, and then you'll keep the status--which means that not everybody will have the status.

[greenmonkey]

I get this when I go into http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/cgi-b ... _submit.py and put in a username, password and ship, but then again, it did say there were no servers hosting multiplayer... Am I doing something wrong?

--> -->


IOError Python 2.4.3: /usr/bin/python
Sat Apr 16 02:30:31 2011

A problem occurred in a Python script. Here is the sequence of function calls leading up to the error, in the order they occurred.
/home/project-web/vegastrike/cgi-bin/register_submit.py
76 mod = os.environ.get('QUERY_STRING','')
77 conn = db.connect(settings.dbconfig, mod)
78 if post_args:
79 execute(conn, mod, post_args)
80
execute = <function execute>, conn = <db.FileDB instance>, mod = '', post_args = {'faction': 'unadorned', 'password': 'greenmonkey', 'type': 'Kafka', 'username': 'greenmonkey'}
/home/project-web/vegastrike/cgi-bin/register_submit.py in execute(dbconn=<db.FileDB instance>, mod='', form={'faction': 'unadorned', 'password': 'greenmonkey', 'type': 'Kafka', 'username': 'greenmonkey'})
42 type = dbconn.check_string( form.get("type",'') )
43
44 if not dbconn.check_password(username, password, True):
45 raise db.DBError,"Error password for username "+username+" does not match our records"
46
dbconn = <db.FileDB instance>, dbconn.check_password = <bound method FileDB.check_password of <db.FileDB instance>>, username = 'greenmonkey', password = 'greenmonkey', builtin True = True
/home/project-web/vegastrike/cgi-bin/db.py in check_password(self=<db.FileDB instance>, username='greenmonkey', password='greenmonkey', can_create=True)
232 except IOError:
233 if self.create_user and can_create:
234 f=open(self.user_path+username+".password","wb")
235 f.write(self.hash_password(password))
236 f.close()
f undefined, builtin open = <type 'file'>, self = <db.FileDB instance>, self.user_path = '/home/persistent/v/ve/vegastrike/accountserver/', username = 'greenmonkey'

IOError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/home/persistent/v/ve/vegastrike/accountserver/greenmonkey.password'
args = (2, 'No such file or directory')
errno = 2
filename = '/home/persistent/v/ve/vegastrike/accountserver/greenmonkey.password'
strerror = 'No such file or directory'

[Gungnir]

I get this when I go into http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/cgi-b ... _submit.py and put in a username, password and ship, but then again, it did say there were no servers hosting multiplayer... Am I doing something wrong?

The python is apparently broken there, but it doesn't matter, since that is only for the official VS servers, which are down as you said. Tharin's register scripts are working right now, I believe, and it's the only currently working server as far as I know.

[psychoticpotato]

Darn... Are there any public servers going? This game is perfect for some realistic interaction...

[pheonixstorm]

No, the Tharin server was the last public server that was operational. If we can move to a dedicated server then we will be setting up a new online server via www.vegastrikeonline.org Just waiting on the all important money.. either from the few devs still active or from donations.

[psychoticpotato]

Yeah... I'm considering trying to learn some programming, with all the open-source games I like to play that are fairly stagnant... Vega Strike is probably one of my favourite space games out there, it's a shame to see it with little work being done on it.

[wesL48]

No, the Tharin server was the last public server that was operational. If we can move to a dedicated server then we will be setting up a new online server via http://www.vegastrikeonline.org Just waiting on the all important money.. either from the few devs still active or from donations.

How much money is required to get this going? I am willing to donate, but I think a funding drive with displayed progress towards the goal is useful for donators.

[pheonixstorm]

For a dedicated server about $200 setup and 40 a month (until offer expires then 50/month). I was in the process of getting something setup for donations off the forums until the crash. Our current service is virtual dedicated which is not useable for extended mmo play.

[charlieg]

Hetzner do a good deal at 49euros a month with 49euros setup.

They also do an auction of rental of used hardware which goes as low as 19euros monthly:
https://robot.your-server.de/order/market

[ThinkSome]

Hello,

What is today's state of multiplayer? I would like to organise a public libre game night match in the near future.

How many resources (RAM, disk, bandwidth, cpu) do the server components consume?

[loki1950]

Never worked right 0nly 1v1 and we are in the process of refactoring the code to actually dropping all the network code as it was way out of date with current practice.We may reintroduce it when we get a compiling/working binary for current OS's

Enjoy the Choice

[ThinkSome]

That is sad to know. Single player games become boring rather quick.

Have you thought about implementing singleplayer as local multiplayer?

[loki1950]

Do you mean lan play for local the current code only supports 1 on 1 there is no real support for true multi-player period a dream that was not realized sorry but that's how it is ATM like I said earlier the low level networking code just is way out of date for current web security issues and even local LAN play is problematic with current firewall practice.

Enjoy the Choice

[ThinkSome]

I meant having singleplayer be a special case of multiplayer. That is, a server is started, the player connects and when the player disconnects, the server is stopped.

[loki1950]

That would require a full refactoring of the whole code base about a year's work
Enjoy the Choice

[ThinkSome]

A year's work at the current pace sounds a bit too easy

[Eye~R]

Have you thought about implementing singleplayer as local multiplayer?

That's kinda how I had it setup, the single player universe - just online with potential for mulitple players. Didn't have much luck attracting players so downed the server. After near a decade with maybe three geniune signups and only maxing out at a few concurrent users.

The server component was quite 'buggy' IIRC. The lack of encryption when moving user passwords was really the least of the issues, and likely the easiest of them all to resolve.

Far more concerning was having an open 8080 *just* for a user registration form and for the accountserver.py to act as a bridge for vegaserver's SQL access (WTF isn't that part of the vegaserver?) only served to attract a billion 'tards who tried using it as a proxy - which caused it to crash. Regular. Isolating that port from 'outside' seemed to do the trick, replacing signup functionality with a PHP abortion I managed to cobble together with too much trial and error then highlighted that the SQL connection to the player's save kept going stale every 8(?) hrs requiring another shady workaround 'cause I'm too thick to make it all work sensible. But I got it playable.

From a user perspective, dying when buying/changing to a new ship is kinda unnacceptable. Luckily I had some help with a PHP workaround for that(but I did find some interesting ways to fail, including crashing the HTTPd), which tho clumsy and requiring the user to disconnect/reconnect managed to plug that gap. Ish.

Elevating privs in the served universe caused some issue, can't recall precisely what - and none of the commands seemed to work appropriately.

The lack of NPC's made it rather boring, flying around my own. I'm sure I'm forgetting a thing or three which negatively impacted player experience too, but it's been years now and I can't remember.

Did fumble around and compile it for ARM and threw it on another server(my testing rig, which needs nuking and starting again), but ended up with some issue where jumping between solar systems caused the local client to crash. Think that might be because I compiled that from the taose, in retrospect. It was the only place I found the vegaserver source at the time tho.

[loki1950]

BTW we have dropped the support for the server currently will be adding it back with a more modern implementation.

Enjoy the Choice

[Eye~R]

Can't happen fast enough.

I would say I'd lend a hand to speed it up - but if I coulda fixed it I woulda already. Casual glance appears to suggest you're starting that again almost from scratch - which is likely what needs to happen really.

Still, my previous rant should give a fistfulla things to be mindful of in the attempt.

[loki1950]

The was indeed that view we did needed to refactor anyway to bring to code to C++ std 11.AS for joining us most of the team now hang out on our new chat service https://gitter.im/vegastrike/community you can sign in with your GitHub,GitLab or Twitter accounts.

Enjoy the Choice

[ThinkSome]

There are a lot of us (well, I'm the loudest) here on IRC who would like to play with each-other in the same universe. I wish multiplayer returns as soon as possible.

I've looked through other open source space trading/combat/etc games (naev, naikiri, pioneer, endless sky) and none of them support multiplayer. Additionally many have no plans to ever do so. Multiplayer is the so called competitive edge that would make VegaStrike stand out.

[ThinkSome]

Online multiplayer is STILL working! Well, with some footnotes.

Screenshot1.png

[ThinkSome]

What currently works in 0.6.x (with some modifications test_user did to fix the obvious stuff):

• More than 2 people online at once : we tested with 7 clients (3 real people)
• Shooting at each other
• docking at each other and at other bodies/stations. Though the former is funny in that dockee ships will be floating about around the mothership. Ideally should be despawned by the game.
• doing bounty missions. The NPC targets spawn and you get the bounty. They seem to fly a bit aimlessly however.
• buying and selling upgrades
• buying missiles has an annoyance that you buy only one at a time. Fully loading a llama takes a while.
• firing weapons and killing others with them
• firing missiles and killing others with them. Note that the locking indicator doesen't get painted so idk if things actually go there or just in that general direction)

What doesen't:

• Jumping. Not sure if this is due to erroneous server setup as Eye-R remembers jumping in 0.5.0 days.
• Shield handling is funny. I have no shields installed and yet they are drawn and they client-side drop when entering SPEC (which I can do without a SPEC cap or reactor installed), but are then restored to full mid-flight.
• Damage report (mid left): always displays the same regardless of which upgrades you install
• Selling your convolution milspec package to a station you already sold it to before (has one in its inventory). Nevermind, can't sell it at a planet either. Odd.

Notes:

• Crashing is abundant. But it seems to only crash when you are docked or killed. Probably "ERROR: NULL Unit used in Python script; returning default value..." has something to do with it.
• >30s lag that started about when one of us blew a station up. Chat messages take >30s to arrive, I cannot dock despite docking:ready,...
• The killer and weapon should be printed when something gets destroyed. Ditto for singleplayer.
• One time the station from where another of us undocked was not printed.
• I saw several NPCs called "AI" floating about without a ship model or picture. Apparently other players get admin rights by default?