Universal Server Project

[Baker]

Universal Server Project

Summary:
One server runs EVERY MOD. Voteable by players.

Features:
All maps votable. All mods votable. Anything you want, anywhere you are. The favorites plus mods you have never played. Utilizes ProQuake/Qrack map download --- you don't need the files.

Status:
Almost done. Was hoping for today or yesterday. Looks like Tuesday, December 29.

Pilot Servers:
Chicago and New York. Courtesy of Master Splinter and Kathos

Benefits:

Want to play Rocket Arena? Slide? AirQuake? ThreeWave? Team Fortress? Have you ever played Zerstorer deathmatch (me neither) and killed other players with a chain saw or Zerstorer's "Riot Controller"? Have you ever played Qmatrix? NQ Team Fortress? Want to have 200 maps available? It is.

Something that has, in a way, been killing this community is the lack of diversity in what is available to play. A lot of mods aren't hosted on servers or might be on some server you ping poorly on. They aren't available for the most part; and not popular enough to merit their own server or at least that is a big risk. With this, there is no risk because if no one wants to play a certain mod, it runs something else unless the players vote a different mod.



We think of servers as "this kind" or "that kind" and if the mod a server is running isn't popular enough to merit it's own server, no one is going to pay to have it up.



Quake has a ton of variety, but the limited access to this stuff is a killer. It causes people to not play because they don't have anything that interests them available or it isn't hosted where they want it.

In addition, the clients have not in the past had map download capability or a server browser.

ProQuake 4.01

And the lack of a server browser does 2 things:

1. You can't easily find what servers have players on them.
2. New players expect a server browser.

The lack of a server browser means that no one is going to find a game going on a less common server.

These new servers will be up and running by Tuesday, I was hoping to have them done yesterday or today, but working on the fine details has been a pain and I won't have any time this weekend.

But this also means something else: if worthy new mods are developed, they can be available on a server too.

There is one catch ... the mods have to have the source code available, so some "dead mod" with no source code is going to remain dead. Mods with open source codes will live on and be coming to a server near you.

[spooker]

amazing work bakemaster

[gnounc]

Exciting : )

[BizarroEvade]

Nice work. Now to hope it doesn't get forever stuck on cax dm3.

[spooker]

it will alternate between CA DM3 and runequake start/e1m7
tyranny of the majority

[metchsteekle]

... and then there's me

[dfsp_spirit]

Sounds good. Do you intend to distribute the server packages and are these servers running on Windows or Linux atm?

[Baker]

Sounds good. Do you intend to distribute the server packages and are these servers running on Windows or Linux atm?

Server packages: After some road-testing, yes.

These 2 servers happen to be running Windows. This would run under Linux as well, but since my Linux machine broke I don't have a means of compiling the Linux server with the 1 necessary change to support this feature.

[Polarite]

Like always Nice work Baker !

[Mr.Burns]

Just to echo Pol's comment that's really great work Baker.
Just one query, would this only work with server side mods? I only ask this as a number of players on the european servers like to try different maps and mods to try and keep the game interesting and fresh, and rather than Pol having to put up x servers this might be a helpful solution for him. Assuming the clients connecting to these servers had the required files for a client side mod, such as Painkeep, if the majority of players decided to "vote-Painkeep" to change the current mod would it work? If this is not currently the case but you intend to add mods such as Painkeep (and/or the server sidem mod Deathmatch plus) let me know as I can furnish you with the source to both.

Kind regards and keep up the good work (we really do appreciate it)

Monty

[Baker]

Just to echo Pol's comment that's really great work Baker.
Just one query, would this only work with server side mods? I only ask this as a number of players on the european servers like to try different maps and mods to try and keep the game interesting and fresh, and rather than Pol having to put up x servers this might be a helpful solution for him. Assuming the clients connecting to these servers had the required files for a client side mod, such as Painkeep, if the majority of players decided to "vote-Painkeep" to change the current mod would it work? If this is not currently the case but you intend to add mods such as Painkeep (and/or the server sidem mod Deathmatch plus) let me know as I can furnish you with the source to both.

Kind regards and keep up the good work (we really do appreciate it)

Monty

Haw haw haw. This works with EVERY [open source] MOD --- client side, server side it is irrelevant and there is nothing here client specific (but if someone isn't using ProQuake 4 or Qrack with download, you will be inconvenienced by the need for an installer). For instance, if you switch to ThreeWave, the ThreeWave player model and the skin is used. If you switch to NQ Team Fortress, you are using the NQ Team Fortress player model and so forth.

The mod must have source code to be integrated into the fold, yeah I recommend you post links to the source code for both and whatever downloads required (models and maps).

And I have to carefully integrate.

(DMPlus! Wow! I loved that mod.)

[metchsteekle]

but where shall we point are download links?! bigfoot/~jack only has maps!!

or are you fixing this dilemma in seeeeeecret(rubs thin curly mustache)?

[Mr.Burns]

That's great news Baker.

As the original link I have for the Evolve webby seems to have vanished, I have emailed you the latest version of the Painkeep source I have. If anyone else wants to experiment with it then I believe that the source can be downloaded here. The compiled mod can be downloaded here via MegaZoid's QuakeTerminus or at fileplanet with an overview of the features available for anyone that has never tried it here.



It's also good to see another fan of the original DMP mod, I was beginning to think that there was only me, Peg, Pol Sir H and the DMP Clan who had ever heard of it. The main differences with the new version are that thanks to Zop DMP now accommodates 100 or so custom maps, has a hook, and has a spectator mode, but also has the same extra weapons, traps and so forth as before. For those that have played DMP at the Junker or XSforAll servers impulse 150 re-engages the weapon toggling feature you may be more familiar with. I don't know if this has any baring on what you are trying to code but DMP also supports the multiskin client side mod. So for example if a player has the multiskin mod and wants to see a Storm Trouper blasting the hell out of the Terminator and Boba fett with superweapons then a specific impulse (impulse 199/200?) allows the players to cycle through the skins. Either way it's a fun mod and not to be taken too seriously but does make a nice change on a quake server.

Please let me know if I can be of any futher help.

Kind regards

Monty

[Baker]

but where shall we point are download links?! bigfoot/~jack only has maps!!

or are you fixing this dilemma in seeeeeecreut(rubs thin curly mustache)?

I never make anything for the "Quake knowledgeable". If people need to know something for a thing to work, I consider it broken by design.

I'm just saying your grandma could connect to such a server with ProQuake 4 or Qrack and it would work exactly as intended.

I know you are "thinking", I am saying I don't believe in something that requires any "thinking" to be used.

@Burns re: the multiskin ... it would work. The Universal Server supports all the models, maps, sounds, sprites that a mod requires (it does not support any 2D graphics like special HUDs and stuff).

[Disco]

wow. really impressive baker! I cant wait to try this out. Thank you for all of the tireless work and sometimes unthankful, unnoticed work that you do for the quake community.