Professionally Hosted Masterserver For Deus Ex

[HDD21]

Yes, another masterserver topic. I ended up buying myself a professional server for gameservers and the likes, and have ended up hosting a masterserver for Deus Ex on it. This isnt one on some home connection like my last ones, this is one that can be permantly running, at minimal cost!

Now, there are a few problems I have had to overcome, which is why other MSs for DX have been unreliable. First off, if I do not use the nephhthys IpDrv, heartbeats from nepthys servers are rejected. If i use the Nephthys IpDrv, heartbeats from non-nephthys servers are rejected, and also inbetween different versions of nephthys, heartbeats are rejected. So to make this simple, first you need to add the following into the correct part of your DeusEx.ini

ServerActors=Nephthys.NptServerUplink MasterServerAddress=master.hdd21servers.co.cc MasterServerPort=27900

Then you need to update your version of nephthys. If you use a professional server with only FTP access, I have made this simple. Simply Extract the following folder: http://www.filefactory.com/file/c5a1bc3 ... te_1_5_rar

and replace the files in your Deus Ex system folder with these ones. Simple! You now have the latest version of nephthys, and are uplinking to a secondary masterserver. If gamespy goes down for maintence, browsing the serverlist should still be simple :)Or use MMUserInterface

Please ensure your server has nephthys before applying these files, or your server will not work until a full nepthys install is applied. If your server does not have nephthys, install the latest version: http://zzora.altervista.org/Nephthys_v1.5a018_inst.zip this version also protects a client from dodgy servers such as the fake servers in 2008.

All the files I have uploaded do is update the actual files nephthys uses, not the config nor does it put nepthys.ini there, it is best to keep your current nepthys.ini.

I have decided to set this up as it is at minimal cost, and I have noticed all the other DX masterservers no longer exist. Saves the community rooting around for IP's. If GS ever went down permantly, getting edios to release a community patch t would be the best option, but at least if GS goes for maintence connecting to servers will be easy.

[Psycho]

What tell's me that this isn't a dodgy nepthys with some loopholes?

[HDD21]

The download link for the installer is from Zora's official site, 1.5a, last touched in 2009, so this is the latest version.

The files are merely from it, if one needs to feel at ease, downloading the installer from zora's website, installing it on their personal DX and then copying the needed files: IpDrv.dll, IpDrv.u, IpDrv.int, Nepthys.u, Nepthys.int, Nepthys.dll from that to their servers FTP, if they so wish. It also protects the client from dodgy servers.

[ShadowRunner]

I wasn't aware that Nepthys needed updating. You'll find that a lot of people rent servers which come automatically with Nepthys and that some people just won't have the time or inclination to fiddle with their servers. I'm trying to establish as well, what advantages does this MS have to the person doing nothing at all and continuing with present set-up.

[HDD21]

Mainly, if GS goes down for maintence, gameplay can be uninterupted, also, gamespy is owned by IGN who is in turn owned by by news corp. With all the negative publicity around concerning it at the moment it just feels wise to have a back-up anyway.

From wikipedia: 'In September 2005, IGN was acquired by Rupert Murdoch's multi-media business empire, News Corporation, for $650 million'

If GS went down permantly, which is unlikley at the moment but if news corp ends up in even more trouble then we need to worry but one needs to be prepared, getting edios to release a patch that changes the address of the ini to another masterserver IF GS went down permantly. They seem supportive of the community from what ive read here at any rate. Letting all players know, and adding it to DX-SL: master0.gamespy.com:28900\master.hdd21servers.co.cc:28900 will combine lists from the two masterservers. The STEAM version can also release updates for it's games, even a small one such as this, if the community went to them?

But for maintence, which can be anything from up to two days to a week, even two when that hurricane hit the building still being able to get the serverlist is better than rooting around for IPs Other games such as UT99 and unreal have alernates in place, and because the unreal community and even the 227 patch had them which virtually all unreal players have, the hurricane downed MS did not disrupt gameplay, by much. They are prepared, for the worst. searching 'latest unreal patch' on google will come up with 227. I just want to let the game I love continue to thrive, and to give something back to the community, this being one of them, seeing as it is on a professional server.

EDIT: I have decided to take this one step further, by pointing the IPs of all known servers to have static IPs from Deus Ex to a subdomain of their own.

bradzeroaug.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - Brad's Zero Aug Server
code-zero.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - Code-Zero Server
deusexevolved.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - [Face]s server
edhclassic.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - EDH Classical Server
edhduskofhorrors.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - EDH Dusk Of Horrors Server
fgsaltfire.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - FGS Altfire Server
fgsnoaugs.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - FGS 0 Augs server
gardensofthc.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - Gardens of THC
hdd21dxsg.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - My DXSG Server
hdd21dxwarzone.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 My DXWarzone Server
sunnyside.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - SunnySide
thcnoaugs.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - THC No Augs
zxcpartyserver.hdd21servers.co.cc:7790 - ZxC party Server

so all one would need to do is either enter the right subdomain and port number into the join box i.e edhclassic.hdd21server.co.cc:7790
or if you have deus ex protocol properly installed in your browser:
deusex://edhclassic.hdd21server.co.cc:7790

So if you still wish to Join by web browser or need to join by IP for whatever reason, this simplifys things! No servers with dynamic IPs are in this list, if I have missed out one with a static IP, let me know!

[ShadowRunner]

The STEAM version can also release updates for it's games, even a small one such as this, if the community went to them?

My contact is purely with Eidos Montreal and Crystal. Alpha has contact with the MS and Eidos UK people.

1. DXMP people have to quit posting negative whining topics about each other on the wrong forums. DXMP people appear to have done that and I haven't seen a bs topic on DeusEx.com since 2007 perhaps. General PR and "recruiting" issues still leave a lot to be desired though, plus when people do miraculously join DXMP, those that don't immediately leave due to graphics or gameplay are confronted with players with years of skill "cheating" and/or or total noobs that make the infolink bearable for about 3 minutes with stuff like "FGS are homos".

2. DXMP people can't ask for metabolic end product until they "deliver". (This is normal and reasonable in business, you show stuff working, not talk about it in the Dragon's Den right?) DXMP People are responding to this, When Human Revolution multiplayer is beta testing live, we will hit the Press with videos and once that is done, we will go back to Eidos and talk about support requests that are on hold until we "deliver". But in general, the bigger projects are out of the question until people can first put their crap aside, work together and then second, work with other organisations.

The SP community put MP people to shame, TNM, 2027, great projects, great press, a lot of users. MP community is kidding itself, we have periods of empty servers, but the only two bot servers in a list of 40, is Cagematch and Cozmo (funnily enough the two coders working on Hengsha).

All the mantras that various tribes in the game repeat mean nothing, clearly there is a problem or there would be 60+ online every night right now like in 2005/6, when only 4 AG maps and 2 SG maps had people fighting to join the whole evening and Kaiden's banlist was 80+ lol. So those current mantras and politics need to go. There's little point in the planning process of the mother-of-all-projects until you remove politics and personal issues from the equations first.

One thing that would get support/collaboration immediately is a DXMP Convention/DXMP Event/DXMP Internet Cafe/Bar event in London, Berlin or Amsterdam or all three. Kyle Stalloch is up for this. This is also the perfect opportunity to make a documentary film about people playing and editing a 12 year old game, about the game, to interview Kyle, players, generate revenue and some plentiful exposure. Obviously as Hengsha progresses we will do our best for the community with that too.

[chin.democ.]

I agree with most of what you've written there, although it has to be said the community is more friendly now then it's ever been, there's potentially good times for DXMP players ahead.

[ShadowRunner]

Thanks Chin, yes I sounded a bit negative, I didn't express myself in the best way, but hopefully got some points across.
The map challenge has been a highlight, like you said when competition is healthy or friendly everything is more productive.

[Kaiden]

What if it doesn't come back up? Would that be the DXMP apocalypse?

Definitely. While people such as FGS would still be able to play games as they'd join a different master server, there'd be no new players coming in - as they'd just press multiplayer after buying Deus Ex in a shop for £2.50 and see no servers. We hypothesised over it for a while and there really wouldn't be much you could do apart from hope they'd get out there and try and find a solution, of which most people wouldn't.

Will have to keep an eye on IPv6 too.

My post from 2011 (nice and negative).

[~][FGS][Nobody~]

Yes.. to get back to the topic..
We've already had this master server debate several times over the year and it always ended at the same problem:
How can this be successfully performed without spacing new players out that just got the default configuration?

From all the effort I've seen in this topic.. I don't see the answer to this sp far.

[ShadowRunner]

And as I stated already, there is a solution, but the solution involves the community doing a lot of groundwork first.