Topic: OCI/Server Development poll!

[Bonk]

Bonk's back from the Gulag?

Yes, Amnesty international's Canuckistan branch petitioned the authorities for my release from unjust political exile. The authorities relented after much pressure, but with the condition that I enlist for service with the Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen and swear allegiance to Stephen Harper.

... but seriously, I got a job at home for the winter (thank *&%$, it's cold enough here). I might go back up next summer for the better money though.

[odb]

well sonner or probibly later we will have a decent server to bonk the b0onk around! 

[KBF MalaK]

Along with my 3 choices I'd like to see an optional manual installer of campaign files (or at least better documentation of where/what files are being installed by the automated installer). The automated installer has killed my OP install more times than I can count and I've become quite good at manually removing old campagn files and saving my install.

[Bonk]

Along with my 3 choices I'd like to see an optional manual installer of campaign files (or at least better documentation of where/what files are being installed by the automated installer). The automated installer has killed my OP install more times than I can count and I've become quite good at manually removing old campaign files and saving my install.

All my NSIS campaign installers (and Firesoul's too) have a "Show Details" button on the installer progress page, and each and every file copied/moved etc will be listed, you can copy and save this record as well. The Clickteam installers don't have this feature that I'm aware of. Batch installers are always pretty easy to figure out as you can usually figure it out by just reading the batch file. (hint - NSIS installers can be extracted manually with 7-Zip, so you can just extract them and place the files manually if desired. though any scripted actions will not be extracted - it used to decompile the script but they disabled that)

The problem with a zillion and one campaign installers floating around, no matter how user friendly, is that eventually you end up in a tangled mess of mods installed one on top of the other. Or you can keep multiple backups of your OP folder consuming disk space and time...

Thus, one of the ideas mentioned in this poll, but now after more thought I think it should be integrated into one single "package manager" for OP.

I'm thinking that approaching it from the side of the mod file structure (bottom up) is the way to go as proposed in this thread:
http://www.dynaverse.net/forum/index.php/topic,163377469.0.html
It would be a bunch of work to restructure existing mods into a new standard format but once done they could be posted to several repositories listed in the default OP Package manager config. Then to run a new campaign, you can simply instruct users to select the package you have uploaded to the repositories in the package manager and launch the game (integrating mod application and game launch into the package manager, with command line use too so you can create your own custom update and launch shortcuts...)

With a standardised mod package format people can then write their own applications and scripts based on the mod package definition.

[KBF MalaK]

No worries, just trying to save some noobs the headaches I had learning how to manually un-install campaign files when the uninstaller fails to work. On the plus side- whatever installer thats been used over the last couple of years has been (for the most part) caught by Pesty's mod chooser which makes manually uninstaller much easier (for me anyway).

Don't mind me, I'm in a rotten mood today.

[Bonk]

...Pesty's mod chooser...

I'm pretty sure the mod chooser is Strat's, Pestalence just bundled it with his enhancement packages. I'm hoping that Strat will weigh in on my standardised mod package format proposal, which I believe can solve these types of issues once and for all.

EDIT: Strat and I had planned on integrating his mod chooser with sfcdirect using standard codes for traditional mods. I think that while initially a standard mod package format would be a bunch of work, but it would make everything so much easier in the long run when integrated with a package manager like Strat's. It would be soo much easier to code the mod chooser/package manager. Heck we could even move sfcdirect's game matching functionality into the package manager and repositories and dump the web interface (and gamespy)  Strat! Var r joooo? I'm baaackkk!

[Bonk]

Bonk,

Is there the possibility that PvP DV shifts could be implemented within the database through a set of triggers rather than having to alter the serverkit code?  It's been awhile since I looked at this, but might it not be possible to trigger for resolution of battles between two human players on opposing sides and alter the DV values of the hex accordingly?

As far as I see it no. For the same reasons I cannot completely automate kill reporting. (mostly mission disconnects and crashes make it impossible to tell). If I could, then yes it would not be to hard to get PvP dv shifts using kill detection code called by a trigger.

Currently, the only opportunity that I can see to reliably determine if a battle was indeed valid PvP is at the mission completion and reporting code in the serverkit.

Um wait... lemme think about this some more. The main question is how to handle crashed/split missions in PVP detection outside the kit?

[Bonk]

Poll now closed. Thanks for the votes on the poll everybody, your input is greatly appreciated.

I'm going to have to go against the majority vote for this winter's project, due to circumstances beyond my control (damn dial-up). So it will have to be something I can work on locally at home, so that will be continuing to troubleshoot and test OP under Wine on Linux.  (I will probably have a second project that I can work on at home over this winter too... Lyrkiller and I have a top secret project in the works...).