Nosedive
Sep 5 2009, 20:13
How many people would be interested in forming up to chip in to the cost of having a dedicated server (or servers), specifically aimed at mod-using. We would need to think of a way of improving the funding side, as it's unlikely people would be willing to pay just so others can come in for free.
On a side note (and most of what's to come is just thinking aloud so to speak), I want to question the feasibility of an idea i've had for a way of stabilising the server against mods.
Now, I know little about the coding side of the game, so this might sound ridiculous for those in-the-know. But i've seen people do amazing things with mods and launchers in the past, so here it goes. Would it be possible to devise a launcher for this specific server, that you need to launch the game from in order to play on it? The launcher would transmit a list of mods on the client PC to a corresponding program running on the server. The server admins would have to keep a list of all current mods available and prioritise them with the ones most likely to cause issues towards the top, and those of least concern towards the bottom. Now, could you not just have the server simply reject any illegal mod activity that could cause a crash? (This is where my limited knowledge really spikes btw.) Like, couldn't the program form a shell that simply ignores mods that affect the server in an unacceptable manner? This is probably impossible, but it could inspire someone who hasn't thought of this yet.
If all else fails, you could just keep the server locked to those that don't have the mods the server is currently running, which is where the transmission of a mod list would be important. The mods the server would run could be pre-agreed on a forum, which would enhance community aspects as well.
Tell me what you think.
Also i realise this isn't technically discussing a mod, so could be seen as being in the wrong forum, but it is directly associated with mods, and will draw the correct audience in here, so please leave it where it is if you don't mind.
On a side note (and most of what's to come is just thinking aloud so to speak), I want to question the feasibility of an idea i've had for a way of stabilising the server against mods.
Now, I know little about the coding side of the game, so this might sound ridiculous for those in-the-know. But i've seen people do amazing things with mods and launchers in the past, so here it goes. Would it be possible to devise a launcher for this specific server, that you need to launch the game from in order to play on it? The launcher would transmit a list of mods on the client PC to a corresponding program running on the server. The server admins would have to keep a list of all current mods available and prioritise them with the ones most likely to cause issues towards the top, and those of least concern towards the bottom. Now, could you not just have the server simply reject any illegal mod activity that could cause a crash? (This is where my limited knowledge really spikes btw.) Like, couldn't the program form a shell that simply ignores mods that affect the server in an unacceptable manner? This is probably impossible, but it could inspire someone who hasn't thought of this yet.
If all else fails, you could just keep the server locked to those that don't have the mods the server is currently running, which is where the transmission of a mod list would be important. The mods the server would run could be pre-agreed on a forum, which would enhance community aspects as well.
Tell me what you think.
Also i realise this isn't technically discussing a mod, so could be seen as being in the wrong forum, but it is directly associated with mods, and will draw the correct audience in here, so please leave it where it is if you don't mind.