MP mod makers: lets talk.

Sun Apr 27, 2003 6:34 am by giskard

Hello.

I'd like to start a thread all about freelancer MultiPlayer mods and the crashes that effect them.

I had 2 such crashes today. One was with a new custom ship that crashed the server each time i tried to jump to a new system. It was not consistant though, only crashing out about 70% of the time. Worked fine it the system i brought the ship from.

Second crash involved some big to the market and goods files. Basically i increased all the prices and make other tweaks to the game and in multiplayer it crashed when i docked with the third station i came across.

The Stations where totally unedited btw.

In single player that last mod worked without any problems at all. Im starting to think MP has some serious issues with mods.

Anybody want to share their experiences with your own mods in MP ?

I'd like to know what else is happening in MP, mod wish that is.

Giskard

Sun Apr 27, 2003 4:13 pm by Leonhart

Same here. I play multiplayer with mod, destructible bases and battleship encounter. Everything was fine until this other player logged on. After he did everything crashed. I reinstalled my game but the problem stayed and then I had to do drastic measures which was delete freelancer directory and then reinstall the game. Well the problem was fixed but I lost all save games, every single one, but the problem is I already finished the game, had fully loaded sabre and 5000000 credits.

May strong survive and weak perish

Sun Apr 27, 2003 4:17 pm by ceylon

I have had exactly zero problems with multiplayer mods. You should only use MP mods on closed, passworded servers. That way everyone who logs on has the same mods. The problems come when someone has different .ini files from the server.

Ceylon

Sun Apr 27, 2003 6:41 pm by giskard

The issue I have is Im joining my own server so I do actually have exactly the same files. Which raises a question in my mind about freelancers stability. Especially since last nights little test proved SP can use the same mod just fine but multiplayer simply crashes out at random intervals.

I think its in all our best interests togather as much information about this as possible. The info in forum is not well organised on this point and its important info to have in one place.

Please encourage others to voice their experiences in this thread too.

Giskard

Sun Apr 27, 2003 7:11 pm by ceylon

The only crashing problems I have come across similar to what you describe (Leonhart's prob is different files) is when a change is made to something and there is a small error. For example, you accidentally have an error in one of your shield equipment entries. You won't crash until you run across a ship with that shield, or dock at a base selling it. If it's a piece of equipment you have, you'll crash when you try to launch or go into the equipment screen.

That's the only thing similar. Other than that, I have had no stability problems except when a coding error is at fault. Back up everything, and insert your modifications in small steps, so as to be able to pinpoint the error.

Ceylon

Mon Apr 28, 2003 7:24 pm by giskard

I noticed that too, the point was brought home originally when i made some jump gates to go to the new mars system. The jumpgate at the side i had to use to get to the new system worked but the once the screen went white and the second part of the jump started it, just never ended.

I had thought the jumpgate was fault but actually it was the new system at fault. I also learned that a mistake in a solar file will crash the game but a bad path to a solar entry file will simply mean that entry is ignored.

However, I must say, testing in single player is more interesting than multiplayer because im seeing 10x less crashes whilst editing the same code.

Giskard

Mon Apr 28, 2003 8:59 pm by ceylon

Right, I test ALL code in SP first, debug, and then test in MP with one of my friends on a secure server.

That lets me get out any MP bugs. Then I release it for folks to play with.

Ceylon

Tue Apr 29, 2003 2:31 am by SuBXeRo

well what mods to your fl can crash the server, cause im open when i go into a server i dun care if theyknow i mod cause i aitn an ass that kilsl everything u know, but then they say o u'll crash the server, so i want to know what files i should avoid editing that have a really good chance of crashing the server

Mess With the Best Die lIke the Rest

Tue Apr 29, 2003 4:00 am by ceylon

As far as I can tell ANY client-side mod can crash the server. Some don't but I think any of them can, if the server is not identically modded. It may not crash all the time, but I think it does contribute to instability. AS a general prinicple you should not use client-side mods on an unmodded server.

Ceylon

Wed Apr 30, 2003 12:45 am by giskard

I think ceylon is right on that point.

When ever the game loads a script it does so only when it needs it. Usuaully the master ini files are loaded at startup, then when you enter a base, the base files are loaded and so forth. So an error in one file wouldnt appear until that file is used.

When playing in multiplayer you have the same situation, the moment a modified file is used the server runs a risk of crashing. Assuming the client and server files dont match.

If the master ini files, eg the ones the game must load when you launch a new game are all screwy, the game simply doesnt load at all. If they are modified and the game does load. Not sure what would happen in MP if that was the case. You could go through a game that didnt exist on the server and make your own character useless. Done that my self in testing on my mod lol.

Giskard

Wed Apr 30, 2003 12:56 am by SuBXeRo

well u guys seem smart now like i said some mods just dont work on a mp server right like it just wont load if u try to leave aplanet right, could i make my won base and use it on an unmodded server and not have my game crash or the server?

Mess With the Best Die lIke the Rest

Wed Apr 30, 2003 2:04 am by ceylon

I don't think so. It seems that if the server and client have different scripts, the thing runs a crash risk. If you made your own mods and distribute them to everyone using your server, it should work fine. That's why I say mods should only be used on PW servers.

Larry

Wed Apr 30, 2003 4:53 am by giskard

I know my own mod is unstable in MP but fine in SP and i run the server and client from the same machine. If you ask me, MP is not the best place for freelancer mods.

Just my opinion.

Giskard

Thu May 01, 2003 9:06 pm by ceylon

Well Giskard, I have never encountered this. What specifically are you modding? I am not messing with systems or anything, just trying to make the equipment more like Privateer. Maybe some mods are intrinsically less stable.

Ceylon

Fri May 02, 2003 3:36 am by giskard

Well ive touched on almost every area of freelancer in my mod so far. Only got voice files to figure out and then i have touched every area. Some are noticable changes, others are changes ive abandoned for now.

Giskard

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