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DOL Server
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Since Holly has been busy with Uni he hasn't really taken over the development of DOL as I had hoped, he says that he should be free in the coming months, but this stalls the core development progression that keeps noret and alex_speed waiting. This has left me in control again which is something I didn't ask for, nor enjoy.
I created a table for contributions to DOL
Dawn of Light CODE contributions
1.9: 28th March 2007 - present
132 - Official XP RvR Server (Dawn of Light)
25 - Official Custom Server (Amtenael)
8 - Official I50 RvR Server (Thidranki Classic)
3 - Ariadolis
32 - Urzaria
31 - Non attached (mostly noret and gandulf)
The results of this is saddening, the majority of developments area done by the official xp rvr server (Dawn of Light), mostly through me and ziored. Other language developments have come from Amtenael, and a few from Thidranki Classic, they both state that they don't have much time for development, and even as they are official servers are not required to develop huge amounts to the project, they are just required to run pure dol code and assist when they can.
There are other servers out there which use our code, which don't contribute to the project, yet seem to attract more players then any of the official servers, which is another thing which angers me.
Let's go through them shall we:
Uthgard: I talk with Blue constantly about the situation and I understand the path he has taken for Uthgard, I share the same feelings but as the project manager it's not something I can follow unless we can take the action further below in this article. Uthgard has a closed source, they have split from DOL and all developments they keep private, they do this, like every other server, so that no-one else gets their developments. Has no-one learned the lessons of Purga? Features don't make a successful server, the more features does not mean the better server. Because eventually nicer people will develop these things and release them to the community, usually us at DOL. Blue doesn't want to merge new things from DOL because he worries about stability, I understand that I really do, but he isolates himself, and harms the project. I respect the amount of early work he did for the project, but can't forgive him for dumping me.
Avengarde: Never heard of this server before, seems to be run by Dams33, this server claims to have features which DOL lacks, and makes no reference to DOL, a shining example of how open source should be........
NoName: Don't know who these guys are, but the whole VIP thing worries me, how can they think of making money like that.
Ariadolis: Heh, this one is an interesting topic, Carnifexe seems to hate me, everyone is entitled to I suppose, he claims he tried donating SO MUCH, and that we didn't credit him. The truth behind this is, that he claims to have donated all of the RR5 RA's, in fact, he did send me that folder, we just didn't use them. Which is why he didn't credit them, we use a different RA system to the one he did on Aridolis, based off Uthgard's RA system, Presto gave us most of the RA's. Another developer Xaves, sent me some fixes relating to monster rez and other heretic spells yesterday, which I'm processing, and Carnifexe has told him not to share things with me. Sounds a little like the LeBron and Tiv situation, anyone think we should make a DOL serial drama? It's no secret that I hate servers like this, I know the project design was catered towards providing plug and play servers for people who are clueless to run, but I just can't stand them, people that just blindly use our stuff, have ridiculous settings, and manage to attract lemmings to their server, it just baffles us as real developers who actually work on our servers.
Urzaria: Urza does a fantastic job, bless him, he has a fairly small player base, but contributes frequently on the translation tasks with DOL.
Alfheim and Ysender: I don't really know much about these guys, and at least not to my memory I haven't noticed any contributions to the project.
Purga: Or whatever it's called now, mostly the same way I feel as with Uthgard, Tiv is talented, and I'd like to work with him, but Purga remains isolated from DOL.
I do understand that some people may not feel their work can help DOL, I really do, I was the same way when I started, but it's better for everyone to include this in the project. The open source community can't stay active if people just take and not give, ones that have made a lot of effort in the community lately, such as ZioRed and myself are just tired of doing the developments for everyone, without receiving any assistance. I've been wanting to resign now for years. I'm absolutely fed up with it, but I have a sense of loyalty to the project, and can't just dump things on ZioRed.
I also understand that peoples time is hard to come by lately, but people don't you realise that working together shortens the amount of time you have to spend developing alone?
Any legal nut here know how the GPL license we operate under caters for closing our source? Blue and I have discussed this frequently, and really do wonder how much closed source development would suit us. I think it'd be great, and not change a thing, because all of the development is done within the project right now, as we receive nothing from outside of it. Closing the source, I would see as making public the current source, then all future developments are private, and we only release binaries and installers.
Database releases are another thing completely, our team has worked their asses off creating and releasing these databases, yet they have only been met with hostility and insults complaining about things not working perfectly or problems with the releases. Tell me WHY we should ever do a release again for the database?
If the community fails to support the project, I will also, because I am fed up of fighting an uphill battle donating large portions of my time for public development when nothing comes back my way, or assists me.
I was talking to my brother a professional developer yesterday, and he raised a good point, he asked me what am I doing this for? am I doing it for myself, for my server and it's player count? or am I doing this for the community, so they themselves can have the best emu. The answer is, for myself, I have zero loyalties to the community based on how they treat me and my team, I dread every time I do a release, and how people can use it, this is not the way open source development should be.
I really have tried my best, I released an installer, I harassed my database team for the server to do a public release, I set goals for release versions for DOL, I created a task list with all the missing features in DOL that I could find. Yet this hasn't helped.
Oh, and onto the usual content.
Development over the last month
Noret
- Code: Select all
- Bugfix: NullReferenceException in stat scripts
- Chenged: MySQL connection pool now use Queue instead of Stack + dead loop safety check
- Changed: SQL command is repeated on socket error code 10053
- Bugfix: StatPrint script should show stats over time
- Code: Select all
- Changed: Made some changes to the fear brain, more to come.
- Code: Select all
- Added: PvE titles for Epic Mob and Legion kills.
- Changed: GM's can now wear class restricted items.
- Bugfix: Fixed some issues with Remedy Realm Ability.
- Code: Select all
- Add: language manager support for DoorRequestHandler
- Language: german messages adapted to live server
- Bugfix: ALLOW_MAULER in mauler trainer scripts
- Bugfix: some entries corrected in german language file
- Add: new entrie in server property for enable or disable instances
- Add: some entries for language manager support
- Add: language manager support for DetailDisplayHandler
- Add: current german language file
- Add: new entrie in server property: Save QuestItem into Database
- Code: Select all
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue which prevented RandomBuffShear from working,
- Changed: Local variables in GamePlayer to refer to PlayerCharacter.
- Code: Select all
- Added: Two new fields to the mob table, Brain, and PathID, the Brain is the namespace and classtype of the brain, and will be applied on load, PathID is the path ID that the npc will walk along, this is also applied on load.
- Changed: Updated the language files.
- Added: /mob path command.
- Bugfix: Fixed exceptions with the /gc promote and remove commands.
- Added: /gc removeaccount support.
- Bugfix: Fixed some issues with pets and casting spells.
- Code: Select all
- Changed: GM's are always considered the same realm as any of it's targets.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue where players on PvP servers weren't correctly considered the same realm.
- Bugfix: Warlocks chamber spells now correctly override the range, power and cast time of spells. (Thanks to mgX)
- Bugfix: Players exit messages are now correctly translated for every client instead of just the quitting client.
- Bugfix: You should now be able to jump to players inside player houses.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue which stopped NPC's aggroing.
- Bugfix: Fixed an incorrect title in the Essence 50 epic quest.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue with SprintEffect recently introduced.
- Changed: Updated CZ language file thanks to Snorgrind.
- Changed: More information is now logged when a character is deleted.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue which prevented Falcons Eye from working.
- Bugfix: Fixed various issues relating to Arms Length, Speed of Sound, Charge and normal speed stacking thanks to Mico.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue where players on PvP servers could not interact with NPC's.
- Bugfix: Fixed various issues with Focus spells thanks to nidel.
- Changed: Rewritten the area create and save code, you will need to use the included dbconverter to update your DB to version 5 if you want your area DB's preserved.
- Added: New arguments for /area create safearea/bindarea.
- Added: New arguments for /keep command, /keep radius, to change the radius of a keep, for example if you wanted it spanning a larger area then a normal keep. (Requires server restart).
- Bugfix: GameGuards will now start to attack.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue where the mob would not think while he is moving, this presented problems with roaming mobs, now mobs will only stop thinking as they return home.
- Added: Two new behaviour text types, Say and Yell.
- Added: New method in GameObject GetLevelFromCon, this will accept two arguements, the source level and the target con, and should output a level that is appropriate to the con.
- Bugfix: Fixed some issues where Mana,Health or Endurance could be set below 0.
- Bugfix: A target is in view check is fired when you are attacking, this should resolve issues such as hitting players through walls or doors.
- Bugfix: When a NPC is in combat, and it's level is changed, it will no longer heal to full, this fixes an issue where the keep balance system would alter the level of guards after a keep is captured.
- Changed: Cleaned up various effects making them properly work with StaticEffect and TimedEffect.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue with stealth styles not properly being recognised on a multi language server, they will now check translations based on server properties language instead player.
- Added: More information to the characterdeleterequesthandler so we know the account and IP that has done the action.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue relating to /bonuses display of relic modifiers.
- Added: New server property for ban_hackers, setting this to true will automatically kick and ban those we are certain of speed hacking, there is an acceptable tolerance for lag.
- Bugfix: Fixed a number of issues with Warlocks, Bainshees and Maulers thanks to Krin.
- Added: New server property for allow_all_realms_df, setting this to true will grant all realms access to DF.
- Added: An experimental system for XP capping, for example if a level 50 groups with a level 1 and kills a green, the level 1 should get the xp for a green, this may need tweaking.
- Bugfix: Mastery of Concentration now affects CC duration.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue relating to the relic magic damage bonus.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue where BindAreas would display (Region) You have entered xxx messages.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue where relics wouldn't load relic pads and assign themselves to them properly.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue where InCombat was reporting true as NPC's entered the world and so were not being healed to full.
- Changed: Group bonus and camp bonus are no longer multiplied by the server xp rate.(Messages never told you the full amount)
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue with Backstab II not being recognised.
- Bubgfix: Fixed an issue with the /area command not recording the players location as the areas location.
- Added: Two new database fields to the character table, NoHelp and ShowGuildLogins.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue with RoundsBrain where the Body was ordered to move at it's max speed not the current points speed.
- Changed: I've rewritten Engage effect to use a static property so the effect list isn't checked multiple times during combat, I've also made it GameNPC friendly.
- Bugfix: The bind animation for all players with client >= 1.87 has been updated to show the correct realms animation.
- Changed: Experimental code to allow the teleporting of pets with you through doors and in game teleporters if the same region.
- Changed: Experimental code to prevent rams from being moved too close to a keep door.
- Bugfix: Automatic hackers ban has been extended to fly hacking.
- Added: Experimental packet support for realm war map fight display thanks to Baldrug.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue with the free level display time where it was still calculated from 7 days and not server properties.
- Changed: Adjusted the RP values of RvR missions to their correct value.
- Added: New server property for rvr_zones_xp_rate, this allows you to set a new xp rate for rvr zones, this includes Darkness Falls.
- Added: New server property for db_language, this allows for translations such as horse mounts, styles such as backstab and ressurection illness to be used on a non english database.
- Added: New server property for max_camp_bonus, set this value to set the max a camp bonus can be of the usual mob xp, default 2.0.
- Bugfix: Fixed a number of issues with the new xp anti powerlevel capping system.
- Changed: Updated the stats display to be more live like thanks to Suncheck.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue where you could still use positional styles against keep doors and components.
- Added: /gc logins command, to inform you when a guild member enters the game.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue with chatgroups where you could join a non public chatgroup.
- Bugfix: Fixed an issue with chatgroups where /who would display all members of the chatgroup with the [CG] tag instead of the public leaders.
- Added: /who NF command to list all members of your realm in new frontiers.
- Added: /nohelp command to stop receiving heal help from non group members.
Please now comment on the thoughts of the project status, because the way it is, I quit very shortly.
