Hi guys,

I'm a fairly regular Soldat player. One thing I've noticed is the lack of diversity as far as Servers go. I think that this Michael dude should license the server code under the GPL, then people who have the time can write (better?) servers for different platforms.

Also something that should be done pretty fast is a web admin for the server. If Michael could release some info on the protocol, anyone could knock up a portal in a jiffy. I dunno whats up with this "running a dedicated server on linux and controlling it from windows" nonsense. Why not go platform-independant?

Oh yeah, the /Addbot command needs to be fixed up too. Add a second arg to set which colour the bot is on, in teammatch and CTF that is.

AND.. one more thing :). The -Join command line arg should have password support too. I wrote a quickie prog in VB that uses the shell to start Soldat with my ip and port. I usually give this to my friends when I play them so I don't have to use the lobby etc. However I would like to password protect my private games too. This is merely a "comfort" feature that could be added.

Sambo

Just for clarification, when I say source code, I mean the SERVER code. I don't want anyone flaming me about how I shouldn't ask for the game source.

When I say web admin system I mean a portal made in PHP/PERL/whatever that allows you to log in to a running server and control it from there. All that would be required on Michaels side is tweaking the Remote Admin system a bit. I think the system should be done using a username + password system. Instead of typing a certain player's name in.

Michal says (FAQ):

11. Can you give me the source code of Soldat?

Eeee, no?

11. Can you give me the source code for Soldat [game]?
Eee, no?

I said server source dude.... Or okay, if Michal is so anxious to hold on to his source, how bout exposing an interface?

I doubt Michal would release the server source, but I like your ideas...

I know, i doubt it too. i see where he's coming from. i mean, would ID go and release the source for quake 3 for free? course not. this game is greater than people think too. lots of little details you'd never notice at first. i like the hair and dog tag swigining with motion :). great job Michal!

"I think that this Michael dude"

Always refer to him as the powerful almightly michael, The god.

okay :). SOLDAT REFLECTS (GOD'S?) MIGHTY HANDIWORK AND SKILL IN EVERY WAY! :P

If he released the server code, then that would give away a LOT about how packets are formatted, as well as anticheat protection, making cheating MUCH easier.

Dragon88: Yes that's right.
I was thinking of splitting the server into modules. I would make an anti-cheat and packets module (like a DLL file) and everybody could use them with their own server that they would write. That would be a good thing for the future.

Yes, that could work, but I think it would further complicate the situation of having both a linux server and a windows server. The two DLL formats are not compatible.

erm. who needs the server code to work out protocol anyways? lol. theres this great prog called etherdetect packet sniffer. anyways, that is a good idea michal.

friend, there is encryption on the packets that have to be decrypted... look, here's the magic phrase... by the server. That is what would be given away.

oh gee. are you sure? i sorta thought theyd pass the encrpytion key around for everyone. god. encryption can be broken anyways (not by me lol). if you knew what the server was meant to be sending, like EXACTLY, you just look for the pattern between bytes. then again, it depends on encrpytion lol.

MD5? Break that plz.

"In essence, MD5 is a way to verify data integrity, and is much more reliable than checksum and many other commonly used methods."
So.. MD5 isn't for en/decryption, or am I missing something here?

Yes it is. It creates a form of checksum for data. It's not true encryption, but it can be used as one way encryption. There is NO know way to decrypt it. It is probably accomplished using floating point numbers which are then rounded to integers. There is no way to unround.

i thought i read something about Michal being willing to sell the code in exchange for endless gobs of money, though that might just be my faulty memory :)