MNC Stand Alone Dedicated Server Features and Wishlist

Hi all,

We're testing out our stand alone dedicated server files internally and should have something out next week. We would love some feedback from those of you that want to run it.

It has:
hldsupdatetools support
separate executable
stripped down version, about 350MB right now



What are the baseline features that we need to have?

What are wishlist items we should have?

Hmm, it's probably something you need to change in MNC itself and not only the stand-alone dedicated server:
Can you please display the servername in the statistic screen after a match? And a small 'Add to favorites' button would be awesome.

Sometimes I can't remember the exact name of a server after a few matches (it was something with mncserver... :x ) but I would like to add it to my favorites because I had a bunch of great, lag-free games on it. Having the name and hoster displayed somewhere would help a lot to keep that favorite server list up to date, thx.

Ekanaut - you guys ROCK!

Here's my feature list:
- Linux support (assumed as you said hldsupdatetools support)
- Resource requirements for dedicated server, estimate on bandwidth usage per player slot
- Ability to set via config all game vars - game modes, map cycles, max players, max bots, etc.
- Ability to change config variables on the fly from in-game via console if you supply rcon password (without server reboot if possible)
- Ability for clients to be able to connect to a server via IP (either in console or via server browser)

- log player name and SteamID (currently only SteamID)
This helps in the search of cheaters when someone reports the player name but not reports his SteamID

- New log file after certain size or time. (copying current log to backup file and wiping the orginal)
If the server runs for a long time and you need to open up the log file to check for certain things (for example verifying that a cheater entered the server) it takes a substantial amount of time to open and earch it especially if the server is running at full capacity. (less rejecting spectator something messages would help to xD)

- Ability to send a chat message from the server window itself (could be a webadmin feature when it's introduced)
Now you could notify players of a restart without entering the server yourself.

- Ability to change maplist one the fly
not tested if its already possible, but it would certainly be nice to be able to change the maplist without restarting the server.

- log chat messages to seperate file, timecoded.
Usefull in the case of abusive language towards certain players if it's reported without having been on the server yourself.

- message of the day
no server admin can live without one :mrgreen:

It's good to hear you guys are working on getting a standalone server out quickly. There are only a few things I think are needed.

Reserve slots are a must!

It's close to impossible to join my own server; it doesn't take long to fill up 12 players.

A MOTD would be real nice, too.

Thanks for all the hard work you guys are putting into this game. A few tweaks and this game will be near perfect.

- Ability to set location to hostileacces.ini (so all instances can share the same ban & admin login)

- Linux support
- Autoupdate (flag/toggle) preferably after a round ends.

Will MNC be supporting custom mutators?

need to have it set so that each server has the hositleaccess in its root or install directory.

makes it nice when you run mulit-servers so each one can have its own admin and ban list.

Also need to be able to set map rotation.

Many of us make a new folder for each server install. It makes things a little neater.

Motd ..

And the ability to change both host names and server names with out having to be logged in to steam.

This is MUST .. I have 12 servers running and find it hard to get in to my own servers lol.

(yes I am crazy)

Votekick.

- Reserve Slots
- RCON (with possible webtool like the one in Killing Floor) (I know Unreal Engine 2.x came with this feature, not sure about Unreal Engine 3.x)
- Direct Connect feature via console (so we can skip the server browser if we want our server directly)
- Rotating Server Messages (Every 60 seconds it will display a message from a list we create)

I can't think of anything else yet.

EDIT: Found the UT3 web admin: http://ut3webadmin.elmuerte.com/

Oh also, make the server query information similar to other Unreal3 games so we can use server monitoring scripts on our websites. I tried to query my gameserver under the Unreal3 protocol and it only reported that the server was online, but didn't report players, map or any of the configurations.

Either that or release the query protcol docs.

On the server I really only miss three things:

• Linux server. I'm currently hosting under vmware, but I would much rather host natively.
• Reservation slots or ability to remotely kick someone, if you're still struggling with reservation slots design wise.
• Ability to configure the server entirely through config files.

I lack a couple of server-related things in the client though, most of which has already been mentioned but I'm repeating for emphasis:

• Ability to see what server you're currently playing on.
• Ability to favorite/join servers by IP and port.

Edit: Did not realize the date on this one. Just saw January and figured "hey, that's now!".

The ability to kill a server after the current match ends would be nice, as well as a message to the players that this will occur.

- Reserved Slots (Kick Last Connected to Make Room)
- Server Name Listed on Scoreboard
- Option to Run Blitz on Dedicated Server
- Server MOTD or Banner
- Remote Console Access
- More Control Over Game Variables
- Support for Server Addons/Modifications
- Fast Download Server Support (When Map Editor is Released)

This feature makes no sense as the whole point to a DEDICATED server is to keep it running 24/7. If you need to turn the server off after a match (besides just changing some settings for tweaking) then you shouldn't be running a Dedicated server on your home PC/Internet.

The people who flock to my server when it's online and running don't seem to have anywhere else better to play at present. And I see no reason why a dedicated server that's only running the game has to be on 24/7. Additionally, the functionality can be used if a clan wants to switch their server from acting as a pug server into a password-protected scrim server.

But hey, what do I know?

use the steam server query instead, that what mnc is using. it works perfectly, reports all server settings. name, current players and current map. aswell as the player names.

one feature i would like to see also:
Running multiple instances on the same box makes it hard to identify which server is which. based on current map and player you could indentify which server window belongs to which server. but it would be a lot easier if the status bar shows the instance number next to the player count.

- download redirect support if editor is released (explained to you that a while ago erkanaut )