Server Admin Tools Wishlist

[ZJJ]

I have read over and over again where there needs to be server admin tools made available for GR:AW.

Most of the requests for what was wanted was included in the MP Wishlist Thread. Below is the server compilation piece from that thread. However, it only covers information posted to page 6 and the thread is now 14 pages long! (Time for another compilation, I think.)

To make things a bit clearer to find, I've started this thread so that you can post your server admin tool wishes. It would be helpful if you put your wishes in order of priority and briefly explain the purpose of the tool. Try not to be repetitive of what someone else has posted.

exerpt from compilation done by Warlord

Chapter 1: Servers

Both dedicated and player hosted servers

- Dedicated server requirements:

The dedicated server software should be different from the client version by requirements.

So what should be different and why?

Graphics card requirements: A dedicated server version needs to run smoothly without the need for a hugely expensive graphics card. This is because most of the time dedicated servers are rented from hosting companies. For a game like original GR you will pay around $90 a month for a 32 player dedicated server. This comes down to $1080 a year. If a server would require such an expensive graphics card we can expect these costs to double, which would make the game for most clans too expensive to play. Therefore, the dedicated server software should run great on an 8MB graphics card.

We believe that when someone is in the dedicated server (by a remote admin tool like for example Radmin) there is no need for them to see what is going on in the game, this would also eliminate a chance for cheating due to logging in on the dedicated server and telling people what the enemy is doing. Therefore there should also be no need for a monstrously expensive graphics card.

- Features of the server:

When logged into the server management players should be able, either through typing commands or clicking buttons, to perform the following:

1. Player Kick: This would someone out of the server.

2. Player Ban: This would ban someone from the server, I suggest you also add an optional duration feature so that people can be banned for an hour, a day, a week ect. A ban should be by CD-Key rather than IP address as even with broadband internet connection, a player can still change this by for example using a proxy server. Also the player’s name should be noted in this list for easy unbanning.

3. Player Unban: This would allow the server administrator to take a player’s CD-Key off the ban list.

4. Map List: Allows the admin to create a list of maps that will played either in the selection order or in a random order.

5. Map List Load: Loads a saved map list from file.

6. Map List Save: Saves the active map list to file

7. Map Append: Appends a single map or map list to the active map list.

There should be a checkbox so that if a map list is added that double maps are removed from the list until only one instance is left. As you can tell from this, the map list should allow having duplicate maps in the list.

( For example:

* Map A

* Map B

* Map C

* Map B )

8. Map Remove: Removes a map from the currently active list.

9. Ability, as an administrator, to move players between squads.

10. [Thing that should not be spoken of here IAW Forum Rule 3.7]/DVD drive required for dedicated servers. As a dedicated server is usually a rack server, these systems do not allow for CD/DVD drives. It should therefore be able to run without it.

11. Linux. Several people are hoping for a Linux edition of the dedicated server software.

Also when the game server is shut down, the active map list should be saved to file and loaded from file as the default list when it, the server, is restarted.

- GameSpy:

As you could plainly see in the forum there is a huge resistance against using GameSpy as a server list tool. Mainly because GameSpy is buggy (although this has nothing to do with GR:AW in itself). GameSpy should be removed and a better server list should be implemented with the following features:

1. Searching:

* The server list for a server by (partial?) IP and by (partial) name.

* Searching for a player. This should display where the player is at. It should also bring up the possibility for a player to join the same server as the player he just located by simple (double-) clicking the players name.

* Searching the server list by Gameplay mode.

2. The server list should show the following information

(obviously this list was created with modding in mind):

* Number of people in the server along with maximum number of people in the server.

* What mods the server is running.

* The ping of the server.

* Current map.

* Time left on current map.

* Gameplay Mode.

* Password Protected.

3. The server list has to be able to be ordered by all the aforementioned items under point 3.

4. You should be able to hide password protected servers from the list.

5. There should be an option for directly entering an IP address and port so that you can join the server.

6. There should be support for Yahoo!’s All Seeing Eye. See http://videogames.yahoo.com/multiplayer for more information on ASE. Many players have requested this.

[Papa6]

1.) Kick Ban feature for removing unwanted people

[Stormin]

1.) Kick Ban feature for removing unwanted people

Dittos...

[huddex]

1: The possibillity to set and lock the teams would be nice. In RS the admin could decide who plays on what side. Stoping people from refusing to change team when asked.

2: The possibillity to change gamemode on the fly and to mix domination/tdm/HH and so on without restarting the entire server.

3: A full log on who gets kicked by the AC and for what "files" exactly. If possible even what they have changed within the file to.

Edited August 4, 2006 by huddex

[Pulaski]

This is my short list, more coming.

No GFX card or CD requirement for dedicated server.

Fully configurable via command prompt / command line

Optimized CPU usage.

Map loads which don't spike CPU for any significant time.

Redirect download support ( HTTP ). aka players can download maps from the server if needed. **If this is added, you must give the client the opitions to disable downloads.

Anti Cheat aka PunkBuster, without a anti-cheat the game will never last.

Good in-game built admin--Client GUI and/or Webadmin.

more to come

[Maineac]

As Cutter and myself are admins of ATU, we have spent many hours discussing what we really think would make this game smoke. The ability to effecively direct your forces is of primary importance, particularly where this takes place in the future and most of the technology being already in place would probably be incorporated in command and control anyway. We refer to Gridmaps and squad color items

Most of the important issues having been already brought to light, I can only think of a few more.

1. Random respawns for practice purposes.

2. Gridmaps bacause of the size of the maps, and the need to direct squads upon contact.

3. Indicators to indentify who is/isn't X'd up for the game.

4. the ability to identify squads and each squads members by color.

Could this post be deleted please as it in not on subject. Thanks Maineac

Edited August 4, 2006 by Maineac

[Breeze]

Fist of all I would like to ask that the new dedicated server tools.

1) Not require a video Card

2) All kick and ban features including time limits.

3) Restart round feature for Competitions

4) I would like the ability to Speak to my server in a Font that clearly indicates that the message is from the server.

5) Remote access via the game client so that there is no neccessary access to the windows server for server relaunch

6) Ability to run the dedicated server as a Windows Service

7) Map Text Files that allow for change of game mode or equivalent ability in commands via the game client to change the map and game mode...

8) Ability to run more than one server per Hardware server so one Box can run a Match server, Public Server and test server.

9) Ability to see who and what admin commands are being performed

10) ability to move players to different teams

I would basically like the ability to run my server as I did my counterstrike server.

That game while not very good today in my estimation still holds more people playing it than almost any other game in its class and the reason why is because of the dedicated server tools and its admin mod.... Amxx mods where the server admin can make it snow if he wants the ability for additional coders is there which makes the game great, It also makes it a game where no one ever gets tired of it because there is always something new.

I know some will say these are mods but the server admin tools that come with this are incredible and we should be able to aim that high. This game is almost 8 years newer than counter strike and 8 years of newer technology should allow us in my opinion to at least get a product that measures up to a product thats 8 years behind it.

I am sure I can think of a 100 otrher things I would like to see. But I think it would be easier to ask for the list above as neccessary items and request that a SDK kit be made for the ability of custom server configurations. Nothing measures up to this ability. Please consider these requests

I want to be clear that I am not looking for a counter strike game

But I would like to administer my NEW graw server as easily and as fully as an older game.

Edited August 4, 2006 by Breeze

[=AO=Stryck_9]

If not mentioned already Weapons kit restrictions would be a nice and remote admin ability... I strongly agree with the kick ban suggestions previously posted as well the ability to admin on the fly is important and the simpler the interface the better

[}PW{ Postal]

Dont know if this is something you will do or not...usualy a third party tool but ill throw it out there. A utility that we can bring up on our desktop so we can manage the game on our server from our desktop. With options like switching players to different sides...warning and kicking players, an ingame chat from it, changing maps and so on.

[[99]-RedBravo]

Graphics card requirements: A dedicated server version needs to run smoothly without the need for a hugely expensive graphics card

Weapons kit restrictions

Redirect download support

log on who gets kicked by the AC and for what files exactly

Kick Ban feature for removing unwanted people (including an ingame voting system incase no admins are present)

option for directly entering an IP address and port so that you can join the server

ability for an automatic round start timer (example: 30 second timer incase someones not readied up)

remote webadmin feature

[viiiper]

Basically same as BF2CC

http://www.bf2cc.com/screens.htm

that's it

viii

[Breeze]

I would much rather have dos type commands instead of that battlefield interface

[Pulaski]

I would much rather have dos type commands instead of that battlefield interface

I agree with you, dos/rcon type commands, then the community can make a thrid party programs like BF2CC.

***GRiN, we need punkbuster

[firefly2442]

It's been posted before but a Linux binary server package would be sweet.

Basically, if GRIN can create the backend stuff, I bet a lot of people could create the snazzy front end GUI systems and so on...

[ToW-Angel]

Server Log Files and Management. It's nice to see who is connecting to the server based on PCID, Name, IP Address and any other important information.

[Tinker]

Huddex

1: The possibillity to set and lock the teams would be nice. In RS the admin could decide who plays on what side. Stoping people from refusing to change team when asked.

Kick em if they don`t respond is only option.

[RINGPULL]

Was looking in my server xml and found this.

<teamkill_kick_limit value="10"/>

<vote_enabled value="true"/>

<vote_ratio value="70"/>

<win_condition value="1"/>

</ghost_recon_3_server>

are they console commands ?

[Head_2000]

For Coop games an option to enable/disable foe and friendly markers and a command for remote admins to do that as well.

[}PW{ Postal]

I was thinking and the only thing that i havent seen mentioned here would be for a server to have the option the veiw thru the players eyes. Since there is no replay feature this seems like the alternative. I know you couldnt do it from the server itself cause it would need a good graphic card but from a utility on a server admins desktop. Just a thought.

[huddex]

Huddex

1: The possibillity to set and lock the teams would be nice. In RS the admin could decide who plays on what side. Stoping people from refusing to change team when asked.

Kick em if they don`t respond is only option.

Would love to, care to share how i should do that? ^^

[Tinker]

Huddex

1: The possibillity to set and lock the teams would be nice. In RS the admin could decide who plays on what side. Stoping people from refusing to change team when asked.

Kick em if they don`t respond is only option.

Would love to, care to share how i should do that? ^^

Sry to mislead you, i agree that to kick a player from the server is a must.

Tinker

[EricJ]

Agreed, as we were running some tests on how things worked co-op wise, since I never played it with GRAW. Can't say I didn't learn some new things, which will be appearing in a tutorial sometime soon...

[[SPQR]The JAckal]

• MATCH START TIME » I think it could be very usefull for ladder matches to set the match start time to allow all players to start the game at the same time

• HIGH PING AUTO-KICK SETTING

[hardcore]

Well, dont know if this has been mentioned before or not but here goes. If UBI is giving gamespy rights to hos the game and gamespy arcade is dead and does not reckonize GRAW anyways, The gamespy that is hosting should be made with a chat server area for teams to be able to look for matchs and so forth and put up rooms looking for a match or something of that type. That would be part of a server admin wishlist and a gaming league wish list i believe.

[SC_ODiN]

Basically same as BF2CC

http://www.bf2cc.com/screens.htm

that's it

viii

EXACTLY!!!