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Now that we've finally got the server back up, I wanted to take the time to explain exactly what happened, for anyone curious.
TW, EG and Chaos have all been running on the same server since around 2003, when former TW sysop and creator of the Continuum version of Subspace, PriitK, took over the servers. This server was hosted by the infamously lousy Superb.net during this time at a cost of $300 a month.
Early on Sunday, April 14th, the server's IP address was permanently reassigned due to scheduled maintenance. This meant that the address we'd been using for years was now gone, bulldozed in the night.
I sent the usual email to PriitK informing him that the servers were again down. Keep in mind, the last time I communicated with PriitK and received a response was around 2004. (Famously, he never replies.) So I was surprised to receive an email explaining this situation, and that he was using this as a chance to free himself of the burden of running the server.
I didn't sleep too well that night. In the morning, I started sending out messages to the relevant parties with a copy of PriitK's email. It was, in a word, electrifying. Priit was finally bowing out, and giving us control over the billing server, the piece which unites all of SSC! The next few days were marked by a rush of activity, accompanied by a need for secrecy should the word get out and chaos descend. I spent a full day interviewing people to determine who might be best to take on the role of the administrator of the new billing server. It was incredibly stressful: the wrong choice would have put the entire community in jeopardy.
Then I received a second email in reply. We were all caught up in a dream of finally having access to whitelisting new zones, adding new billing ops, and taking on the immense responsibility of hosting the game, so much that it went unnoticed when he said he would zip up and send us the server files, and the billing server... proxy.
Not the actual billing server. We'd been hoodwinked! Or so it felt. We probably shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. There's no way he would have given everything up so easily. There was a lot of cursing and generally low spirits. The server plan that had been purchased was refunded.
The next day, things were much simpler: we only needed to set up a new zone server for TW, Chaos and EG. EG decided to host its own servers, electing for a west coast US server (while also whitelisting an east coast one), while TW and Chaos decided to remain on the same server to share costs, in almost the same physical position as the old one.
In short order a team was put together to tackle the securing of the server, the automating of restarts and the running of the game servers themselves. I emailed Priit again, and he sent the necessary files. After some fenangling and a lot of hard, thoughtful work, TW returned online once more, with Chaos soon to follow.
And that's a very short version of the odyssey we've embarked on over the last week. The result of it is that we now have access to all of TW's files (I'll be releasing a map pack containing every non-private arena soon), as well as the ability to restart servers when they crash. This should mean any downtime we have should now be far shorter.
We now also have the potential to run A Small Subspace Server, if we choose. It may require a lot of work, as TW's bots rely on many features specific to the old server model. But ASSS allows a great deal of features that simply can't be implemented the old-fashioned way, possibly opening up a level of creative freedom for developers that TW has never seen.
I'd like to thank the following people, in no particular order, for their contributions in bringing back the server: o)-<|, POiD, JoWie, Rab, X-Demo, hallucination, BIET, Doughnut, Wirah, Platinum-Halo, PoLiX, Fc, Ghost Ship, and anyone else I may have missed. I'd also like to thank those who took the initiative to update the community about the status of the project, and provide support over the space of this long ordeal.
Finally, I'd like to thank anyone who chooses to donate to help fund the new server running Trench Wars and Chaos/Pro League. We tried to keep specs as minimal as possible without affecting performance or security, but we're still paying an unexpected +$50 each month (in addition the $50 we were already paying for the bot/web/db server, which has to remain separate). I'm still discussing funding details with hallucination, but for now, if you wish to show your support for the work done to get the server back online, you can donate at the usual place. Whether it's $5, $50 or $500, every cent helps:
You can also support us on Patreon, which takes a bigger percentage cut of your donation and does not offer PubBux, but has the advantage of being a sustaining donation the zone can count. Also allows you to run a personal bot on your squad or private chat. Click here to become a patron.
100% of this fund goes toward server costs. And for a limited time, if you donate $100 or more, you can receive a 3D ship model customized with your in-game name. (Higher tiers can receive multiple ships, even if you've already donated!) Details here: https://forums.trenchwars.com/forum/...printed-models The game needs your support now more than ever.
Thanks for your patience. We're back, finally! See you in the trenches.
TW, EG and Chaos have all been running on the same server since around 2003, when former TW sysop and creator of the Continuum version of Subspace, PriitK, took over the servers. This server was hosted by the infamously lousy Superb.net during this time at a cost of $300 a month.
Early on Sunday, April 14th, the server's IP address was permanently reassigned due to scheduled maintenance. This meant that the address we'd been using for years was now gone, bulldozed in the night.
I sent the usual email to PriitK informing him that the servers were again down. Keep in mind, the last time I communicated with PriitK and received a response was around 2004. (Famously, he never replies.) So I was surprised to receive an email explaining this situation, and that he was using this as a chance to free himself of the burden of running the server.
I didn't sleep too well that night. In the morning, I started sending out messages to the relevant parties with a copy of PriitK's email. It was, in a word, electrifying. Priit was finally bowing out, and giving us control over the billing server, the piece which unites all of SSC! The next few days were marked by a rush of activity, accompanied by a need for secrecy should the word get out and chaos descend. I spent a full day interviewing people to determine who might be best to take on the role of the administrator of the new billing server. It was incredibly stressful: the wrong choice would have put the entire community in jeopardy.
Then I received a second email in reply. We were all caught up in a dream of finally having access to whitelisting new zones, adding new billing ops, and taking on the immense responsibility of hosting the game, so much that it went unnoticed when he said he would zip up and send us the server files, and the billing server... proxy.
Not the actual billing server. We'd been hoodwinked! Or so it felt. We probably shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. There's no way he would have given everything up so easily. There was a lot of cursing and generally low spirits. The server plan that had been purchased was refunded.
The next day, things were much simpler: we only needed to set up a new zone server for TW, Chaos and EG. EG decided to host its own servers, electing for a west coast US server (while also whitelisting an east coast one), while TW and Chaos decided to remain on the same server to share costs, in almost the same physical position as the old one.
In short order a team was put together to tackle the securing of the server, the automating of restarts and the running of the game servers themselves. I emailed Priit again, and he sent the necessary files. After some fenangling and a lot of hard, thoughtful work, TW returned online once more, with Chaos soon to follow.
And that's a very short version of the odyssey we've embarked on over the last week. The result of it is that we now have access to all of TW's files (I'll be releasing a map pack containing every non-private arena soon), as well as the ability to restart servers when they crash. This should mean any downtime we have should now be far shorter.
We now also have the potential to run A Small Subspace Server, if we choose. It may require a lot of work, as TW's bots rely on many features specific to the old server model. But ASSS allows a great deal of features that simply can't be implemented the old-fashioned way, possibly opening up a level of creative freedom for developers that TW has never seen.
I'd like to thank the following people, in no particular order, for their contributions in bringing back the server: o)-<|, POiD, JoWie, Rab, X-Demo, hallucination, BIET, Doughnut, Wirah, Platinum-Halo, PoLiX, Fc, Ghost Ship, and anyone else I may have missed. I'd also like to thank those who took the initiative to update the community about the status of the project, and provide support over the space of this long ordeal.
Finally, I'd like to thank anyone who chooses to donate to help fund the new server running Trench Wars and Chaos/Pro League. We tried to keep specs as minimal as possible without affecting performance or security, but we're still paying an unexpected +$50 each month (in addition the $50 we were already paying for the bot/web/db server, which has to remain separate). I'm still discussing funding details with hallucination, but for now, if you wish to show your support for the work done to get the server back online, you can donate at the usual place. Whether it's $5, $50 or $500, every cent helps:
You can also support us on Patreon, which takes a bigger percentage cut of your donation and does not offer PubBux, but has the advantage of being a sustaining donation the zone can count. Also allows you to run a personal bot on your squad or private chat. Click here to become a patron.
100% of this fund goes toward server costs. And for a limited time, if you donate $100 or more, you can receive a 3D ship model customized with your in-game name. (Higher tiers can receive multiple ships, even if you've already donated!) Details here: https://forums.trenchwars.com/forum/...printed-models The game needs your support now more than ever.
Thanks for your patience. We're back, finally! See you in the trenches.
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