Create a new server-HELP

[Amiri 0]

Hello.

I'm a metin2 lover and player, i want to create a test server for myself to add, change, test things ya now...

But i dont know kinda anything bout coding and this whole process.

If anyone can send me tutorials/topics anything, for begginers i would appreciate it.

[VegaS™ 9940]

On 5/5/2014 at 6:19 AM, Shogun said:

Hi guys,

 

Since I keep seeing more and more people who want to get help to create their own server, very often with the idea of opening it to the public, I thought that it's time that someone explained to the beginners what this means in it's full depth. Some parts of this text may sound harsh but believe me I wish I had been told some of this stuff when I started.

 

First of all, do not let the existence of "instant files" mislead you. A metin2 server is not something you install with an intutitive wizard and then edit to your liking with a point and click interface. YMIR never intended this software to be used by anybody else but people who have degrees in programming and design. This is though shit. There is a series of technologies involved which can take years to master separately. FreeBSD. Python. LUA. C++. DirectX. Mastering just one of these disciplines can get you a high paid job in Silicon Valley. If you don't have a bit of curiosity for learning and analytical thinking, just forget it. You will do yourself and everyone else a favor if you don't try to take on tasks that are beyond your abilities.

 

Forget about the one man army. It's impossible to create anything worth playing just by yourself. Team up with people who complement your knowledge. Don't be greedy and offer to share your earnings with the people who help you.

 

Respect those who worked to provide you with this game, YMIR. Respect those who worked to privide you the tools you use and give credit when due. Don't try to pass someone else's work as yours; this is the lamest thing on earth.

 

Respect the players. Don't expect them to spend their time, money and effort on your game when you didn't do that yourself. If you have the time, play your own server (without using edited stuff and such of course) so you can get in the skin of your players. Don't be tempted to gift stuff and kick any GM that does so.

 

Be in control of your server and get a good admin panel so you can see everything that's going on.

 

Get DDoS protected hosting. Use SSH keys. Use Cloudflare for the website. Set up pf on the game server. Always look at the logs and read them instead of assuming it's gibberish. How often I have seen people puzzled at logs when the answer is written there in plain english. Make sure your dbcache port is not open to outside, and be careful who you give access to your server's shell.

 

Make backups of your database at least daily.

 

When you get stuck at a problem, use damn Google! Metin2 pservers and FreeBSD have existed for many years and copying and pasting an error message in the search bar will more often than not bring up posts from people who had the same issue before.

 

Create something unique that will attract players to your server. Don't expect to upload some pub files, announce your server and get rich. It doesn't work like this, not for the last 3 years. There is a lot of competition and teams who started working years ago already are far ahead of whatever the [insert random pub files] have to offer.

 

Use the newest files possible, even if you don't need the new features. Keep your FreeBSD up to date as well. Using old software is a security risk, and you could write a book with all the security flaws of game 2089.

 

Promotion is everything. Hype your server. Make sure that the opening is announced well in advance and have the players excited to play it. The opening day will make or break your server. Get a Youtuber to review your game, preferably one who works for money if you can afford it (and if you don't have at least some money, opening a server might not be the best idea). If you have enough, open a Facebook account and take good care of it and promote your server through Facebook Ads (do not confuse with the fake likes that some people sell in places like epvp). Use remarketing with AdRoll (its quite cheap) to chase your visitors who did not sign up with banner ads. Watch your account table in Navicat so you see who is signing up.

 

And if all of this sounds like too much work then just don't do it. There are plenty of people happily contributing as GM, designers, developers or server administrators in projects lead by other people, and that doesn't make them less important.

 

On 5/5/2014 at 9:08 AM, Invictus said:

This is a really great post in regards to introducing people to the sheer amount of work it takes to start up a high quality server.

 

My Experience - 1 Man Army ( don't do it, you'll work yourself to death)
I personally run a one man army, and it really isn't as easy as I originally thought it would be. I've been working 18 hours a day for the past two - three months, there hasn't been a single day in that entire time that I haven't at least put 6 hours into the server. I have also been juggling university alongside my server & my other personal projects.

 

I'm personally a coder, I study computer games development at university and I'm specializing in C++. So I've got a reasonable amount of experience with coding allowing me to develop my own server with plenty of unique aspects such as quests, systems and other various elements. but when it came to something as simple as setting up a Freebsd VPS i had no idea. I found myself constantly asking stupid questions, which i knew were stupid and i knew i was frustrating people by asking them and myself by not already knowing the answers. But still remember to thank everyone for any help they give because they aren't obligated to help, they don't get paid for it.

 

A team is really necessary for doing a high quality Metin2 server, even if it's a team of beginners, because we all start somewhere. I've personally paid people a decent sum to do certain aspects such as my website, and certain in game systems that I just don't have the time or the expertise to do myself.

 

as a one man army, the server doesn't progress unless you're working, but with a team you can afford to take a day off every now and then knowing that when you come back the next day progress has been made.

 

conclusion, unless you're insane. don't opt for the 1 man army option.

 

 

Asking For help

 

If you're going to ask a question make sure you post it in the right area, at least attempt to Google it first, obviously there's some stuff that won't come up in Google and that warrants a thread, but when making such thread don't just post something along the lines of "I've got a problem, when I upgrade my server crashes" <-- i had a bug like that. What you should be posting is all the syserr.txt syslogs.txt game revision  and any other relevant information such as was it a one of case, can you replicate the problem and if so, how can you replicate it. I see time and time again people posting only half of the information that we need in order to help you solve the problem.

 

To receive help from others, you must first help yourself.
 

Money

I recently spoke to a guy who was requesting help with his server. I spoke with him about his plans and his expected time of release etc. one of the things that baffled me was that he expected to release a server that people would invest their time and hard earned money within a week of starting with the files mind you he had no prior experience or money in which he could even pay for a VPS. starting a Metin server can be relatively cheap if you're working in a team and each of you are specializing in 1 area but at the end of the day you have to treat this like a business.

 

First you must spend money building it from the ground up paying for various stuff like professionally designed website, server advertisements across multiple sites, high standard VPS, any pre-built systems that you want for your server, penetration testing (unless you know, or are a pen tester.) There's no way to do it without spending money.

 

Conclusion
At this form you'll receive ample amount of help ranging from common easy to solve problems to more complex ones. You'll learn a lot in regards to the area you choose to specialize in ( assuming you're in a team) or in my case in every area as a 1 man army. and you'll probably lose your sanity somewhere along the lines.

at the end of the day, you need to sit down look at every aspect and see if you're up for the challenge, many will give up and few that rise above the challenges before them. Will you be one of those few?