No more multiple servers on the same machine - WTF?

[WalkerDown 1]

Update everyday and frequently swap between DEV and Stable - no server.exe here - should I have one?

You can participate by asking Dwarden, it's closed but someway "public" (since there's no reason to restrict it to a certain number)... just be aware of the wanna kids-cops (see the first page of this thread), I've managed to get banned by one of my accounts from there (unfortunately david had to share the admin privs with other ppl.. and some of them are taking the "I've got powA" a way too serious) ! eheh :) Jokes apart.. you can go there and gets the dedicated server, btw it won't help the current situation, obviously neither the dedi supports multiple instances at the moment.

[galzohar 31]

What's the big difference between dedicated exe and using -server anyway? If there are any significant differences, I've never seen them described in detail anywhere. Not requiring Steam doesn't really help us as we run only 1 instance anyway with Steam in offline mode (and only go online in Steam to update the game).

I would understand if the dedicated would actually come with "lite" pbos containing no graphics etc to make the server not require the massive HDD space it currently does. But obviously, this is currently not the case, and unfortunately not even announced as "planned".

[maddogx 13]

I would understand if the dedicated would actually come with "lite" pbos containing no graphics etc to make the server not require the massive HDD space it currently does. But obviously, this is currently not the case, and unfortunately not even announced as "planned".

Actually, this is the "server data package" which is frequently mentioned by Dwarden and is currently "WIP".

[Kable_ 10]

No solution yet for non-DEV version ?

[Dwarden 1125]

STABLE branch's client.exe with -server parameter now has same limitation as Dev branch's client and server

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?148288-Dedicated-server-status&p=2320091&viewfull=1#post2320091

[WalkerDown 1]

Any news on when this limitation (no multiple instances) will be fixed?

[Dwarden 1125]

read first post http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?148288-Dedicated-server-status , read it again, repeat, loop ... !

[WalkerDown 1]

There's no date in the first post.. i'm waiting for the fix (ironically for the fix of something that were working perfectly before...).

[ryandev00 1]

There's no date in the first post.. i'm waiting for the fix (ironically for the fix of something that were working perfectly before...).

dwarden, we appreciate your posts but you just aren't clarifying very clearly.. you just say "if possible"

I think the multiple servers per steam account is imperative. You have to buy a cd key and pay for another dedicated server if you want to host more than 1 server?

I think this is more important tham releasing the server files! No point in releasing server files if it's just one per box AND having to pay many times for the product..

[Dwarden 1125]

I mean are terms like "work in progress" , "if possible" , no deadline, ETA, ASAP etc., unclear ?

Alpha state changes aren't definitive! it's Work-In-Progress, yet the aim is to offer :

note: no deadline ETA (estimated time of arrival(but we try ASAP (as soon as possible))

you do realize the game is in development and this is temporary ?

[ryandev00 1]

I mean are terms like "work in progress" , "if possible" , no deadline, ETA, ASAP etc., unclear ?

you do realize the game is in development and this is temporary ?

Sure, it's temporary.. just asking for a bit advanced notice and some more clarity on the changes made and the changes coming soon.

Also, some more detailed information as stated above. To answer your question, yes it is a bit unclear (could be better). What do you mean "temporary" - is there any talk of bringing multiple servers per server/license to the next dev or reg builds? If not, will we have to wait days, weeks?

[WalkerDown 1]

I mean are terms like "work in progress" , "if possible" , no deadline, ETA, ASAP etc., unclear ?

you do realize the game is in development and this is temporary ?

We aren't waiting for something to being implemented, we're waiting for something that has been broken while it was working perfectly before.

I'm not sure if you understand the difference: a lot of community have bought their servers already because it was working before, but from a day to another they have found it broken, this is why I am asking for a little more details.. it will be fixed in a week? 2 weeks? when... can't you remove the limitation from the client until you fix the broken dedicate client? It sounds naïve, but hey is it really that hard to take a "right" decision?

[Harzach 2517]

Dwarden, if I ever meet you, the drinks are on me.

[.kju 3244]

IMHO it was a bad decision making to put game protection during alpha (one instance per ownership) over game server hosting.

Sadly its just another negative outcome of a series for A3 alpha..

Hopefully with A4 we will see MP prio #1 and not again SP.

[Fireball 16]

I agree with kju somewhat, and I'm afraid I won't be able to continue working on Insurgency in the current state of the game. If more of these kind of surprises are to come, I might just put a lot of effort in vain. But I don't have big emotions about this, this is a mere statement. Maybe a sort of compatibility mode will also spare me a lot of effort beforehand, hence I'll just sit and wait for the moment.

[gossamersolid 155]

I agree with kju somewhat, and I'm afraid I won't be able to continue working on Insurgency in the current state of the game. If more of these kind of surprises are to come, I might just put a lot of effort in vain. But I don't have big emotions about this, this is a mere statement. Maybe a sort of compatibility mode will also spare me a lot of effort beforehand, hence I'll just sit and wait for the moment.

This is what happens when all the little noobs come out and bitch and whine about things they don't understand plus little script kiddies from their parents' basements.

I still think the alpha should have been closed off to selected people in the community. A public alpha is the worst idea ever (as we're clearly seeing).

[mrnemesis 11]

Well I got multiple ArmA 3 servers running on a single physical server but had to use Virtual Machines(VM). This only really works if you have a full control of a dedicated server.

Anyways i used virtualbox for the virtual machine host and the free 180 days trial of windows server 2008 r2 VM. Setup port forwarding in the host OS and on each VM and I now have multiple arma servers running on a single box. Should get me through until the dedi server exe has been developed fully.

BTW making additional servers was just a matter of cloning the VM inside virtual box, changing the ports on the VM and in the server.cfg.

[Harzach 2517]

I still think the alpha should have been closed off to selected people in the community. A public alpha is the worst idea ever (as we're clearly seeing).

I think I agree. Younger gamers are used to having their way with game devs now, what with all of the constant nerfing/buffing of other games in past years. Being a customer doesn't give you control over the end product, and just because some dev teams allow you to run roughshod over them doesn't mean that all dev teams will. Even if you are an "alpha tester". The job isn't to make demands or spew forth endless "suggestions" - it's to find problems with existing code/assets.

[Twix 1]

I think I agree. Younger gamers are used to having their way with game devs now, what with all of the constant nerfing/buffing of other games in past years. Being a customer doesn't give you control over the end product, and just because some dev teams allow you to run roughshod over them doesn't mean that all dev teams will. Even if you are an "alpha tester". The job isn't to make demands or spew forth endless "suggestions" - it's to find problems with existing code/assets.

Customers will ALWAYS try to get their way. The problem isn't that customers do that, it's the some DEV teams allowed it to some extend and the more do that, the more "customers" will try harder and complain if others don't :)

Also, when you make an alpha this public (and, in a way, cost money), there is no "job". Anyone who pays can do what the hell they want in the Alpha. It's good when you report and participate, but you don't have to and nobody signed anything in that regard. On top of that, there are 2 alphas.

1) The load & masses one. That's the stable version. Tons of people going at your client and server in ways it's impossible to test for a studio. The guys playing on that version at not there to report every little code issue but to hammer everything down by sheer number, and, once in a while, find a deeper issue that couldn't be found in the DEV version, just because they lack numbers.

2) The pinpointers. That's the dev version. Few volunteers, taking upon themselves to go through crashes, severe bugs and whatnot, and report them the best they can. You don't need tons of people for that, you need people who know what the heck they're talking about. These guys don't make suggestions, they report, usually with accuracy.

For 1, you need TONS of people because that's how things are found and tested. Then something erupts on the forums or whatnot, and it comes back to the dev team.

For 2, you need a few people, with knowledge and dedication. They use trackers everyday.

None are "better", there's not "elite alpha tester" or whatever. You need both and that's why Bohemia was clever with their alpha release, they got both, and some early money :)

[Harzach 2517]

Customers will ALWAYS try to get their way. The problem isn't that customers do that, it's the some DEV teams allowed it to some extend and the more do that, the more "customers" will try harder and complain if others don't :)

Minus the gross generalization, that is exactly what I said.

[MarkMods 1]

This new limitation was absolutely not the best surprise we've had since the release of ARMA 3 Alpha, though ARMA 3 Alpha remains a beautiful game and here at MarkMods we've found a way to remain offering the game :)

Still looking forward to the day this limitation is removed :)

[Kindling 1]

It should be possible to run multiple servers under different WINE prefixes using Linux - I've added a short note about this to my topic. I hope others find this useful.

[dale 11]

I still think the alpha should have been closed off to selected people in the community. A public alpha is the worst idea ever (as we're clearly seeing).

It's the most innovative idea they've come up with, rather than closing the game off to a select few people theyve opened it up to the masses, and in doing so we can finally have a say in the product before its released.

Im sure most of you have forgotten but Arma and Arma 2 releases were absolute crap, its nice to finally see a company that cares about its customers and get them involved.

Ive been a part of open and closed alphas and nearly at all times open alphas win out over closed ones, the reason for it is that a closed alpha just doesn't pull in the number of hours required from gamers, and usually has certain security measures so it can be quite laborious.

instead the Arma 3 Alpha has brought forward large amounts of issues, and has also allowed for the community to provide insight on where they want things to go, this is good on many levels as now we won't get features in Arma 3 which would have been suggested by 50 people in a closed alpha only to find that those features are crap on release date (as has happened in the past).

Regarding the server and only having one:

If you build your house while the foundations are still being built then your most probably going to have issues, and currently the foundations are more important than your house, so stop whining when your house falls apart!

sure its a shame that we can't have multiple servers, but at the end of the day I would rather have 1 server full than 5 servers empty, and currently the focus is on improving the game not running your community.

And whoever says "if it ain't broke don't fix it" your an idiot, its's clearly broken because every server was infected with this hack, and the devs need your server running even if its one otherwise this alpha is going to be pretty dead.

Try thinking on a larger scale than whats immediately infront of you, hey it might make you think twice before buying expensive servers for an Alpha game, just might.....