26th May 2012 - Thieving and Server Management

For the past two days I have been working on implementing the Thieving skill, and some major server management tools.


Court:
If a player has broken the rules (committed a sin) and a investigation is required, an administrator may summon the suspect to the courts.

All members of staff present will be involved, and paid a small amount of coins according to how they contribute to the situation. After a formal introduction to the courts, accusation will be presented to the suspect, and they will have the chance to provide any evidence to prove their innocence, albeit from chat or trade logs, witnesses etc.

Witnesses will be summoned as and when, and asked to provide an alibi. Then, the members of staff present, will take a vote via the staff channel on whether they plead guilty, or not guilty. The majority vote will be the verdict (although in some circumstances I may over rule). If there's no evidence to support the accusation, then the suspect cannot, and will not, plead guilty.

My aim with this system is to take the players away from any distractions in the public world, formally interrogate them, and solve the situation. From past experiences, I have seen too many jumped-up moderators punish players from a hunch. Another player's word will never be enough. If it's not logged, then it can't be proven, and therefore the player should remain innocent until proven guilty.

This is my way of bestowing trust in my community. It may seem a bit much for some people, but I know it will save a lot of stress for players in the long run. Nothing is quite as worse as investing time in a server, making a few friends, a few enemies, and those enemies setting you up for something you didn't do.

Thieving:

Thieving was already implemented, but it didn't work. Every time you would pickpocket or steal from a stall, it would crash the server.

I re-wrote the Thieving system, removing the JScript implementation for the time being, and simply used switch statements and enums.

When you pickpocket a NPC, it auto thieves for 10 turns, and then stops. This is partly a mistake of not removing the getCycleCount (as Thieving was copied over from Mining), but I think it will add a certain element of ease to the skill, instead of rapid clicking. I'm going to see how the players like it on release, and run a poll for if it should stay or not.

Thieving stalls is pretty much the same system. Within time I plan to add more diversity, including thieving chests, and pick-locking into buildings and raiding the drawers/cupboards. Should be fun...

Server Management:

Server management plays a vital role in keeping your server under your control. Without certain precautions, players can easily succumb to account hacks and scams. In an attempt to control the way players are identified with their real accounts, I have implemented one of many to come systems, to help identify the real owners.

Apart from the court system, shown earlier, a recovery phrase command has been added. Players may use the command as many times as they want, and in the unfortunate event that their account has become compromised, they may submit an appeal. The earlier the phrase they provide, the better, and if they can provide all of them, then even better.

Players can add a recovery phrase to their accounts once a day, once a week, or whenever they feel like it. All phrases are logged and a record is kept for the entire life time of the account.

In Other News:

• Completely revamped the commands file;
• All commands removed for players except ::yell and ::phrase;
• All important aspects of the server are logged for administration purposes only. All private messages are still private:

• A bug that crashed the server when a player unequipped an item has been fixed;
• Players can no longer teleport out of the wilderness (level 1 - 50), including Death Ring;
• Trading NPCs rewritten - no longer crashes the server;

Coming next time: a video showing combat and clipped following, expansion on shops, monsters and monster drops, a new skill implemented, bone burying, bug fixes and more...

Why not leave a comment on the blog? There's no need to sign up, just leave a guest post. Tell me what you like or dislike, how I could improve and what you'd like to see next.

Thanks for your time.

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23rd May 2012 - Progress Update and Information

I know it seems like it's been 3 days until my last post, but really it has been 2 days, since it's only 3 hours into the third day.


I don't have much to show today in terms of content, but that doesn't necessarily mean nothing productive hasn't been achieved. For now, I think I'll take this opportunity to introduce myself a bit more, and the tell you about today.


RSPS History:
I'm going to keep it brief; I've been using private servers for about 5 years now. Prior to SinScape, I was out of RSPS for about 4 months. I had grown tired of administrating my own server, so left the scene to begin playing one. I was a player of a certain mainstream private server, and then it just so happened I got offered to become a player moderator. I wanted to decline, as I joined there to escape being a member of staff, but I accepted nevertheless. A while later I decided to resign and quit, to concentrate on family life for a while.


Becoming re-inspired to start developing a server again, I started SinScape. It was my second day of being back in which I decided to register to the 3 main RSPS development communities (Mopar, Rune-Server and RuneLocus).


I had been out of developing for about 8 months, so felt a bit rusty, but went straight into the deep end regardless.


About Me:
My name's Dan, I'm 22 and live in England. I have 2 kids and a missus. The end. 


Today:
Well anyway, as I said, today I have no content to show, because I have been rekindling my knowledge of Java.


Interacting with objects and NPCs in game is handled via JScript. I have had no previous experience with scripts and how it is supposed to be used, so have been having some problems with ConcurrentModificationExceptions (meaning a thread is trying to do more than one thing at the same time).


I made a couple of breakthroughs, fixing part of the ObjectOptionTwo packet handling (well, it doesn't crash the server anymore, at least), but am still experiencing problems with trading NPCs. It opens the shop and then immediately crashes the server, throwing a ConcurrentModificationException again.


It's just a matter of trial and error, and I'll eventually squash it, just like I did with the NPC respawns.


I will be creating new content, even if I don't fix this tonight, as I can come back to it. It is quite important I spend most of my current developing time attempting to fix this though, as it's an essential feature for the server.


Basically what I am saying, but just wished to make it long-winded, is that if 2 or 3 days pass without a blog post, it's because I'm doing the boring stuff that involves nothing of real value to show, no pictures to show, and is basically me going back and fourth for hours on end at the same old line of code, chopping it up and making a big old mess.


I have learned a lot of things in the process, and I will write these walls of text every couple of days so you don't think I've disappeared (come on, it's only been 2 days, OMG). I would post every day but the post would be too short, and that's no fun.


If you want to know anything about me or the project, you can post a comment as I guest, so just fire away.


Oh, and before I forget. We've made £3.59 via Google AdSense so far, so we're well on our way to a dedicated host. It's slow, but it's worth it. Only use the ads if you are genuinely interested. Fraudulent clicks will not be counted and could result in the blog being closed down, so just keep it genuine.


Also, you could tell your friends or post a link in your signatures and post around a bit, the more recognition the better. I appreciate your interests in the development, it's you what makes it (or breaks it), so the pressures on YOU! 


Hehe, thanks.

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20th May 2012 - The Death Ring

The idea behind the Death Ring is for players to enter a dangerous and confined arena, for all hell to break loose. It utilizes the Mage Arena, with a safe ring surrounding the center piece, the battle ground, which is fixed at level 5 wilderness.

Players will enter at their own risk, and attempt to kill anyone they like, within 5 combat levels of their own. The twist is that you cannot exit the arena whilst in combat. This definitely puts the 'death' in 'Death Ring'. Forcing players to remain in the Death Ring whilst in combat deters any cheaters entering and exiting the Death Ring before they are about to die. It would be pretty frustrating if everyone simply left when they were out of food.

It is single combat, so clans cannot just crash your 10 kill winning streak, and it is only level 5 wilderness because it would be too unfair for level 126's to dominate the Death Ring against pures and lower levels. It's aimed at anyone looking for a quick PK'ing buzz. No roaming the free wilderness for a fight, no one running or teleporting away from you, just pure action.

For now, it is just simply a killing arena. Future plans include:

• Uber rare "get-out-of-jail-free-card" item;
• Kill streaks - with perks at certain mile stones;
• High scores for the Death Ring;

In Other News:

NPC Respawns:

I spent 1 and a half days yesterday fixing NPC respawns. First off, they never re-appeared, then they respawned, but only at the home teleport location, and then they appeared in the right spot but were nulled, where you could no longer attack them.

Well, after about 14 hours, split across 2 days, and a lot of trial and error, I found the problem. It was just a matter of getting the right methods in the right place, and applying logic.


Tools:
Roaming around the map can be quite a wise decision for someone who has just entered the world of SinScape. Find many useful tools and small treasures, throughout the map.

Some Last Thoughts:

I want SinScape to be crammed with content, giving players the feeling of not enough hours in the day to test everything.

I would like to make an achievement system, as this keeps the players busy and helps them experience each aspect of the server.

Lastly, I'd like to incorporate some sort of hell. Where players turn into a ghost when they die, in hell of course, and must speak to the devil (or which ever NPC closely resembles him) to be released. I'm not too certain yet, as I don't know how much of a nuisance this would become. I would probably run a poll before implementing it.

As ever, please like, follow or subscribe to help build our recognition. The more recognition, the more money that will be made through Google AdSense, funding the dedicated server, so that you can all play.

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19th May 2012 - Home Location and New Ideas

Well, not a lot to show today as I've been mainly working on the inner workings, but I have decided on a new home location: Prifddinas.

Here is an extract from the RuneScape Wiki about Prifddinas:

Prifddinas is a word in the Welsh language which means "Capital City". It is the oldest surviving settlement in Gielinor. It is roughly 12,000 years old. The city cannot currently be accessed by players. Prifddinas is one of the few places that is displayed on the World Map but is inaccessible.

For the time being, it just has some banks, a hairdresser, the Make-over Mage and a general store. I plan to add an array of different tier monsters around the flat grassland. I will also add a handful of other relative shops, some fires for cooking, some low level trees and rocks, some portals and maybe a board to show who is currently on the server.

 I have made a command that dumps NPC spawn data in XML format to make spawning NPCs a lot easier. It gets the ID, location, walking locations and name automatically.


 I've also created a new class called CoreSettings which will hold a lot of variables, so that the server is easily editable.


Most of my time today was spent tampering with Thieving. It currently loops a pickpocket about 8 times before crashing the server. Skills that need to be written or re-written include:

• Thieving (crashes server);
• Fletching (crashes server);
• Prayer training (prayers work);
• Runecrafting
• Crafting
• Slayer
• Fishing
• Cooking
• Firemaking

These skills are my main focus for the next few months, after I have made a few tweaks to existing content first.

To conclude, here are a few other thoughts I have had that are still in the thinking stages:

• 3 Primary quests; one for ancient magic, one for lunar magic and the other for a large, dwarven firing device.
• A short, compulsory "tutorial island", unique to SinScape;
• A room of shame, where you can throw tomatoes at rule-breakers, giving use to the item: Disk of returning;
• Hell;

As ever, please show your support on the following social networking sites, thanks.

Affiliate links: http://www.turmoilzftw.tk

17th May 2012 - Introduction

Introduction

Hello. I am here to show you the progress of a Hyperion #474 RSPS development project. The source is a derivative of the "Rs2-Server" release by Scu11 and Vastico, simply called "Rs2-Server Edit" by winter2000. I am now continuing his work under the name "SinScape".


Primary ambitions and ethics:

• A new way to fund a dedicated host; asking for donations is always something I've been against. So, as an alternative, I plan to set-up a Google Adsense account in the near future, and to make use of another websites referral system, that pays me to refer other people to register with them. I can then use this money to buy a dedicated server for you all to play. Raising the funds this way helps avoid any controversy regarding owners using donations for anything but the server.
• Strong economy; shop stock and monster drops will be carefully analysed. Everything will be taken into consideration when implementing items to provide fun game-play and a balanced economy.
• Equality; no donator rank or membership regimes. This helps avoid any "I'm better than you" conflicts. Every player (including moderators) are treated the same. 
• Community focused; a non-profit community that listens to what it's members want, handles disputes in a formal, non-biased manner, has regular events and always finds time to help the needy. No one is left out.
• Management; a completely diverse way of managing account security, rule-breakers and general server statistics. Text logs of all kinds, so that there is always some form of evidence for handling problems such as a loss of account or some form of bug abuse.

These are just a few initial ideas I have in mind whilst I develop the server and build up an audience/community. Some other features will include:

• A vast amount of obtainable items;
• Detailed and diverse skills to train;
• Unique dungeons and other areas of the map to explore;
• New and exciting monsters to slay;
• Game-play that is not too easy, not too hard;
• Quality support - you are always an equally valued customer, no matter what;
• And always much, much more...

The overall plan for the next few months is to build, optimise and test aspects of the game, post regular updates (every day), to build up a big enough audience and hope for a small amount of income to fund a small, dedicated host, to utilize social networking and the works to attract a larger audience, maintain a steady follower base so that it brings a kick start to the community and in-game economy until I am finally ready to open up the game to the public.

So for now, if you are interested in this type of server, why not show your support on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the forums by liking and/or following, so you can be informed of any updates. 


If you are still unsure, bookmark us and come back in a few days to see if anything else catches your eye. New ideas and updates are posted almost every day.

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