Doodman? Who's that? JK!
Thanks for the update, Doodman. It does appear that some of the most recent changes you made did have a positive impact on performance. Hopefully it will be enough to keep things running smooth until the transition of ownership happens. There seems to be multiple options for solutions popping up and I am sure we should have things finalized soon enough.
With the new Login Server alternative that was introduced last night by Image and Devn00b, it brings new options for the community, which can have positive and negative affects depending on how things are handled from here. I think that once the new hosting of the current LS is in place, there will be little need for an alternative one. But, if both teams worked together, it might be possible to create code that allows servers to connect to both Login Servers at the same time and if done right, they could maybe even use the same accounts from either LS.
I think the best option would be to adjust the new Mini-Login (also provided by Image and Devn00b last night) to be usable by public servers as a backup for if/when the primary LS goes down for any reason. This too would require allowing the server code to be able to stay connected to 2 Login Servers at a time. They would stay connected to the public one when it is up and also would always remain connected to their own Private LS as a backup option. Then, players would be able to log into the server from the Public LS and once in game, they could use a new command (something like #setpassword) to set a password to be associated with their account for use from the Private LS connection. Then, the private LS would have direct access to the Server's accounts table and would authenticate via the username and password set there. This password could be stored as MD5 to reduce server admins being able to read people's account passwords easily, but it would also be recommended that they set it to something other than their public LS password for security reasons.
With the addition of the new LS option, and the move of the current LS to new ownership, that will be 2 options for Public Login Servers. IMO, It is definitely a bad idea to split the project and have 2 completely separate LS's. That would mean that accounts on the current LS would not work on the new one and visa versa. Which means people would have to chose one and stick with it. Hopefully there can be a good solution to this issue. I do think that a mirror backup of the LS would be a great idea if it was possible. That would mean that both would run on a sync'd database and the same accounts would work for either public Login Server. Though, I think there are probably some issues with setting something like that up, one of them maybe being security reasons.
Either way, I think as long as people can remain patient and we can all discuss our options openly without getting into big arguments, the new changes will be nothing but positive for the project. Once things are finalized, the Login Server will be at the bottom of our concerns list and things can go back to business as usual. Then, we can all go back to working towards a better emulator, adding new features, fixing bugs, and having a great place for this great community
BTW, Doodman, I wanted to personally thank you for paying for the hosting of the LS all of this time. Without the public LS, this project wouldn't be what it is today. Even though there have been valid reasons to make complaints about it for a while now, it was at least tolerable for a long time before that all started. I am sure that most of the feedback you ever heard was negative, but that is only because people are more likely to voice themselves when they are unhappy than when they are content. Too keep paying a bill like that month after month with little thanks is definitely something worth appreciation. So, thanks!
Past, Present and Future
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