--- Etheria goes open source! ---

Hi everyone - been a long time since I've been on here last :/
Etheria has been a most ambitious project, but due to wow drawing away most of our developers, the project had gone into a frozen state. I know it's a bit late - but I've held the continuous hope, to revive it sometime - alas,I don't see that anymore, so I've come to the decission to open up Etheria's source code to all of you!

It may be a little outdated, but maybe you can use parts of it - there's been some AWESOME stuff in this package and it's been months and months of work to put it together as is. Even if you can't use those things 1:1, I'm sure you'll at least be able to find some amazing ideas among these files.



The highlights being:
---------------------------------

- Town Management system, with player buildable towns, town npc's, unique player-vendors who can both, buy and sell stuff for the player, manage stuff in containers, let customers try out items and take it back & give refunds if they don't like it. Town system includes automatic generated maps, towncriers, a complete management including taxing system, rank management and votes plus a guild system on top of it.
Player house-building system included.

- some very detailed crafts, though partly unbalanced or unfinished.

- a unique combat system for custom combat moves, which however was done only with some sample attack moves making use of it.

- an own spawner, capable to do both item and npc spawning, configured of a central, global gui

- an own skillsystem, with a dynamic caps, ingame-configurable race setups

- a weather system with a global ingame configuration management

... and much, much more.
The system was always meant for maximum compatibility as that it would work for any number of shards, with all vital parameters being configurable in game - but it would have taken 3-4 devs to continue working on it. - with the final challenge porting it to 096 failing though, the project froze and I see unable to reactivate it. If you want to contribute to the idea or take up the project again with me or on your own, let me know... otherwise feel free to rip whatever you can use of it.

Please Note: This server sourcecode has an awesome lot of stuff, but it isn't a complete server yet - we've had trouble getting a final, fine working AI done and there's loose ends in certain crafts. This was the reason why progress was frozen after all those years.


CVS Scriptserver Access:
---------------------------------

I setup a cvs server for our etheria shard and put a cleaned up version of the pol092 and pol095 script code in it.
So now we can use cvs as version management system.

If you don't know CVS yet you can visit:
www.cvshome.org

Then you have to do the following steps to get the latest code:


# download: http://switch.dl.sourceforge.net/source ... s13b10.zip

# install and start wincvs


Admin/Preferences:

General:
Authentificaqtion: pserver
CVSROOT: your_username@cvs.etheria.ods.org:/usr/local/pcvs

Globals:
TCP/IP Compression: 9
Checkout read only: yes
logout automatically after xxx minutes: no

WinCVS:
HOME: <path to your local cvs homedir> (e.g. C:\Data\CVS)



MenuBar:
Change Location (yellow button with 2 folders on it): <path to your local cvs homedir> (e.g. C:\Data\CVS)



Login:
user: "guest"
password: "OsfwMf23Ar"



Create/Checkout Module:
Module name and path:
etheria-pol (pol092)
etheria-pol095 (pol095)
test (just to play with the cvs a little bit)


# he gets the code from the server and stores it to e.g. C:\Data\CVS\etheria-pol

# now copy your old pol.cfg and server.cfg, the data directroy, the EXEs of pol and the compiler to the correct dirs in C:\Data\CVS\etheria-pol

# now compile the source (or copy the old ECLs with "xcopy <sourcedir>\*.ecl <destdir> /S") and run the server.
(its recommended to compile everything new)


# Attention: you start your pol server from C:\Data\CVS\etheria-pol now!
I imported firedancer's code yesterday to the cvs repository, so please copy the files you changed to the new pol dir.


You can find a quick intro to WinCVS at:
http://www.computas.com/pub/wincvs-howto/


Happy coding, Omega



Game Server for testing:
---------------------------------

If you want to try out things on our server, it's still running online 24/7....
Gameserver
Loginserver=shard.etheria.org,2594 (client 2.0.0 client-versions)
Loginserver=shard.etheria.org,2595 (non-encrypted 4.x+ client-versions)

to 'play' or test our server scripts, you'll have to d/l our client files though.
Once in game, you can use these commands to promote you to the various command levels:

.makemestaff 1378682541594 (makes you admin)
.makemestaff 334399034 (makes you dev)
.makemestaff 5173712534 (makes you headstaff)
.makemestaff 23342334 (makes you staff)
.makemestaff 0 (makes you player)

you can find the complete player guide here: http://www.etheria.org/filemanager/fileview/11/

you can find the complete staff guide here: http://www.etheria.org/filemanager/fileview/5/


Userlogin:
user "Guest1" - Password "Etheria"
user "Guest2" - Password "Etheria"


Questions?
---------------------------------

If you have any questions, you can reach me on icq 51747447 (rarely)
or under my email adress firedancer_dtc@yahoo.com

Happy coding - and should you wish to revive or take over the project, let me know and we can see what to do about it

Pss: I can also provide you a terrain generation tool, which (with a decent bit of technical skill) will allow you to generate new uo maps in a couple of hours.

Let me be the first to thank you for sharing your script base. I look forward to looking though it and hopefully learning a few things.

*eagerly waits for the account data to arrive in an email*
*checks email every 5 minutes*
*paces the room in anticipation*

Uhm... I'm trying to be patient but...

Also still waiting for acct details

Sorry folks, my bad - I hadn't noticed Omega's Email was in that post

Actually I've posted a cvs read-access account in my original post:

Login:
user: "guest"
password: "OsfwMf23Ar"

(for write read on)


Additional Notes:
You can also use this account on cvs.etheria.org - this is our (read only) webinterface to our source code. It's easier to use as you don't have to install a cvs client, but it's not as comfortable to use.

Also the cvs client allows you to resync and automatically receive any updated files - though it's been a while we've had the last updates.

Etheria's idea...
Etheria's Idea has always been to make an alternate distro package, based on a more realistic, medieval world with a strong focus on crafts, while at the same time allowing (inexperienced) admins to configure all vital data in game without the need of further scripters (yet being able to receive constant cvs updates). Etheria was meant as the first world but never the only one so you can even configure stuff like races and npc-spawnnames you want in game.

I fear we've failed on that aim though, but if any of you want to contribute anything to this idea you're still welcome to - just contact me at firedancer_dtc@yahoo.com or icq 51747447 (I'm not online often though) and I'll see to get you also cvs write access, so you can share your work with public... though I guess starting on an upgrade to 097 would be the first thing it needs

Additionally feel free to register on the Etheria webpage and drop me a mail with your user name there, then I can promote you to developer level there, so you can make use of our bug database and granting you access to various dev-tools including our scite script editor with syntax highlighting, our random map generator and other tools we've been using.
Also if I see you folks working with those scripts, or even contributing, I might start again on some scripting too I guess

Also feel free to email or icq me if you have questions with the code.. I may be a bit slow to answer occationally, but if I can I'll be happy to help.

Exist a system to download complete script sets and not use CVS client?

He posted a web interface to CVS but said it was not as user freindly as the client. I think they want to use the CVS system since the shard is still in development, it's just open source now.

Since I was asked.. here's once more the info on our mapgen tool... which allows you create custom maps in a matter of minutes... however not without complication so some windows knowledge is required:

nevalon wrote:Firedancer I think there could be some more people interested (e.g. me). Could you describe what do you mean here?

I'm talking of Mapgen - a map-making tool that can help you a great deal, but..... hmm I guess I need to start with the history, or you won't understand what I'm saying....

Story goes, in 1999 we started doing a custom map for our shard. Sadly in early 2004 we figured that the map we had was incredible... yet no longer fitting our requirements. We thus knew we had to start over.
We were looking at the tools available - but stuff like dragon, WF.... they all can generate mul files, but they all need you to design your map pixelwise. This not only takes ages but also will cause you to make errors. It's really loads of work - which we were no longer willing to do.
So we went to collect our experiences and create a ruleset out of it. One of our devs started programming a tool that would generate a map based on the very rules we've learned during the first map's design -> Mapgen was born.

Unlike dragon, mapgen is designed for automation. The idea is, that making a map shouldn't take more than a day, thus we decided that the users should merely define the basic layout, but the tool should decide everything else on it's own... as long as the island is where you want it, who cares how high it's mountain peak is exactly?
So all you do is supply a basic layout bmp you can do in an hour, and the tool randomizes a high quality map out of it, Deciding on most all vital features on it's own...With a generation run taking less than a minute, you could simply do a few runs and take the result you like best. Also the tool has a lot of intelligence. It does the terrain borders, fixes design glitches for illegal terrain, does nice coastlines etc...

In mid 2004 the tool was done, v0.5.0 was tested and working perfectly - yet on the other hand, shard development was still half done only so, alas, apart of a few test-maps we didn't make real use of the tool just yet... instead we added two last features, changing the sea level to z=-75 so we could get higher mountains and secondly, making terrain tiles customizeable, so that the tool can handle any number of custom made terrains.

we tested it and it seemed to work. Alast, it was only in late 2005 that we went back to look at it and render our final map.... and found out that disaster had struck: a bug had sneaked into the latest version!
To make things worse - the tool was coded in delphi and the developer who made the tool was no longer able to get his compiler to work, having moved to other programming languages in the meantime. So we have the source code, but currently we cannot fix that bug.

Ok, so what does this mean to you?
Option a)
If you are/got a delphi dev, I can give you the source code and you can try fix the bug. We suspect it's merely a constant being forgotten when we added the sea level change (all landmarks seem to have a too-high altitude, making coasts ackwardly steep).
We'd give you all the support and mapbuilding knowledge we got (explaining all the rules the tool is based on) and only ask in return, that you release the tool to public via our etheria webpage (of course giving all the credit that is due to both, our original dev and you.)

Option b)
I can provide you version 0.5.2 of our tool. Sadly the original version v0.5.0 was lost, so this is an intermediate one. What this means is:
-> I myself used the tool to make a map for our shard within less than two days.... and now that I know what I have to look out for I could do a map in a few hours (safe structures), but one must do these actions:

- draw a simple bmp. I can maybe give you some guide how this is done real fast still giving great results. (Takes about a day, once you know how you want your map to look gameplay wise)
It's far simpler than dragon for sure though, as the purpose is to define terrain-outlines and not details like altitude etc...

- start the tool to create the map. (takes only a few minutes)

- use ultraedit to run a hex-file search/replace, because sea levels will be messed as will be certain terrain tiles. (Knowing what search/replace strings to use, this takes only a few minutes)

==>...your map file is done!

when you have the map rendered.... you still have to do a few things though. You'll want coast tiles to be placed, forests to be spawned, dungeons to be designed, towns to be built.


Now... if you did download Etheria Source Code (see main topic above= and Client Files (You need to to register on www.etheria.org and go to the file section there), then you have the tools to add the coastlines automatically.

Just load the server with the custom mapfile, and try the ".coastmaker" command in game, which will help you tile the coast real fast. Any misplaced tile can be dclicked to change it's shape. (Check the staff manuals on how to use it!! - can be downloaded on etheria's file section too, once you're registered) Afterwards run a ".forge world" and it will export the data to a file in your /data/statics directory, which you can then feed into worldforge.
We had also planned scripts for randomly generating/building static dungeons in game.. .but didn't get to do it yet



Ok, doesn't sound easy? Yeah i know. ;( I guarantee you, that I can do a (GREAT!) new map in 3-4 hours, plus a day for the coastline in game... only lacking deco like towns and trees - however I guess it will take you a bit longer to get the hang on it. Try reach me on icq and i can give you more details & introductions, but I do hope someone can either fix that cursed bug in our source or do a step-by-step manual with screenshots, as on how to use the tool sometime.

Here's the files you need:

0.5.2 - This is the version you should use to make the map:
--> http://www.etheria.org/filemanager/fileview/146/

0.5.3 - Even more buggy, don't use:
--> http://www.etheria.org/filemanager/fileview/82/

0.5.5 - Just as bad... added features but added more bugs too
--> http://www.etheria.org/filemanager/fileview/174/
This last version has a dll that you also need with the previous ones and it has a sample bmp you can try & use for making mapfiles. (that's why you may want to download it too)

I have installed TortoiseCVS to access scripts.
Someone can help me?
I need custom account to read or a guest account?

zandor70 wrote:I have installed TortoiseCVS to access scripts.
Someone can help me?
I need custom account to read or a guest account?

you can use the guest account specified in the original post here. That will allow you to sync & download the code.

A personalized account is only required, if you want to contribute code to the scriptset. If you're interested in pusihing this project forward as a whole, feel free to contact me at firedancer_dtc@yahoo.com and I can see for getting you a personalized write access.

regards,
SFD

I think you need WinCVS for the Etherria map. Tortoise is for POL Distro .

For the Etheria scripts, yes. Hmm I'll ask omega to maybe upload the map generator source code too there... but it will be hard for anyone fixing the bugs there without having a deep understanding of what rules must be applied to maps to look proper. If you're interested feel free to contact me though - I check my mail rarely only, but I do answer 'em all

Never worked with TortoiseCVS - not sure if they are compatible, but we mainly used the wincvs clients.

Might anyone have aquired the client files for etheria? I am not able to get them off their site and would really like to fully explore this script set. If anyone knows where I could aquire them please feel free to pm me.

Someone, can upload server in archive here? I will be very grateful!
Up!

At your service.

Here are the ZIPs. Keep in mind they are very outadted and need lots of work.

Thank you, Yukiko! You are very helpful!!!

You are welcome.
Good luck with those scripts.