Linux servers for NWN2

[lurchman]

This was posted a few days ago on the "Official" boards. Rob McGinnis, of Obsidian, talking about the possibility of linux servers for NWN2. Below is the text of his response.

"I cannot speak for Rich, nor do I know the technical details as he does. But, what I can do is highlight part of his comment here:

"there were major systems decisions made along the way of developing NWN2 that make it borderline impossible to create a Linux dedicated server port at this time."

This could be for any number of reasons. And it does not rule out the server all the way. Given time, there may still be a server port to Linux".

http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=5418 43&forum=118

Well, that doesn't sound too promising. But we will keep on top of this issue and hopefully a way to adapt NWN2 to Linux will become a reality.

[arathalion]

ok, ive had this discussion with people on irc, but i think forums are better places for it.

would someone that knows direct X please come here and tell me what part of it could possibly be used in the server code?

[McPhearsom]

NWN2 Server will run under WINE, that's the best on offer so far.

[arathalion]

you've tried this?

i remember suggesting it but I didnt think anyone had gone and tried it. also, if the dedicated server works under wine without any difficulty then it shouldn't be to hard to port.

[McPhearsom]

Other servers have tried it under WINE successfully, I think that even NWNX4 will run but I don't know how good any of it is compared to a standard Windows server.

WINE supports DirectX apps though, porting would require making it NOT a DirectX app, or at least adding support for OpenGL as an extra which isn't planned for.

[arathalion]

from what i could see, it sounded like the relied a little to heavily on dx, and wine does not support dx, it is however trying to implement dx, and its no were near complete, hence i wasnt sure if it would run. dx had some network code didnt it... i bet that was what they used.

[McPhearsom]

http://appdb.winehq.org/

Plenty of DirectX based games can run. I know that it is 'possible' to run a NWN2 server with WINE, that's all I could find out.

[arathalion]

yes, but its not dx support per say... well that was my impression anyway. it has to do with that whole wine is not an emulator thing.

[arathalion]

with the release of bioshock ive discovered something interesting and nolonger think that direct x has anything to do with the reason we arnt seeing a port or at least a linux deadicated server.
if it was direct x then all they would have to do is change a the used network librarys (assuming they are useing the dx network libs) and make it print output to the terminal as aposed to whatever custom gui concole they are useing (the gui bit is an assumption)

surrounding bioshock is alot of controversy about a thing called secuROM or something. apparantly its basicaly a root kit that gets installed on your system and does bad things in the name of stoping you playing pirated games.
there was a lot of discussion about how safe this is for your sistem and there are alot of people that think that it compromises security. i dont have an opinion as i have not looked at it much myself.
now, in this discussion it came out that it is part of NWN2 and that it has been kept quiet by obsidian, who silence (delete started threads or posts and ban the user) anyone who talks about it on their forums.

now, ignoring the controversy suronding it, its basicaly there to keep people from pirating there game and so i dont think they want to remove it, in any curcumstance (otherwise they might let people talk about it) and well... from what i heard about how it works (one of its things was that it didnt let one mount virtual drives, braking alcohol or daemon tools, or not letting you run the game) its not going to work in linux, even if you did get it to run. i dont think they want to remove it for even a dedicated server.

[kgambit]

now, in this discussion it came out that it is part of NWN2 and that it has been kept quiet by obsidian, who silence (delete started threads or posts and ban the user) anyone who talks about it on their forums.


First , Obsidian doesn't moderate those forums, Bioware does and Bioware deletes the posts. The reason they delete them is NOT to silence people but its a PUBLISHER's decision (not theirs or Obsidians') so why should they have to address it?

Second, it was ATARI's decision to put SecurROm in the game. Not Obsidian's and Not Bioware's. It isn't any secret that Atari has been putting SecurROm onto it's games. NWN1 had it and so have a lot of other games, both before and after. It was NO secret that NWN2 was going to have SecurROm. Obsidian did NOT try to cover it up.

Third, you always have the option of buying the D2D version which does NOT have SecurROm on it.

Fourth, SecurROm affects a small (but VERY vocal) percentage of the game owners, and it does so for a variety of reasons. One of the most common is running AV programs simultaneously. It does not affect ALL people who do that.

Fifth, Atari has the RIGHT to protect it's software from piracy. If you don't like SecurROm you do not have to buy products which use it.

[cal1s]

very interesting kgambit, didnt know everything there you mentioned ... what a pain in the *** actually

[arathalion]

like i said, i never looked to far into it. thats just what i heard from the bioshock forums. if i pointed fingers at the wrong people... i dont care. as i said, im just relaying what i remember hearing.

i never chalanged anyones "right" to protect its software from piracy.

oh, and there was something about securROm or whatever its called reducing cdrom life, and that does affect people. and there was discussion about it compromising ones system and ones system security.

im not saying that i know anything about this, nor that its correct, just that there was discussion about it.

in fact all that is irrelevant. i only went into it so it was known what people were talking about.

on topic, i didn't know you could get nwn2 without it on D2D. that possibly makes my theory incorrect. (i dont know anything about how D2D works... if its at all like steam then it doesn't.)


oh, and completely off topic. a small vocal group (which might be an underestimate on your part, i dont know.) can be counted as larger than a large group of silent people.

[kgambit]

sorry if my comments seemed personally directed at you - that wasn't my intent.

can you clarify your comment about D2d versus Steam? I didn't understand. :)


Just so nobody misunderstands, I would MUCH rather NOT have securROm for one reason - it degrades game performance. taking securRom off DOES boost FPS rates for NWN2 and almost any other game. but until game companies don't feel the need to protect their software I'm afraid we're stuck with it until some less intrusive comes along.

[arathalion]

no worries, didnt think it necessarily was, just thought it might be a good idea to clarify that im not taking sides, just relay what i heard. even if you were, you were attacking my ideas, not me.

i dont know if d2d has an anti piracy thing like steam, (you have to run steam games through steam). if it does, then my theory still has some validity, ie, there is nothing to prevent piracy in linux that hasnt been around for years and if they wanted to prevent it they would have to write there own anti piracy stuff. that said, for most people the only thing worth copying would be the data files... which you can copy anyway.

however my theory did ride a bit on the censoring of arguments. really, "we shouldnt have to deal with it so we are deleting it" isnt a particularly responsible argument. if you dont want it to clog up forums then do what 2k did and give the angry people a sticky thread and tell them to argue there.

personally i think they should take it out for the reason you gave and that its futile. people are going to pirate your software. sorry, but its going to happen. the only attempt ive ever heard of with reasonable success was steam. yeah, some crazy germans made hl2 work without it, but that is not something you hear about. i heard about it when it first came out, havnt heard anything since (cept that time that some guy hacked valve and stole their credit card numbers, or something to that effect).
that and im tempted to investigate it reducing the life of cdrom drives...

note: my position = if you like game then you should pay for it.

[kgambit]

i dont know if d2d has an anti piracy thing like steam, (you have to run steam games through steam). if it does, then my theory still has some validity, ie, there is nothing to prevent piracy in linux that hasnt been around for years and if they wanted to prevent it they would have to write there own anti piracy stuff. that said, for most people the only thing worth copying would be the data files... which you can copy anyway.


My understanding was that D2D did NOT come with SecurRom. I could be wrong though.

[arathalion]

is it just pay us money and we let you dl the game or is there some kind of client or something that you have to run it through, or connect to there servers to validate the game or something with D2D? talking about it has piked my curiosity

[kgambit]

is it just pay us money and we let you dl the game or is there some kind of client or something that you have to run it through, or connect to there servers to validate the game or something with D2D? talking about it has piked my curiosity

I haven't purchased anything through D2D but let me ask around and get the details. I BELIEVE that there IS a validation process BUT it's a one time thing, and you do NOT have to run the game with an active internet connection.

Steam is similiar but it has other issues and I don't like what I am hearing about it.

EDIT: I sent out a couple of emails to get some more information from friends who are clued in to this issue. when I get replies I'll post what they say.

[arathalion]

i used to kind of anti steam, but now that im looking into working with the source engine and have installed it im actually like it a little. my only problem is you have to run thing through it, as apposed to just having separate executables. ive had no problems with offline mode, so its not so bad imo.

[kgambit]

i used to kind of anti steam, but now that im looking into working with the source engine and have installed it im actually like it a little. my only problem is you have to run thing through it, as apposed to just having separate executables. ive had no problems with offline mode, so its not so bad imo.

Okay one set of answers in:

1) Is there an authentication system for the D2D version? How does it work and is it a one time thing?

There is a one-time authentication when you install the game, where your install key (which looks suspiciously like a CD key) is sent to the server. I assume this is in some way tied to the system on which it's installed -- more on this in question "d".

2) Is is possible to make back-up copies of a D2D download?

Yes, it's just a large download broken into a few parts. While I think they require a download manager install, it saves it as normal files to a location of your choice. You can back them up however you wish (I keep two on two different boxes ), and from what I've seen they also keep the download itself available to you indefinitely.

3) Are there any major issues with D2D?

In my own experience, no. The closest thing I had to an issue was this: I had it installed to a desktop; then uninstalled and moved it to my laptop. That worked fine; but when I reformatted the laptop and reinstalled, it failed the one-time authentication.

I went to the D2D web site, and submitted a ticket on a Sunday night. Within about 4 hours, they had reset the install count and the problem was resolved.

4) Is the D2D version SecurRom free?

Not sure. They do use some system; there are some additional dlls generated in the install folder, which are not present on the DVD install. I have not had any problem with these.

Edit: D2D is SecurRom free. :)

[cal1s]

slightly off-topic
but i assume you dont get any printed manual or something right?

[kgambit]

slightly off-topic
but i assume you dont get any printed manual or something right?

Not a printed manual but there is a PDF version of the manual in the documentations folder in the Program files directories. :) Where do you think I got all of the base class info? :D


@ Arathalion,

Okay, another friend chimed in and said that the D2D version DOES have securRom BUT since you are playing the game WITHOUT a disc in the drive, it doesn't make repeated checks. So it drastically eliminates wear and tear on the disc AND improves performance of the game.

I'm STILL trying to get more info.

[cal1s]

ah come one, pdf manuals suck big time. i prefer reading paper ...

[kgambit]

ah come one, pdf manuals suck big time. i prefer reading paper ...

So do I :D But at least the documentation is still available. :)

[arathalion]

slightly off-topic
but i assume you dont get any printed manual or something right?

lol, we went off topic a long time ago.


Okay, another friend chimed in and said that the D2D version DOES have securRom BUT since you are playing the game WITHOUT a disc in the drive, it doesn't make repeated checks. So it drastically eliminates wear and tear on the disc AND improves performance of the game.

...

interesting... does that mean that you arnt supposed to be able to play it without the disk in?

i kind of never played it with the disk in. once the original check was done then i would remove it.