Gaming Planning to launch a 20-slot Terraria server.

[exangel]

Spoiler: Old Information

Icosahedron of Gravity
A Private Dedicated Terraria Server

(Icosahedron means 20-sided solid, and I chose this name because I already had the "gravity.cc" domain, and wanted to pick a word that reflected the number 20 in a slightly obscure way for the hostname. This name is actually too long in its full form and is really "Icosahedron Gravity" on the server itself.)

• Terraria Official Website Portal
• Icosahedron Admin/Status Blog
• Icosahedron Steam Group
• tShock Mod Wiki

Yes, Icosahedron Is/Will Be/Does:

• Have an events calendar!
• Welcome international players!
• Offer VoIP services for its members (Mumble)
• Require promotion to a special user group to build/dig, explosives will be limited only to frequently active players.
• The events I schedule will last for minimum 24 hours so that international members get a chance to participate without adjusting their own schedule
• Hosted in Dallas, Texas at a professional datacenter (Xenon Servers, a sponsor of the tShock mod official forums)
• Have active administration!
• Will ban cheaters! If you want to cheat, cheat elsewhere. Leave hacked items in other worlds please. I’m not against cheating altogether but I don’t want it on a server I’m going to lengths to make legitimately fun & protected from abuse.
• Will ban vandals! Although I am going to measures to prevent vandalism, ordinary users will still be able to dig, fight, and probably summon. Due to the open basic registration, the server will be password protected on the official launch.

No, Icosahedron Won’t:

• Actually support 20 simultaneous users on a regular basis except during events! It will probably be limited to 10 upon launch, to prevent overconsumption of resources.
• Activate hard mode if the Flesh Wall boss is killed until the official Hard Mote transition date is announced.
• Censor. I am a pretty frank, foul-mouthed person over voice chat and occasionally, even text. Therefore, I won’t expect others to watch their language.
• Allow harassment or bullying. Why this could ever happen on my server, I have no idea, but I’ve played online games enough to know that it might.
• Encourage piracy of the game. Please support its development!

User Groups:

Registration details/instructions are accessible through the /help menu in-game on Icosahedron.
Groups will not be visible to anyone in-game, so the title is really not important. Only the permissions are important. I wanted to make them visible but I won't be able to change that until a future date.
However, the Super Admins will always have a tag. Only active regulars will get VSAgent status after launch.

• [Visitor] A random anonymous user who logs in as a guest on Icosahedron will not be able to build (dig, modify) they are only able to fight creatures.
• [Probie] A user who logs in and self-registers will not be able to build either.
• [Agent] A user who has been validated by an Admin can kick visitors and probies.
• [VSAgent] Same as Agent but gets a reserved login slot and can move NPC’s and use explosives.
• [Director] - (Admin) tag on name indicates Super Admin permission.

Current tentative schedule:

• TESTING - Basic exploration and construction, fighting, etc. No official events. THE MAP MAY BE RESET DURING THIS TIME.

TBA Launch Schedule:

1. Week 1: Exploration, introduction, allowing new players to learn more about co-op play, all planned functionality will be ready and launched on an untouched map.
2. Week 2: Volunteer period: Depending on how much activity there really winds up being, I will consider adding 1-2 additional VSAgent helpers.
3. Week 3: Weekly PVP Arena construction events begin! Architects will be drawn randomly starting this week from a signup sheet and given 5 days to plan and construct a PVP arena (or specially themed) World to be uploaded and fully appreciated during a weekend-long Global PVP event.
4. Week 4: I will set a final date set for Hard Mode transition if it has not been implemented by this time.

Backups & Rollbacks:

• Icosahedron's primary world map does/will have periodic (90 minute) automated backups in case of disasters.
• Every Friday night before I load the weekend event map, I will back up the world file for long term preservation.
  
  
  
  In the case of a significant (>1 week) rollback, I will provide the most recent "good" backup to members of the Steam group so they can download it and access the world file locally, so that anything they made that was destroyed by a rollback isn't lost permanently.

Spoiler: Original post

I bought a private 20-slot Terraria server from a professional datacenter host and I'm learning the ropes of (remote) administration right now.


I am going to be launching it soon, maybe January 1st, but since this is my first effort in administering a real live game server I wanted to know:
Has anyone else here has administered a Terraria server with the tShock mod before?

Also, if enough people are interested I may hold a launch event for it, just so that a number of people have the opportunity to start on the server when it's fresh, almost completely unbuilt/unmined, and pre-hardmode.

FINAL Edit: Spoilered everything as I don't want to edit or lose the old info. Please refer to the blog for current info. Also requested the topic lock.

 

[fgghjjkll]

I'm interested, but i've never applied the TShock client patch because of 1.1.1 incompatibilities...

 

[Nujui]

I run a terraria server with tshock installed, so if you have questions you're free to ask.

 

[exangel]

Alright, I actually found the GitHub wiki for tShock (I swear it didn't rank as high on google just before I made this post, for "tshock terraria guide," as it is doing now.

After a recent accident on a private home-based server I'm going to want to prevent hard mode from being activated until an undetermined time in the future XD

tShock's 3.4x release claim compatibility with 1.1.1 now, btw
I don't know much about it yet but it was posted Dec 21 on their main site.

 

[DinohScene]

Going to get to know terraria better in SP first ;o

 

[Fudge]

I might be interested, but like DinohScene, I gotta play more SP first.

 

[exangel]

Cool, just know that I plan to delay hard mode for at least a couple weeks or longer after launch. I am new myself, and I want to give launch participants plenty of time to enjoy multiplayer mode without the increased difficulty of hard mode nasties.

This is so that people can have time to explore and learn about the game and I can actively troubleshoot unforseen problems. I've never actually played on a server that had more than 3 people at a time on it.
I'm more a creative and explorer type and I want to do what I can to learn how to avoid having to use rollbacks or resets, primarily through the use of the mods. Losing progress or buildings really sucks, but I know there will come a point when there's not much left to do except allow the transition to hardmode.
I'm actually pretty new to the game, I got it on the insistence of a friend about a week ago.. but I love it too much, and multiplayer too much, to not run a large map from a dedicated server.

 

[Originality]

I want a mod to increase the size of large tenfold. Then again, I know that the bigger the map, the more resources are needed to run it.

 

[exangel]

I have thoroughly edited the original post, to reflect more defined plans for the server, including the schedule. Thanks all so far for input.

 

[raulpica]

Awesome. I'm totally in

 

[Skelletonike]

It's interesting, but I still don't really understand the game. ='3

 

[KingBlank]

what will you do when the map is covered in buildings and the underground is a mad cav-or-nis raveeeeeen!?
if i hosted a dedicated server i would have a pvp arena (like yours) and a co-op dungeon adventure puzzle area, with scheduled dungeon runs (building prohibited during runs then map restored after and building rights restored).
But thats just me,

i am exited to join your server

 

[exangel]

I am only going to have the static map online during weekdays, but that is a brilliant idea for preserving the dungeon! Thanks for your input!

I will handle overbuilding and overmining when that day comes, I will enable hardmode after a while but I can think of other things I can do:

1. I will make a copy of the world file at the end of every week before setting up the PVP map, and preserve it, in addition to the automatic backups
2. If I ever have to do a significant rollback/revert (beyond 2 days) or actually reset for a new map, I will host the world file on a public server so that all members will still be able to access their creations locally.

Nujui helped me last night to sort out building restriction permissions because setting the whole server to be unbuildable seemed to override the "canbuild" permission I gave to non-admin registered users.
It wasn't resolved though, I am still trying to work out the user group permissions that I intended but I think I messed up somewhere along the line and kind of need my co-admin's help.
On the blog I explain the ranks I intend to have in place, but I may also set a weekly password if griefers ever make me have to do a rollback. If the ranks are a little confusing to anyone they are a reference to NCIS

Be sure to join the Steam group if you really want to participate because I still occasionally need people to log on during the testing phase. XD I will announce the official launch in the group and the blog when I'm fully confident in all the settings and finer administrative details but I don't think it will take too many days to finish with that.

 

[beamquaker]

i think im going to buy this game as soon as i get paid . I need a new game to get into and u guys make it sound alot of fun

 

[AlanJohn]

Please make it.
We have a bunch of MC servers, but not a single Terraria one

 

[Pong20302000]

i will join

sounds like fun

 

[exangel]

Well, the test map is operational now, with no known issues- but people who want to play around on it will have to message me in the Steam group in order to get their registration upgraded for build privilege.
Based on a lot of carefulIy considered advice, requiring registration is one of the best safeguards against griefing. Getting region protection working might cause me a little extra headache when I load other maps for events, so that's on the back burner now.

I really would like some people to come on it and dig, build, or mess around for a few days more. I made a really sweet hideout on top of the spawn XD
As far as the rules are for the current map, they're pretty relaxed until I load the final map.


When I do launch the real map, I would prefer veteran players started new characters to play alongside some of the newer ones, as I will do. I'm not a hardcore purist, and I know it won't take veteran players long at all to put together some decent equipment and buildings, but this game is so easy, no outside advancement is necessary.
I would also encourage interested parties to get the Mumble open-source VoIP client for co-operative play, as some members already use it, the info to that will be found in the Steam group as well.

 

[DarkStriker]

Please make it.
We have a bunch of MC servers, but not a single Terraria one

You just end up griefling like always. Alan should be banned from all games that has "multiplayer" in it,

 

[AlanJohn]

Please make it.
We have a bunch of MC servers, but not a single Terraria one

You just end up griefling like always. Alan should be banned from all games that has "multiplayer" in it,

Pfft, thats soooo 2011.

 

[Originality]

Troll will be troll, and when invited, will grief. There's no changing (pseudo-mythical) animal instinct.

EDIT: One (temporary) measure to prevent bomb griefing - build your buildings out of bomb-proof material (like the blocks from dungeons). They will have to at least wait until they get a good pickaxe before they can break them down.