Now What?

[Mogdar]

I've read through hundreds if not thousands of post over the last week or so. There are many very helpful people here.

In anything like this project that goes on for a long time there also can be much contradicting information or more importantly, information that gets outdated and is either not updated or is updated piecemeal or not at all.

That's the nature of this beast.

However, with now an up and running server I am not finding any truly updated information about NOW WHAT. What's next in other words.

How do I keep it running and up to date? Or is that even a consideration? Maybe I just let it run like it is and be happy with that. Is that the best choice?

If I do keep it up to date, HOW? What are the EXACTLY correct steps using the new daily database update system to keep the database current?

This is probably the situation I have seen the least information on or maybe I've missed it somewhere but I'm really hesitant to start "attempting" to update my now working database without knowing exactly what I should do.

Backup is of course critical and already done but then what?

Anyone that answers please be specific. What is updated and how and with what procedure.

Thank you very much for everyone that works on this project. I wish I had the skills to assist but programming, other than basic scripting is beyond my expertise.

[dagulus2]

The first thing you need to decide is what sort of server you wnat to run.

If you want to match live as close as possible, you can update from PEQ on a daily basis.

If you want to start customizing things, then your probably want to update a lot less frequently, as you need to run querys to add new date rather than overwriting your changes.

[Yummy]

Mogdar,

Did you implement mercenaries or bots? After customizing the rules table to my preference, I usually start there. In fact, I just implemented bots this evening. Absolute PITA determining what svn SQLs to source.

[trevius]

Mogdar,

You wouldn't happen to be from Guardians of the Keep on Drinal, would you? It was many years ago, but one of our original officers back in the day had the same name (Mogdar).

Anyway, as mentioned, your update process may differ depending on the type of server you want to run.

You will need to pay attention to the changelog.txt file that comes with the source code, and make sure that you follow any of the required changes in there if you update your source code. You can get by without updating your DB regularly, as long as you are doing the required SQL updates that come with source code updates.

It isn't required to update regularly unless you want to. Most of the time, people update when a feature or content comes out that is significant enough to warrant an update of their server. You can't really fully automate the process, since both DB and Source Code rely on each other being at the same version. If changes are made related to new DB fields and your DB and Source Code don't both include that particular change, then something will definitely be broken on your server. So, you can't just set your server to update the DB automatically every day. The update process could probably be automated for most updates, but every now and then a major change comes along that requires manual intervention.

My recommendation would be for you to update your server maybe once per month or as time permits. Most likely, there aren't going to be regular massive updates that would warrant updating your server more frequently than that.

[Mogdar]

This is for my own personal use only at this point and I don't see that changing any time soon. In the future I might have spotty internet access so this is my way of continuing to play a game I love.

I wiould love to do some customizing but that will be limited to how much time I have available but definitely probable.

I have bots working but not mercs yet. The NPC's are there but not responding but I will implement that although I don't see much need if I have bots. Is there a real need?

All my time, meaning since early 2001, was spent on EMarr, so wasn't me Trevius.

I was thinknig probably monthly, meaning as I think about it LOL, would be sufficient.

Now on to the HOW. I sure don't want to screw up a running server.

[wolfwalkereci]

Originally Posted by Mogdar

This is for my own personal use only at this point and I don't see that changing any time soon. In the future I might have spotty internet access so this is my way of continuing to play a game I love.

I wiould love to do some customizing but that will be limited to how much time I have available but definitely probable.

I have bots working but not mercs yet. The NPC's are there but not responding but I will implement that although I don't see much need if I have bots. Is there a real need?

All my time, meaning since early 2001, was spent on EMarr, so wasn't me Trevius.

I was thinknig probably monthly, meaning as I think about it LOL, would be sufficient.

Now on to the HOW. I sure don't want to screw up a running server.

Biggest piece of advice, even if its only for your personal enjoyment, is to setup automated backups or any sort of backup for the DB.
Otherwise if you want to see some really good stuff I would view most of trevius's posts and akkadius's.
Most of the stuff they respond to or post is top notch and you'll get a lot out of it.
Last thing i would review would be the current windows setup guide and the previous one. Ignoring the setup part if you already have that done. Lots of Q&A in those threads.

It's a lot of reading but generally 85% of all questions asked on this board are already answered there.
Of course don't let that stop you from ignoring me and just asking a ton of questions.
Everyone will still answer as they are able

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[Mogdar]

That is all excellent information and I have already done most of it.

However, I would still like to know the proper steps for updating a server to ensure no loss. Nothing I have found really deals with the new database system or maybe I've just not seen it in my searches. If someone knows a link I've very happy to read it and I will continue searching myself too.

[werebat]

Vague list of steps but effective. I am running a personal server also and here is how I update it.

1) get the latest source (git pull)
2) compile
3) copy into appropriate directories like you did when you first built it
4) get latest db (record the file date somewhere, you will need it)
5) source drop_system.sql
6) source latest peqdb sql
7) source required sqls from last date you updated (thats why you record date)
7) source any custom sqls (i have two, custom_loot.sql and custom_rules.sql)
start playing

Only issues I ever have are when the source is buggy but that is not often. Also I only update when I see a change in the change log that makes a dfference for what I am playing. For example, the latest source as of this post includes some rogue changes so if I were a rouge then I would update.

Also a good idea to copy your current server files to a flash drive since you know they work in case something goes wrong with the update. Dont copy the maps or quests, just the binaries should do.

[Uleat]

On werebat's step 3 above..don't forget to check for updated *.conf files as well.

When a previously unsupported client feature is added, the opcode lists may have to be updated in order for the new code to function.