Release!

[Windcatcher]

I finally got tired enough of sitting on this and decided to upload what I have. I've been swamped with RL issues lately, and I decided that if I didn't just upload the darned thing I might never make it public. So here it is: After four-and-a-half years of work, SimpleClient initial release, build 1.0.0.2!

Included in the ZIP:

- SimpleClient executable and all content (to the best of my knowledge, free and unencumbered).
- ClearLogin, open-source test loginserver (sort of a MiniLogin for SimpleClient)
- My modded EQEmu 0.5.5-ZP server
- My test database for the server

Now some explanation...

SimpleClient itself is closed-source, with the exception of certain files that must be opened due to licensing restrictions. I had wanted to open the entire client, but the EQEmu devs are demanding that I keep it closed to prevent cheating. So if anyone has any objections, take it up with them There really is only one file (the main one) that would have to remain closed, so if anyone has any requests for other parts of the code (e.g. network code, 3D engine, etc.) I can make those public with no problems. If you have OpenZone, for instance, then you already have the engine (albeit an older version).

SimpleClient does NOT read EQLive zones. It doesn't know how (though it theoretically could, but as built it doesn't). So don't even ask. This was a decision I deliberately made (1) to drive people to create original content, (2) to make sure that THAT particular piece of ammo would not be in SOE's arsenal, and (3) to avoid the possibility that 99% of the SC servers would just be clones of EQLive. The point was to drag people AWAY from EQLive, not shove them toward it.

ClearLogin, as mentioned above, is sort of a Minilogin for SimpleClient. SC uses its own login protocol that Doodman and I created, and has nothing at all to do with the login protocol that the live client uses. ClearLogin is only intended for testing and is not intended for general use. Doodman has already implemented the protocol in the main EQEmu LS, and the community only needs him to enable that LS and make the host:port it uses public for people to connect to it.

The release includes my own test server and test DB. The DB itself is compatible with EQEmu 0.5.5, but SimpleClient itself is actually compatible with several server versions ranging between 0.5.5 through 0.6.0-DR2. It should be possible to make the DB compatible with versions up to 0.5.8 with little modification, and up to 0.6.0 with a little more. See server_versions.ini in the distribution to see which versions SimpleClient supports. It can theoretically support other versions in that range by editing its .ini files.

SimpleClient isn't compatible with anything newer than 0.6.0, due to the fact that EQEmu 0.6.1 and newer use different netcode. However, SimpleClient uses DLL's for netcode logic, and I've included the source to those netcode DLL's that I've written. If anyone wants to write DLL's for newer netcode, it should be possible for you to do so, and all you have to do to get SimpleClient to use it is to tell it which DLL to use in its .ini files for which server version.

From a legal standpoint, I've been very careful to avoid any copyrighted or trademarked material and as far as I can tell, this should pass legal muster. The content was all built from scratch, as was the code, with the exception of the sun and moon graphics. KhaN supplied those a long time ago, and I was very clear to him to make sure they were unencumbered. The client bears some similarity to the look-and-feel of EQLive (or of EQLive several years ago), but thanks to Apple v. Microsoft (where Apple LOST), copying look-and-feel is legal (so the amateur-lawyer teenage EQ fanboys in the back row can kindly sit down and keep quiet, kthxbye). SOE could always howl and threaten if they wish, but I doubt they will. I've definitely put in a good-faith effort to steer clear of anything they own and I would bet that they understand that. That being said, the sooner that people in the community can mirror this the better, first because it's on a free hosting site (which are never reliable) and second just for safety's sake. We also should get a private SVN server up -- the sooner that at least one other person can build this with some flavor of Delphi 6 (even D6 Personal should do), the better. I use the Pro version, but as far as I know I'm not using any classes that require it.

Anyone who runs a server with this has some DB work to do, at the very least, and probably some spell work to do as well. The first thing you need to do is add more guildmasters. There isn't even a cleric guildmaster in (as I never made a temple model to put one somewhere), for instance. Nonetheless, the DB has some quite playable areas. I foresee that a lot of people will be spending a lot of time in Lelembeth, but don't ignore the other zones. There is some interesting equipment to find in some places off the beaten path. More content can always be added, of course, and if there's anything people need (like zone sources), ask and it shall be provided.

Okay, that was long-winded enough. Here's where you can get it:

SimpleClient release (this is the first time I've tried MediaFire so we'll see how it works -- RapidUpload kept failing and it's just too big for SaveFile):

http://www.mediafire.com/?rfmy1yd2l2y

SimpleClient open sources (DLL's that I wrote for it):

http://www.savefile.com/files/1501292

EDIT: download link updated with an updated archive. This has the right DLL filename, server source, and more up-to-date readme text.

[Derision]

I tried getting this to run under Vista (no jokes please :P), and get an error 'Exception in TGameTimerThread.Execute':



The tail end of the of clientlog.txt reads:

[     1.794] Loading client data files
[     1.794] Setting up clouds
[     1.810] Setting up sky sphere
[     1.825] Generating starfield
[     1.841] Setting up moon
[     2.153] Setting up sun
[     2.309] Loading 3 files
[     2.309] Loading file 0: global_creatures.xwa

I tried running it as Administrator and also under XP2 compatability and setting processor affinity (start /AFFINITY 01 simpleclient.exe), but still got the same error.

Anyone got this going under Vista ?

[Windcatcher]

I know for a fact that the engine and Vista don't play well. I develop this on Win2k and I've tested it with XP, but I have no access to Vista to get them to play nice.

[Amra]

I get the same error under xp.

Thanks so much for releasing it Windcatcher! Hope to get it going soon.

[Windcatcher]

It looks like one thing I forgot to mention was how to set it up

- Edit the ContentDir entry in SimpleClient.ini to point to the folder where the .xwa files are located (usually where you placed SimpleClient).
- Edit loginserveraddress and loginserverport in the same file to point to the loginserver. For any testing you do now, this will be where ClearLogin is running.

[Cripp]

this is great thank you windcatcher you the man..

question: were you going to release the source for the server as well?

i notice you said its compatible with versions 5.5-6.0ish..
are there no changes necessary for SC to work with these sources?

which one would you think works best?

[Secrets]

This is great, I got the server set up and running well... except I can't get the client to run. Same error Derision is having, except on Windows XP.

I have pointed the SimpleClient.ini to my folder, running in the correct bit-depth, and have the server running. Is there anything i'm doing wrong?

GeForce 8800 GTS, latest drivers + directx, Intel 2.4 dual core, 2 gigs ram.

Thanks!

[Windcatcher]

I've received a PM about a (very old) readme in the distribution that mentions pointing an .INI variable at your "EQ" folder. Before everyone gets confused by this, let me nip this one in the bud with my response. I think I should say this publicly to make sure that we are ALL on the same page.

Wow. That's pretty old. No, that isn't valid anymore, and hasn't been for a long time. The client today CANNOT read SOE files, though when I first started it I had it reading their file format at a basic level so I could test it with my zones (this was before the XWF/XWA file format was finalized). Once XWF was finalized and I had the proper loader code built, I removed all code that could read the SOE file format. In fact, I totally re-architected the loader code. I can say definitively that there is no code in the program that can load SOE files. Even if you pointed the ClientDir entry at any SOE zones the client wouldn't (and couldn't) read them. The new loader architecture is pretty flexible and the loaders are in DLL's: could someone, if he wished, write an SOE loader? Yes, but so could someone write a Doom 3 loader, Half-life loader, or any other kind of loader. SimpleClient only comes with an XWF loader. I hope this clarifies things.

So before anyone goes off the deep end, it should be clear: SimpleClient, as released, C-A-N-N-O-T read SOE files. You don't have a loader to do it. I'm well within my rights to give it a file-format-agnostic architecture, which is what it has. I began the client in late summer of 2003, long before our XWF file format was finalized, and I had to work with something, so it began life with some (*really* crappy) WLD loader code. That code is long gone (and good riddance!).

[Windcatcher]

Originally Posted by Cripp

this is great thank you windcatcher you the man..

question: were you going to release the source for the server as well?

i notice you said its compatible with versions 5.5-6.0ish..
are there no changes necessary for SC to work with these sources?

which one would you think works best?

Isn't the server source in the ZIP? I would have sworn I had included it.

No, you can use any plain-vanilla server that SC supports. My mods to the server involve bugfixes, ZoneProxy compatibility, and a multithreaded world server. None of these are necessary for SimpleClient, though I highly recommend the bugfixes.


Edit: Never mind, I see that I forgot to include the server source. I've fixed the archive where the DLL had the wrong name, updated the readme, and added the server source. I'll update the link in the top post and point out that it was updated once it's uploaded.

[Windcatcher]

Originally Posted by Secrets

This is great, I got the server set up and running well... except I can't get the client to run. Same error Derision is having, except on Windows XP.

I have pointed the SimpleClient.ini to my folder, running in the correct bit-depth, and have the server running. Is there anything i'm doing wrong?

GeForce 8800 GTS, latest drivers + directx, Intel 2.4 dual core, 2 gigs ram.

Thanks!

Wow! I was getting the same thing in my distribution folder. This is what I get for refactoring. For everyone who is having this problem, do the following:

RENAME S3DArchiveLoader.dll to S3DReader.dll

That's it. At one point I decided to change the name, and apparently I forgot to change it in the distribution folder. I'll update the archive and the link at the top post sometime tonight, but that should get you all going.

[Windcatcher]

For those of you who want the server source, the top download link has been updated. It should have all you need. And if anyone is interested in the bugfixes I've made to it, you should diff it with the plain-vanilla 0.5.5 source. There are some fixes to some rather nasty netcode bugs that are present in several server versions.

For those of you who get SC running, please post pics! I'd love to see how you fare.

[Cripp]

ok when i run it, it looks all funky, no errors.. heres link to a pic.

http://www.nugblazers.com/images/SC_er1.JPG

tried changing resolution.. turning off mipmapping and some other things all with same results..

let me know if anyone has any ideas. thanks

edit:: sorry forgot to mention i use windows XP.. (vista theme)

[Windcatcher]

I'd like to see a screenshot from someone not running Vista. I know that Vista had problems with my GUI overlays from people testing the beta and I never figured it out.

[Cripp]

heres a screenshot from another machine of mine i tried it on.. www.nugblazers.com/images/SC_er2.jpg .. cant really see anything except boxes like those it doesnt say SimpleClient when its loading in the beginninig just has the box with the backround.. same with the user login part cant even see where to type or buttons. when i resized the box, to really small, i saw the 'you must enter username and password' let me kno watcha think
(i use XP not vista, on either of my screenshots)

[Darkriderone]

I had no problems getting SC to work in XP, but I just can't get the server you sent up and running, of course its most likely something I did, or didn't do, but Thanks for SC Wind.

Simple Client Startup

Login

Server Select