PLEASE HELP!!!

[dcl]

If you have nothing constructive to say (sorry..."use search" is not constructive), then just keep quiet.

How is this not constructive? If someone is asking a question that has already been answered (many many times, in some cases) then a simple search will get that person an answer. However, if people answered every question posted here, regardless of whether or not it's been asked before, this board would be filled with duplicate posts. I think, THAT would not be constructive.


You have to understand that the DR servers are developemental servers.... the binaries are not released because the code probably changes on a weekly (if not daily) basis. DR releases are not meant for general consumption... they are meant for people who are willing to help out with the code. If you want to run your own server, use a non DR release (these are still available, right?) Most writers of software won't release code that is currently in production, so we should be thankful that the DR server is available at all.

I don't want to be too critical, but your posts are starting to sound like the developers owe you something. They don't... you owe them... you owe them patience. When this current version is ready, they're remove the DR tag and release the binaries and start working on 5.6. Until then, relax... if you can't run a server, play on one and help them test.

[RexChaos]

I understand your point...but consider this - I joined after 5.3...I can't run a non DR server.

I see your point though. I do need to be more patient I suppose. I'm just impatient by nature. And no...I don't owe the devs anything, just as they don't owe me anything.

I have been doing some bug hunting here and there however, and I'll continue my efforts as such. As it stands, I'm online much of the evening (6pm-11pm EST), so if anyone needs any help testing a server out, let me know. You can catch me on AIM as RexChaos.

So anyway, @%$@ the binaries. When I get em, I'll get em. I just hope they come out before this EQ engine upgrade....although I'm thinking it will just be client side, I wouldn't put it past SOE to find a retarded way of doing things that breaks EQEMu.

/groan /em prepares for the worst

[dcl]

And no...I don't owe the devs anything

Well, I don't want to get into an argument over this... but IMO, anyone that plays EQEMU, at the very least, owes a debt of gratitude to the developers.

So anyway, @%$@ the binaries. When I get em, I'll get em. I just hope they come out before this EQ engine upgrade....although I'm thinking it will just be client side, I wouldn't put it past SOE to find a retarded way of doing things that breaks EQEMu.

The trick to this is to take your current EQ directory, and copy it to another location (I actually burned mine to disk) and label it 5.5DR1. That way, if you patch and it breaks the emu, you can just revert to your backup to play.

[RexChaos]

Originally Posted by dcl

The trick to this is to take your current EQ directory, and copy it to another location (I actually burned mine to disk) and label it 5.5DR1. That way, if you patch and it breaks the emu, you can just revert to your backup to play.

Oh I know that...but I joined near the end of February, so I can't set up an older server. That's all I'm saying. I know it'll be okay to play after they patch the engine, but I just hope that it doesn't hinder the devs efforts to get 5.5 out soon.

[samandhi]

I'm not a programmer, have no intention of being a programmer, don't want to be a programmer, and will never be a programmer. Not everyone has the time or inclination to do that. Do I want to run a server? Yes. Do I look for bugs on other servers? Yes. Do I have to? No. Do you think this game would be as far as it is now without feedback from other people aside from programmers? No. Let's not take a "Well I did it, so you should too" type of stance on this. You know as well as I do that not everyone is going to do well at the same things. I expect to do a lot of hand holding when I get my friends into playing EQ through EQEMu. It does noone any good to alienate others or to have them get frustrated and quit. I'm sure we'd all like to see more stable servers with more people playing on them. For that to happen, it needs to be easy to do.

While I totally agree with this statement normally, there IS the key word that puts it ALL in perspective, and that is "NO SUPPORT FOR THESE FILES". This means there IS a release and it is 0.5.3. This version IS supported. Therefore that is what drove me to write the above comments. Not that I get tired of whining (sometimes I do though haha), it is the whining about something that carries no support in the first place.. For those saying as an argument to this that "Well, I patched and now I cant play on 0.5.3, which is supported", I say "Well, then you should have read where it said DONT POST ON THE 10TH, and so on". It boils down to (most of my point in the post) if one cant follow directions, or is too lazy to bother, then why should they? Sit back relax and wait for it to be released.

I'm not a programmer, have no intention of being a programmer, don't want to be a programmer, and will never be a programmer. Not everyone has the time or inclination to do that. Do I want to run a server? Yes. Do I look for bugs on other servers? Yes. Do I have to? No. Do you think this game would be as far as it is now without feedback from other people aside from programmers? No. Let's not take a "Well I did it, so you should too" type of stance on this. You know as well as I do that not everyone is going to do well at the same things. I expect to do a lot of hand holding when I get my friends into playing EQ through EQEMu. It does noone any good to alienate others or to have them get frustrated and quit. I'm sure we'd all like to see more stable servers with more people playing on them. For that to happen, it needs to be easy to do.

While I, once again, generally agree with what you are saying, only remember, these files are done by people that spend their own money into this project. To say that because we (me and you both) do bug reports and stuff like is NOT a " I have a right" kind of thing. This doesnt even come close to comparison to the countless hours the dev's have put into this thing. But, I digress, the fact of the matter is that you are right, but it will continue on the way it is, as long as there are people that dont follow directions, dont read, dont care, just want what they want and want someone to explain it to them personally. Put it this way, Shawn's server DID contain the binaries, but they were taken down, because there were MORE requests for support than there are now, even though there is the NO SUPPORT words hanging right on the screen where you click to download the files themselves...

I'm complaining about the fact that there ARE binaries, but people treat it like the holy scriptures that Moses handed down. Can't give them to n00bs...that would be dangerous. As for arguing that they aren't stable yet. I've played on some 5.5 servers and there is some stability out there.

That is just it, there ARE no binaries, the binaries you speak of are on peopl's machines that know how to compile a source (meaning all the files needed, just in a raw state if you will), INTO binaries (or executables). That is the only difference between source and binaries, is the binaries ARE the source files that have been pre-compiled. I have sent a few people the binaries through email, and I have gotten more questions asking for support than I could ever answer in a given day. This was not my purpose. I was trying to help people NOT feel like you are (from your comments), but it only made things worse. Learning to compile does NOT mean you need to know C/C++. It simply means you know how to take some source files (read the files that make up the program itself) and tell a program how to put them together to make up one runnable program. It took me all of about 1 hour to learn how to compile the source files (with no help from anybody but my searching). This was before my interest/start in C/C++ programming.

/off topic BTW I like your new avatar, it looks like some cool creature from Magic the Gathering.

[RexChaos]

I could banter back and forth abotu this topic all day, but I'm just going to drop it. I value your opinion and your point of view Sam. I merely take offense to some saying "Unless you know C++ you shouldn't have binaries". That's just a retarded comment. And no, it wasn't you...

As for my avatar, it's from a book called "The Tourist's Guide To Transylvania". I'm trying to find a link to the book now. It was a really cool book. Published in the early 80's or late 70's.

[dcl]

At the risk of beating a dead horse:

"Unless you know C++ you shouldn't have binaries"

I would argue that this statement is more or less accurate. What I mean is that, if I were a developer, the only people I would want to have the binaries are people that can compile them. Why? Simple, if non-programers had access to the binaries, there would be many many more complaints on these boards saying things like, "AA's don't work", "It crashes when I zone", "I can't get it to work"... blah blah blah. No one wants to hear complaints about a product in developement... a product that eveyone acknowledges is NOT going to work all the time. I would think, the only people the developers really want to have the binaries, are the people that aren't going to come onto these boards and complaint, but rather, people who are going to look at the code to determine WHY something isn't working. In the grand scheme of things, they're doing this so that people without programming skills can run a server without having to worry about how it works.

[RexChaos]

Originally Posted by dcl

At the risk of beating a dead horse:

For the love of all that is holy...leave my freakin horse alone! Hehe...

[samandhi]

For the love of all that is holy...leave my freakin horse alone! Hehe...

The question I have is NOT whether or not you HAVE a horse, but if you DO have a horse, why in the sam-hill, would you keep a dead one lying around? <smile> Is that to feed your avatar?

[RexChaos]

Actually to my knowledge, the horse in my back yard is still alive...ro at least it was when I went to work this morning. Hehe...

My avatar doesn't eat horsies...just gnomes. Dirty filthy stinkin gnomes...

[TheJoseph07]

So putting it in perspective:

EQ Live makes these updates which outdate the released servers.

They have done it before and will most likely do it again.

The only way to run a working server for most players is yo get hold of the compiled 5.5 DR1 files.

To compile these, you need a $2000 (fine, $300 for students) program and a basic knowledge in C++, the language of Satan

The reason many people play EQEmu is because its free.

IN OTHER WORDS:

For you to CONTRIBUTE to a community by hosting a server, therefore allowing free play for others while YOU create and YOU make it work, you must PAY $2,000. The alternative is that the Devs will update it and post it, but to ask for a dev's compiled version BEFORE the official post is considered ridiculous.

We're in the same boat right? whats the big deal? There are over 15 servers BEFORE Rex's crashing release was submitted, WHY can't one of them POST or EMAIL it to help out the other potential servers?

Its not a contest, its all for the same program....

Did that make any sencE?

[TheJoseph07]

So putting it in perspective:

EQ Live makes these updates which outdate the released servers.

They have done it before and will most likely do it again.

The only way to run a working server for most players is yo get hold of the compiled 5.5 DR1 files.

To compile these, you need a $2000 (fine, $300 for students) program and a basic knowledge in C++, the language of Satan

The reason many people play EQEmu is because its free.

IN OTHER WORDS:

For you to CONTRIBUTE to a community by hosting a server, therefore allowing free play for others while YOU create and YOU make it work, you must PAY $2,000. The alternative is that the Devs will update it and post it, but to ask for a dev's compiled version BEFORE the official post is considered ridiculous.

We're in the same boat right? whats the big deal? There are over 15 servers BEFORE Rex's crashing release was submitted, WHY can't one of them POST or EMAIL it to help out the other potential servers?

Its not a contest, its all for the same program....

Did that make any sencE?

[RexChaos]

http://download.com.com/3302-2069-1683220.html?tag=mta

There's a link to a free compiler. If that's something you want to tackle, you're free to try. I understand you're frustration with this, but us getting frustrated about the apparent lack of generosity regarding .exe's isn't going to help us any.

C++ isn't something I'm going to learn. If you want to, you're a braver soul than I... If not, then help out in another way. Perhaps play testing and reporting bugs, or pointing new potential hosts/players in the right direction.

Hopefully we'll have this working in a stable form soon, then we can all enjoy killing those dirty filthy gnomes...ahem...at leats that's my plan.

[dcl]

So putting it in perspective:

EQ Live makes these updates which outdate the released servers.

Usually... not every EQLive patch outdates EQEMu

They have done it before and will most likely do it again.

Obviously

The only way to run a working server for most players is yo get hold of the compiled 5.5 DR1 files.

No... this is false. You can run a 5.3 server, which is the latest RELEASED server. The problem is, the only people that can play on it, are people that have not patched beyond a certain point. The powers that be here at EQEMu have long told people to have backups of their EQ folder, so that if a patch breaks the Emu, you can always go back to your backup. This obviously, doesnt help new members.... they'll just have to make a backup now, and wait for a new release.

To compile these, you need a $2000 (fine, $300 for students) program and a basic knowledge in C++, the language of Satan

To compile, you need a compiler, yes.... you don't need a knowledge of C++, just a knowledge of how to compile it (though I can't ever imagine having one without the other)

The reason many people play EQEmu is because its free.

And you can play for free... you can even run a server for free, if you use the latest released version of the server.... if you want to run the developemental version of the server (5.5) then you're going to need to know how to compile... and when you run into bugs on the server (which you're going to find in developmental code) you should know how to fix it so you can share with the community

IN OTHER WORDS:

For you to CONTRIBUTE to a community by hosting a server, therefore allowing free play for others while YOU create and YOU make it work, you must PAY $2,000. The alternative is that the Devs will update it and post it, but to ask for a dev's compiled version BEFORE the official post is considered ridiculous.

We're in the same boat right? whats the big deal? There are over 15 servers BEFORE Rex's crashing release was submitted, WHY can't one of them POST or EMAIL it to help out the other potential servers?

Its not a contest, its all for the same program....

Did that make any sencE?

Like I said before, the Devs don't release the binaries of developmental code, because the code is constantly changing and they don't want to field complaints about it when it doesnt work propperly... despite telling people in advance that it's not going to work propperly.