Version control!

[PauloMorfeo]

Version control (as well as mod control) is showing to be extremely important.

You guys are probably working on it but here goes my idea:

Version can be checked with simple file checksums like MD5 checksums or values stored in some config files.

- The first thing the Battleroom client does, is asking the server for the current version of the Battleroom client. If it is recognized as an old one, it warns the player that it needs to upgrade it. If it is not recognized, it warns the player the the client must be version x.

- Secondly, it checks for the others (units set, spring.exe, etc) versions. If they are recognized as old ones or not recognized at all, it warns the player but lets go in. People may want to go through the server to play older/modified versions with some friends.

Also, the players would have attached to them, an icon or something, indicating versions.
An icon for all recognized versions as beeing up to date.
Another icon for all recognized versions as beeing up to date but some or all recognized as beeing older versions.
Another icon for when the player has a detected version not recognized at all.

This way, we could see all people that were following the standards introduced by spring and we could even suspect of cheating of people that had non-recognized versions.

A poor system to check for cheating but a good system to control standards.

[[K.B.] Napalm Cobra]

Noooooooooooooo, then how will I hack my exe to provide extra features for myself?

[PauloMorfeo]

... how will I hack my exe to provide extra features for myself?

Basically, if you wouldn't change the BattleRoom client, you would have no problem... Other than people see that you didn't had the exact same files as they, which would be true anyway...

Also, the ideal would be to provide the improvements to the SY and they would include them and we all would benefit from them.

Actually the game is under GPL, no? That means that any modification will have to be presented to the original developers anyway...

[Dragon45]

Actually the game is under GPL, no? That means that any modification will have to be presented to the original developers anyway...

Or what? There is nothing that the Spring team can realistically do.

All they can do is try and make the code as secure as possible.

[[K.B.] Napalm Cobra]

But I want to change the client too

[PauloMorfeo]

But I want to change the client too

In the sense of wanting to improve the client?

I supose you would not greedly want to keep the improvements for yourself!?

So, i'm pretty sure that if you present them code for a better client, they will include it. And the comunity would surely apreciate it, i guess.

[AF]

Preferrably something not coded in a microsoft language such as C# or VB.Net