[RELEASE] Everything from my server.

[Valkryst]

Hey,

Over the past year both the team and I had been working on a hopefully unique RP server. We were quite close to pushing out a playable first zone as a proof-of-concept through an open test, but due to some host issues we've lost the database along with all of the daily backups.

Before I continue, I will warn you to stay away from Uniwebhosting due to their scammy business practices. They offer great servers for a fraction of the usual price as a deal and then revoke access to the servers after a period of time. This has happened to many users over the years and it will happen again. Most recently they forgot to pay the bill for all of their servers and caused all of their customers to lose access and data. You can look more into them if you want, but just take my warning into consideration.

In the files below you can find an MPQ containing an edited Tirisfal, Western Lordaeron, partially edited Eastern Lordaeron, and nearly complete Alterac. You will also find a large number of buildings with retextured roofs to fit a number of areas such as Dalaran, Kul Tiras, the Scarlets, etc... along with a number of new banners, texture swapped ships, objects, etc... to use.

Some of the other miscellaneous files include all of the Lua scripts for the server along with a new guild system and mostly-working quest system that were being developed for the server. Although you won't be able to use the guild system without manually creating the two tables required as they were erased along with our DB backups. If you wish to use the system, just PM me and I'll provide information on how to set it up. The same goes for the quest system.

There are also various files containing development guidelines, information on various parts of the server, quests, some of the NPC SQL files, etc...

If you wish to use any of the files contained within the files below, then just make sure to add in credits to the following people. I may be forgetting a few people, but the majority are as follows.

Arathonz, Dizzyeye, MountianLion, Stian Skuland, Stoneharry, Westorz, Crow, Domminust, Miles Koblin, Roban van Turnhout, Gurluas, Swiftie, Zikmo, Rochet2, Milly, Temptation_Town, Sheep, and me.

Server Documents & Scripts - Download
Server MPQ Files (Raw) - Download
Server MPQ Files (Packed, includes maps) - Download
Server Screenshots - Download

[media:2fmoecbo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kxes3KN5rE[/media:2fmoecbo]
[media:2fmoecbo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq6ISII4ZDA[/media:2fmoecbo]

Edit:

I've typed up my final development log for the server. It tells a rough story about how the server went down, what I've learned over the past year, and my thoughts on a few things. If you want to read it.

[Eclipse]

RIP

[Barov]

It's a shame you're giving up, your work is quiet interesting and I would have loved trying out your serveur.

[Valkryst]

It's a shame you're giving up, your work is quiet interesting and I would have loved trying out your serveur.

=P Well there's always the abysmal chance that we'll get back to it at some point, but recreating ~400 or so NPCs from scratch including their gear, appearance, etc... along with the one or two hundred hours spent by the team carefully decorating all of the interiors, waypoints, and SAI scripts would take a very long time to redo to the standard that we were going for. The rest would be somewhat easy as most of the quests were being moved over to the new system, there were only a few items, and I remember most of the NPC spawns somehow.  

I figure someone could make use of the things we did do just encase we don't get back to it though. Those building retextures took quite a while to do and figure out, but there are enough to redo Alterac, Dalaran portions of Kul Tiras, any Scarlet areas, and one or two misc faction areas IIRC.

[Skarn]

This is a good example why you should always keep backups somewhere in Google Drive or so.

[Valkryst]

This is a good example why you should always keep backups somewhere in Google Drive or so.

I was just thinking of that.  

I'll probably throw up a tutorial on how to setup backups through a combination of btsync, cron, and bash so that it syncs into either Dropbox or Google Drive along with your home computer over the next few days if anyone needs that.

Edit:

Tutorial on how to setup BTSync.

[Milly]

Sorry to hear about this Valkryst D: I really liked your ideas too!

[stoneharry]

I just don't understand why you didn't backup properly.

Contingency planning:
- Backup constantly (automated)
- Backup to at least two external locations (Dropbox, Github, FTP, whatever)
- There are never enough backups

[PhilipTNG]

^ probably just taking things for granted and feeling that 1.) Bad things?.. nah it'll never happen to me or 2.) backups are overrated and for paranoid folks. Or like me,.. 3.) I've made backups for years and guess what, nothing bad happened, so I'm just going to stop and do other things instead.....then BOOM.....now I has a story to tell!

We all take things for granted at one point or another... or all the time. Just the way how many of us are, especially when we play it safe for so many years and nothing negative happening, will usually lose that part of our dedication and stop the activity.

[stoneharry]

^ probably just taking things for granted and feeling that 1.) Bad things?.. nah it'll never happen to me or 2.) backups are overrated and for paranoid folks. Or like me,.. 3.) I've made backups for years and guess what, nothing bad happened, so I'm just going to stop and do other things instead.....then BOOM.....now I has a story to tell!

We all take things for granted at one point or another... or all the time. Just the way how many of us are, especially when we play it safe for so many years and nothing negative happening, will usually lose that part of our dedication and stop the activity.

Not an excuse, especially as backups can be completely automated. As far as I'm concerned if this happens to you because you didn't backup properly you brought it on yourself and you can only blame yourself.

[PhilipTNG]

Not an excuse
--snip--
you brought it on yourself and you can only blame yourself.

Completely agree, no arguement there, but in retrospect, most people don't learn or truly understand the actual benefit from a Safe but very  repetitious activity until they don't do it and something negative comes stomping their way then all their pride. Simply lecturing about it doesn't solve or help out anything, they've learned from their mistake and will probably not do it again.

Like telling a young child a whole lot of wise words will just go in one ear and fall tumbling out the other, until the day the child hits that wall of not being able to go back(like holding hanging from a tree and misjudging your grabs and slamming into some pretty jagged terrain 25 feet below..ie: me) and realizes that their own carelessness is all to blame for what happened.

For anyone that has wondered why i don't use my left hand to use keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys in my videos, ^ that's the reason as to why I can't do something that many take for granted.

[Valkryst]

I just don't understand why you didn't backup properly.

Contingency planning:
- Backup constantly (automated)
- Backup to at least two external locations (Dropbox, Github, FTP, whatever)
- There are never enough backups

The backups were entirely automated every day at about ~8-9pm my time depending on daylight savings. They were backed up on the server and over here on both my main HDD and SD card, but things just happened to turn out in a way where every single backup was erased minus one which I can't seem to find and assume that it's gone as well. This'll all be better explained in the blog post that I've been slowly typing up since yesterday. =P

Google Drive/Dropbox would've been a good idea if I had thought to do it sooner, but I didn't expect to find all three locations deleted, it's all in the past now anyway. Hopefully someone can find a use for what we do have left though.

[kojak488]

People have come back from worse.

[Ascathos]

People have come back from worse.

Motivation is not as faithful as a pet that always returns to your doorstep. You are right, yet also wrong.

[kojak488]

You are right, yet also wrong.

That's impossible.  People either have or have not come back from worse.   Let's cut the philosophical bullshit.