Steel Warrior

It's up.

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 07:36:38 +0000

Quite.

Edit: It seems quite slow. If anyone else notices it lagging every few seconds, let me know in this post.

Aaaaand We're Back!

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:04:44 +0000

Hello people.

Remember that fun time when the server was only on from when I woke up until when I went to bed?
It's back!

Yes, since the Linux server recoding is going to take a long time, I'm going to be using my old HP ProLiant ML110 G2 to host the server- assuming it still works.

Yea, that's the noisy server.

I'll have a regular schedule for it within a week, and I'll be having it up periodically throughout this week and part of next before the schedule takes effect.

Enjoy! Admins, this is your cue to come back!

EDIT:
Change of plans.
I'll be using my normal computer, not the server, for the hosting.

EDIT #2:
(7/25/08)
Another change of plans! Check page 9 of this thread for information about our new VPS. We'll be back in 2-3 days! See you then. ^^

NOT Dead <3

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:50:18 +0000

A long time ago I used to say I would stop Steel Warrior when I started college.

I've re-evaluated my plans and fees and decided it is perfectly feasible to continue several, or even more, years into my college education.
Do not assume Steel Warrior is dead because of the lack of forum posts/updates. There is much going on behind the scenes. The new staffer who is currently recoding the Steel Warrior server software to run on Linux is busy with an important project, and will be restarting his work on the server very soon. I myself have gotten all the data backed up from the old server at 1&1, and have been in negotations with 1&1 to get our plan cancelled without destroying certain data, such as E-mail and SSL certificates.
I also have been coding in my spare time and pleased with the progress I've made on the client (I've frozen server code, though, so that our new coder may be able to more easily re-code it). I've sped up the client and fixed some graphical glitches as well as the client-side portion that was messing up stealth (server-side fix will come after the Linux recode). I also fixed a minimap glitch that caused a random blip to appear in the upper-left corner of the portion.

STEEL WARRIOR IS IN A SHORT LIMBO.
Not dead.

Edit: I DO ask that members please not advertise Steel Warrior at this moment. If we advertise now, and don't have a service to provide to new users, there's no reason for them to stay, and they'll never bother trying when our servers ARE up! Bad idea. =[

VOTE!

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:54:55 +0000

http://www.dipdive.com/

Vote <3

Yes we can.

Plans for 2008

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 22:27:51 +0000

I removed my previous post, which detailed the conversation between the hosting company and myself, because it was no longer relevant (the company apologized and refunded our money), and I may have ranted a bit in the heat of the moment (not too much, though, hehe- not that this means the account of events wasn't true, though...). Since the post is now gone, here is a quick summary of what's happened:

Our VPS (virtual private server) host, 1&1, changed their network infrastructure, altering the way our servers receive data. This caused users to not be able to stay logged in for more than 15 seconds, and that during that time, users could not attack monsters. We were locked into a two-year contract with 1&1, but after E-mailing them, they have refunded us for the month that it was not working, as well as canceled our two-year contract. It is for this reason that I do recommend 1&1, but ONLY as a Web host, not a VPS host. Their Web hosting is superb, but their VPS service is sub-par. They do not have the most generous of contracts and terms, either, but they do offer much better service and prices than other companies. I have been transferring the files and accounts back to a remote backup server, which takes about a day. I will wait several more before giving 1&1 the signal to cancel the contract, so as to make sure I have gotten everything off the server before it is too late.

In the meantime, I will be hosting the game on the server we purchased as a backup some time ago (HP ProLiant ML110 G2- check the Information page for more information) once I hook it up and update it. This is TEMPORARY. Note the server will only be up at certain times, as the server is noisy, hot, and takes up a lot of energy, and as such is not convenient, especially since it is situated in my room.

The last matter of business is how we will fix this problem in the long-term. I have commissioned a programmer experienced in the Linux operating system to recode the server to run on the popular server platform. This will cost over a hundred dollars, and it is therefore imperative that users donate. We are introducing a new incentive that will only last a limited time - free Web hosting for an indefinite amount of time (for as long as Steel Warrior remains in operation), with no ads, and VIRTUALLY (virtually) no limit on space or bandwidth. Of course, you must use it for appropriate actions only, and will be monitored for any illegal or immoral behavior. This is only for donations of $40 and up. All other incentives still remain, regardless of how much you donate and if you accept the Web hosting or not.

Luckily, the move to linux will cut our bills from the $40 ($70 with domains and Web hosting) a month fee to $7 ($37 with domains and Web hosting) a month. On the downside, the projected release of version 8 has been pushed to the start of 2009. The planned mid-version version 7 updates have been shifted to the previous planned release date of version 8, May of 2008.

Hopefully this clarifies the plans for Steel Warrior as we move into 2008, and we again thank you for any donations and support you may provide.

~ScriptWisdom

Web Site Suggestions

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:05:27 +0000

As most of your have noticed, the Web site has been in the reconstruction phase for about a month now. Most of this process has consisted of mainly my own ideas, but now it's your turn.

What would you like to see on it? Note that once I finish all the code and ideas I'm commiting the source and will bring it to the other pages. This means I will not edit it for, say, another year or so. This is why only the homepage has any changes on it (the changes on the other pages are coincidental- for example, the text alignment has shifted and the background has changed due to changes in the main CSS file). It's a pain to reconfigure each individual page, and I don't want to have to use PHP to serve up each page- why use additional processing power or even some SQL queries when you don't need to?

Note, however, that the main page is nowhere near completion. A good half- or full-month still remain for its development. For example, the "News" and "Updates" boxes I have not yet skinned, and the parchment background needs re-alignment and smoothing. In addition, compatibility with IE7 and the upcoming (possibly) IE8 have not been tested. IE6 support will be, and must be, dropped, due to its inherent compatibility issues with standard HTML and JavaScript code, as well as image file formats.

Your input is valuable, and since this is the final revision of the Web site (at least for a while), it is needed more than ever.

Any suggestion is not too small or too large. For example, do you want vertical navigation buttons? Do you like things the way they are? What did you like about the old layout, or what do you see on other Web sites that you particularly like?

Thank you for your help!

~ScriptWisdom

Spam Gone Permenantly

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:29:22 +0000

Well, I finally came up with a fix for the spam.

I edited some files and made it so that when you register, you have to input the number "27" in a box.
Since bots don't have definitions written for that, and _NEVER WILL_, it is virtually foolproof, unless someone SPECIFICALLY targets us and takes the time to write a program to spam us.

In which case I would just change it around and make it harder for that one spammer. :]

We have control of our boards again! SPAMMERS BE GONE WITH YE!

This also lets me get rid of several things that take processing power and SQL queries:

The current IP Blacklister that checks giant databases for known spammers.
The basic CAPTCHA-like system
E-mail validation pruning

This is good for everyone, especially my bandwidth costs. :]
Now we can concentrate less on moderating the forums, and more on developing the game!
Thank you for your cooperation and patience during the long period we had to deal with the spammers- there was just no viable solution I could think of until the other day.

~ScriptWisdom

Edit:
I decided to keep the CAPTCHA-like system. Eventally I'll replace it with the real, new CAPTCHA system that newer forums use.

Web Site

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 03:51:27 +0000

I'll be posting the updates made to the Web site here as I finish them.

The changes are huge!
And a cool fact: the pages will now be W3C-standards compliant! Note that this means Internet Explorer will not always correctly display each page. Firefox is strongly recommended.

RSS

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 03:49:47 +0000

I have added an RSS feed that combines the "Announcements" and "Updates" forums together.

Enjoy! Currently you can add it by visiting http://www.steelw.com/, but I will spread it to more parts of steelw.com as I recode each page to match our new design (not yet complete, hence the jumbled images and random text on some pages...).

Back

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:29:29 +0000

I'm back from my one-week hiatus.

I was finishing up my college applications and getting them submitted, as well as getting ready for the start of school.

You'll be glad to know that v8 is making good progress, and should be out around May.
Updates to v7 will also be released between now and May, including the new registration system, fixes to GM stealth, and a minimap bug. Minimap will also now be turned off by default.

Devserv will be brought up under a separate server - you guessed it: my home computer. That should bring a new mappack in about a month or two.

Back up

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:18:19 +0000

Tomorrow.

Forums Back Up

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:14:01 +0000

Forums back up after about a 1-day maintenance.

I fixed some bugs (one especially that kept annoying me - logging in on the portal page brought you back to the main navigation site), and I installed a spam filter.

It runs checks on everyone to see if they come from a known IP on a spam database, and also disabled the use of proxies on the site. Yes, sorry folks who use proxies. ):

Edit: poop, the logging in bug still exists. i'll fix that soon.

Edit #2: Okay, fixed the logging in bug (for sure now) ^^

Spam (Hopefully) Fixed

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:12:04 +0000

New things were implemented (no duplicate accounts using the same E-mail, and new user E-mail validation).

Hopefully this fixes the spam. If not, I'll try to find some modifications that fix it.

By the way, click HERE for some viagra. <3

Any Help?

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:35:46 +0000

Ok am I the only Admin/Mod left on this site? Cause I'm the only one doing anything about the spam and if it is just going to continue this way I'm just going to leave. I've got more important things to do in life then sit here deleting spam that a filter is sapposed to be preventing from getting through but has failed. Do any other admins even come on anymore?

Dom.

Sever Downtime Schedule

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 05:29:39 +0000

Well since I am to be indoors for a looooong time, I decided that at approximately 12:00AM EST - 5:00AM EST I will take the server down so that I may map on the Developer's server. Any questions, feel free to ask.