The TPU stats pages were out of action for a few days this week. First, the WAN IP change caused the update process to fail. I asked A Small Orange support to whitelist the new IP, which fixed that problem. Second, A Small Orange upgraded the shared host's version of PHP, and this messed up selectbf, the BF42 stats software. Fixing that problem involved upgrading a PHP library. The stats pages should now be working. Unfortunately, the admin functions are still not working, but that's not a problem for most users.

All JDRGaming game servers will be down this morning for up to an hour, starting immediately (6:45am PST).

Things will hopefully be back up and running normally by 8am PST.

UPDATE 2014Jun22 8:29am PST: having problems with the router. Still hoping to have things back up within the next few hours.

UPDATE 2014Jun22 2:15pm PST: Had to replace the router. Things should be basically working again, but the server IP address changed, from 24.86.121.160 to 96.49.173.236.

I've created a Twitter account for status updates for all JDRGaming systems. My plan is to use this account to provide basic information regarding status changes to JDRGaming game servers and related services. Tweets will include planned and unplanned outages, version updates, and so on.

This morning I modified the TPU server, so that it uses the new master browser at master.bf1942.sk (94.23.196.155). The new master browser is a replacement for the Gamespy master browser master.gamespy.com (69.10.30.248).

When the Gamespy master server stops functioning on June 30, 2014, TPU will still be listed on the new master server, so you should have no trouble seeing TPU in the in-game server browser, as long as you have also updated your client computer's HOSTS file.

(Click 'read more' below for instructions.)

A new version of Forgotten Hope 2 was just released. Version 2.47 includes a few map changes (listed below), but the main change involves fixes for the demise of Gamespy.

Gamespy services for Battlefield 2 and many other games will cease to function soon, some time in the next few weeks. For Battlefield 2, this presents two problems: first, the standard Battlefield 2 client will no longer allow players to log in using their Gamespy/IGN account, which means no online play will be possible. At all. Second, the in-game server browser will no longer function, so the only way to join a server would be to enter its IP address.

The new FH2 client gets around both of these problems. The developers of FH2 and Project Reality have created a replacement server for the user account and master server browser functionality in BF2. The new FH2 client connects to the new server back-end to allow user login (your existing accounts are migrated) and server browsing. For this to work properly, FH2 servers must also now use a new server executable that also connects to the new back-end server.

I'll be working on upgrading the JDRGaming BF2 server over the next day or so and will post status updates here.

The Forgotten Hope 2 2.46 client launcher will offer to update your FH2 client the next time you run it. You might want to consider holding off until the servers you play on have upgraded to 2.47.

Map changes

• Omaha: tickets and spawn conditions of 2nd flag group equipment changed
• Gold Beach: new vehicles added and German artillery setup changed, German assault kit with MP34
• Minor changes to Sidi Rezegh (added back main base artillery) and Falaise Pocket (removed lewis gun)
• Added Omaha 16 player layer
• Singleplayer added to Omaha, with changes for Gold Beach and Villers Bocage
• Fixed aiming with the Gewehr 41
• Fixed the physics of the Puma and Ju52
• Improved ragdoll settings

How do these idiots get such high-paying jobs? You may recall that The XBox One currently includes the Kinect motion sensor. This adds $100 to the price of the console, despite the rather obvious fact that many people have no interest in flapping their arms at their game console in futile attempts to make it do something useful.

Now comes word that Microsoft will soon ship a version of the XBox One without the Kinect. According to Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft's XBox division, "We've also heard from people they just like to play games with a controller in their hands." Well, DUH.

In another stunning insight, Microsoft has also realized that forcing people to pay for a Gold XBox Live subscription just to watch videos was a bad idea, and they'll soon be dropping that requirement.

In a move that should surprise nobody but infuriate many, EA Games has announced that they will shut down server browser support for several games in the coming months, including Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2.

You may already have noticed that Gamespy - the company that provides the service underlying server support for these games - has been gradually winding down in recent months. Apparently Gamespy services will cease to exist in the near future. EA could have taken over these servers or provided a workaround, but they chose not to do that.

What does this mean for BF1942 players? Mainly that you will no longer be able to find servers using the in-game browser server. If you know the IP address of a server, you will still be able to connect to it. Other web-based server browsers like GameTracker may continue to operate normally, but that's not a certainty at this point.

BF1942 fans are working on possible solutions, including setting up their own master server browser, which would effectively replace the original servers. But this requires changes to the BF1942 client software, which may create other problems.

BF2 players face a similar situation, with one additional obstacle: it's currently not possible to play BF2 online without a Gamespy account. When Gamespy shuts down, will it even be possible to play online, even if you know the IP address of a server?

Battlefield 2 mod developers for Forgotten Hope 2 and Project Reality are apparently working on their own master server.

I'll post more information here as I find it. In the meantime, let's think positive thoughts. We gamers are resourceful and stubborn, so I'm sure we'll find a way to keep things rolling.

Square Enix America's Senior Manager of Business and Legal Affairs spoke with TorrentFreak recently, and says "DRM is here to stay". His reasoning makes no sense. For instance, he says that they rely on customer feedback when considering DRM in their products. If that was true, they wouldn't use DRM at all. If he can show me a customer who likes DRM and thinks it's a good thing, I'd be very surprised. Users hate DRM. Period.

Here's an excerpt from Techdirt's analysis of the TorrentFreak interview:

The debate over whether video games cause aggressive behaviour in players has been going on for years. Every time there's a mass killing in the US, someone finds out that the perpetrator played some kind of video game, then the media goes crazy, saying that the video game made them violent.

A recent study has determined that yes, video games do cause aggression in players, but only when the game itself totally sucks. We've all played games that are frustrating: impossible puzzles, impervious bosses, idiotic gameplay, broken game components, and so on. Encountering frustration like that in a game does lead to aggression in players. Well, duh.

Yet another new version of Minecraft was released yesterday. As with the previous two versions, there was no proper announcement. Mojang staff instead chose to update existing posts for previous updates on the Minecraft Tumblr and the Mojang blog.

Minecraft 1.7.9 fixes issues with skins and the new player name changing process (which has yet to be actually enabled).

The JDRGaming Minecraft server will be upgraded to version 1.7.9 shortly.