TPU (Tanks n Planes Unlimited)

Judging from comments I've seen in the TPU chat log, some people are having trouble playing the maps in the DR map pack. I've put together some basic instructions for running the maps (click 'read more' below). If you are still having trouble, let me know: you can either post a comment in response to this blog post, or participate in the new forum I set up in the Discussion area just for the DR map pack. You'll need to register separately in the discussion area before you can post anything there.

Trying another game server monitor site, since Game-Monitor and TheCLQ are apparently dead: GameTracker.com.

TPU's entry on GameTracker.com:
http://www.gametracker.com/server_inf...147:14567/

UPDATE: GameTracker looks like a winner! Thanks to Mitch for the tip.

UPDATE 2011Feb06: It looks like Game-Monitor is back.

Neither of these two game server monitoring sites seems to be up at the moment. If anyone has any additional information, please let me know.

The CLQ:
http://www.theclq.com/

Game-Monitor:
http://www.game-monitor.com/

I don't like problems that I can't fix. I've bashed my head against everything on this list and come up empty. If anyone out there can help, please do. I'll be eternally grateful.

[1] Eliminate Battle of Britain annoyances: first, get rid of that damned siren at the British bases. Second, stop bots from getting into jeeps at the British bases and just sitting there. This must be done so that no client map download is required, like all the other mods on TPU. I was able to remove the siren but the modded map had to be on client computers to work.

[2] BFSM source code: I use the excellent BattleField Server Manager (BFSM) by Kevin Lockitt to manage the TPU server. Kevin stopped development of BFSM years ago and his web site is long gone. There are a few bugs I'd like to fix, and a few changes I'd like to make, but I can't do that without the source code. I've tried to contact Kevin a few times but he has not responded. If anyone out there knows how to reach him, let me know.

[3] Changes to BFSM. An option to force human players to one side would be nice, although that may be difficult without modifying the BF1942 server itself. A fix for the January 1 scheduler bug would be great. I'd like to see more robust Gamespy protocol handling.

[4] A fix for the 'even teams' problem. Occasionally, a TPU map starts with an Allied:Axis ratio of 1:1. TPU should always run with an uneven ratio, typically 2:1 or 1:2. This one is a mystery.

[5] A way to prevent the map from restarting when the second player joins. I think this one is buried deep in the BF1942 server code, so we're probably stuck with it.

[6] Figure out what's going on with the apparent Gamespy DDoS attacks and deal with them permanently. Every few days (or sometimes weeks), TPU starts seeing floods of Gamespy server queries from one or two IP addresses. Alarm bells go off here and I block the offending addresses. The IP addresses are usually different each time, although there have been some repeat offenders. Some of them are game servers, some are gaming web sites and others are just ordinary users. It doesn't appear to be a coordinated attack against TPU. My hunch is that it's just misconfigured software. On the other hand, the Gamespy protocol is often used as a tool in DDoS attacks, so perhaps TPU is just seeing collateral damage.

[7] An alternative to the increasingly-flaky Game-Monitor.com.

That's it for now.

DarkRyda's map pack is now available for download from this web site. Go to the Downloads section or click the link below to download it.

https://jrc-core.com/files/DarkRydaMa...kSetup.EXE

The map pack contains six maps in total: five for the original game and one for the Secret Weapons Expansion Pack. Four of the maps support co-op and single player modes.

Where you can play these maps

DarkRyda and TenaciousMojo occasionally run servers for these maps. We are considering setting aside time on the TPU server to play some or all of them. They are unlikely to be added to the regular rotation, since they must be downloaded to client machines before they can be played and that is not quite in keeping with the goals of the server (maps are modded but the changed maps don't require downloading to play). DarkRyda and TenciousMojo will offer to serve them occasionally from within a TPU session or in response to requests. We may also set up an announcement system on http://jdrgaming.com for upcoming server sessions hosted elsewhere by DarkRyda or others.

Keep reading for more info about the map pack and a message from DarkRyda.

I've updated the TPU server rules and FAQ as they were getting a bit stale. You can get to them from the TPU Stuff links at the top left of the site.

Game-Monitor.com has been having more problems with server rankings, but they seem to be okay again as of right now. I'm looking at alternatives, since the admins have stopped responding to support requests. If anyone out there knows of a good alternative, please let me know.

The Wake map seems to be crashing a lot lately. As a test, I have reduced the maximum number of B17s from four to two. Let me know whether that helps.

It's a new year, so I figured it was a good time to reset the stats. As of 8:30am PST, the stats have been reset. Any games played since the last stats update at 4am PST today will be applied to the new stats data.

Don't panic, all your old stats are still available: just click the [archive] link to the right of the main Statistics link at the top of the left sidebar.

Now let's see what all the newcomers can do to unseat DarkRyda and TenciousMojo as "kings of TPU!"

Due to unintended idiocy on my part, I failed to notice that the instructions for installing Battlegroup 42 say that any existing BG42 folder should be deleted before installing a new version. In my defense, the BG42 installer should check for existing folders and offer to remove them or at least warn the user. Anyway, the result of my error was that some BG42 maps on the server were using a mixture of new and old data and those maps were causing client and server crashes. The old files have been removed and the maps previously removed from the rotation have been reinstated. Please let me know if there are any more crashing problems with BG42 maps.

There has been a lot of interest in the 'kink' flying challenge on TPU lately. Kink is a BF1942 clan with a focus on flying. You may see players on TPU with the kink tag. Anyway, kink has a test that involves flying under bridges in a certain order on the Battle of Britain map.

For those interested in running the course, I've uploaded an image of the Battle of Britain map with the course marked (courtesy of TenaciousMojo - thanks!)

You can find the map in the Downloads section, or by clicking this direct link to the map:
https://jrc-core.com/files/BattleOfBr...ngeMap.png

UPDATE: Mojo added details for two other challenges to the map already posted and made another version of the map for a fourth challenge. The second map is also in Downloads but you can also find it here:
https://jrc-core.com/files/BattleOfBr...geMap2.png