Over the weekend I tweaked the server settings a bit. It seemed to me that during January, when the server scheduler was failing and only the Axis server was running, more players showed up. My theory is that since the server NAME was changing when it changed from Allies to Axis and back again, this made the server less likely to appear on server browsers. Based on what I can see from server traffic stats, traffic went up starting early in January and dropped again to pre-January levels after I fixed the scheduler.

To test this, I changed the server settings so that the server name no longer changes. Now, it's always "Tanks'nPlanes Unlimited CO-OP". I also changed the intro messages and the timed announcements so that important information appears in capital letters. Apparently this attracts players' attention a bit better.

Anyway, I'll monitor things over the next few weeks and see what happens.

Next I plan to shuffle the maplist a bit to put the more popular maps at the top and group the Road To Rome and Secret Weapons maps.

The TPU Gazala map has been changed. A few more machine guns and AA emplacements have been added, planes - including B-17s - have been added to the airfield in the northwest, and vehicles have been swapped around a bit. Also, maximum spawns have been decreased from six to four to reduce the vehicle crowding. Let me know what you think!

The server will be down most of the day because the local power provider is performing upgrades. They estimate that the power will be out from 8:30am to 5:00pm PST.

TPU now includes a new, experimental version of the Midway map. It replaces the previous version, at least for now. Whether it stays in the rotation depends on whether people prefer it. So please let me know, one way or another.

The new version includes PT boats, BF109s and B-17s, along with a few other changes. Should make for a crazy new kind of fight.

Enjoy!

UPDATE 2010Feb21: there were a few problems with the new Midway map, which I hope have now been fixed. Feedback welcome as always.

Starting immediately, Sundays will be Battlegroup 1942 days on the TPU server. Instead of the regular BF1942/RtR/SW maps, Sundays will run only BG42 maps. As usual, the Axis/Allied ratio will alternate every six hours.

I'm doing this on a trial basis.

Please let me know what you think about this new setup.

By popular demand, I'm looking into options for running Battlegroup 42 maps on the TPU server. I may just pick a day or two per week to run them, or I may mix them in with the other maps. Anyone out there who plays on TPU and hasn't installed BG42, I suggest you do so, because a) it totally rocks, and b) TPU may start kicking you off the server because you don't have the next map. Part of this depends on whether the stats system will handle the BG42 maps, which I have yet to determine. Obviously we want the stats if possible. Stay tuned.

I finally noticed that the server wasn't running the Axis version every six hours the way it used to. Apparently the BFSM scheduler has a problem when the year rolls over. The result was that the most recently started version of the server just kept running all the time, never switching between Axis and Allied as intended.

I made the necessary adjustments and now the server should switch between Axis and Allies every six hours like it did before January.

Sorry about that.

Since they are getting harder to find, I've posted the excellent Battlefield 1942 Server Manager (BFSM) files here. BFSM was created by Kevin Lockitt of Black Bag Ops.

I use BFSM to manage the TPU server and would hate to have it any other way. Thanks, Kevin!

While I'm at it, I'd like to say to Kevin: these utilities are indispensable. Please please please do one of the following: continue development, including creating a version for Battlefield 2, pass the source on to another developer (pick me!) or open source it.

Download the BFSM files here.

I'll admit it: my initial reactions to Assassin's Creed 2 were negative. Faces look weird: Lucy doesn't even look like Lucy any more, and everyone appears to be slightly cross-eyed. Items seem to hover. The Italian accents of the voice actors are uniformly terrible. Gone is the cool interface of the first game, replaced by something lame. Too many in-your-face confirmation messages: do you really really really want to buy this thing? Also gone are the well-integrated tutorials with the ethereal female voice; instead, you are thrown into combat with some fleeting advice in the form of text.

Last night we experienced a series of power failures due to heavy lightning. The TPU server was down until this morning as a result.