TPU (Tanks n Planes Unlimited)

There was another problem with the TPU stats in the last few days. The problem has been resolved and the stats should now be up to date.

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.)

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.

No, it's not your imagination. Last night I finally witnessed a bizarre phenomenon previously reported by a couple of players: tanks falling from the sky on the bf1942/Tobruk map.

Next time you're playing bf1942/Tobruk on TPU, watch the skies. Eventually, you may see one or more tanks appear way up in the sky and fall to the ground. The falling tanks often contain bots. Usually these tanks are destroyed when they hit the ground, but sometimes they survive, and rejoin the fight.

So far I've been unable to determine a specific set of circumstances in which this occurs.

My assumption at this point is that there's a bug in the map source for Tobruk, possibly introduced along with the vehicle spawning changes made for TPU. Either that, or there are simply too many units on the map now.

The Internet connection used by TPU is having some problems. We're experiencing cold weather, and the same thing happened last time temperatures got this low. The problem fixed itself when the temperature rose, but I want a permanent fix, so I called Shaw and they will send someone out next week. Hopefully the connection will be mostly up in the meantime - at least during the day. I know that doesn't help for you nighthawks, but there's not much I can do. If the connection goes down and stays down I'll call Shaw again and see if they can expedite a fix. The connection is up right now. Temperature is -8 Celsius.

It's a new year, so the stats for TPU have been reset. You can still access stats for 2013 and earlier years by clicking the links at the top of the left sidebar.

TPU is currently down for maintenance and will remain down for up to an hour. It should be back up by 11am PST.