Changing servers to mariusnet - MAJOR problem! [PC]

[Baak]

The first time I used the "Servers..." button to switch over to mariusnet a month or two back (when PlayMyth was down), I had no problems whatsoever. Worked like a charm. One of our ordermates couldn't get it to work, though, despite my telling him how to manually move stuff.

Well, today I tried switching back to mariusnet and sure enough, something is really whacked! No matter how many times I selected "Servers..." and "Marius Net" and saved it, the PlayMyth information remained.

I finally exited out of myth, looked at my files manually, and discovered the following:

• Patch Mariusnet was correctly copied to the plugins folder - GOOD
• PlayMyth v1.2.1 was left in the plugins folder - BAD
• PMI_Classic was left in the plugins folder - BAD
• The preferences/metaserver file still contained PlayMyth information - VERY BAD

This appears to be precisely what was happening to my ordermate, who is not a computer whiz, and thus was extremely frustrated. Now I can also see why my manual instructions to him didn't completely work: even though I had him manually remove the PlayMyth v1.2.1 and PMI_* file, the preferences/metaserver file was still pointing to PlayMyth! DOH!

I have no idea why this doesn't work 100% and/or why it worked fine the first time (there are no read-only files, nothing has moved, the installation looks perfect, etc.), but this is going to wreak havoc on anyone trying to switch over to mariusnet on a PC who runs into it!

I'm going to write up some detailed manual instructions now for our ordermates - I'll try to make them such that anyone can use them, but I'm about to leave on a road trip and don't have lots of time. I moved the PM stuff out and the mariusnet stuff in manually, and all was well.

Thought people should know about this one.

[Death's Avatar]

Yeah, we've run into this one a few times with uDogs and Fogs nights. I know sometimes it occurs randomly, but I know there are some definite factors that add too it that can easily avoided:

1) NEVER EVER EVER switch servers manually. This will make it angry. ONLY mess with files when you are fixing stuff.

2) Old files. Some people have old marius net/playmyth stuff lurking in there plugins folders. These bastids sow discord and general not working-ness.

The symptoms (usually you only get one of these):

1) Server refuses to switch to the one you tell it to
2) Myth connects, but all games are red and say "Game Data Does not Match"

That's been my experience with it. If only metaservers loaded like interfaces...

-DA

[Myrd]

If only metaservers loaded like interfaces...

If I had coded the server switcher, that's how it would work. That was my original design for it, but Iron decided to do it by moving files around (partly because PlayMyth used two files, which wouldn't work in the same way as Interfaces work now). I coded the Interface Switcher partially based on my original Server Switcher design, which wasn't implemented.

As for the problem itself, I have yet to receive instructions on how to reproduce it (not counting the scenario where the user was previously manually messing with the files).

[Baak]

Interesting.

I hadn't messed with the files manually until it stopped working automatically this time, so I'd rule that out. I didn't have any old PlayMyth or mariusnet files anywhere, so that's out too.

Since it refused to work via the "Servers..." button, I moved the files manually and it worked perfectly the first time. You just have to be sure you know which files to move out as well as which to move in, and from/to where - the preferences file being the trickiest (easiest to miss).

I'd say there is something that causes it to balk on copying/moving the files, but since it is all done with files it appears that moving them manually works just fine. This was how I did it in my ServerSwapper back in 2001-2003. I kept it so I could swap in 1.3.2, 1.4.2, and 1.4.3 for viewing films.

[Baak]

I haven't had a chance to test a theory (and probably won't before I leave on a road trip) but I think I may be onto something:

* I changed PlayMyth Interfaces sometime after I changed back from mariusnet to PlayMyth

I think this may confuse the program somehow. The switch to mariusnet worked the first time, and the switch back to PlayMyth worked as well. The problem occurred when I recently tried going back to mariusnet.

What I notice is this:

There is a "metaserver" file under the "metaservers\PlayMyth Red\preferences" and "metaservers\PlayMyth RockOn\preferences" but not under the "metaservers\PlayMyth Classic\preferences" folder - which is the latest PM Interface file I was using when I tried switching back to mariusnet.

Looks like it couldn't move this file from my preferences folder. Also I noticed when it didn't work that the PlayMyth v1.2.1 and PMI_Classic files were still in the plugins folder, as mentioned above.

This leads me to believe the Myth II .exe file has a "lock" of some sort on the preferences\metaserver file when you click the "Servers..." button - but possibly not every time (this could even be an O/S issue).

When I used to do all this via my ServerSwapper, it was an external program, and wouldn't copy/move files if Myth II was running. I could see that if Myth II locked this file - and/or the server file(s) in the plugins folder - moving them would fail.


It could also be that some kind of date check is failing, because Myth is "touching" said file(s) in such a way that the date check sees them as newer than they really are. Windows doesn't distinguish create/access/modify the same way that Unix/Linux (and probably the Mac) does. I wouldn't rely on datestamps for doing any of this anyway (if you do), since when you want to switch you want to switch regardless of dates - you simply move the current files to backup and copy in the new ones.

[Myrd]

It doesn't look for dates or anything.

It tries to match files in your plugins folder to files located in some metaserver folder. A common scenario is this:

User decides to use PMI_SuperDuper interface. He manually moves out PMI_Classic and puts in PMI_SuperDuper. When he goes to switch, the server switcher can't match PlayMyth 1.2.1 and PMI_SuperDuper to a metaserver folder, and thus does not remove them. But this scenario involves the user manually messing with files (and not properly creating a new folder under metaservers).

[Baak]

I didn't think it would look for dates - that's good.

I figured all the PMI files had their own distinct folders due to the potential of custom PMI files (something I helped work on long, long, long ago).

Since I didn't manually mess with them before the switcher didn't work, and since I don't have any custom interfaces (or use them), I would say the most likely scenario is some kind of locking issue (i.e. the program can't move file(s) because they are currently in use). Especially since moving them manually once I figured out what was happening worked instantly.

[Myrd]

It doesn't move, it deletes and copies. However, it's probably the case then, that some Windows file locks are preventing it from working. Honestly, I'd rather recode the whole thing like Interfaces - but then, its kind of a waste of efffort that could be better spent elsewhere, since the current Server Switcher already works 99% of the time.

[Baak]

Aye - funny, that's the same method I like to use: copy then delete.

I'll crank out a "ServerSwapper Lite" specifically for 1.6 after I get back from my road trip. That'll cover the other 1%.

[Baak]

So I went to switch back to PlayMyth tonight and it looks like the "Patch 1.4 Interface" file had been removed.

I noticed because Myth II wouldn't even start - it gave the following error message:

"Could not find all the required patch files. Please re-install the 1.5.1 update."


I'll try switching a couple more times via "Servers..." and see if I can nail down a pattern.

Edit: Now it all seems to work fine, except one time using PM Classic, signing on to PM, then switching to PM WWII, it dropped my login/pwd from the screen. Other than that, now I can't get it to not work. Interesting...

[Myrd]

Yeah, each metaserver maintains its own list of preferences...

As for "Patch 1.4 Interface" being removed... are you sure there isn't a folder in metaservers that has that file in it?

[Pyro]

I switched servers today and I had no problem... I never have had one doing so.

[Lugas]

Me neither...

On the multiplayer button, there is then a servers button...change to MariusNet using that.

[Death's Avatar]

Me neither...

On the multiplayer button, there is then a servers button...change to MariusNet using that.

Yeah we know, but problems seem to crop up occasionally.

-DA

[vinylrake]

using the metaserver function to swap from PlayMyth to Mariusnet then back to PlayMyth wiped out my username and password for playmyth. Is that supposed to happen?

(Good thing I backed up my prefs folder before I started)