Rage of Mages II: Necromancer

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Dedicated Internet Server Pack: Hat Operator Guide
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The "Hat" master server connects players to ROM2 dedicated
servers. Please note that we cannot provide technical
support for Hat. By downloading this file you accept full
responsibility and agree that you will not hold Monolith
liable for any repercussions of downloading, installing or
operating this software.


Contents:

I.   Overview

II. Requirements

III. Administration

IV.  Installation

V. Hat Functions
    A. File Menu
        1. Accounts list...
        2. Clear characters database
        3. Servers list...
    B. Account Menu
        1. Create
        2. Remove
        3. Change Pwd
        4. Unlock
        5. Pause
        6. Unpause
    C. IP banning Menu
    D. Automating Hat Account Sign-Up

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I. Overview

The "Hat" program is a dedicated master server for Rage of Mages 2:
Necromancer (hereafter abbreviated as "ROM2"). Hat acts as a master
server for each ROM2 dedicated game server, keeping track of active
servers, handling player accounts and storing player character
data. Instead of having to keep track of servers by themselves,
players can simply log on to the Hat with their player account to
find a list of active ROM2 dedicated game servers. Because both
players and servers must log in to Hat, the Hat administrator has
ultimate control over access to ROM2 dedicated server play. For
this reason the Hat program must not be accessible to the public.

Each instance of Hat can handle over 100 simultaneous active game
servers. Ideally each geographic rejoin will have its own Hat
server to minimize Internet latency.



II. Requirements

Hat is a very small, efficient program. It does not require that
ROM2 be installed on the system in order to run, nor does it
require the ROM2 CD. Hat has been confirmed to run under Windows
98 and Windows NT 4.

Because players need a Hat server in order to operate, the Hat must
stay online and running at all times. A Hat system should meet the
minimum ROM2 requirements for CPU and RAM though a more powerful
system will be able to handle more simultaneous servers. The Hat
system must have a very stable, T-1 or better Internet connection
to allow fast, continuous 24-hour operation. The Hat system should
not run any CPU or RAM-intensive applications while the Hat program
is running.



III. Administration

Hat requires an active on-site administrator to add and remove
player accounts and game servers in the server list, and to
maintain the Hat system in smooth working order.

New players and new game servers will have to have accounts created
for them by the administrator through the Hat program. This must be
done manually with the Hat server program unless the administrator
has a means of doing this automatically through a web-based sign-up
page or some other publicly accessible means. As noted in the
Overview players must not have direct access to the Hat program
itself. Interested parties should contact Nival for assistance in
creating an automated sign-up process, but until such a process is
in place a live operator must administer to Hat on a regular basis.

Players and server operators will need a contact information list
of Hat administrators in their area. This should be done through a
publicly accessible web site that players will be able to find
easily. Once the Hat administrator creates an account on Hat they
will also have to provide the player or server operator them with
the IP address of the Hat system, and supply the player with their
account name and password.

Because ROM2 shipped with a map editor program that allows players
to create custom maps containing death traps or easily-collected
bags of super-powerful items, it is highly recommended that you
only grant dedicated server accounts to individuals whom you can
trust to avoid running these kinds of custom maps.



IV. Installation

Place the rom2hat.exe program file and hat.cfg configuration file
in a directory on the system which will run the Hat server. Before
running Hat for the first time you enter the Hat system's IP
address in the hat.cfg.

    1. Open hat.cfg in Notepad.

    2. If you don't know your IP address, select "Run..." from the
    Windows Start Menu and enter "winipcfg" without the quotes to
    access a small utility which will display your IP address.

    3. Scroll down the line in the hat.cfg that says "IP =
    192.168.0.104." Replace this number with the Hat system's IP
    address and save the changes to hat.cfg. You should not have to
    edit the .cfg again unless your IP address changes.

    4. You can now run Hat by double-clicking rom2hat.exe. Hat will
    automatically create a number of required files and
    subdirectories in the directory where you have placed the
    rom2hat.exe. Do not remove or alter these files while running
    the Hat server.



V. Hat Functions

Hat has a very simple menu-based interface. The following section
describes the menu functions in the order in which they appear.

    A. File Menu

        1. Accounts list...

        This opens a standard Windows Save dialogue, allowing you
        to save the list of all current player accounts as a .txt
        file for easy viewing.

        2. Clear characters database

        This menu item will remove all stored multiplayer
        characters, requiring all players to create brand new
        characters. A confirmation dialogue appears: hitting "Yes"
        will clear the database and "No" will cancel the action.
        Because game servers save character data to the database
        when a player exits, Hat should have no active servers
        logged in when this command is used.

        3. Servers list...

        This command opens a window showing a list of currently
        registered dedicated game servers. The administrator can
        delete or update current servers or add new servers.

        To delete a server, highlight the name in the list and
        click the "Delete" button. To change a current server's
        name or IP address, highlight the name of the server in the
        list, enter the desired changes in the "Name" and "IP
        address" fields below and click the "Update" button.

        To add a new server, highlight the "[Add new server]" item
        at the bottom of the server list and enter the new server's
        name and IP address in the fields below. The IP address
        should include the server's port number. The port number is
        added at the end of the IP address, separated by a colon:
        182.178.0.104:8002 is an example of a complete IP address
        with port number.

        Push the "Close" button to close the server list when you
        have completed your changes.

    B. Account Menu

        1. Create

        This command opens a window where you can create a new
        player account by entering in the player account name and
        password. The player will need to know both of these in
        order to log in to Hat so that they can play on a dedicated
        server.

        2. Remove

        This command allows you to remove a player account. Type in
        the player's account name and press the "OK" button to
        permanently delete the account.

        3. Change Pwd

        Selecting this option opens a window which allows you to
        change the password of a player account by entering the
        player account name and new password in the appropriate
        fields. The player will need to know the new password in
        order to log in to Hat with this account after you have
        made the change.

        4. Unlock

        Hat "locks" player accounts at certain times during normal
        operation. Hat will automatically unlock these accounts but
        in the event of a system crash or other unexpected
        disruption the administrator may need to unlock the account
        manually by selecting this option and entering the name of
        the locked account. Players with locked accounts will not
        be able to log in to Hat.

        5. Pause

        This option presents you with an "Account name" entry
        window. Player accounts entered here will be frozen,
        preventing the player from logging in to Hat until the
        administrator "unpauses" them.

        6. Unpause

        This option reverses the effect of the "Pause" command,
        restoring login access to the player. Enter the name of the
        account you wish to "unpause" in the window that appears.

    C. IP banning Menu

        Clicking on this menu item opens a small interface which
        allows you to add entries to the list of banned IP
        addresses. Adding an IP address to the list will prevent
        players from logging on to Hat through a computer with that
        address. Administrators can use this method of preventing
        player access if the undesired player tries to create new
        player accounts under a different name after their previous
        account has been Removed or Paused.

        Ban requests will most likely come from game server
        operators. A server operator can prevent characters with
        certain names from joining their game but the player may
        attempt to access the game again with a different
        character. If the operator detects this activity they can
        find the player's IP address by clicking on the name of
        their character in the game server's player list, and
        forward this address to the Hat operator with the ban
        request. You can also find player IP addresses by scanning
        for their login name in the hat.log file generated by Hat.

        To ban an IP address, select the "IP banning" menu item,
        type the address in the "Banned IPs" text field and click
        the "Add" button. You may view a list of currently banned
        addresses by clicking on the down arrow at the right end of
        the text entry field. To remove an address from the ban
        list, click the down arrow, highlight the address in the
        popup list and click the "Remove" button.

        If a player has a variable IP address which changes each
        time they log on, you can attempt to ban all of their
        possible addresses by replacing part of the IP address with
        an asterisk (*). For instance, to ban a player who has
        logged on with addresses of 12.234.56.183, 12.234.56.102
        and 12.234.56.115 you could enter 12.234.56.1* as the
        address to ban. You should use the asterisk with extreme
        caution because it will also restrict the access of other
        players with similar IP addresses.

    D. Automating Hat Account Sign-Up

        Because Hat adds player and server accounts based on small
        text files placed in the Acc and Ser subdirectories,
        respectively, player and server account sign-up can be
        implemented through something as simple as a web-based
        form interface.

        Creating an Account Automatically:
        - Create a file entitled "createaccount.name" in the Acc
          subdirectory where "name" is the name of the player
          account.
        - The simple .txt file looks like this, nothing more:

          Account Name
          Account Password

        Removing an Account Automatically:
        - Create a file entitled "removeaccount.name" in the Acc
          subdirectory where "name" is the name of the player
          account.
        - The simple .txt file looks like this, nothing more:

            Account Name
            Account Password

        Changing Account Password Automatically:
        - Create a file entitled "changepassword.name" in the Acc
          subdirectory where "name" is the name of the account.
        - The simple .txt file looks like this, nothing more:

            Account Name
            Old Account Password
            New Account Password

        Creating a Server Automatically:
        - Create a file entitled "addupdateserver.name" in the Ser
          subdirectory where "name" is the name of the server.
        - The simple .txt file looks like this, nothing more:

            Server Name
            Server IP Address

        Updating a Server Automatically:
        - Create a file entitled "addupdateserver.name" in the Ser
          subdirectory where "name" is the name of the server.
        - The simple .txt file looks like this, nothing more:

            Server Name
            Server IP Address

        Removing a Server Automatically:
        - Create a file entitled "removeserver.name" in the Ser
          subdirectory where "name" is the name of the server.
        - The simple .txt file looks like this, nothing more:

            Server Name



Copyright 1999 Monolith Productions. All rights reserved.