[0.4.14] LinuxGaming2 - A Server for Builders

[Pitriss]

;) I was not curious.. I just tried to defend using older versions of mods:)

[webdesigner97]

I don't want to force anyone to update :) Just wanted to do some advertisement :D

[Sokomine]

For example, when I loaded the latest version of Calinou's MoreBlocks mod (as of this writing, Github commit date: 2013_11_29) into a backup copy of the server's world file, Spawntown was covered in "unknown blocks" all over the place.

Yes, moreblocks might be a big problem there as it affects a lot of nodes. Some few textures may also have changed. AFAIK newer versions come with abms that transform old moreblocks blocks to new ones (mostly). Discussion about problems with that ought to happen in the moreblocks-thread in the forum so that other people who have the same problem can see which solutions where found.

One such example is a premptive measure to reduce griefing by disabling all empty buckets,

This servers approach to the bucket problem is unique. The problem, however, is not. All serious servers more or less have trouble with buckets and griefers placing water- or lava-spam. Using a general solution (perhaps an update to the buckets mod? or adding something inside the protection mod?) might be a better way than changing all receipes :-) (at least it would be less work :-))

Unfortunately, what we've found is several mods use different coding techniques to produce crafting recipes that are incompatible with current craftguide mods.

Other servers share that problem. It needs to be solved withhin the unified inventory mod.

Two such ores were MoreOres copper and default, minetest_game copper. Both displayed as "Copper Lump" in the player inventory.

Yes, and that was the best solution I saw anywhere when that problem arose. It avoided a lot of other problems and even increased the amount of materials available. But other mods developed further. Newer versions might not be aware of the old way of moreores-copper.

It would be nice to get the mods themshelves to work correctly and to be able to update them without trouble - so that not everyone has to fight the same problem over again.

Apart from that: Thanks for maintaining the server! Major updates are always a lot of work.

[LazyJ]

Server Maintenance Announcement

The server will be down for a couple hours tonight to run clearobjects.

UPDATE, 2014_01_05: Maintenance complete, server is running again.

[2232]

Hey LazyJ. It me, pizza2232. I've just recently logged into my account to see everything in my inventory, as if my account never existed. My shops and protective areas still exist, but my inventory is the same to a new account. Any idea what's going on?

[jp]

Hello.

I post here my report to be (perhaps) better understood by admins...

Since one / two week(s), we suffer from serious lag on LG.us. All players without exception complain about that. It really stops us from playing properly.

So, it's because the installation of new mods ? The poverty of the server bandwidth ?

And please : don't found the excuse that it's because of the large number of players at the same time, or distance from the server. Even alone, it's the same lag (noticed). And even the US players complains.

Thank you to do something quickly. I call for technical assistance from all servers admins.

P.S.: frequent crashs are also reported. We should have admins more presents for restart the server when he shuts down.

[LazyJ]

Hey LazyJ. It me, pizza2232. I've just recently logged into my account to see everything in my inventory, as if my account never existed. My shops and protective areas still exist, but my inventory is the same to a new account. Any idea what's going on?

Howdy, pizza :)

Long time no see!

Back in December, about 7000 player files, that hadn't been used in several months, were cleared out. If you haven't logged in for a few months, your file was probably deleted, wiping out the inventory you were carrying at the time.

Hello.

I post here my report to be (perhaps) better understood by admins...

(clipped)

Howdy, jp ;)



The Lag

Sorry, but I don't know how to fix it or what is causing it this time. This weekend I'll try to run clearobjects again. No guarantees that it will improve the lag.


Has installing new mods caused the lag?

I don't know. When I tested them on the testing server they ran without a problem.


Increasing the bandwidth?

That would cost Orby more money. Considering he has not played Minetest since last summer, increasing that expense doesn't seem likely.

We are extremely fortunate that Orby is still willing to pay for the server even though he doesn't make use of it like he used to.



Server Crashes

Server crashes are nothing new. Sometimes they happen frequently, sometimes they only happen once in a while. Usually without any consistent reason. There is an auto-restart script on the server that takes care of most of the crashes but, obviously, not all of them.

As for having more admins present to restart the server, only Orby ("root" account) can authorize server access to others. That is a problem because Orby is rarely in communication with the admins that remain.


Minetest is an on-going experiment. I and the other admins will keep trying different things as we learn more about coding and the quirks of Minetest.

[jp]

Thank you to have took the time to clarify, LazyJ.

And sorry if I seemed a little "rough" in my complaint. This is mainly due to my frustration, Wazuland is so good to play...

[2232]

Oh... :( That means I can't dig in my protected areas D:

[jp]

The lag getting worse since the last days. It's almost impossible to play correctly.

Very, very, very annoying...

[LazyJ]

Oh... :( That means I can't dig in my protected areas D:

You should still be able to interact with your protected areas as long as you use the same log-in name and password that those areas are protected to. The player file only contains your last position and whatever you were carrying at the time.

The lag getting worse since the last days. It's almost impossible to play correctly.

Very, very, very annoying...

Last night I ran clearobjects on the server and vacuumed the sqlite files. Hopefully that will bust some of the lag.

[jp]

Last night I ran clearobjects on the server and vacuumed the sqlite files. Hopefully that will bust some of the lag.

I confirm : very good improvement on the lag ! Thank you :)

[LazyJ]

Maintenance Time!
(...where did I put the duct tape?)

The server will be shutdown for several hours after the nightly backup is done.


UPDATE
2014_02_17 - Maintenance done

[jp]

Website is down. How we can download the backup files now, please ?

[LazyJ]

Website is down. How we can download the backup files now, please ?

This weekend's update to the VPS server broke something. Only Orby has the access to fix the website, webchat, wiki, and forums. I've sent an email to Orby and hopefully he will be able to get them working again in the near future.

Until then the backups aren't available for download.

[jp]

Ok.

By the way, I see the title "Featured Project: Brian's "Sky City" above the picture of Sky City in the first post. It's not just the project of Brian (founder). It's just called "Sky City".

If I do the accounts, I've probably put more blocks than Brian himself (concrete floors, Sky Castle, the bricks walls of the main part, lighting and others several details). I also created new things and invested tens of thousands dollars for this project.

So, a little recognition about me is important. Thank you.

P.S.: ubuntuyou have filled the basin too.

[LazyJ]

Good news!

Orby was able to fix LinuxGaming's website, webchat, forums, and wiki.

The nightly backups are accessible again: http://www.linuxgaming.us/minetest_backups/

[jp]

Hello.

Some suggestions of mods that I tested, approved by their qualities, and who might be useful without increase the lag of server.

• Coloured Glass. Simply esthetical and have just a basic range of choice.
• Doors. Add some differents doors and trapdoor (the most interesting thing for me).
• More Trees. A reference for me. Some vegetal diversity would be nice ;)
• Fake Fire. Simply esthetical for fireplaces.
• Memorandum. For some of these important reasons.
• Inbox. Very useful in conjuction with Memorandum mod.
• Computers. Purely for decoration. Nice design.
• Beds. Nice design by BlockMen. It must remove the sleep/wake function in a server...
• Rent apartments. No comment.
• Chat Plus. Very useful when the scrolling of messages is too fast, or in presence of trolls, or just leave messages to offline players. Monitor this mod relative to the future improvements...
• Simple check points. Simply useful.

Regards,
JP

[LazyJ]

Featured Project: Locomotive Sculpture - 2014_03_03
spacer

[jp]

Bump !

Sky City project updated --> here. Enjoy ;)

[LazyJ]

'Sky City' added to 'Landmark Attractions' link list.

Thanks, jp ;)

[LazyJ]

The server is down for clearobjects maintenance.

UPDATE: Clearobjects is done; server is running again.

[jp]

Bob-omb, by ubuntuyou



Lava & Glass Sphere (about 50 nodes of width), by shadowpawn



Zeppelin, by ubuntuyou & shadowpawn



Interior of Zeppelin




Part of ubuntuyou and shadowpawn's Land

[webdesigner97]

Bob-omb, by ubuntuyou
http://i.imgur.com/bsiznFs.png


Lava & Glass Sphere (about 50 nodes of width), by shadowpawn
http://i.imgur.com/WvWr0wi.png


Zeppelin, by ubuntuyou & shadowpawn
http://i.imgur.com/NkZNOUw.png


Interior of Zeppelin
http://i.imgur.com/4tzEHIF.png
http://i.imgur.com/6tpriwC.png


Part of ubuntuyou and shadowpawn's Land
http://i.imgur.com/mlD83bo.jpg

Very nice structures :)

[LazyJ]

The server is down for maintenance.

UPDATE: Server maintenance is complete.

[LazyJ]

Future Maintenance Notice

From now on, once every two months, the player files of players who have not logged in within the prior 60 days will be deleted.

Player files contain the inventory and the location of the player when they last logged out.

If your player file is deleted you will still be able to access your protected stuff; it's just your inventory will be wiped-out and you will spawn at the spawnpoint just like a new player.

It is highly recommneded that, if you plan to not log into our server again for a long time, you place all of your inventory and bag contents into locked_chests and write down the coords to where those chests are located before logging off.

The reason we are going to start doing this is because of the many, many thousands of unused player files that build-up over time cause lag.

As it is designed now, Minetest loads all of these unused files everytime and they just sit there taking up resources. Hopefully in the future the Minetest developers will change it so Minetest only loads the player's file when the player logs in. Till then, in order to keep the server running as best we can, the old, unused player files will be deleted.

[klappspaten]

Spent some hours on this server yesterday, first open Minetest server I ever visited - and I really like it!

First I was stuck, had to download the recommended client by sfan5 since my version of 0.4.9 kept flooding me with draw_hotbar(): mainlist == NULL - errors.
Then I was stuck again....watching...just watching...wow! You all did (and still do) a great job there!
Spawntown killed my client twice (std bad alloc - notes to self: get rid of XP, get more RAM) but then everything was fine. The people I met there are friendly, considerate and helpful. Big PROs are the simple yet effective trading system, markers (yeah [Markers] <3) and the extended inventory.

Suggestions:
1. needs teleport mod since there are so many points of interest.

2. generally I like the ambience mod but those cave bats keep freaking me out :D. Remove them, please? Or at least make them less frequently. I know they already arent as frequent as in the full version but still....


This server is fun, and I recommend it to anyone who focuses on building but finds creative to be too boring/easy!
Thank you for running and maintaining it!


klappspaten

PS: Could someone please set this skin up for me: http://i.imgur.com/3ssN72S.png Thanks in advance!

[LazyJ]

Spent some hours on this server yesterday, first open Minetest server I ever visited - and I really like it!

(clipped)...

klappspaten

Howdy, klappspaten ;)

We're glad you like our server. :)



Bugs
The draw_hot bar-NULL error is worrisome at first but it's harmless and only lasts a moment... at least on Linux. I haven't played a Windows build of Minetest for a couple months. The bad allocation error, on the other hand, has been a long standing nuisance on Windows builds of Minetest.

Minetest is still in buggy, beta stage but it has come along way over the years and these things will eventually get worked out.



Teleport Mod
A teleport system is on the ToDo list for the server. The top candidates at the moment are Sokomines 'Travelnet' mod and Pitriss's 'Multi-Spawn' mod.



Bat Sounds
The bat sounds were intended to be a 'freak-out' factor. A few other players have commented about this so, if I can, I'll turn down the bat sound volume to where it is more of a background, environment sound.



Skin Uploaded
The skin you posted a link for has been uploaded to the server and will take effect after the next restart (usually after the nightly backup).

[2232]

The server has crashed twice within the past 24 hours :O

[LazyJ]

The server has crashed twice within the past 24 hours :O

Howdy, pizza2232 ;)

Unfortunately server crashes are common.

We have an auto-restart script installed that checks once every 30 minutes and it tries to restart to the server. Usually it works but there are some crashes that it can't recover from. Those kind of crashes need code editing to fix.

I checked the server and it was up and running when I logged in.

Thanks for letting us know. ;)