Step 1: Choosing a Server Operator

While just running FLServer.exe may have been fine back in 2003, these days you’d only use just FLServer.exe as a makeshift OpenSP or small LAN server. Now, nearly every server needs a Server Operator. In the past, many people struggled with just using IonCross Freelancer Server Operator, which is now outdated and unneeded. These days, there’s two major server operators out there: FLHook and FLAC – FreeLancer Anti Cheat (Don’t be fooled by FLAC, it’s much more than just an Anti-Cheat measure). FLAC is only given out to select people, and it’s paid software. FLHook is open source, and IMO better than FLAC. While FLHook is console-based, contrary to the GUI-based FLAC, you will easily overcome that limitation with some tools I’ll bring up later.

Now, what ARE server operators? Mostly, they’re tools to make the admin team’s job easier. They integrate into FL, so you can type command using FL’s chat functions. However, while some of these commands are admin-only, the bulk of FLAC’s and FLHook’s commands are made to assist with trivial tasks in the game – Replying to a PM, PMing your target, transferring credits, transferring ships, reading server rules, etc.

As I said, FLHook is console-based, and isn’t very n00b-friendly. That’s where Secondary Server Operators come in – They’re mostly used to do what FLHook or FLAC could do, but with a different GUI, and often come with features of their own. The two major SSOs today are DAM – Disco Account Manager, and Ioncross FLSO (FreeLancer Server Operator). While IonCross is very outdated, some people still may want to use it due to being familiar with its UI, being used to it, etc. DAM on the other hand, was made as a replacement for IFLSO, and a damn good one at that. It’s able to be extended by being integrated into FLHook, and can do many of the things FLHook can do, but with a GUI and other batch-based functions.

Step 2: Choosing a mod

These days, no-one plays Vanilla Freelancer, and 1.0 servers are very rare. Now, nearly everyone runs a mod, in one form or another – The biggest FL server, Discovery Freelancer RP 24/7, runs the Discovery mod. Other notable mods are Crossfire (FL-based), The Underverse (The Chronicles of Riddick), The NSU mod (Various Sci-Fi Series), 88 Flak (FL-based), and so on. It’s also easier to run a modded server, since the mods are often made to integrate with server operators. Note though – Not all mods are released to be run on a server.

Personally, I love running servers with the Discovery mod. It integrates perfectly with FLHook and Disco Account Manager (Well, DAM was made for Discovery, after all), and it has a large install base, meaning any of the people who already have Discovery can easily hop onto your server without needing to install your mod.  It also caters nicely to Vanilla players, since Discovery’s goal is to expand the FL universe while leaving the gameplay and graphics intact.

Other notable mods to run a server on would be 88 Flak (which comes with its own version of FLHook), and the Freeworlds mod. Of course, if you know how to mod Freelancer, you can easily edit FLServer.exe to run the mod of your choice – BUT the reason most modders don’t do it themselves is because they don’t want players running their mods on servers.

Step 3: Hardware and misc.

Of course, as with running any server, you’ll need to have the necessary hardware. You’ll need at least a relatively good connection to run an FL server, and of course you’ll need a router, and in some cases you may have to set up port forwarding. Of course, you can always just rent a server and set up the tools manually. ;)

Of course, it never hurts to ask around! The biggest and friendliest FL community out there is by far The Starport, so ask there if you run into any trouble! Of course, I’m always willing to help, so feel free to leave a question in the comments.

“On the 21st of December the party holding the majority of the Hungarian parliament voted in favor of a new media law that is a collection of some of the most oppressive and undemocratic laws from all over Europe including some worrying additions.”

To show their concern, The Pirate Bay along with several other popular torrent trackers will shut down on January 5th, for at least 24 hours. I, unfortunately, am not able to do that, because doing that would require me to just show a login screen on a blank page, which defeats the purpose of the splash screen. But don’t worry, I will support torrenters all across Hungary (since I kinda live 10 kilometers from the Hungarian border :P), and hope these ridiculous laws are lifted.

If you have a site, blog, or something similar, support the B4H cause! Shut down your site for 24 hours (with a black splash screen from the URL below), or at least show a banner on your main page. Both can be found at:

http://www.blackout4hungary.net/

You’ll also notice they’re organized by release date, for example: Right now, NFS Hot Pursuit is at the top with its 6 days left, then DKC returns with its 11 days, and so on. I’ll be adding new ones as soon as they appear on Zupidoo’s main site, which should be mainly a few days after the release date is announced for a game.

As always, if you have any suggestions for the site, feel free to contact me at omegavesko(at)gmail(dot)com. (Yes, I will be adding a Contact page to save you the trouble, don’t worry ;))

Enjoy!

Omg, it’s me again, back from the dead! Sorry about not having an update all this time, guess I was too busy sucking at playing the piano. =P

Well, do I have a treat for you! The Metroid Database, the biggest Metroid fansite on the Web, is having its second contest in the 14 years since its founding. The first contest was the Make-A-Metroid contest, where site users competed to build the best fan-made model of a Metroid. Kevin Rayner won this contest in a unanimous decision, with an ultra-realistic metroid figure.

This time, it’s the Design-An-Enemy contest! The goal of this contest is to design a fan-made enemy that could fit into the Metroid series. This time around, though, the enemy can be designed using any 2D medium such as drawing, pixelart, sprites, you name it. Fans can also use 3D models for this. This time, it’s all digital; no real-life models allowed.

You also can’t modify existing enemies, such as the million varieties of Metroids already in existence. It has to be 100% original. You also need to describe the enemy in your own words. For example, its habitat, planet, attack patterns, etc. Prime-style logbook entries are preferred, but a full-blown fanfic isn’t needed. =P

Entries are accepted until 12:00 midnight PST on Friday, December 3rd, 2010. Only US citizens are allowed to enter because apparently, international shipping costs too much. =)

To enter the contest, head over to the Metroid Database by clicking on the link to the left, or in the sidebar. Happy building!

Well, let the suckage begin.

Like I said, I’m still learning so I’m hoping I’ll get better in the future. If you want to see the videos as they come out, subscribe to my channel by clicking the link in the sidebar.

I also take requests, as long as I can find a source other than sheet music to learn from. So don’t be shy, suggest some songs!

"Home taping is killing music"

Hey guys, it’s OmegaVesko again! This time with a full-fledged gaming rant, and about one of the biggest factors in the videogame world – Piracy. Piracy has always been a huge factor in the gaming world, ever since the Sega CD and PSX started using recordable media. Why is this so important? Well, it’s both good and bad for the industry. Good, because it allows people to easily try out games before buying them, and it also promotes videogames better than word of mouth. Bad, because nothing’s stopping people from just pirating a game instead of buying it. So, what are the most popular tools in the world of pirating? Let’s take a look.

1. BitTorrent

-BitTorrent is currently the most popular method of pirating basically everything, including games. It’s incredibly simple because of trackers like The Pirate Bay (which often gets raided and sued because these exact piracy issues), so pirating a game is as easy as typing in a search field and clicking “Download”. Although, torrents are often slow because there isn’t a central server used for downloading, but you download  from other users called “seeders”. You can also get “back-traced by the cyber police” (I never get tired of that line xD),but that’s easily remedied by using an app like BitBlinder or ItsHidden to stay anonymous.

2. RapidShare

-RapidShare is also an extremely popular file-sharing tool, although it has its ups and downs compared to BitTorrent. The good thing is it’s hosted on the RS servers, which means it uses all of your available bandwidth. The bad side? You can only do this in Premium mode. Yep. Piracy you have to pay for. >_> Another downside is that content can be flagged as copyrighted and removed from the server, something that would never happen on torrent trackers.

3. Usenet

-I’ve personally never used Usenet, but from what I’ve heard it’s pretty good. It’s praised to have a large userbase and freedom of speech (like BitTorrent), but also high download speeds (like RS). Some Usenet newsgroups are paid, but they have a lot of quality content, and new releases appear quicker. Nonetheless, it’s pretty good.

4. Physical copying

-This is the oldest type of copying, and basically the most reliable. How close could you get to a real disc than an ISO you backed up yourself? This, of course, does have some striking flaws, the biggest one being the fact that you need to rent/borrow/have the original disc. Plus, some discs can’t be read by regular disc drives, such as GC discs. Either way, this is also a viable solution for all of us who don’t have a DSL connection otherwise can’t use the other methods.

That would be it! Stay tuned for my next post: The Console Wars. (dun dun duunnn :D).

Image by mattjerome_88 via Flickr

YEEEE-HAW! Happy Other M day everyone! Well, you all know what this means. Metroid: Other M is now officially released in the US! It’s been a long time since it was first announced (14 months to be exact), and ever since Metroid fans have been biting their nails in anticipation. There have been doubts on whether the game would live up to our expectations, and it definitely did. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s the best Metroid game ever, but it’s definitely up there along with Super Metroid. The game mainly focuses on fleshing out Samus’ character, while telling her backstory as well. So, the verdict: While it may not be as MINDBOGGLINGLY AWESOME as we hyped it up to be, it’s still an absolute must-have for anyone who owns a Wii.

Unfortunately, Japan and Australia get it next, on September 2nd. Europe (that would be me) gets it last, aka. this Friday. It’s not like I have much to lose anyway, I’m probably only getting my hands on a Wii sometime next year.

So, everyone who has it, enjoy! And if you don’t, trust me when I say this is one of the best games you can get for the Wii at the moment!

This one in particular brings my piss to a boil. he originally made a video about why the upcoming Metroid: Other M sucks, and had no valid points except for a “Japineese gaimpley veedeeo”. Naturally, this sent a flurry of negative comments toward him, so he made a video about it, where he continues to insult me, TheBestMetroidFan, and Darren1986, calling us “fanboys”. How ironic.

Actually, this video is what made me post this. I mean, seriously. Just look at it. I’m usually not a violent person, but this guy makes me want to kick his face in. Seriously. I strongly recommend going into the comments and telling him why he’s wrong, because obviously he’s not gonna listen to us.

Well, that’s it for today. Now excuse me while I go check my blood pressure.

Needless to say, my cousin lunged for his camera as soon as he beat Mother Brain’s second form. He was able to film everything from the escape to the item percentage screen, but in the video I made I decided to cut out the escape and let the cutscenes do the talking. Although be warned, it’s in Shakycam Cellphone Quality™.

I also made a little image gallery consisting of 3 Pics of my PAL SNES and Super Metroid cartridge.