Authentication and proper server management

[Zeblote]

DRM free is nice for single player games, but it's not so nice anymore when unknown people are connecting to your server with a different name each time. Having to set up a custom firewall isn't how this should be handled.

Coming from other multiplayer games like this, I think the following should be implemented very soon (definitely before the steam release!):

• Proper authentication for multiplayer to identify who connecting players really are
• It should not be possible for two players to have the same name at the same time (globally)
  • If people should still be able to change their names, it must also send a unique identifier to servers
• Ability to kick or ban players from the server (using unique identifier from ^), with ban management gui
• Ability to password protect the server
• Global server list

[Smarty]

That or something like that is planned in future updates

[ssilk]

Can you explain, why you think, that this is needed for the steam release?

[Zeblote]

Can you explain, why you think, that this is needed for the steam release?

Because there will be even more players (and with them, more trolls). Most people on steam will also expect to have proper server management ready to go. I'm pretty sure if someone had an unknown player join and wasn't even able to ban him it's an instant negative review.

[Peter34]

Can you explain, why you think, that this is needed for the steam release?

Because griefers?

[ssilk]

Thank you. I just want to make sure with those stupid questions, that everyone speaks from the same problem.

[TuckJohn]

Can you explain, why you think, that this is needed for the steam release?

Because there will be even more players (and with them, more trolls). Most people on steam will also expect to have proper server management ready to go. I'm pretty sure if someone had an unknown player join and wasn't even able to ban him it's an instant negative review.

From my experience with Space Engineers, you need to add these if you plan to have multiplayer work though Steam. Steam has many greifers, and even more trolls.

[Peter34]

Can you explain, why you think, that this is needed for the steam release?

Because there will be even more players (and with them, more trolls). Most people on steam will also expect to have proper server management ready to go. I'm pretty sure if someone had an unknown player join and wasn't even able to ban him it's an instant negative review.

From my experience with Space Engineers, you need to add these if you plan to have multiplayer work though Steam. Steam has many greifers, and even more trolls.

I completely dropped the idea of playing 7 Days to Die on open servers, long ago. Any base I build, alone or with new or old friends, will be griefed, sooner or later. Probably sooner. And probably thoroughly. So for the last year or so I've only ever played on password-protected servers.

The same principle applies to Factorio. It's a game about building, and what one player builds another player can tear down. Apart from direct destruction, there's also automatic resource gathering in Factorio, so griefer players can also go in and steal gathered stockpiles, e.g. of Solid Fuel or Steel Plates (or Processing Units!). Or they can re-direct and subvert production, perhaps to make a large amount of Basic Grenades with which to actually destroy the factory. Or just to make a tonne of Personal Roboports and then use Construction Robots to de-construct the entire base.

[ratchetfreak]

not to mention that worlds aren't meant to be indefinitely played

biter evolution and resource shortage both will kill a world if the processing cost won't first

[bobingabout]

Password Protection should be an absolute minimum.

And there should probably be a few extra settings, like evolution rate so servers can be tuned to be able to surive running constantly. (EG, turn off time based evolution, half polution evolution, etc)

[Zeblote]

Password Protection should be an absolute minimum.

It's not enough. At the very minimum you have to be able to change the password ingame and kick specific players that are currently on. It's also very important that a player sending corrupt inputs won't crash the server, but that is probably already taken care of.

[bobingabout]

Password Protection should be an absolute minimum.

It's not enough. At the very minimum you have to be able to change the password ingame and kick specific players that are currently on. It's also very important that a player sending corrupt inputs won't crash the server, but that is probably already taken care of.

I was refering to as it is not... no password protection.

Simply adding password protection can mean the difference between playing in peace, or getting griefed constantly.

[TuckJohn]

I was refering to as it is not... no password protection.

Simply adding password protection can mean the difference between playing in peace, or getting griefed constantly.

That is very true. As long as your password is secure enough, no-one that you dont want joining will join!
In the case that there is someone that joins that you dont want to be part of the game, just close the server and restart it with a different password. It is a bit clumsy, so I would prefer /ban [user] and /kick [user], but a password would go a long way.
I guess that in the current version you could make a mod that doesn't add much(or anything at all), and only give that mod to people that you want to play with. It would be -LIKE- a password.

[Zeblote]

I guess that in the current version you could make a mod that doesn't add much(or anything at all), and only give that mod to people that you want to play with. It would be -LIKE- a password.

Right, downloading mods from the server (or external cdn) to a local cache should also be there. But this is already on the roadmap.

[LordFedora]

Well, he's saying you have a mod that all it does is force it's existence to join the multiplayer server, and then only give that mod to the people you want to join...

[TuckJohn]

Well, he's saying you have a mod that all it does is force it's existence to join the multiplayer server, and then only give that mod to the people you want to join...

Yeah, basically.