If / When we eventually get CoH running again, I want one thing...

[Ouroboratika]

I want to be able to play the game single player as an admin. I want this almost entirely so I can goof around and mix and match powers from different power sets to play as the most grossly OP character I can.

I may or may not be drooling a bit at the thought of playing a Mastermind with all the pets from each MM primary powerset. Ohhh yesss.

[Energy Aura]

I think that's unrealistic.

First off, it's been said several times on several forums that a stand alone version would be harder to do than reverse engineering a server.

Second, you are talking about fundamental changes to the coding of the client and server to do what you want.  Basically rewriting how the game works and plays as well as TONS of character creator changes and power selection changes in game that it makes my head swim.

Third, be happy with what we get. 

SOMETHING that will be playable would be a God send.  I'll take whatever I'm given (still willing to run a server for public use) and I'll be happy.

[Ouroboratika]

Well I'm not saying to rework vast parts of the game for SP use, I just mean that one could host their own private server and play alone on it. From there, I don't think it's too far of a stretch to log into your own private server as an admin account. I'm pretty sure I've seen screenshots of developers' characters in CoH having extra powers (such as Statesman having some lightning abilities), so it seems reasonable to assume their might already exist some /addpowerid #### command or such that admins have access to. None of that, as far as I can tell, requires extra coding outside of the planned goal of reverse engineering the servers.

[GuyPerfect]

First off, it's been said several times on several forums that a stand alone version would be harder to do than reverse engineering a server.

It has? Odd, seems to me like you'd just be able to load up the server software and be the only one to connect to it, but I'm silly that way.

[Energy Aura]

It has? Odd, seems to me like you'd just be able to load up the server software and be the only one to connect to it, but I'm silly that way.

Yes that's true.  You got me there.  I was talking about an integrated game version though, but I wonder, would it need a second machine to run or could the "server software" be on the same machine?

Hmmm...

[Kistulot]

Yes that's true.  You got me there.  I was talking about an integrated game version though, but I wonder, would it need a second machine to run or could the "server software" be on the same machine?

Hmmm...

Depending on how beefy the server's hardware needed to be, and how low you were willing to make your settings... I'd be surprised if they couldn't fit on the same machine. Might have stability issues of course, but for one player with a good enough computer it would probably be nothing too terrible.

[JaguarX]

I think that's unrealistic.

First off, it's been said several times on several forums that a stand alone version would be harder to do than reverse engineering a server.

Second, you are talking about fundamental changes to the coding of the client and server to do what you want.  Basically rewriting how the game works and plays as well as TONS of character creator changes and power selection changes in game that it makes my head swim.

Third, be happy with what we get. 

SOMETHING that will be playable would be a God send.  I'll take whatever I'm given (still willing to run a server for public use) and I'll be happy.

So if a stand alone version(server) is not in the works, and more than likely the servers will not go down in  apermanent manner, but if they they do sounds like the same boat we in now, depending on either someone else to pick up the game so it can be played or back to private servers again.

[General Idiot]

Depending on how beefy the server's hardware needed to be, and how low you were willing to make your settings... I'd be surprised if they couldn't fit on the same machine. Might have stability issues of course, but for one player with a good enough computer it would probably be nothing too terrible.

You probably wouldn't even need to lower settings, assuming your computer isn't reasonably low spec to begin with. When you take away the thousands of other players the server shouldn't consume anywhere near as much in the way of resources.

And those above me are right, the moment we have a working server we have a stand-alone version of the game by default, you just run it on the same machine and then edit one registry entry to point the client at your own IP address. And probably set up something to ensure the server isn't visible from the internet unless you want to invite friends to play with you.

Playing as an admin is a little more problematic, depending on various things. In some games, GMs and such actually use a different client version to everyone else, one specifically set up with additional tools to help them do their job. If CoH is set up like that then it wouldn't be doable because there's things missing from the client. If however they use the same client as everyone else, all it'd take is the correct flags being set in the server's account database so it knows to treat you as an admin and allow usage of the fancy admin stuff.

[The Fifth Horseman]

IIRC CodeWalker mentioned that developer access was accomplished with the normal client, plus an extra file containing an authorization key.

[Arachnion]

Playing as an admin is a little more problematic, depending on various things. In some games, GMs and such actually use a different client version to everyone else, one specifically set up with additional tools to help them do their job. If CoH is set up like that then it wouldn't be doable because there's things missing from the client. If however they use the same client as everyone else, all it'd take is the correct flags being set in the server's account database so it knows to treat you as an admin and allow usage of the fancy admin stuff.

The client we have from Live does contain quite a bit of developer/admin related functions.

Dev map editor, dev commands....

EDIT: @The Fifth Horseman:

Yes, that's right. Access level (giving you access to the dev console and commands) can be changed through a registry key file, apparently.

I have one and have since investigated the various functions, however my key is not highest-tier access, lots of commands though, still.

It has been stated that you can hack your access level through memory/hex editing as well.

[The Fifth Horseman]

And there is some of that visible in the latest ver of Icon, BTW. :p

[dwturducken]

It has? Odd, seems to me like you'd just be able to load up the server software and be the only one to connect to it, but I'm silly that way.

This sounds like, on the surface, that it could be done with virtualization, but you would still end up with multiple "machines." Also, it would take a pretty blammo physical box to still allow the higher graphics settings. (That last part is actually a guess, but, playing around with a "domain" in VMWare, anything more than three "computers" plus the "server" got sluggish with a dual processor physical box with 8GB, roughly 2003-vintage Xeon.)

Also, the handle of the OP has me contemplating a character with a name that combines Ouroboros and the Letters to Cleo album, "Aurora Gory Alice." All I have is a name, but some of my best characters started as just a name. (Al E. Bubba, Darkwing Turducken, a couple that aren't exactly rated PG, for instance)

[srmalloy]

First off, it's been said several times on several forums that a stand alone version would be harder to do than reverse engineering a server.

It should, however, be possible, with a suitably robust machine, to run both the client and server programs on the same machine, as long as the ports the two used were different. Not, perhaps, with the first release of a reverse-engineered server, but certainly as a stretch goal.

[Codewalker]

For something like that, you'd probably want to design the server with some optional optimizations for single-player mode, like only loading one zone / mission map at once instead of keeping ALL the zones running. Hopefully anyone working on a server is taking that into account in the design.

[Mister Bison]

For something like that, you'd probably want to design the server with some optional optimizations for single-player mode, like only loading one zone / mission map at once instead of keeping ALL the zones running. Hopefully anyone working on a server is taking that into account in the design.

Methinks the "server" would not instantiate all zones at all times, only those occupied. I don't know if there shouldn't be several servers anyway (account server, instance server, chat server etc), like there was before. Therefore, only one instance "server" need be online on any standalone.

Think about the multiple instances of the same zone, also. Like when too many people wanted to connect.

[Gannicous]

One game that was around that allowed this and might work to give you guys some ideas, was Delta Force. The game allowed the player to play online in the NovaLogic servers, but also allowed the player to create a map using their computer as the server, you could have upto 16 players, but most of the machines back then could not handle the load, Mine was pretty good but I could handle maybe 8, before the game became to laggy to even consider playing.
   Perhaps something like that would work in the short term. All your charector information and such would be stored on your computer and your loading one map at a time from your system.... you would become the server.

[JKPhage]

I'm actually of the mind that something like that would be fun, but in a different way than you're picturing it. When we finally get a community server going I'd love to have a set of shards mirroring our original servers (Virtue, Freedom, Victory, Justice, etc.) and perhaps an extra shard (Ascended mayhap?) where dev tools are enabled/restrictions are disabled so that people can create a character using any mix of powersets for fun. Like a Tanker with a Psi blast primary and a Demon Summoning secondary, so he'd be like a very resiliant blaster with pets, and perhaps even the ability to choose which version of an epic/patron pool you'd like to have, so you don't get stuck with a power selection you don't like due to archetype. That way controllers could get Soul Storm from Soul Mastery, or scrappers could get all the shark effect powers from Leviathan Mastery instead of waterspout and the others. I think it'd make a nice addition to the regular game so we can play it as it was/was meant to be, and a just for fun server where we can make those heroes that we always secretly wanted. Don't lie, you know you always wanted to have an ice armor scrapper, or a spines tank. XD