hambeast

What we are doing: Setting up an automated build process to compile the server and mission PBO on restart
Why: Ever needed to make changes to your server but had to wait for server restart?  Ever missed that window and had to wait another 3 - 4 hours till your next restart cycle? I hate that!
Requirements: PBOmanager, notepad++, firedaemon(optional) or knowledge of editing your batch scripts, a dev environemnt (you do have a dev environment don't you?), a dedicated server
Difficulty: Advanced
 
Ok guys, as stated before it is a huge pain in the ass to have to wait till your server goes down to push changes.  Why not automate it so that you can make your changes and be done with them?
 
So to start off you really should have a dev environment that mirrors your production environment.  I'm talking about a dev server here people.  Quick and dirty, just copy and paste your folder containing the Arma2OA install (you know the folder with @DayZ_Epoch_Server in it) to another directory.  Doesn't matter what the name is but you need to make changes here before you make them on your production server so you can verify that you didn't break anything.
 
 
Step 1: Install PBO manager if you have not.  you can get it here: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=16369
Step 2: If you do not have unpacked folders of your PBO's living next to them in their proper directories, unpack your pbo's so that you have a folder with the same name in the same directory.  This is where you will make your changes.
Step 3: Create a batch script to run BEFORE your server starts.  This PBO will automatically pack up the folder into a PBO overwriting your old one.
 
Here is the content of my batch script "pbopack_dev.bat" (note that this is for the dev server, your path will not be the same"
 
 
"C:\Program Files\PBO Manager v.1.4 beta\PBOConsole.exe" -pack "D:\dayz\DEV_Epoch1\@DayZ_Epoch_Server\addons\dayz_server" "D:\dayz\DEV_Epoch1\@DayZ_Epoch_Server\addons\dayz_server.pbo" "C:\Program Files\PBO Manager v.1.4 beta\PBOConsole.exe" -pack "D:\dayz\DEV_Epoch1\MPMissions\DayZ_Epoch_11.Chernarus" "D:\dayz\DEV_Epoch1\MPMissions\DayZ_Epoch_11.Chernarus.pbo"  
 
Step 4: Integrate batch script into your current server restart method.  I use firedaemon, if you use a batch script, just make sure you run the previous batch before you start your server but after you have shut it down.  for firedaemon users, just add the batch script to the "pre-service programs".  Give it a nice 15 second timeout to ensure we didn't start the server too fast.
 
That's it.  Verify it works without breaking anything and you can implement this for your production servers.
 
 
Development and Deployment strategy:
 
Ok so I touched a little about this earlier but you MUST use a development environment.  Any programmer who has worked in a professional environment will know that you NEVER EVER EVER make changes to production code.  Firstly, its dangerous, secondly, it makes you look bad if you break a critical system because you were too lazy to test it properly.  Always make changes to your dev server first before you migrate those changes to the live prod environment!!!!!
 
Ideally,  you would want to have an exact mirror of your production server so that you can accurately verify your changes don't break something.
 
Here's how I do it.
 
Initial Setup:
1. Copy entire DayZ server directory to a new one (this only needs to be done once)
2. Backup your DayZ database and insert it as a new one (I use "DayzEpoch_DEV" for this)
3. Modify your hive.ini so it points to your dev database
4. Make changes on dev server and verify results.
 
After Setup:
1. Delete "@DayZ_Epoch_Server" and "mpmissions" directories from the DEV server folder.
2. Copy over "@DayZ_Epoch_Server" and "mpmissions" from your PROD server folder into the DEV server folder.
3. Make changes you need to the folders (no need to recompile as our script above does that for us)
4. Verify changes
 
Migrating changes from DEV to PROD on a Live server:
1. TEST YOUR CHANGES IN DEV
2. Navigate to your PROD server directory and delete the PBO's unpacked folders you wish to modify
3. Copy the unpacked folders from your DEV server to the PROD server
4. Wait for server restart to automatically recompile the folders into PBOs

Hey AC!
 
I modified the script again. These changes will mostly be useful for militarized servers but I think they could be helpful for others as well.  Here are the changes:
 
* Re-arm pilot-gunner vehicles - Now you can re-arm helis and jets.
* Re-arm by ammo type - Now we get the option to re-arm a specific ammo type instead of the default (select 0)
* Block ammo types - Prevent certain ammo types from being re-armed (example is the 192 round s-5 rocket or the 1200 rnd 7.62)
* Block weapon types - Prevent certain weapons from being re-armed (want to block all guided missiles? No problem)
* Multiple magazines for ground units - Only ground units can reload multiple magazines, air units have default behavior
* added new function _fnc_getMagazines - Returns array of all magazines for selected turret
 
You can find the changes on my branch here: https://github.com/deadfred666/dayz/tree/master/service_point

I know we don't chime in as often on subjects like this, but I'll try to clarify any direct questions with as vague a response as I'm permitted. :3
We're super busy constantly working on new features, tightening up game-play mechanics and roping it all in to get something as well rounded as possible for the upcoming alpha test.

I'm sure you'd rather us dedicate our time to putting in work than playing hokey pokey on the forums.  I'm not entirely sure what the focus of this thread is, but I'll take a stab at trying to humor it. 
We don't intend to skew the overall gameplay in any particular direction; we're trying to create a scenario where the player can choose what kind of experience they would like to have.

That being said, player interaction clearly drives the game.  We have some interesting solutions to help maintain balance in player combat, adhering to the risk/reward adage.

I can't really say much more, but have faith folks; shit's starting to get real.

"Prevent Too Much PVP"???????, the whole point of this game is to fight it out..... Simple. If you cry when you die, go play minecraft, Armas for big boys. When someone kills you, you bitch about it for hours, when you kill someone else, you have to listen to them bitch about it for dayz.....
 
Basicly, the game is made for PVP, dont like then go play a PVE server, or just play minecraft. the only limitations my server has on PVP, is traders, just so they can buy their shit without someone camping them. And when an admin is on duty, other then that a kill is a kill.

We all know that feeling, you just got your server tweaked and optimized just how you like it and an Epoch update comes out!  OH NO! what do we do?  Wait for the mod authors to release their own patch?  Hell no!  We diffmerge!
 
If you followed my guide on how to override mod files, you may be asking "what happens if the files we overrode changed on an update?"  well the answer depends if it was changed.  Here is how you can locate all the changes if there are any and make the changes needed to keep your server running.
 
What you'll need: Diffmerge, A working copy of DayZEpoch Server, modifications
Difficulty: Advanced
 
 
Scenario 1: An epoch mod update came out and you being a good admin want to make sure there were no changes made to your reference file.
For this guide, we will assume you modified the variables.sqf by using my tutorial
 
Locate the files you have made changes to Locate the original file Diffmerge the two files and compare changes, merging where necessary Right click your original file and select "Diffmerge->Open With Diffmerge" Click "Browse" on the 2nd line referencing the "right" file.  Note diffmerge always goes from left to right.  Meaning the file you wish to change or update needs to be on the right hand side! Here's what the diffmerge window looks like, note the changes in red.  You can see where we added the new class reference.

 
If we click the down arrow (Next Change) we can scroll all the way to the right and see where we added our new skin
 

 
 
That's it.  Just take a look at all the changes and use your reasoning to determine if you need to make changes.
 
If you are being studious, you may have noticed a few more changes near the bottom of the file represented by the red "-" on the left.  Ignore these, normally you would only see the top two changes.

in theory it is easy for the players, yes... but I know from experience most of them are not able to install any Arma mod without a launcher (like DayZ Commander for Epoch),
if you know how to do it almost anything is "easy", but not every gamer knows how to extract a simple zip archive to a specific folder and you will lose many players with a special mod restrictions like this. :)
If you are lucky and have a larger player base it might work, but it will be hard to get new players and some players are always leaving the server, just my 2 cents.

how are you the creator? is like someone claiming to be the creator of taviana epoch... LOL....

You are not the creator! Overwatch and Epoch should be given credit and the people that made the addons for them to be able to use as you just moved mod files over and done.

Can't believe I'm doing this.  I work for an international software company as a developer in the QA department.  I write software to preform unit, regression, sanity, whatever testing for APIs, WebServices, and Wrappers.  I work in Windows, Linux, Solaris, and HPUX.
 
Have extensive experience leading teams building solutions for testing.  I have the experience to write up a test plan as well as creating test cases that make sense vs a QA guy/gal who has no coding experience.  I know how to work with issue trackers and won't submit issues without a full replication report including expected and actual results (duh).
 
Been doing QA for 3 years now and while it is NOT my passion I know how to get the job done in an efficient manner. If there's a bug I'm going to document it.
 
Honestly I'd rather just get access to the alpha/beta to play it but if you need someone with QA experience on the team to create a solid test plan for all these new volunteers, then I'm your guy.
 
Software Experience:
* C#
* C/C++
* Java
* PERL
* PHP
* Python
* Ruby
* T-SQL
 
Version Control Experience:
* SVN
* GIT
* Windows Source Safe
* TFS
 
Tracking Experience:
* TestTrack
* Mantis
* Bugzilla
* Gemini
* OnTime
* Redmine

We can probably help you, but come back in 5-6 months.

oh snap.  Where's my popcorn

Why you are fucking liar? 

 
Oh yeah? You are awesome liar. I know these variables in deploy_gun.sqf.

You stole scripts from www.grof.gr server and you think you are fucking fine guy? They changed all variables because so noobs as you steal their files from mission.pbo on your servers.


Special for you, entered on grof.gr server, downloaded mission.pbo, unpacked, found deploy_gun.sqf and made screenshot as proof on your lies:

you can take a look at one of the player map tools, most of them query the character_data table for recent activity and display the players location by that.  You could modify the query so it just looks for players who are alive.
 
Depending on your server and the number of unique players alive it may be kind of cluttered.
SELECT COUNT(*)    FROM dayz_epoch.character_data cd   WHERE 1 = 1   AND cd.Alive = 1 returns 4446 records.
 
Now if we narrow it down to say the last week, we get
SELECT COUNT(*)    FROM dayz_epoch.character_data cd   WHERE 1 = 1   AND cd.Alive = 1   AND cd.LastLogin > DATE_SUB(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, INTERVAL 7 DAY) returns 263 records.  Much more manageable.

this happens when players point their tv remote to their computer and press the mute button

If you think that's rude, you're gonna have a real hard time in the real world ;)

Now if we could convince AWOL that losing access to your plot pole upon death is really bad, and to integrate this into the next version of Epoch, we'd be good.

put the following somewhere in your Self Functions.
private ["_adminList","_isAdmin"];   // list of admins here _adminList = ["123456"];   // validate you are an admin _isAdmin = (getPlayerUID player in _adminList);         // ---------------------------------------HAMBEASTs Admin Options Start------------------------------------       if(_isAdmin) then {         if (s_player_option < 0) then { s_player_option = player addaction[("<t color=""#47A3FF"">" + ("Your Menu Description") +"</t>"),"scripts\yourScript.sqf","",5,false,true,"", ""];                };     } else {         player removeAction s_player_option;         s_player_option = -1;     }; // ---------------------------------------HAMBEASTs Admin Options End------------------------------------  

Not dayz.st
Villayer's ok
Go dedi ;)

We all know that feeling, you just got your server tweaked and optimized just how you like it and an Epoch update comes out!  OH NO! what do we do?  Wait for the mod authors to release their own patch?  Hell no!  We diffmerge!
 
If you followed my guide on how to override mod files, you may be asking "what happens if the files we overrode changed on an update?"  well the answer depends if it was changed.  Here is how you can locate all the changes if there are any and make the changes needed to keep your server running.
 
What you'll need: Diffmerge, A working copy of DayZEpoch Server, modifications
Difficulty: Advanced
 
 
Scenario 1: An epoch mod update came out and you being a good admin want to make sure there were no changes made to your reference file.
For this guide, we will assume you modified the variables.sqf by using my tutorial
 
Locate the files you have made changes to Locate the original file Diffmerge the two files and compare changes, merging where necessary Right click your original file and select "Diffmerge->Open With Diffmerge" Click "Browse" on the 2nd line referencing the "right" file.  Note diffmerge always goes from left to right.  Meaning the file you wish to change or update needs to be on the right hand side! Here's what the diffmerge window looks like, note the changes in red.  You can see where we added the new class reference.

 
If we click the down arrow (Next Change) we can scroll all the way to the right and see where we added our new skin
 

 
 
That's it.  Just take a look at all the changes and use your reasoning to determine if you need to make changes.
 
If you are being studious, you may have noticed a few more changes near the bottom of the file represented by the red "-" on the left.  Ignore these, normally you would only see the top two changes.

I've found the bug.
 
While testing a long time ago, I created an admin_start.sqf in my instance folder on the server to avoid getting the "file not found"-error when pressing F1. This file is somehow linked in the antihack script files, thus getting downloaded with the mission.pbo, resulting in the player getting kicked.
 
I removed the file and problem went away.
 
Thank you for your suggestion though.

You know how many times people have told you that you keep posting in the wrong section for this? Please post in the right section next time.

1. You didn't make it and if the guy wanted to share it on epochmod.com he would of. 2. You are asking for help with the script which should be in the hows it done or scripting help forum.

Hey guys,
 
I've been running dayz servers on dedicated machines since august of 2012.  Here are just a few of my favorite tools to help get the admin job done!  These may not be helpful to users who do not run dedicated.
 
DB Tool: dbForge for MySQL - yes it is a paid product but if you are familiar with MS Sql Mgmt Studio, this will feel very familiar to you.  In may ways it is better than MSSMS, with support for command line backups and restores, not to mention great access control and SQL query profiling.  I absolutely love this product and would recommend purchasing it.  The feature that really sells this for me is autocomplete, similar to intellisense, it helps write clear and concise code.
 
Log File Analyzer: LogExpert - Freeware software that makes real-time analysis of log files a breeze.  Supports real time tail with filtering and highlighting.
 
Diff and Merge Tool: Diffmerge - Excellent for getting binary differences in files.  Want to verify an update made changes to file X?  diffmerge!
 
File/Folder Search Tool: WinGrep - Linux users will be familiar with grep and how useful it is.  WinGrep provides us a graphical interface to query files or directories for reference to your search string.  Supports quick and regex searches.  Great for looking up GUIDs in log files and finding references to variable names.
 
Service Control: Daemon tools Pro - Another paid solution.  This program allows us to make services out of executables. For those uninitiated, services are like linux daemons.  They monitor an EXE to make sure it is up and allow us to run pre and post startup commands.  While there are free versions of similar software, this is simply the best.  Also grants access to remote web panel for admins to restart/stop/start services remotely.
 
PBO Packer/Unpacker: PBO Manager - Pretty much a requirement if you plan on doing any modding in arma2.
 
Honorable Mention: PHP, PERL, Python - Great scripting languages that will help make automated tasks a bit easier.
 
Hope this little bit of information helps new admins out there to get a hold on their servers.  Got a program that does the job better?  Let me know in the reply section.

Hey guys,
 
I've been running dayz servers on dedicated machines since august of 2012.  Here are just a few of my favorite tools to help get the admin job done!  These may not be helpful to users who do not run dedicated.
 
DB Tool: dbForge for MySQL - yes it is a paid product but if you are familiar with MS Sql Mgmt Studio, this will feel very familiar to you.  In may ways it is better than MSSMS, with support for command line backups and restores, not to mention great access control and SQL query profiling.  I absolutely love this product and would recommend purchasing it.  The feature that really sells this for me is autocomplete, similar to intellisense, it helps write clear and concise code.
 
Log File Analyzer: LogExpert - Freeware software that makes real-time analysis of log files a breeze.  Supports real time tail with filtering and highlighting.
 
Diff and Merge Tool: Diffmerge - Excellent for getting binary differences in files.  Want to verify an update made changes to file X?  diffmerge!
 
File/Folder Search Tool: WinGrep - Linux users will be familiar with grep and how useful it is.  WinGrep provides us a graphical interface to query files or directories for reference to your search string.  Supports quick and regex searches.  Great for looking up GUIDs in log files and finding references to variable names.
 
Service Control: Daemon tools Pro - Another paid solution.  This program allows us to make services out of executables. For those uninitiated, services are like linux daemons.  They monitor an EXE to make sure it is up and allow us to run pre and post startup commands.  While there are free versions of similar software, this is simply the best.  Also grants access to remote web panel for admins to restart/stop/start services remotely.
 
PBO Packer/Unpacker: PBO Manager - Pretty much a requirement if you plan on doing any modding in arma2.
 
Honorable Mention: PHP, PERL, Python - Great scripting languages that will help make automated tasks a bit easier.
 
Hope this little bit of information helps new admins out there to get a hold on their servers.  Got a program that does the job better?  Let me know in the reply section.

Edit: tutorial removed by request.  will be working on a more specific tutorial in the near future.