[waldojim]

I know there have been times I have brought up questionable topics... this is going to be one of them.

In advance, if any of the mods here deem the use of emulators to bypass a paid server out of bounds, by all means remove the post.

Now, so you all understand, this topic is not actually about trying to avoid paying. I actually want to go back to 'the good ol days' if you will, and play the original brown-box edition of WoW. I have several friends who also wish to join in on this adventure. This is something you cannot go back to WoW (paid) and do. Not really. Too much of the game world has changed. So what I am looking to do, is find a game server that is actually stable, and supports 95% (or more) of the original content. Preferably a server that I can later expand to include Burning Crusades, and eventually Wrath of the Lich King should the desire happen to strike me.

This is not an attempt at getting a server set up for hundreds of users. In fact, I actually only want about a dozen of us or so on there. I also am NOT looking for current content - AT ALL. I also do NOT want custom content in there. I just want to go back to the original WoW experience. Something Blizzard can no longer offer.

What I have found so far are a ton of 'repacks' using Mangos server, and Trinity (for the most part) that all run 3.3 or newer (Wrath content I think). None of them appear to be suited to Original Brown box content. So let me ask the important questions.

First, does anyone know of a good server for this? And for that matter, can you tell me where to get on that is already compiled?
Secondly, what kind of resources does the server realistically consume? Is this something I can convince my media center to tackle?
Third, has anyone here done this sort of thing, and have any hints for an easy setup?

[Evildave]

You're just going to have to get your hands dirty.

Being familiar with networking and servers will get you 99% there.

You'll probably end up running your linux server in a virtual machine, and running your game in windoze.

Get virtualbox and some version of Linux (preferable the same one they developed the server in - the help will match what you see), and you'll quickly discover that 'svn update; make configure; make; sudo make install' commands are just straight forward steps in the process. You will most likely have to hand edit some text/XML configuration, too.

If you configure your virtual machine right, and configure the server right, the server will show up on your LAN, and given the IP address on your network, your clients will connect to it. There are potentially a LOT of steps and mis-steps involved in that.

Centrally, a knowledge of what you're doing is involved. Google is your friend. Search for your problem, and the answer will usually pop up, or at least places to ask the question.

I really can't be tech support. Some group that's implemented a server is what you'll need for that. There's probably a Wiki somewhere. I don't play WoW, so I can't give you much more help than the generic hand-waves I've just given you. Five minutes of googling turned this up: http://arcemu.org/

[waldojim]

Evildave, on 29 October 2011 - 08:51 PM, said:

You're just going to have to get your hands dirty.

Being familiar with networking and servers will get you 99% there.

You'll probably end up running your linux server in a virtual machine, and running your game in windoze.

Get virtualbox and some version of Linux (preferable the same one they developed the server in - the help will match what you see), and you'll quickly discover that 'svn update; make configure; make; sudo make install' commands are just straight forward steps in the process. You will most likely have to hand edit some text/XML configuration, too.

If you configure your virtual machine right, and configure the server right, the server will show up on your LAN, and given the IP address on your network, your clients will connect to it. There are potentially a LOT of steps and mis-steps involved in that.

Centrally, a knowledge of what you're doing is involved. Google is your friend. Search for your problem, and the answer will usually pop up, or at least places to ask the question.

I really can't be tech support. Some group that's implemented a server is what you'll need for that. There's probably a Wiki somewhere. I don't play WoW, so I can't give you much more help than the generic hand-waves I've just given you. Five minutes of googling turned this up: http://arcemu.org/

I won't be running the game itself on that machine, just the server backend.

Also, trying to find a server for the original game is much harder than you think. Finding a server is easy, there are 4 major ones currently being released - none are designed for 1.12. This includes the result you returned.

[coastie65]

Using emulators to say play PS2 games on a PC is okay as far as I know and if you want to sacrifice quality. Using Emulators to avoid paying for a product isn't okay and thus this topic will be locked and no further discussion allowed.

This post has been edited by coastie65: 30 October 2011 - 05:29 AM

[coastie65]

I ahve reopened this thread and will post a link that may or may not be helpful. I will watching this and will lock it in a heartbeat if anything starts moving into verboten territory.

http://gameolosophy....original-files/

[waldojim]

coastie65, on 30 October 2011 - 11:32 AM, said:

I ahve reopened this thread and will post a link that may or may not be helpful. I will watching this and will lock it in a heartbeat if anything starts moving into verboten territory.

http://gameolosophy....original-files/

Unfortunately, that link you found was also for 3.1 (Wrath of the Lich King content).

I DID find a server some time last night, Mangos Zero, and Trinity Zero (can't actually locate the latter - just references to it) both support original content.

After building a copy for Windows, I find that the server won't start - complaining about the database... not sure what part of the DB didn't build, but will investigate, and report on some way of correcting later on. SO - as of right now, if anyone has a nifty trick to building the the darned database, I will gladly take that advice.

[coastie65]

Seems that I have heard of mangos Zero, but Not Trinity Zero. Anyway, here is your emulator: https://bitbucket.or...N/trinity-zero/

This post has been edited by coastie65: 30 October 2011 - 11:55 AM

[waldojim]

coastie65, on 30 October 2011 - 11:52 AM, said:

Seems that I have heard of mangos Zero, but Not Trinity Zero. Anyway, here is your emulator: https://bitbucket.or...N/trinity-zero/

Perfect! Thanks, will build and try tonight when I get home.

[waldojim]

Ok, I am getting aggravated to a whole new level now...

At this point, this is no longer an emu issue - but a PITA SQL issue.

I decided to try compiling, and proving the damned thing can work in a sterile XP SP3 environment. So I fire up Virtual Box, with a sterile copy of XP, and install everything step by step following the instructions from the Zero Project site. I can get the server built, and get everything in place - except the database. For some damned reason, they decided to base everything around a broken php website they include. Granted I get a great copy of Apache, which works quite well...

Still, here is what I am working from:

Quote

Step 1
It begins: You will need a bunch of programs to be able to get everything you need, in this tutorial I will be using the following:
XAMPP for Windows - Including phpMyAdmin
Git-1.7.6
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express

Quote

- Open up your web browser
- go to: http://127.0.0.1/phpmyadmin/index.php
- Log in using the Username and password you've chosen. For this tutorial it's the following example:
User name: root
Password: root
- You will end up on the front page of your MySQL DB. In the middle, under: MySQL localhost, you see Create a new database
- Create the following 4 databases. Fill in one of the names and click Create. Then move on to the next name.

That, right there, is the problem child...


For some darned reason, they have you grab up a php site that won't log into the stinking sql server. And of course, they have this set up in such a way as to require the damned php method to data fill the database...

For anyone wondering, no, it is not worth the effort... at least not yet.

[waldojim]

Ok guys, I just wanted to throw out a quick update.

I found a repack that works like a champ. Jeutie's repack is based on the "Trinity Core", and works like a champ. For anyone interested in trying such a thing at home, that is ideal.

I don't know how well it does under extreme loads, as I don't rock anything that extreme. I can say that with 8 people logged in, my AMD Phenom X4 with 4GB ram never broke a sweat. That is the peak I have seen it at, as I have not made a point of advertising.... I will also say that it is remarkably stable. It has crashed - of course - but they seem to happen rarely, and it seems like the server is making a point of restarting during periods of no load, rather than just bombing mid-game. Also, Windows XP has been the base of this little adventure for a hot minute, and it has held up surprisingly well. I have been testing for about 3 months, and restarted the server twice now.

The only upsetting part, is that it seems near impossible to get back to 'brown box' with a stable server. Only 3.3.5a, or Wrath content. This isn't a deal breaker, as this gets back to the content I enjoyed - with character classes that were actually fun to work with. Anyhow - it is at least nice to know that it does work.

As for the quality of the server.... if you are in a place where you can use the paid server, and don't mind the radical changes to the game play, use the real deal. It is worth the extra money. Playing on a server with only a handful of people gets fairly boring. Though at least the creatures that only appear every 48 hours are actually available! On top of this though, there are several in game bugs - bugs that don't exist on the real server. Things like creatures falling through the ground, or broken quests, even occasional broken abilities (they still work, they just don't stack correctly). Nothing so far has been a critical bug per-say, but they are annoying. For those military members stuck overseas, and needing to kill time, GET IT! For people who have no internet, and want to play local / lan games, GET IT! I know that sounds odd after the issues above, but seriously, if the choice is between this, and nothing, then this is perfectly playable!

The best part with the repack above, is that it is still actively being maintained - things get fixed all the time.

So there we have it. They work, they are mostly functional, and you don't even have to build from scratch!