PvPGN
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 PvPGN running on Linux, Fedora Core 4 |
|
| Developed by | PvPGN Team |
|---|---|
| Latest release | 1.8.5 |
| Preview release | 1.99 r521 |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | Open Source Software |
| License | GNU GPL |
| Website | pvpgn.berlios.de |
PvPGN (Player vs Player Gaming Network) is a free and open source software project offering emulation of various gaming network servers. It is published under the GPL and based upon bnetd. PvPGN was a recommended project of the month in the August 2005 issue of Linux+ magazine.
It currently supports most features of all Battle.net clients (Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, StarCraft, StarCraft: Brood War, Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne). It also offers basic support for Westwood Online clients (Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge). Westwood Online support is still very experimental.
A PvPGN Server can be used:
- When wanting to host a local tournament with local users and ladders.
- When wanting to maintain a local community of friends rather than playing on Battle.net.
- For people who want to play on a LAN but with Battle.net-like statistics. Various cyber cafes use a PvPGN server for this purpose.
- For people who want to play on a server within their country or local area, so as to reduce lag.
Contents |
[edit] Supported Protocols
The list of supported clients and their minimum version required is:
- Battle.net
- Diablo I 1.09
- Starcraft 1.15.2
- Starcraft: Brood War 1.15.2
- Warcraft II Battle.Net Edition 2.02
- Diablo II 1.09 and 1.10 (and unofficially 1.11b, 1.12a)
- Diablo II: Lord of Destruction 1.09 and 1.10 (and unofficially 1.11b, 1.12a)
- Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos 1.21
- Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne 1.21 (and 1.22.0.6328)
- Westwood Online
- Command & Conquer Win95 edition v1.04a (not supported in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert Win95 edition v2.00 and v3.03 (not supported in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun v2.03 ST-10 (Alpha in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun Firestorm (not supported in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 1.006 (Alpha in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge v1.001 (Alpha in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Command & Conquer: Renegade (not supported in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Nox v1.02b (not supported in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Nox Quest v1.02b (not supported in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Dune 2000 v1.06 (not supported in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
- Emperor: Battle for Dune v1.09 (not supported in PvPGN 1.8.2, Beta in PvPGN 1.99)
[edit] Supported Platforms
- BeOS
- FreeBSD 4.x 5.x 6.x 7.x 8.x
- Linux 2.4 and 2.6 kernel
- Mac OS X 10.2 and up
- Microsoft Windows 5x/6x kernel, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Home Server
- Solaris
- Should support easily any POSIX platform (Tested on 32 and 64 bit platforms, various integer byte endings, etc)
[edit] Code style and development
PvPGN is written in C, and it currently is a highly scalable, mature piece of software, with records broken of over 21,000 real-time connections on the Ender server.
[edit] C++ Branch
Starting with PvPGN 1.99, PvPGN has been recoded in C++. This is an evolutionary not revolutionary process, thus the C code base is being converted to C++ one section at a time. This is not a fresh re-write. Also the new C++ branch is stored in an SVN repository as opposed to CVS.
[edit] Criticism
[edit] "Click" lag
Many users of PvPGN seem to believe that click lag issues with PvPGN are relevant to the server, this is incorrect. Most Battle.Net games use a Peer-to-peer protocol which relies on independent hosting systems instead of a server like Counter-Strike Steam, which means the slowest peer on the network is the overall speed of every player.
