Servers With Several Mods Available

[=peg=]

Every mod must have vote-mod code.
Every mod must initiate the base-mod when all players leave and changelevel to the default map for that mod.

alltho i agree on this one.. make sure the default settings are configurable by the admin (not hardcoded)

runequake for instance is very annoying as it always goes back to runes [on] and rotating armor [on] and what not.. the only work around i found is to do a rcon changelevel after everything is sorted.. then when the server is empty the settings that were voted for will stick.

such a workaround would not be needed if the default settings could be adjusted by the admin..

changing back to the default mod/game-mode with the settings as set by the admin would be a good thing!

[Baker]

We'll see :d Availability and baseline functionality is goal #1.

No one has ever done anything like this and I'm sure there will be unforeseen pitfalls and I am far more worried about those than worrying about bells and whistles.

If the concept works, I'm sure it will be refined over time.

Add: Beware the possibility of alias over-lap or unintended consequences. Think about this.

[MH]

Unloading and reloading the filesystem is essential as well, but that's trivial enough to code.

I think you'll probably need a "mods.cfg" (or equivalent) in the Quake root directory containing info on which mods are available (every subdirectory of Quake isn't necessarily a mod, although there are things you can do like checking for PAK files, cfg files or progs.dat to confirm), what the default map is (not always easily discoverable otherwise), and perhaps also some default cvar values for each mod.

[Senban]

could you have a separate program to handle server browsing, "ingame" (via alt-tab) voting, client launching (with versatile engine, mod and map support) etc, map mod and model downloading and such, maybe even a tab that spoof's mp3s as cd tracks?

[Baker]

Unloading and reloading the filesystem is essential as well, but that's trivial enough to code.

Yep.

And possibly use a cvar_reset_all type of command before executing the mod config. Maybe.

could you have a separate program to handle server browsing, "ingame" (via alt-tab) voting, client launching (with versatile engine, mod and map support) etc, map mod and model downloading and such, maybe even a tab that spoof's mp3s as cd tracks?

Some of that might happen someday.

[PapaSmurf]

Isn't the runequake mod pretty close to achieving this? I know it doesn't have every single mod out there, but it's close to having 3 out of the 5 most played mods. (RQ, RA, match, but no CA or CTF).

[Baker]

Isn't the runequake mod pretty close to achieving this? I know it doesn't have every single mod out there, but it's close to having 3 out of the 5 most played mods. (RQ, RA, match, but no CA or CTF).

RuneQuake is close to getting all the most popular mods into a single mod, which is a great thing. The most played mods are in good shape, but this about the LEAST played mods.

No doubt some are not popular specifically because they can't be tried, while others perfectly deserve to not be popular.

Just because mods aren't popular doesn't mean they shouldn't have somewhere they can be tried.

[Mindf!3ldzX]

Slide is a rare gem that is worth its weight in gold,a mod that took Q1 and tossed away the guidelines that made any mod remotely comparable to your basic Q1,and created a unique,fun,fast paced experience.Set your fastest lap,then respawn at the startup and attempt to foil anyone beating your speed record.

Sure,other mods did this too(changed the experience of Q1), but I never spent hours on top of hours playing AirQuake Mod, or X-Men Mod.The X-Men mod was pure trash in my opinion, based purely on my expectations of a MARVEL/X-Men game are high,and the graphics in this game was puke-mc-nasty.

/opinion

[Mr.Burns]

If it's going to be used on Pol's server would you mind adding the DeathMatch Plus (DMP) mod* to that list. It's already on his server on port 26004 and he/I can send you the version 2 source (updated by Zop) if needed.

Kind regards

Monty

* This is currently being updated to version 3 by RocketGuy (thanks Rock!) but I'm sure we will be able to give you the code when he's done with it.

[MH]

And possibly use a cvar_reset_all type of command before executing the mod config. Maybe.

Good idea, not every cvar value will come from a config. Easy to code, too. Maybe only do it for server cvars though.