XASECO (TMN/TMF) v1.01

[Xymph]

One month after the v1.00 milestone, here is a new update of XAseco. This v1.01 release provides TMX search support with the new /xlist command, ShareMania support including a new /sminfo command, full support for a new customizable donate panel (sorry Nick ), the ability to pay server coppers to another login, proper distinction between TMNF and TMUF servers, miscellaneous new features for both TMF and original TMN, and an uncomfortably large number of (mostly minor) bug fixes.

Here are the full release notes:

New features and other changes in the v1.01 release of XASECO:

• * new TMX search support:
  • * there is a new TMXInfoSearcher class to search TMX with the following features:
    • * find tracks matching name, author and/or environment, returning up to 500 results from the TMNF/TMU sections and up to 20 from the TMO/TMS/TMN sections (due to an API limitation)
      * list the 10 most recent tracks (max. one per author) on any section
      * the TMXInfoSearcher object is an iterator that allows you to 'foreach' over it to obtain TMXInfo objects with all the info on each track
    * new /xlist command to list tracks on TMX with the following options and features:
    • * help: Displays help information
      * recent: Lists the 10 most recent tracks (max. one per author)
      * <xxx>: Lists tracks the matching (partial) name
      * auth:<yyy>: Lists tracks the matching (partial) author
      * env:<zzz>: Where <zzz> is an environment from: Stadium, Bay, Coast, Island, Snow/Alpine, Desert/Speed, Rally (case-insensitive)
      * <xxx> auth:<yyy> env:<zzz>: Combines any of the name, author and/or environment searches
      * <tmx>: Where <tmx> is a TMX section from: TMO, TMS, TMN, TMNF, TMU (case-insensitive)
      * the section option must be the last one but can be combined with any of the above searches; on a TMNF server the default section is TMNF, on a TMUF server it's TMU, and of course the TMN section on a TMN server
      * on TMF if config.xml setting <clickable_lists> is True, the TMX ids are buttons to invoke /tmxinfo on the selected track; the track names invoke /add on the selected track; admins with the 'add' ability also get Add buttons to invoke /admin add on the selected track; and the author names invoke /xlist auth: on the selected author
      * on TMN you can list tracks in other TMX sections, but obviously only add them from the TMN section
  * new ShareMania support:
  • * with /add <ID> SM and /admin add <ID> SM you can now use the ShareMania site to download tracks ('SM' is case-insensitive)
    * new /sminfo command (based on the new SMInfoFetcher class) to display the ShareMania information on the current track or, when given a track ID (from /list) or an SM ID, any other track
  * new TMUF donate panel support with the following features:
  • * the donate panel shows buttons for seven different donation values, by default: 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 (configurable in plugin.donate.php)
    * the buttons invoke the /donate command with the specified coppers value* the distribution's panels/ subdirectory can contain up to 20 donate panel templates; their filenames must start with 'Donate'
    * there are 6 standard templates in various positions and sizes all around the HUD
    * templates define the complete ManiaLink panel with position, size and fonts, so you have full control to develop custom panels
    * the default donate panel is configurable via new config.xml setting <donate_panel> (default: BelowCPList)
    * new /admin donpanel <xxx> command to select another default donate panel for newly connecting players (requires panel name, 'off' disables the default)* the new /donpanel command allows players to select an individual donate panel with the following options:
    • * help: Displays help information
      * list: Displays available panels
      * default: Resets panel to server default
      * off: Disables donate panel
      * <xxx>: Selects donate panel <xxx>, which can be a panel name or the sequence number from /donpanel list
      * in the /donpanel list overview a player can also click a panel name to dynamically select a new panel (or refresh the current one if its .xml file was updated)
    * on TMNF servers, players using the /donpanel command (and admins using /admin donpanel) receive a message that a TMUF server is needed; on TMUF servers, a TMNF player receives a message that a TMUF account is needed
  * automatically enabling /cps and /dedicps for newly connecting players is now configurable via new config.xml settings <auto_enable_cps> and <auto_enable_dedicps>
  * new /admin pay command (TMUF-only) to pay server coppers to a login, including another server login, with the following features:
  • * the required parameters are the login, which can be any valid player or server login, and the coppers amount to pay
    * the command provides a dialog box, similar to the donation dialog, allowing the admin to confirm or cancel the payment
    * after confirmation, the payment happens immediately but the Nadeo tax (2 coppers plus 5 % of the transaction) isn't deducted from the server account until any player joins or leaves the server
    * on TMNF servers, admins using this command receive a message that a TMUF server is needed
  * new /admin cleanmutes command (alias /admin cleanignores) to completely clean the global mute/ignore list
  * the /admin server command now also works on TMN (albeit with the column alignment difficulties inherent to those windows)
  * on TMF, /server and /admin server now show the server's rights (United or Nations) and /stats shows the pertaining player's rights
  * on TMNF servers, players using the /donate command now receive a message that a TMUF server is needed; on TMUF servers, a TMNF player receives a message that a TMUF account is needed
  * on TMNF servers, admins using the /admin coppers command now receive a message that a TMUF server is needed
  * updated the Dedimania system to randomly choose between the existing :8006 and :8007 and new :8011, :8012 and :8013 communication ports (remember to open those ports on your firewall/router as well) in order to distribute the load across more Dedimania servers
  * attempts to /add, /admin add or /admin addlocal a track that's larger than 256 KB (the maximum online track size) are aborted with an error message
  * when using the full Jfreu plugin, the banning period by the badword filter is now configurable via $badwordstime in jfreu.config.php (default: 10 minutes)
  * new /jfreu badwordstime command to set the banning period (in minutes)
  * on TMF, unusual characters (such as in challenge names and player nicknames) no longer cause ManiaLink windows not to be displayed
  * on TMF, all standard admin panel templates now use the animated Buddy icon instead of the static Buddies one
  * on TMF, added the server's login, rights and packmask to the start-up header in the log
  * on TMN the default style and panel templates are no longer loaded
  * optimized the multi-page ManiaLink windows code on TMF

Bug fixes in the v1.01 release of XASECO:

• * on TMF, using /style <##>, /admin panel <##>, /recpanel <##> and /votepanel <##> to select the default style/panel doesn't work &ndash; fixed
  * on TMF, unofficial players (ladder rank -1) can bypass the rank limit checks &ndash; fixed
  * if a player reconnects within the same second after disconnecting, a MySQL warning is logged &ndash; fixed this long-standing bug
  * using /add on a track that's already in the server's list does not properly jukebox it anymore &ndash; fixed
  * on Windows, downloading the same track from TMX again with /add or /admin add can result in a PHP warning &ndash; fixed
  * if a newly connected player uses /refresh, a PHP warning can result &ndash; fixed
  * bogus PlayerFinish callbacks (with no valid login) occasionally result in PHP/XASECO warnings &ndash; fixed, such callbacks are now ignored
  * there are some layout glitches in the /jfreu players output when /style is off &ndash; fixed
  * the /jfreu badwordsnum command actually shows the /jfreu maxplayers value &ndash; fixed
  * on TMN, /admin players results in a 'GetIgnoreList' warning &ndash; fixed
  * log messages with a "Fatal Error" don't include the source file where the error occurs &ndash; fixed

Read the updated installation notes, especially if you're using Dedimania:

• Important:
  
  * To register your server with the central Dedimania database, you must copy the login and password values in the <masterserver_account> section from your server's dedicated.cfg (TMN) or dedicated_cfg.txt (TMF) file into the corresponding section of the dedimania.xml file, and add the 3-character nation abbreviation. Instead of the password you can also use the community code for your server by using the server login/password on the official site for your game (TMO/TMS/TMN) or on this page for TMF.
  * Open ports 8003, 8006, 8007, 8011, 8012 and 8013 on your firewall/router for communication with the central Dedimania server (if that's not possible, the system falls back on port 80).
  * In the zip file, all *.XML and *.PHP config files are now located inside the newinstall/ directory. This means that you can (and have to) unzip the download and replace all the PHP code files, without worrying about overwriting your customized config files. However, for every XML/PHP config file that was updated (see above), you must replace your version with the one from the newinstall/ directory, or compare them and add any new/changed configuration settings to your version to insure the system remains working correctly.
  * For a new installation, go into the newinstall/ directory and move all *.XML files into the main directory, next to aseco.php, and *.PHP files into the includes/ directory.

Okay, you know where to find it by now:

http://www.gamers.org/tmn/

Enjoy!
Xymph

[SmashingDeluXe]

Jesus... Damn

Nice Xymph!
Great work.. as usual
I'll try it out, but at morning... gn8 all ^^

[blooper]

Hey Xymph,

Great work on XASECO! Everything works great, except for donating. When I try to donate from the panel or command, it gives me the not enough coppers message. The XASECO console doesnt give any error messages. Any tips for fixing it?

And now for the suggestion list:
1. Can an /admin restartxaseco (or something similar) command be created? It would be a lot easier to use a command to restart XASECO than having to kill it manually.
2. In /list karma, the karma column should be linked to the /karma for that track. In other words, when you click on the karma number for a track, it should make the "____ track karma:..." message appear for that track in the chat. The other /lists should be checked for possible links too.
3. Clickable /helpall commands for commands that don't require any args or give a message about how to use them. (same goes for /admin helpall)
4. The /help command should open a list like /helpall. There are just too many commands for /help to be useful and it is really unfriendly to newbies.
5. I still think all the records commands (and dedimania commands now) should be consolidated into a /recs xxx (and /dedi) command. It would eliminate a lot of command clutter. And if you don't want to, at least consider making it an option.
6. Average time should be shown on the recs panel so I can remove the pb line at the beginning of the track.
7. If you can fit it in, it would be nice to have the /admin clearjukebox command in the admin panel.
8. A panel under the scorepanel at the end of the track for the jfreu messages would be nice. It might get noticed more outside of the chatbox and it would keep the chatbox free of clutter. Would it be possible to keep it always visible with the scorepanel (like when you hold down tab) and cycle through messages every x number of seconds?

Thats all that I can think of for now. I hope I'm not asking too much. If not, I will be glad to request more.

[TripleT]

Thanks Xymph for the new release. The TMX search ingame seems to be very helpful. We are going away today so i have no time to install it today
But thank you for all the work you have done and still do for us. Great release

[f*ckfish]

Hey Xymph,

Great work on XASECO! Everything works great, except for donating. When I try to donate from the panel or command, it gives me the not enough coppers message. The XASECO console doesnt give any error messages. Any tips for fixing it?

Use the ingame messenger to donate a basic number of coppers (maybe 10 or 20) from your TMUF account to your server account. You'll need that for your server to be able to pay the Nadeo fee. after that, donation should work fine.

[CRMax]

Whow... Thanks Xymph!
You're the best...

Keep going!!!

Max

[blooper]

Hey Xymph,

Great work on XASECO! Everything works great, except for donating. When I try to donate from the panel or command, it gives me the not enough coppers message. The XASECO console doesnt give any error messages. Any tips for fixing it?

Use the ingame messenger to donate a basic number of coppers (maybe 10 or 20) from your TMUF account to your server account. You'll need that for your server to be able to pay the Nadeo fee. after that, donation should work fine.

Thank you. That worked.

[Xymph]

Great work on XASECO! Everything works great, except for donating. When I try to donate from the panel or command, it gives me the not enough coppers message. The XASECO console doesnt give any error messages. Any tips for fixing it?

Fufi already mentioned it, but the solution was also listed in the v0.99 release notes where the /donate command was introduced:

* important: you must make an initial donation from a TMUF player login to your server login via the in-game message system, so that there are sufficient coppers in the account to pay the Nadeo tax on the first /donate transaction

And it's also mentioned in the plugin.donate.php header. Seriously people, there is much more documentation than for any other controller, so I understand if you don't read it upfront, but at least search it before asking questions.

And now for the suggestion list:
1. Can an /admin restartxaseco (or something similar) command be created? It would be a lot easier to use a command to restart XASECO than having to kill it manually.

You can use the /admin shutdown command since v0.95 to kill it (and the dedicated). Restarting always has to be done via an external script, as a killed PHP program can't start itself anymore. On Linux you can use my init.d scripts for all that, on Windows you're on your own as usual... take a look at A/R2's Aseco.bat file for an example.

2. In /list karma, the karma column should be linked to the /karma for that track. In other words, when you click on the karma number for a track, it should make the "____ track karma:..." message appear for that track in the chat.

Okay, that's a good addition indeed, will add in the next release.

The other /lists should be checked for possible links too.

I did before releasing v1.00, and didn't see any other meaningful ones. You?

3. Clickable /helpall commands for commands that don't require any args or give a message about how to use them. (same goes for /admin helpall)

Not going to happen, that kind of functionality belongs in a menu system, which will eventually become available as a native or third-party plugin (I know someone's working on it).

4. The /help command should open a list like /helpall. There are just too many commands for /help to be useful and it is really unfriendly to newbies.

That would make both commands identical, which is kind of pointless. Yes, the /help output is rather big, but that's partly because of all the feature requests from you guys. And that's one of the reasons why the /helpall command is one of the first entries in the list.

5. I still think all the records commands (and dedimania commands now) should be consolidated into a /recs xxx (and /dedi) command. It would eliminate a lot of command clutter. And if you don't want to, at least consider making it an option.

When I initially looked at that idea, one of the reasons I shot it down was that I didn't think it is possible to optionally define/undefine commands due to the execution sequence of loading plugins. But with additional months of PHP experience under my belt, I think it is feasible after all. So, I'll have another good look at this for the next release, and that goes for the command abbreviations (like /ad, /jb) too that currently have to be enabled by uncommenting some code.

6. Average time should be shown on the recs panel so I can remove the pb line at the beginning of the track.

You must be the first person I heard caring about the average value -- most drivers only care about improving their best time. Anyway, for that reason I don't think it's worth the trouble of expanding the records panels with that; it doesn't really belong in there as the existing four entries are records, not averages either; and there's no HUD space left in some of the places where the panel is displayed (such as the default RightBottom corner above the speed indicator). So this won't happen.

7. If you can fit it in, it would be nice to have the /admin clearjukebox command in the admin panel.

I considered that when designed the panels, but it didn't seem to me that this command is needed frequently enough to warrant a button. It will of course be included in the menu system.

8. A panel under the scorepanel at the end of the track for the jfreu messages would be nice. It might get noticed more outside of the chatbox and it would keep the chatbox free of clutter. Would it be possible to keep it always visible with the scorepanel (like when you hold down tab) and cycle through messages every x number of seconds?

It's impossible to act on the Tab key, there's no way to detect that in a server controller.
After the v1.00 release there was some discussion of a separate records window where all the record reports and new/improved/etc record messages could be collected to reduce chat clutter, and that's still on my to-do list to investigate. Obviously the Jfreu info messages could be added there too, if it turns out the basic idea is feasible.

Thats all that I can think of for now. I hope I'm not asking too much. If not, I will be glad to request more.

Is that all you got? Don't hold back on me now.

[blooper]

And it's also mentioned in the plugin.donate.php header. Seriously people, there is much more documentation than for any other controller, so I understand if you don't read it upfront, but at least search it before asking questions.

Sorry, I'll make sure to search next time.

The other /lists should be checked for possible links too.

I did before releasing v1.00, and didn't see any other meaningful ones. You?

No, I guess not. On a related note, why do you have to put a number after the /list oldest and /list newest commands? Can it just show the whole list of tracks sorted by age? It would also be nice if you could do /list karma without a number.

3. Clickable /helpall commands for commands that don't require any args or give a message about how to use them. (same goes for /admin helpall)

Not going to happen, that kind of functionality belongs in a menu system, which will eventually become available as a native or third-party plugin (I know someone's working on it).

Any word on when this "native" menu system will be out?

4. The /help command should open a list like /helpall. There are just too many commands for /help to be useful and it is really unfriendly to newbies.

That would make both commands identical, which is kind of pointless. Yes, the /help output is rather big, but that's partly because of all the feature requests from you guys. And that's one of the reasons why the /helpall command is one of the first entries in the list.

It may be the first on the list, but it's still not useful. The top of the list doesn't show in the chatbox without pressing C to expand it. There should be a line of text under the giant string of commands that says "To see the whole list, press C to expand the chatbox. For help on what the commands do, use /helpall."

5. I still think all the records commands (and dedimania commands now) should be consolidated into a /recs xxx (and /dedi) command. It would eliminate a lot of command clutter. And if you don't want to, at least consider making it an option.

When I initially looked at that idea, one of the reasons I shot it down was that I didn't think it is possible to optionally define/undefine commands due to the execution sequence of loading plugins. But with additional months of PHP experience under my belt, I think it is feasible after all. So, I'll have another good look at this for the next release, and that goes for the command abbreviations (like /ad, /jb) too that currently have to be enabled by uncommenting some code.

A while ago, I was trying to make a plugin for TMN and I forgot to define the command in the command list at the top of the php file. It caused the command to still work, but it wasn't listed in the list and it didn't stop the command from being displayed to everyone. To get people to switch over to the new commands, maybe you could do something like that and display a message to use the new command.

6. Average time should be shown on the recs panel so I can remove the pb line at the beginning of the track.

You must be the first person I heard caring about the average value -- most drivers only care about improving their best time. Anyway, for that reason I don't think it's worth the trouble of expanding the records panels with that; it doesn't really belong in there as the existing four entries are records, not averages either; and there's no HUD space left in some of the places where the panel is displayed (such as the default RightBottom corner above the speed indicator). So this won't happen.

Ok, thats fine. I personally never look at it, but I wanted to keep it for the people that do look at it. I suppose it is kind of useless, so I'm just going to disable that line anyways. Actually, I would disable that in rasp.settings.php, but it requires me to change <show_recs_before> in config.xml to 2. Can that be changed?

7. If you can fit it in, it would be nice to have the /admin clearjukebox command in the admin panel.

I considered that when designed the panels, but it didn't seem to me that this command is needed frequently enough to warrant a button. It will of course be included in the menu system.

Meh, I guess you're right. It doesn't get used that often. I do have some ideas for a jukebox and some other panels. Let me know if you want them.

[f*ckfish]

Any word on when this "native" menu system will be out?

It's still in an early alpha stage since I don't like the graphical output, the positioning and some other stuff yet, it's not good enough to be released, but the basic functionality is there, including all simple chat commands as clickable menu entries, the ability to add entries and groups via XML and third party plugins and some other fancy stuff =) As soon as I'm done with my imminent widgets version and my studies give me some free time, I'll give my best to make the menu releasable, but that can take some time, sorry.

[Xymph]

I did before releasing v1.00, and didn't see any other meaningful ones. You?

No, I guess not. On a related note, why do you have to put a number after the /list oldest and /list newest commands? Can it just show the whole list of tracks sorted by age? It would also be nice if you could do /list karma without a number.

Not having to compile the whole list reduces processing time (a little bit), but the main thought behind it (if I recall correctly) was that players wanting to see what new tracks have recently been added weren't likely to browse the whole list anyway, so there wasn't much point in building it. Also, if the whole tracks list is there, the further you browse into it the less that label 'newest' or 'oldest' still applies, hence the cut-off. Anyway, you don't have to type a number, by default 10 tracks are shown and you can increase that on line 411 of plugin.rasp_jukebox.php. I suppose I can crank it up to 50 or 100 though.

As for /list karma, that's how it's been since the early RASP days and I think the idea there is that if you want to search for track with good karma, you don't want a numerically sorted list that starts with the -20 or whatever entries, and vice versa. The positive or negative number decides both how to sort the list and where to cut it off, which I like. So I'll just keep that part the way it's always been. A/R2 has an even more complex karma listing where you need to enter two numbers, btw.

That would make both commands identical, which is kind of pointless. Yes, the /help output is rather big, but that's partly because of all the feature requests from you guys. And that's one of the reasons why the /helpall command is one of the first entries in the list.

It may be the first on the list, but it's still not useful. The top of the list doesn't show in the chatbox without pressing C to expand it. There should be a line of text under the giant string of commands that says "To see the whole list, press C to expand the chatbox. For help on what the commands do, use /helpall."

I suppose I can add something like that, configurable of course -- and by default it'll be off.

When I initially looked at that idea, one of the reasons I shot it down was that I didn't think it is possible to optionally define/undefine commands due to the execution sequence of loading plugins. But with additional months of PHP experience under my belt, I think it is feasible after all. So, I'll have another good look at this for the next release, and that goes for the command abbreviations (like /ad, /jb) too that currently have to be enabled by uncommenting some code.

A while ago, I was trying to make a plugin for TMN and I forgot to define the command in the command list at the top of the php file. It caused the command to still work, but it wasn't listed in the list and it didn't stop the command from being displayed to everyone. To get people to switch over to the new commands, maybe you could do something like that and display a message to use the new command.

Yes I know, but the keyword above is optionally. I'm not going to completely remove the /firstrec, /diffrec, etc commands and force people to switch to /recs first and so on, just because you said so. The default stays like it was but there will be an option to prevent the original commands getting listed in /help and /helpall. The only way to optionally run the addChatCommand calls while loading plugin files was to define a constant in aseco.php itself, as no .php and .xml configuration file has already been processed by that time.
The new options for /recs and /dedirecs are available regardless of whether the direct commands are inhibited from the help, including /recs help and /dedirecs help lists of course.

Ok, thats fine. I personally never look at it, but I wanted to keep it for the people that do look at it. I suppose it is kind of useless, so I'm just going to disable that line anyways. Actually, I would disable that in rasp.settings.php, but it requires me to change <show_recs_before> in config.xml to 2. Can that be changed?

Yeah, I realized a while ago that with the advent of the records panel, that logic no longer fits. I didn't get around to it since then, but I'll rethink that.

I do have some ideas for a jukebox and some other panels. Let me know if you want them.

Re-read the last line of my previous post. Keep in mind the HUD is pretty full already with all the existing panels, not to mention Fufi's widgets for those using them, and also that any additional panels with their associated ManiaLink calls increase the likelihood that XAseco can't cope with the load at high(er) player numbers anymore.

[blooper]

Yes I know, but the keyword above is optionally. I'm not going to completely remove the /firstrec, /diffrec, etc commands and force people to switch to /recs first and so on, just because you said so. The default stays like it was but there will be an option to prevent the original commands getting listed in /help and /helpall. The only way to optionally run the addChatCommand calls while loading plugin files was to define a constant in aseco.php itself, as no .php and .xml configuration file has already been processed by that time.
The new options for /recs and /dedirecs are available regardless of whether the direct commands are inhibited from the help, including /recs help and /dedirecs help lists of course.

I know it will be optional. I was just mentioning how I was able to make a command not appear in the chat. It sounds like you already have a plan to do it differently.

Re-read the last line of my previous post. Keep in mind the HUD is pretty full already with all the existing panels, not to mention Fufi's widgets for those using them, and also that any additional panels with their associated ManiaLink calls increase the likelihood that XAseco can't cope with the load at high(er) player numbers anymore.

Sorry, I meant windows, like /jukebox display. Speaking of that, what is the point of the /jukebox list command? It's a bit redundant.

[Funnyman]

Hey Xymph,

Great work on XASECO! Everything works great, except for donating. When I try to donate from the panel or command, it gives me the not enough coppers message. The XASECO console doesnt give any error messages. Any tips for fixing it?

Use the ingame messenger to donate a basic number of coppers (maybe 10 or 20) from your TMUF account to your server account. You'll need that for your server to be able to pay the Nadeo fee. after that, donation should work fine.

Obviously i must be asking a stupid question, but the ingame messager is not the same as ingame chat ?

I have been looking all over bust cant find the solution or where to find this messenger . . .

if I type /donate server_login 100 in the chat i still a message that i dont have enough coppers

[f*ckfish]

Nope, it is the little funny envelope button in the menu when you move your mouse to the upper right part of the screen.

[Xymph]

Obviously i must be asking a stupid question, but the ingame messager is not the same as ingame chat ?

I have been looking all over bust cant find the solution or where to find this messenger . . .

Like Fufi said, it's the envelope icon, which only TMUF players see while in the main menus. You can't do this while connected to a server.

if I type /donate server_login 100 in the chat i still a message that i dont have enough coppers

/donate doesn't take a login parameter, only the coppers amount needs to be specified.