ND4SPD
07-23-2008, 09:45 AM
Okay a few people have asked about what they have to do to get on a private World of Warcraft server (mine or anyone elses). Well, the requirements differ from server to server, but for mine you have to have World of Warcraft (obviously). Either buy it, download it, get it from a friend, download the 10-day trial, whatever. The next thing you have to do is update it to version 2.4.2. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT under any circumstances allow it to patch to 2.4.3 or you may have to uninstall it and start over. Once you've got your client all patched up, PM or E-mail me and I will create an account for you and tell you how to modify your realmlist.wtf file (in your WoW directory) so that it points to my server. I am not going to publish my server address outside of PMs because I don't want to invite hackers and other miscreants to my systems and network.
To do the patching, open up your World of Warcraft directory and run launcher.exe. It should start downloading updates automatically.
The patch downloader looks like this:
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc93/xND4SPDx/WoW/WoWPatch.jpg
You'll notice that this patch is downloading a 2.4.2 to 2.4.3 patch... you do not want to do this. If you see this, you will want to "CANCEL". Start up WoW. Look down in the bottom left, it should say...
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc93/xND4SPDx/WoW/BottomLeftCorner.jpg
If it's a higher number than 2.4.2 then you either patched too far, or the version of WoW you got ahold of was already patched beyond 2.4.2.8278 (this may happen if you download the 10-day trial). If it's less than 2.4.2 then you need to run launcher.exe again.
RULES and information (for my server)
First off, this is my family's home server. This among other things, performs remote backups of our home PCs. So please treat it with some respect. Any attempts at hacking or crashing the server will result in SEVERE consequences. And so that there's no confusion, I am talking about real-world consequences... not just deleting your account or messing with your character.
Second. The WoW server is running an emulator called MaNGOS. It is continually in development so there are bugs and problems with quests, portals, etc... So you will occasionally notice problems. Some I can take care of, some I can't. There is an in-game help menu (the "?" on the main action bar) that will detail some of the issues with this Mangos release. There is a problem Ticket feature built into the game. If you are having a problem with a quest or something, submit a ticket for it and I will do my best to fix it, or get you around the problem.
Third. The server is only a P4 2.5GHz w/1GB of memory and we have a residential cable connection. The most players I've ever had at once was 4. So, I don't know where the threshold is before lag starts to become noticeable. While I do plan on upgrading the server soon to a Core2 w/2 to 4 GB of memory... understand that it's performance as a WoW server is secondary to it's other functions.
Fourth. Please don't develop an emotional attachment to your characters. If a new release of the server software comes out I will do my best to backup everyone's characters. I can't guarantee that the backups will always work after a server update. They've made it much easier now as they have separated the character database from the main database so changes to the primary database's structure don't affect characters. What I'm saying is I'm not going to tolerate any griping if you just spent the past week speed-leveling to 70 and a server update wiped out your character. Remember, you're playing for free. If you want to gripe, go pay and play on an official Blizzard server.
Fifth, if you're new to this and are REALLY enjoying your WoW experience, as much as I enjoy having other users on my server... you really should consider paying for an official WoW membership and playing on the official servers. There is an element to the official WoW world that no private server will ever be able to capture (because private servers can handle at most a few hundered users where the official ones can handle thousands. Interacting and playing with other people is part of what makes MMORPGs so much fun. They do tend to eat up a lot of your spare time though and people like me who are married and have kids, simply don't have the time available to invest in them anymore.
And finally, have fun.
To do the patching, open up your World of Warcraft directory and run launcher.exe. It should start downloading updates automatically.
The patch downloader looks like this:
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc93/xND4SPDx/WoW/WoWPatch.jpg
You'll notice that this patch is downloading a 2.4.2 to 2.4.3 patch... you do not want to do this. If you see this, you will want to "CANCEL". Start up WoW. Look down in the bottom left, it should say...
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc93/xND4SPDx/WoW/BottomLeftCorner.jpg
If it's a higher number than 2.4.2 then you either patched too far, or the version of WoW you got ahold of was already patched beyond 2.4.2.8278 (this may happen if you download the 10-day trial). If it's less than 2.4.2 then you need to run launcher.exe again.
RULES and information (for my server)
First off, this is my family's home server. This among other things, performs remote backups of our home PCs. So please treat it with some respect. Any attempts at hacking or crashing the server will result in SEVERE consequences. And so that there's no confusion, I am talking about real-world consequences... not just deleting your account or messing with your character.
Second. The WoW server is running an emulator called MaNGOS. It is continually in development so there are bugs and problems with quests, portals, etc... So you will occasionally notice problems. Some I can take care of, some I can't. There is an in-game help menu (the "?" on the main action bar) that will detail some of the issues with this Mangos release. There is a problem Ticket feature built into the game. If you are having a problem with a quest or something, submit a ticket for it and I will do my best to fix it, or get you around the problem.
Third. The server is only a P4 2.5GHz w/1GB of memory and we have a residential cable connection. The most players I've ever had at once was 4. So, I don't know where the threshold is before lag starts to become noticeable. While I do plan on upgrading the server soon to a Core2 w/2 to 4 GB of memory... understand that it's performance as a WoW server is secondary to it's other functions.
Fourth. Please don't develop an emotional attachment to your characters. If a new release of the server software comes out I will do my best to backup everyone's characters. I can't guarantee that the backups will always work after a server update. They've made it much easier now as they have separated the character database from the main database so changes to the primary database's structure don't affect characters. What I'm saying is I'm not going to tolerate any griping if you just spent the past week speed-leveling to 70 and a server update wiped out your character. Remember, you're playing for free. If you want to gripe, go pay and play on an official Blizzard server.
Fifth, if you're new to this and are REALLY enjoying your WoW experience, as much as I enjoy having other users on my server... you really should consider paying for an official WoW membership and playing on the official servers. There is an element to the official WoW world that no private server will ever be able to capture (because private servers can handle at most a few hundered users where the official ones can handle thousands. Interacting and playing with other people is part of what makes MMORPGs so much fun. They do tend to eat up a lot of your spare time though and people like me who are married and have kids, simply don't have the time available to invest in them anymore.
And finally, have fun.