Dserver and mods being ignored

[Stonehouse]

I've been discussing some aspects of the AAA mod and using them on a dedicated server with some people in the community. They tried some of my suggestions but were unsuccessful in getting the mod to work on a dserver. In the subsequent attempt to solve the issue it came to light that apparently a dserver install does not use mods itself or only certain types. 

 

We tested this by hugely increasing the ROF of a Flak37 AA gun to 60 rounds per min. In single player the mod works fine, if I locally host a mission with the mod installed on my PC it works fine even if the clients don't have the mod. On dserver the mod is ignored. It doesn't error but simply the ROF remains the stock value of 20 rounds per min or 1 round every 3 secs. 

 

The AAA mod uses custom bot file values to influence accuracy of AAA so to further test that mods are not being used I altered the Flak37 ROF mod such that the bot file was renamed so the game would perceive it as a missing file. In single player or local host this would generate a missing file error popup each time the flak gun tries to fire.

 

On running the test mission again on dserver with the bot file renamed I found that I received several messages on the console "unhandled SIM thread message 73" but no other errors. The mission did not fail in any way that was observable beyond these 3 or 4 console messages and the Flak37 guns fired normally at stock ROF.  This seems fairly conclusive that my dserver and the other guys I've been assisting dserver do not use mods or at least do not use mods that impact game play.

 

I doubled checked the sds file and dserver startup.cfg and the cfg has modes = 1 and the server is listed as a mods enabled server.

 

I believed that previously the AAA mod and AI Gunnery mod worked on dserver fine but it has been around a year since I have run my dserver due to time constraints and I have mostly just done a local hosting for a few friends and so I haven't notice the dserver situation arise.

 

Has anyone else seen this? Is there something else that needs to be configured for the actual dedicated server to use installed mods? 

 

At present it just looks like the dserver runs stock regardless and setting mods on just allows clients to use mods.

Edited February 16, 2024 by Stonehouse

[Stonehouse]

Doing some forum searches and it does seem like the server could run mods in the past but now does not. So if it isn't a deliberate change that was made it would seem to be a bug.

 

Referring to @JimTM 's post and other posts the server is correctly configured to allow mods but it only allows clients to use mods and doesn't make the server use installed mods. 

 

 

 

[Charon]

Yes, I ran into this while trying to get your AI Gunnery Mod to work with dserver and ultimately gave up, perhaps 6-12 months ago. It would be nice if this worked; dserver is much more convenient for me hosting in VR.

[LF_Mark_Krieger]

Ops. I precisely wanted to try your AAA and gunnery mods on our squadron Dserver. What a pity. Hope they find a solution. ?

Edited March 28, 2024 by LF_Mark_Krieger

[Stonehouse]

1 hour ago, LF_Mark_Krieger said:

Ops. I precisely wanted to try your AAA and gunnery mods on our squadron Dserver. What a pity. Hope they find a solution. ?

 

Check PMs

[OrLoK]

On 3/28/2024 at 6:57 AM, Stonehouse said:

 

Check PMs

I too am having difficulty in getting my server to allow mods. Any ideas? Modes is set to 1

[Stonehouse]

8 hours ago, OrLoK said:

I too am having difficulty in getting my server to allow mods. Any ideas? Modes is set to 1

Check your PMs. I probably should just post the method here but keep hoping the dev team fix things sometime soon as the workaround is ugly.

[Hanu]

On 4/27/2024 at 4:31 AM, Stonehouse said:

Check your PMs. I probably should just post the method here but keep hoping the dev team fix things sometime soon as the workaround is ugly.

I'm really interested about this too.

[Stonehouse]

Copy and paste from some PMs I've sent out to various people:

 

The idea it might be possible for something like this originated from a couple of LLv34 members who have been corresponding with me about the AAA mod.

 

So, the issue is that unlike locally hosted servers, dserver ignores mods in favour of scripts.gtp.

 

The workaround is to:

• use ungtp on the server install to unpack scripts.gtp. 
• use the results of the unpacking operation to create a jsgme mod containing the contents of scripts.gtp
• move scripts.gtp out of the data folder of the server install - I moved it to the main IL2 folder - and possibly rename it so that the filename is no longer scripts. Possibly the extension as well although I believe the file name is the important thing. e.g. ascripts.gtpx
• use jsgme to enable the scripts gtp mod as the very first mod. This is important for reasons you are very likely aware of
• then enable your server-side mods like AAAmod or AIGunnery mod. Essentially server-side mods are ones that alter play. So not things like AAA Heavy flak effects or multicoloured tracers. If you use EMG on your server then something like EMG AAA attack range mod would be a server-side mod as that's where EMG creates missions.
• Start dserver etc and you should see the server-side mods in action.

 

I used a simple mod to hugely increase ROF of a Flak37 so I had an easily visible litmus test, created a mission where A20s attacked an airfield with 3 Flak37s defending. I first just renamed scripts.gtp to scripts.gtpx and enabled the scripts gtp mod but found that the game still found the gtp file even though the extension had changed. I proved this by having dserver running by mistake while trying to rename scripts.gtpx to something even less like scripts.gtp. The rename failed because dserver had a lock on scripts.gtpx. So, I believe the filename "scripts" is the important factor. Therefore, my decision to move it out of the data folder entirely. After that dserver will crash due to missing objects unless you enable the scripts gtp mod.

 

Final proof was to enable the scripts gtp mod and then the ROF mod and start dserver and rerun the mission... 3 AA gave the below.

 

I've reported the need to do this workaround to the dev team as I feel it is ugly and risky and basically something that should not be necessary and dserver should be changed to operate as per a locally hosted server in respect to mods. However, for now using this workaround means AI Gunnery and AAA mods can run on my dserver again as I believe they once did.

Edited May 1, 2024 by Stonehouse

[BrianPeppers2]

On 5/1/2024 at 7:44 PM, Stonehouse said:

Copy and paste from some PMs I've sent out to various people:

 

The idea it might be possible for something like this originated from a couple of LLv34 members who have been corresponding with me about the AAA mod.

 

So, the issue is that unlike locally hosted servers, dserver ignores mods in favour of scripts.gtp.

 

The workaround is to:

• use ungtp on the server install to unpack scripts.gtp. 
• use the results of the unpacking operation to create a jsgme mod containing the contents of scripts.gtp
• move scripts.gtp out of the data folder of the server install - I moved it to the main IL2 folder - and possibly rename it so that the filename is no longer scripts. Possibly the extension as well although I believe the file name is the important thing. e.g. ascripts.gtpx
• use jsgme to enable the scripts gtp mod as the very first mod. This is important for reasons you are very likely aware of
• then enable your server-side mods like AAAmod or AIGunnery mod. Essentially server-side mods are ones that alter play. So not things like AAA Heavy flak effects or multicoloured tracers. If you use EMG on your server then something like EMG AAA attack range mod would be a server-side mod as that's where EMG creates missions.
• Start dserver etc and you should see the server-side mods in action.

Thanks for the info, so if I'm using PWCG do I need to do this everytime I create a new mission?

[Stonehouse]

2 hours ago, BrianPeppers2 said:

Thanks for the info, so if I'm using PWCG do I need to do this everytime I create a new mission?

No - it's just to get mods that alter gameplay working on the server. Once you have created the scripts gtp mod and enabled it on the server you are fine until the next game patch. Each game patch requires you to redo the work as something might have changed in scripts.gtp. 

 

So to be clear, a gameplay altering mod or a server-side mod is something that alters a fundamental aspect of how the game works. eg AAA mod alters both the AI bot definition for AAA gunners and makes changes to the weapon definitions and so needs to be the same for all players joining the server. My belief is that server-side mods will be inherited by clients joining the server regardless of whether the client has the same mod loaded or not. AI Gunnery mods are similar because they modify the AI bot definitions of the fighters and gunners. The Dynamic Effects and plus units mod is another such server mod because you only want the host to control spawning the dynamic effects.  

 

A client-side mod is something that doesn't impact how the game works. eg a terrain repaint or a custom skin or effect mods for how smoke and fire look for instance. These sorts of mods only impact the local client. Although you may want all clients to load a set of particular mods so they get the same experience. 

[Spidey002]

On 5/1/2024 at 6:44 PM, Stonehouse said:

Copy and paste from some PMs I've sent out to various people:

 

The idea it might be possible for something like this originated from a couple of LLv34 members who have been corresponding with me about the AAA mod.

 

So, the issue is that unlike locally hosted servers, dserver ignores mods in favour of scripts.gtp.

 

The workaround is to:

• use ungtp on the server install to unpack scripts.gtp. 
• use the results of the unpacking operation to create a jsgme mod containing the contents of scripts.gtp
• move scripts.gtp out of the data folder of the server install - I moved it to the main IL2 folder - and possibly rename it so that the filename is no longer scripts. Possibly the extension as well although I believe the file name is the important thing. e.g. ascripts.gtpx
• use jsgme to enable the scripts gtp mod as the very first mod. This is important for reasons you are very likely aware of
• then enable your server-side mods like AAAmod or AIGunnery mod. Essentially server-side mods are ones that alter play. So not things like AAA Heavy flak effects or multicoloured tracers. If you use EMG on your server then something like EMG AAA attack range mod would be a server-side mod as that's where EMG creates missions.
• Start dserver etc and you should see the server-side mods in action.

 

I used a simple mod to hugely increase ROF of a Flak37 so I had an easily visible litmus test, created a mission where A20s attacked an airfield with 3 Flak37s defending. I first just renamed scripts.gtp to scripts.gtpx and enabled the scripts gtp mod but found that the game still found the gtp file even though the extension had changed. I proved this by having dserver running by mistake while trying to rename scripts.gtpx to something even less like scripts.gtp. The rename failed because dserver had a lock on scripts.gtpx. So, I believe the filename "scripts" is the important factor. Therefore, my decision to move it out of the data folder entirely. After that dserver will crash due to missing objects unless you enable the scripts gtp mod.

 

Final proof was to enable the scripts gtp mod and then the ROF mod and start dserver and rerun the mission... 3 AA gave the below.

 

I've reported the need to do this workaround to the dev team as I feel it is ugly and risky and basically something that should not be necessary and dserver should be changed to operate as per a locally hosted server in respect to mods. However, for now using this workaround means AI Gunnery and AAA mods can run on my dserver again as I believe they once did.

I tried all these steps, and the server won't load at all now. 
 

Crashes and closes when trying to load the mission. 

[Stonehouse]

8 hours ago, Spidey002 said:

I tried all these steps, and the server won't load at all now. 
 

Crashes and closes when trying to load the mission. 

OK I haven't used my Dserver install for months now so perhaps something changed. I'll try to find some time to test it. Maybe someone else can try also in the meantime.

[Stonehouse]

On 4/25/2025 at 11:59 PM, Spidey002 said:

I tried all these steps, and the server won't load at all now. 
 

Crashes and closes when trying to load the mission. 

Other than I had a 26GB download which took about 20 hrs to update the server to the latest version and I forgot to update my SDS file for a couple of changes in format from a few patches ago, it worked fine for me. 

 

I have to assume that you've made a mistake in creating the scripts mod or it didn't install correctly.

 

Someone else got it running too which seems to make it more likely something went wrong at your end.

 

 

[Spidey002]

19 hours ago, Stonehouse said:

Other than I had a 26GB download which took about 20 hrs to update the server to the latest version and I forgot to update my SDS file for a couple of changes in format from a few patches ago, it worked fine for me. 

 

I have to assume that you've made a mistake in creating the scripts mod or it didn't install correctly.

 

Someone else got it running too which seems to make it more likely something went wrong at your end.

 

 

 

Thanks for looking into this!

 

I realize what I did wrong; I took the (null) folder that ungtp created and named it "Scripts" for JSGME, when I should have named it "data" and put it into another folder called "Scripts."

 

It worked! I was able to get the Western Bomb mod for A-20 working. But I had to have it enabled on both the server and my PC as well.

[Stonehouse]

2 hours ago, Spidey002 said:

But I had to have it enabled on both the server and my PC as well.

Thanks for checking that. Good to know for sure.