elypter wrote:
i have nothing against donations for direct expenses or any small amounts but if big money is involved, and by that i mean anything that could pay a salary, it causes all sorts of problems. if you have enough people to donate a reasonable salary then you also have enough players near you for a good ping. money makes people take control, manipulate, exploit people and it attracts people with lawyers. i wouldn't really fear that anyone on the forum would suddenly grow cartoon dollar signs out of their eyes but capitalism always finds a way and countless community orientated projects went down the hill because of popularity and the money. it is the number one source of software drama. rather donate tools and workforce and spread the word and small amounts of money if they are directly needed like server costs or as a small "thank you".
It is about donations in question. Just do not be afraid that you will be paid. No one will force you to do something if you do not want to - everything is simple. It is important to understand that this is not an obligation, it is an initiative. Accordingly, if it comes from you, you will have a better chance of getting a "reward" for it. Any commercial project was always made first on the enthusiasm, and afterwards people created staff from employees who love their work and make it a hobby. Any project either develops or falls apart from bankruptcy and laziness. If you do nothing you do not get anything. It is obvious. As the saying goes: "Water does not flow under a still stone".
As I see the development of this project:
What the change in client:
1. Editing gta2.exe. Adding new functions, methods for networking. Change the sending of all traffic from the client-client to the client-server.
What the client does:
1.1. Connecting/Disconnecting to the server,
1.2. Run/Change a map that is running on the server,
1.3. Sending/Receiving data (keys) as written by Sector.
What then make server:
2. Create a server from any of the languages that supports working with sockets. Starting from C ++, C #, VB, or other.
What the server does:
2.1. Starts/Changes the map (via script or settings),
2.2. Receives/Sends keys, listening to the IP and the port on which it is running. If the client is connected, it starts distributing/Receiving received keys from the client to all clients connected to it.
2.3. Regulates the rules between customers. It is a regulator between customers.
2.4. It filters incoming connections: Enables/Disables/Disconnects clients by IP.
2.5. Sends data about the list of all connected players to the specified FTP for example via POST.
This is for monitoring and statistics so that people can see who is playing on the server. There is another option. In this case, there is no point in pointing it out, since even the above discussion is nothing more than just a discussion. It takes time and motivation. As I wrote above, many developers take on something only with funding because they need to live on something and not only engage in hobbies.