Q. WHAT ARE THE BEST SETTINGS FOR A SERVER/CLIENT SETUP?
A. Refer to the section 13 of the game manual.
Q. WHAT ARE THE SERVER/CLIENT COMMAND LINE OPTIONS?
A. They both have several command line options which can be used depending
on what you are doing. They are as follows. Note that either (-) or (/) can
preceed an option, but where indicated (+) MUST be used!
-c : this starts the client. This is required in order to
use the in-game server browser. If using +connect, ASE, Kali etc,
this parameter is not required.
+connect : connect directly to a server using IP:PORT format e.g.
+connect 222.222.222.222:2302
-console This allows the server to start in console mode.
+down This fine tunes your downstream speed in bits per second. e.g. +up 512000
-gcq : This allows the server to report to the GameCQ master server
NOTE: You MUST install the GameCQ client in order to use this!!
-l? : server logging to the UCSDEBUG.LOG file. The parameter must
be in lower case and must be preceded by -s (when used on the
server). e.g. "uc.exe -s -l3". The higher the logging level, the
more information that is logged. ? values range from 1 to 5
-logchat : Logs the chat session to MPCHATSERVER.LOG or MPCHATCLIENT.LOG
+name : name to pass to server e.g. +name "John Doe". If the name
contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes
-nms : This will prevent the server from broadcasting to the master servers.
Can be used in cases where you don't want anyone to see your server
in the in-game browser or ASE. The only way for anyone to then
join the server is if they know the IP:PORT - and then they
would have to join the server using +connect command line options.
+password : password to pass to server e.g. +password 123456. If the
password contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes. Also,
the underscore character cannot be the last character in the
server password. NOTE: This should come immediately after the IP:PORT
-s : this starts the server
+scenario : scenario used by server. Takes precedence over the UCSETUPMP.INI
setting i.e. if +scenario is specified, then the value set in
the INI file is ignored. e.g. "ucsemp.exe +scenario mp0001"
+up This fine tunes your upstream speed in bits per second. e.g. +up 128000
-w1 : start in window mode. This is ignored if -s is also used
because the server always runs in window mode. This parameter is
100% UNSUPPORTED because the client was designed to run in
full screen mode.
Sample Usage (client):
ucSEmp.exe +connect 222.222.222.222:2302 +password 123456 +name "John Doe" -logchat
Sample Usage (server):
ucSEmp.exe -s -l3 -logchat
Q. I HAVE SETUP A SERVER BUT OTHERS CANNOT SEE IT IN THE GAME'S SERVER BROWSER
A. The server uses standard DirectPlay UDP ports 2302-2304. If your server is behind
a firewall or NAT, then you have to configure your firewall (or router) settings
and forward those ports to the computer running the server. You do not need a
designated DMZ machine for a server.You should also open/forward these ports,
especially if you are using the ASE browser.
2302-2304 (UDP/TCP)
2425-2427 (UDP/TCP)
27243-27245 (UDP/TCP)
27900-27900 (UDP)
Q. I HAVE AN INTERNET SERVER ON MY LAN, BUT I CANNOT CONNECT TO IT USING A CLIENT ON THE SAME LAN.
A. If you can ping the server from within your LAN then you can use the internal LAN IP
and port number to connect to the server. However, if the server is outside a DMZ, then
your router (if you have one) may block internal packets from reaching a host outside the DMZ.
Q. CAN I HAVE A SERVER AND CLIENT ON THE SAME MACHINE?
A. Yes, but this is not officially supported. To connect a client to a LAN or Internet
server running on the same machine, do the following :
- Using the UCSERVERCONFIG app, change the server IP to "localhost". You can
also edit the UCSETUPMP.INI file using a text editor such as Notepad and set "server_ip=localhost"
- Start the server (graphics or console), then minimize it if needed.
- Start the client and connect to the server either using the server browser or
by using commandline options e.g. +connect localhost
* FYI
- You need a high-end machine for this setup.
- When the client attempts to initialize using the port number for the server (2302)
it will fail the first time as the server is already using that port. In that case
the client will now attempt to retry using the next port (2303).
- Since only one retry attempt is performed it is only possible to run one client
on a non-dedicated server.
- You might want to use the console server as it uses less resources. e.g.
ucsemp.exe -s -console
- If the server and windowed client (/w1) are run it is possible to switch focus
between the two windows
Q. WHY DOES THE SERVER RUN IN GRAPHICS MODE BY DEFAULT?
A. The server was designed to give server ops total control over their game servers.
Thats why it needs the graphics screen. And you can minimize it if desired. While
minimized, it doesn't do any graphics rendering.
The view you see is a scaled down version of Tacops and which gives you complete access
to the server. You can use most of the viewing functions (mouse and keyboard supported)
found in the Tacops client itself.
Basically you can see all clients on the server and you can also zoom to other regions.
In short, you have access to the entire multiplayer galaxy which includes space and
planetary regions and you can see everything that goes on.
Q. DOES THE SERVER HAVE A CONSOLE MODE?
A. Yes. Add the -console parameter to the "Start MP Server" shortcut. It will work
exactly like the graphics server (and consume less resources), but you won't have
the benefit of the graphical interface (i.e. you won't see chat messages, clients
on the server etc etc). No, you cannot interact with the console server. All you
can use is use the scroll bar to see the logged events.
Q. WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED TO ADMINISTER MY SERVER?
A. There are several. Read this forum section for more info on this.
Q. HOW DO I BROWSE FOR SERVERS USING ALL SEEING EYE?
A. Read the documentation that came with the ASE browser. The command line parameters
supported by the game are listed above. ASE already has filters setup for the game.
If when you scan for servers, the UC servers (which you know exist and are online)
do not show up (may happen if you are behind a firewall or router), you can add the
server manually.
Left-click on the Universal Combat Special Edition game icon, then press INSERT. In the
dialog box, enter the server IP:PORT, then un-check the "Private Server" box.
Once all servers have been added, you can then (on the right pane), select
them, right-click, then do a "scan", then a "ping" to get the correct stats.
If you are behind a router and you are getting a ping of 9999 on the servers, go to
View/Options/Network, auto-detect your connections settings and check the
"Broken Router" box if the problem persists.
Q. THE SERVER INI FILE HAS MORE OPTIONS. CAN I CHANGE THEM?
A. Most of these options are hardcoded internally. Don't change them unless you
know what you are doing.
Q. HOW CAN I CREATE MY OWN SCENARIOS FOR MY SERVER?
A. You can't.
Q. HOW CAN I CHANGE THE SERVER STARTUP OPTIONS PRESENTED WHEN A CLIENT CONNECTS?
A. You can't. These options are hard-coded into the server in order to prevent
tampering.
Q. HOW CAN I BAN SOMEONE FROM MY SERVER?
A. You can't. If you don't want someone on your server, password protect it.
Q. HOW CAN WE HOST AND PLAY A CO-OP GAME?
A. The default MP0000.SCR (ROAM) scenario supports both co-op and deathmatch modes.
What this means is that you and a bunch of friends can join a server as the same
RACE/CASTE and engage forces hostile to your race/caste. NPC auto-generation can
also be enabled on the server for increased engagements.
The game also has two co-op specific scenarios which must be configured on the server
using the UCSERVERCONFIG tool. The scenarios are MP0001.SCR and MP0002.SCR.
Q. IS PLAYER TO PLAYER TRADING SUPPORTED IN MULTIPLAYER?
A. Yes. You can transfer items in Logistix to a cargo pod, then deploy the cargo pod
for the other person to collect using their tractor beam or shuttles. There is no method
of transfering money (GalCreds) between players.
Q. I AM A MARINE OR PILOT PLAYING ON A PLANET. HOW CAN I GO TO ANOTHER PLANET?
A. Marines can fly shuttles and gunships. When you deploy, find one in the region you are in.
Q. HOW DO WE SCORE IN MULTIPLAYER?
A. Your stats display, as well as the online clients list, will display combat kills as well as
Experience Points earned during combat engagements.
Q. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO IN SINGLE PLAYER THAT I CAN'T IN MULTIPLAYER?
A. Yes. Multiplayer presents a whole heap of complexities, cheat loopholes, performance
issues etc. As such, some single play features are disabled. Some may become server
side config options if time permits.
- You cannot deploy OTS weapons (because it is possible to kill everyone on a planet
with it and there is no defense against these type of weapons.
- You cannot call for a tow (because it can be exploited as a cheat)
- You can tow other units but with the following restrictions
- You cannot tow NPC objects. So, no cheating by e.g. towing a sam from one base
and dropping it somewhere else.
- You cannot tow another player's support assets (e.g. fighters).
- You cannot tow another player if he is in fp mode. And instead of killing him
(as it does in single play), it just won't lock. So, no cheating by killing first
person players using the tractor beam.
- You cannot tow another player unless he is in his asset (command craft/fighter/vehicle)
and has manually activated the SOS emitter using CTRL+ALT+T. If this is on, you can tow this
player from place to place but he can also disable it at any time using the same key (it is a
toggle), thereby breaking the tractor lock. Naturally, doing it from 25K feet in a vehicle means
you're as good as dead.
- You cannot tow ground vehicles from one planet to another. Then again, you can't
do it in the single play game either.
- You cannot use the Navitron computer because it does not access the multiplayer galaxy map.
- You cannot save/restore games.
- You cannot capture stations.