LiF:YO Livemap 2.0 released

Main Improvements:

Hosted livemaps are available on TerraTool
Most of the configuration moved to database (configurable via UI)
Group and permission management system:
- Unlimited number of different logins with individual permissions
- Unlimited number of character groups with individual tags
RCON features for admins/GMs implemented
Precise in-game time and date display
Current weather and weather forecast
Player statistics tracker (w.i.p.)

Hosted Livemaps

With the TerraTool 1.6.0 update it’s possible to add a hosted livemap for each gameserver that has been added to the server manager. Once enabled, it’ll create the livemap on the TerraTool server and give you a unique link to it which you can use on your website or share with your GMs for administrative reference. For more information please read the TerraTool 1.6.0 update post.

Configuration Page

With the growing amount of configurable options in config.php of the old livemap, some solution for easier configuration had to be found. Just image the amount of variables and settings it would need to allow for multiple logins with different permissions. It’s close to impossible. So I decided to move most of the configuration to the database and added a configuration page where the admin can configure all the settings formerly available in config.php. What remains in the config file is the database connection info, the gameserver ip/port, the admin password and a switch to disable the server query API optionally in case your webhost doesn’t allow such connections or your server is private.

Be aware that the configuration page can be accessed with the admin password only. Do not share it with people you don’t fully trust. Rather create a group for them and assign special permissions (see below).

Group & Permissions Management System

Groups serve two purposes: Rights assignment and player tagging. All custom groups can be used for either one or both at the same time.

Rights assignment: In earlier livemap versions, there was only one GM login with all permissions. With groups, you can add an indefinite number of logins with individual permissions. Once you decide to assign individual permissions and information visibility to a group, you have to set a password for it. Users can then login with this password to aquire the configured permissions.

Player tagging: In older versions of the livemap you could enable or disable GM tags, which would add a colored ‘GM’ sign behind the matching player names. Now every group can have its own tag and tag color. So in case you have people who have some kind of rank or staff position aside from GMs on your server, just create a group, name and color the tag and the respective characters to it.

Two special groups are present by default and can’t be deleted:

Anonymous / Visitor: This is actually not really a group. It does not have members, it does not have a password and it can’t be used for tagging. It’s simply the permission profile assigned to every visitor that is not logged in. So always configure the default public access level here.
Game Masters: Special group for GMs. It can be used for both login and player tagging. Only special thing about this group is that it’ll add all characters whose account has the IsGM value set to ‘1’ in the database automatically. You can add more characters manually though.

RCON Features

With the help of the updated server mod for the Livemap, this update implements remote control (RCON) functions for LiF:YO servers. The permission to access the RCON console is assignable to any group or can be reserved for the admin login only.

Broadcast a message to all players. The equivalent of using the CenterPrintAll() or BottomPrintAll() functions in the server console.
Send a message to a certain player. The equivalent of using CenterPrint() or BottomPrint() functions in the server console.
Kick a player from the server. A kick reason can be defined. The player will see it in the kick message.
Ban a player from the server.
Bans can be permanent or temporarily. Time period can be set.
Manually trigger certain server functions, such as midnight tree growth, crops growth, animals respawn.
Execute custom server console commands.

The main benefit should be the ability to give these rights to certain people without giving them full access to the server and the OS. Furthermore, owners of instanced servers with no access to the server console can now finally take advantage of the server console for the first time.

Time, Date and Weather

The livemap can now show the exact in-game time and date in the header. If you place the correct cm_weather1.xml from your server directory in the /weather/ directory of the livemap, it’ll also show the today´s and tomorrow´s weather. In addition you can enable a 8-day weather forecast if you like.

One important thing to mention is that the game has a very unrealistic sunrise/sundawn cycle. Please be aware that in LiF, sunrise comes shortly after midnight and sundawn is somewhat in the late afternoon. If you don’t believe me, watch the date change on the in-game minimap when the livemap clock hits midnight. This has caused us lots of confusion during testing, so don’t let this happen to you.

Statistics Tracker

This is a planned feature. Not implemented in the livemap or TerraTool yet, but the server mod collects data for it already. So when this feature comes to light, you’ll be able to see the data since the day you installed the server mod of this version.

The mod collects information about which character is online every 5 minutes. When the front-end for this is done, you’ll be able to tell:

When was a certain character online for the last time (is he still active?) and filter for inactive players.
When was any member of a certain guild online for the last time (is the guild still active?)
Total online time for players. Could be used to give them rewards or titles… be creative.
Show general statistics of the server, similar to life-is-feudal.org but perhaps more extensive.
… and more

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2 thoughts on “LiF:YO Livemap 2.0 released”

Johnny says:

August 20, 2017 at 04:20

Is there any possibility of getting this wonderful tool for the LIF MMO Map? I’d happily contribute (again) for a solid interactive map using your above tools. Hit me up if you’re interested and we can talk viability/price.

1. nyuton says:
  
  August 21, 2017 at 11:39
  
  You’d have to address this to the LiF MMO devs. It would require database access to the LiF MMO servers which I highly doubt will ever be given to anyone outside the dev team.