Newbie Spellweaver
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2019
- Messages
- 23
- Reaction score
- 16
Hi everyone,
I'm sharing the server files and a detailed update on the work completed so far. The project has progressed from endless Play spinners, black screens and disconnects to a local development setup with world entry, native character initialization and working movement.
This post covers the complete development setup. The download contains SERVER FILES ONLY; the client-side adapters used for several milestones below are not included.
LOCAL DEPENDENCIES AND BYPASSES
Several independent checks and service dependencies had to be handled before local gameplay could work:
- Anti-cheat/integrity startup gate: bypassed the client-side missing-anti-cheat/integrity shutdown that blocked the tested local launch. This is a build-specific local startup result, not a claim of defeating an active online anti-cheat service or server attestation.
- DTLS trust: adapted the client's trust path so it could establish an encrypted connection with the local responder.
- Steam platform dependency: implemented a local provider for the required Steam interfaces, synthetic identity and ticket callbacks. Login and world entry were verified without a running Steam client or overlay.
- Authentication: supplied local credentials, signed JWTs, identity responses and connection tickets. The tested profile uses synthetic local identity rather than a live account session.
- Regional-service wait: disabled the AWS region pinger before startup while preserving the completion callback required by the frontend. The login flow can select localhost and continue without waiting for remote region measurements.
- Offline disconnects: configured the engine's supported offline connection-watchdog setting and handled the separate AFK kick. A live stationary session remained active beyond the previously observed twenty-minute disconnect point.
- Local networking and files: restricted normal client socket/DNS traffic to loopback and separated local profile/save paths from the existing installation's user data. Gameplay process audits observed loopback traffic, with no Steam client or overlay module loaded.
WORLD ENTRY AND CONNECTION FLOW
The development setup now reaches the in-game scene through the local authentication and REP connection flow. The backend handles DTLS, Carrier framing, decompression, registration replies, reliable acknowledgments, packet sequencing, chunking and keepalives.
World loading currently uses a temporary Corinth bootstrap fixture. Reaching that scene was a major milestone, but it is not yet the correct new-player introduction. The captured bootstrap data is not part of this download.
FRESH CHARACTER INITIALIZATION
Character creation now preserves the selected name, appearance and archetype/backstory. The local backend saves this metadata across restarts. The fresh actor path excludes the old player's gameplay payloads and constructs initial component data through native constructors and readers.
Actual actor checks in the tested configuration verified:
- Level 1, zero XP and zero currency.
- All five base attributes at 5.
- Empty stored attribute bonus/allocation data.
- Initialized health at 856/856.
- Empty inventory/equipment state before starter-item integration.
- The selected native backstory and its matching archetype achievement.
The reset target is the selected archetype's starting values, not literal zero for every field. Only the selected archetype achievement is initialized; tutorial unlocks and completion flags are not pre-granted. Complete trade-skill, derived-stat and progression coverage is still unfinished.
THE MOVEMENT BREAKTHROUGH
The first fresh actor could remain prone; later it stood and played walking animations but never moved. Two missing initialization values explained those failures.
The player-connected property had retained its false default, keeping the actor in the engine's Offline state. Supplying it through the native initialization path restored the normal standing state. The Action state also lacked the native CanNav permission, which prevented movement from being integrated. Initializing that permission restored physical movement while preserving subsequent engine state changes.
The working path now uses the client's input, prediction, collision/controller, physics, movement history and local reconciliation. One measured session covered approximately 355 metres of horizontal movement, and movement was also confirmed in interactive testing.
STARTER ITEMS AND FULL-INTRO WORK
Native item construction and serialization have been verified for four starter clothing items and the FTUE sword. Their identities and fields survived item-to-record-to-wire-to-record roundtrips. A private Container test successfully read all five records and consumed the complete payload. Normal grants to the player and equipping those items are still pending.
The intended route remains the full opening sequence, playable FTUE_V2, then Windsward in NewWorld_VitaeEterna. Work has mapped the introductory task chain, starter-loadout timing, level/context format and FTUE geometry. A persistent story journal records requested effects separately from observed completion.
The remaining work includes the actual FTUE scene/player bootstrap, cinematics and triggers, objective progression, NPC/combat behavior, starter equipment and the final Windsward transfer. Full gameplay persistence and shared-world multiplayer are also unfinished. The intro will not be marked complete merely to skip these systems.
DOWNLOAD AND SETUP
The ZIP contains the backend runtime: authentication/configuration services, character metadata persistence, REP transport, protocol modules and setup/launch tools. It does not include client adapters, game assets, existing accounts, private keys or session captures. Running this archive alone does not reproduce the complete playable test setup described above.
Tested on Windows with Python 3.13. Extract the ZIP and open PowerShell inside NewWorld_Server:
py -3.13 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -r requirements.txt
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe tools\setup_local.py
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe tools\run_backend.py
Setup generates fresh local keys. The services listen on localhost HTTPS 8443 and UDP/DTLS 23971. Ctrl+C stops both. The packaged backend passed a real local HTTPS/DTLS connection test after extraction.
The next milestone is the complete fresh-player story flow. Developers interested in protocol handling, native world initialization, inventory or quest systems are welcome to contribute.
I'm sharing the server files and a detailed update on the work completed so far. The project has progressed from endless Play spinners, black screens and disconnects to a local development setup with world entry, native character initialization and working movement.
This post covers the complete development setup. The download contains SERVER FILES ONLY; the client-side adapters used for several milestones below are not included.
LOCAL DEPENDENCIES AND BYPASSES
Several independent checks and service dependencies had to be handled before local gameplay could work:
- Anti-cheat/integrity startup gate: bypassed the client-side missing-anti-cheat/integrity shutdown that blocked the tested local launch. This is a build-specific local startup result, not a claim of defeating an active online anti-cheat service or server attestation.
- DTLS trust: adapted the client's trust path so it could establish an encrypted connection with the local responder.
- Steam platform dependency: implemented a local provider for the required Steam interfaces, synthetic identity and ticket callbacks. Login and world entry were verified without a running Steam client or overlay.
- Authentication: supplied local credentials, signed JWTs, identity responses and connection tickets. The tested profile uses synthetic local identity rather than a live account session.
- Regional-service wait: disabled the AWS region pinger before startup while preserving the completion callback required by the frontend. The login flow can select localhost and continue without waiting for remote region measurements.
- Offline disconnects: configured the engine's supported offline connection-watchdog setting and handled the separate AFK kick. A live stationary session remained active beyond the previously observed twenty-minute disconnect point.
- Local networking and files: restricted normal client socket/DNS traffic to loopback and separated local profile/save paths from the existing installation's user data. Gameplay process audits observed loopback traffic, with no Steam client or overlay module loaded.
WORLD ENTRY AND CONNECTION FLOW
The development setup now reaches the in-game scene through the local authentication and REP connection flow. The backend handles DTLS, Carrier framing, decompression, registration replies, reliable acknowledgments, packet sequencing, chunking and keepalives.
World loading currently uses a temporary Corinth bootstrap fixture. Reaching that scene was a major milestone, but it is not yet the correct new-player introduction. The captured bootstrap data is not part of this download.
FRESH CHARACTER INITIALIZATION
Character creation now preserves the selected name, appearance and archetype/backstory. The local backend saves this metadata across restarts. The fresh actor path excludes the old player's gameplay payloads and constructs initial component data through native constructors and readers.
Actual actor checks in the tested configuration verified:
- Level 1, zero XP and zero currency.
- All five base attributes at 5.
- Empty stored attribute bonus/allocation data.
- Initialized health at 856/856.
- Empty inventory/equipment state before starter-item integration.
- The selected native backstory and its matching archetype achievement.
The reset target is the selected archetype's starting values, not literal zero for every field. Only the selected archetype achievement is initialized; tutorial unlocks and completion flags are not pre-granted. Complete trade-skill, derived-stat and progression coverage is still unfinished.
THE MOVEMENT BREAKTHROUGH
The first fresh actor could remain prone; later it stood and played walking animations but never moved. Two missing initialization values explained those failures.
The player-connected property had retained its false default, keeping the actor in the engine's Offline state. Supplying it through the native initialization path restored the normal standing state. The Action state also lacked the native CanNav permission, which prevented movement from being integrated. Initializing that permission restored physical movement while preserving subsequent engine state changes.
The working path now uses the client's input, prediction, collision/controller, physics, movement history and local reconciliation. One measured session covered approximately 355 metres of horizontal movement, and movement was also confirmed in interactive testing.
STARTER ITEMS AND FULL-INTRO WORK
Native item construction and serialization have been verified for four starter clothing items and the FTUE sword. Their identities and fields survived item-to-record-to-wire-to-record roundtrips. A private Container test successfully read all five records and consumed the complete payload. Normal grants to the player and equipping those items are still pending.
The intended route remains the full opening sequence, playable FTUE_V2, then Windsward in NewWorld_VitaeEterna. Work has mapped the introductory task chain, starter-loadout timing, level/context format and FTUE geometry. A persistent story journal records requested effects separately from observed completion.
The remaining work includes the actual FTUE scene/player bootstrap, cinematics and triggers, objective progression, NPC/combat behavior, starter equipment and the final Windsward transfer. Full gameplay persistence and shared-world multiplayer are also unfinished. The intro will not be marked complete merely to skip these systems.
DOWNLOAD AND SETUP
The ZIP contains the backend runtime: authentication/configuration services, character metadata persistence, REP transport, protocol modules and setup/launch tools. It does not include client adapters, game assets, existing accounts, private keys or session captures. Running this archive alone does not reproduce the complete playable test setup described above.
Tested on Windows with Python 3.13. Extract the ZIP and open PowerShell inside NewWorld_Server:
py -3.13 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -r requirements.txt
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe tools\setup_local.py
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe tools\run_backend.py
Setup generates fresh local keys. The services listen on localhost HTTPS 8443 and UDP/DTLS 23971. Ctrl+C stops both. The packaged backend passed a real local HTTPS/DTLS connection test after extraction.
The next milestone is the complete fresh-player story flow. Developers interested in protocol handling, native world initialization, inventory or quest systems are welcome to contribute.
