Monthly Archives: September 2006

BF2 1.4 Finally Realesed

Finally after a long and painful wait Battlefield 2 Patch 1.4 has been released.

1.4 Patch – New content

* New level: Road to Jalalabad (Conquest 16-32-64, Singleplayer, Co-op)
* New Server Option: No Vehicles mode

1.4 Patch – Fix List
Front End:

* Front end – Fix server browser issues with updating info
* Front End – Multiplayer & Co-op – Players on server list can include Bots instead of human players
* Multiplayer Internet Server maps size filter not working
* Fixed an issue in the front end where pressing tab twice in the IP window would cause the cursor to skip to wrong box

Game Server:

* Increased server stability
* All levels – Co-op – Crash after reviving player without a kit- 1st attempt Server – Linux 32 Dedicated – Server crashes when trying to rotate maps in Special Forces Co-op Mode (fixed on SUSE only. Still present in Red Hat and Fedora)
* Adjust the minimum number of players to start the round.The new values for 16, 32 and 64 players are 6, 6 and 8 respectively.
* Re-enable unlocks on unranked servers
* Ranked server forces unlocks i.e. have to have unlocks selected.
* Coop – Local Server – If Server Host is kicked and banned although they do not actually get kicked, no other players may join the server after that point.
* Fixed a dedicated server crash which was occurring when the user held “CTRL” and “SHIFT” while selecting a map
* Fixed a crash which would occur when c4 was placed on a flag pole and the server rotated maps
* Vehicle drop crash related bug (missing icon)
* Co-Op bot console commands do not function on local servers.

Client / Gameplay:

* Red/Blue nametag bug –Fix to the issue where players would show up with the wrong color name tag
* Introduced a delay from proning to standing to help reduce exploiting
* Adjusted C4 to make throwing more difficult
* Fixed the issue where a red distance marker appears on the ground
* Fixed the issue that caused players arms to become invisible after switching weapons when using throwable items
* Made adjustments to reduce the damage taken by vehicles when driving
* Adjusted the tire material on the muscle car to reduce the issue with this vehicle taking too much damage.
* Commander options no longer available whilst dead.
* Fixed the issue with a spawn point showing up as selected when a player has spawned in during preview round
* Fixed the issue that would cause infantry players to be revived with no kit.
* Fixed several rare graphics crashes.
* Fixed issue with players crashing while clicking “Join Game” in the front end
* Car-Drop: Made adjustments to the car drop feature to prevent players from exploiting into buildings.
* Discovered and repaired an issue tied to projectiles which would sometimes allow tanks to fire two shells, support to fire multiple rounds, and other issues (all maps).
* Fixed bug where after 2 rounds on the same map, the top player stars are awarded to the wrong people in the menu
* Transport Helicopters – Increased the armor of all transport helicopters

ED2K Link

Sharereactor Site Back Online

ShareReactor was once the unchallenged king of ED2K link sites but in 2002 the website was shutdown by Swiss authorities in an attempt to purge the pirate site. It appears now that their website is back up and running after 4 years with all its ED2K link content now hosted in the Netherlands.

This asks the question of how long it will last before authorities try to shut it down again. I am sure that many a music, movie, and software producer will not be happy with this.

You can get a copy of the old ShareReactor Database using this ED2K Link.

The Fight Against BitTorrent

The advent of BitTorrent was a cause for celebration for people who wished to share large files very quickly, but Internet Service Providers did not see the technology in quite the same positive light. ISPs soon found that the majority of their bandwidth was taken up with BitTorrent traffic, and some, like Canadian provider Shaw, started throttling the service in response. BitTorrent clients such as Azureus added a feature that encrypted torrent traffic to try and get around these ISP roadblocks.

Now, a company called Allot Communications is claiming that their new hardware product, the NetEnforcer, is the first device that will seek out and throttle encrypted BitTorrent traffic. According to a spokesperson for the company, the NetEnforcer utilizes deep packet inspection technology “to identify and analyze hundreds of applications and protocols, track subscriber behavior, prioritize traffic and shape traffic flows.”

Read full artical at Ars Technica – (Accessed 04-09-2006)