Squatting Monk wrote...
If you recall, I said the reason it wasn't crippling is that there were workarounds even when the Master Server was online. Servers are very vulnerable right now, yes, but they were very vulnerable back then, too. It's just that now everyone knows how vulnerable they are. Yes, the Master Server being down removes a first line of defense, but it also forces server admins to pay attention to security where they were complacent before. All things being equal, I'd prefer to have the Master server and have server admins implement tight security practices, but we're stuck with just the latter. People need to get used to it.
Lazarus Magni wrote...
The community can solve a lot of problems. But apparently they can’t (or are unwilling to) solve this one simple one. Not for bioware, retroactively, nor presently, nor for the future, nor for the NWN 1 on line community at large, nor for any other game modeled after the precedent NWN 1 set.
As I said, apparently the future is bleak.
What, exactly, did you expect the community to do, besides kicking around "wouldn't it be nice if..." ideas and hoping a big company think it's worth sinking millions of dollars into?
First of all what makes you think it would cost millions of dollars? Where are you getting that estimation from? It could be as simple as just turning the master server back on (if it’s not already… you don’t get a webpage no longer exists message when you visit nwn.bioware.com, you get re-routed here.).
Part of the problem is Bioware was intentionally vague about what happened, and has not been forthcoming about any details since (neither regarding what happened, nor the resolution.) Everyone has just assumed, ok no response, means it’s dead permanently.
Part of the problem for me is that I am not an IT professional. But from my own un-IT-educated perspective this is how it breaks down.
Bioware’s nwn 1 website got hacked. Somehow this also affects the master server. So what is the master server? Apparently it was the server that hosted the web pages, and was involved in interfacing (or however that works) with Game Spy to cross check CD keys, with player accounts for authentication.
So, this begs the question. Why would anyone do this on a 10 year old game? Usually when sites get hacked they are storing finical information of their users. Linkedin is a recent example of this. And usually those sites are back up within days if not hours (although I have no idea how stolen financial data is rectified.)
But that was not the case here. Bioware didn’t store our financial data. So what did the hackers get? Our e-mail addresses? Possibly our player names and CD keys? Which still begs the question… why? I know I haven’t received a massive barrage of spam because of this. So some hacker is risking jail time, so they can get access to someone’s player account on a ten year old game? I don’t think there is much of a marked on e-bay for nwn 1 player accounts any more… It just doesn’t make any sense.
Ok so what if that was the motivation… The damage has already been done, turning off the master server doesn’t fix it. Turning the master server back on however, would fix a lot. So sure, that one person (or couple people), might be able to log into PW’s with other peoples accounts. Provided those PW’s don’t have Funky Swerve’s security system installed as a second line of defense. But as it is now, it’s not just those perpetrators who can do this it’s anyone. Turning the master server back on, won’t stop those thieves, but it will stop others taking advantage of this.
So what would bioware’s motivation be for doing this?
1) Protect their game’s integrity, and their company reputation.
2) Protect their customers
3) Catch the people who did this.
I think 1 and 2 are self explanatory. But one barrier to this may be financial. It’s possible any revenue bioware is getting from new sales of NWN 1 no longer cover the cost of maintaining the master server. I offered an idea which might be able to make up the difference. Bioware could start (or buy out) a hosting company. There are a lot of servers out there paying between 24$ and 400$ a month. That is a fair amount of money Bioware is not currently getting from their product. Bioware could offer reasonably priced hosting, promote it right here on their web pages (and elsewhere), and use the revenue to both support the hosting service, and the master server maintenance costs. Anything left over is cake.
In the instance of buying out an existing company, they would not even have to do much. The infrastructure and personnel is already there. They could either make them part of the company, or hire them as independent contractors.
And as far as 3… It’s classic crime solving. You follow the money (or data) trail. Right now the thieves have no use for the player info they got. If CD keys were relevant, perhaps they would attempt to use them somehow. Bioware could ask PW owners to report any suspicious activity (like someone logging in with CD keys they should not have), and Bioware and the community could keep an eye out for how else this might be used (selling on e-bay, or what have you.)
SM, you asked what would I like the community to do? It’s sign a petition to bioware imploring them to restore the service. It’s offer ideas like this, which could really resolve this issue.
This post may be a year late in coming. But it’s here now. And the problem (lack of the master server) still is too. The issue is only dead if we let it die.
Modifié par Lazarus Magni, 31 août 2012 - 07:08 .
