[Zero] Development on hiatus?

[Cala]

Hi,

I've seen that the last update in mangos zero repository was on november 18th while mangons one repository is updated everyday or so. Some of these updates are mangos one related, but others are server/scriptdev2 related on parts that aren't specific to mangos one and thus mangos zero could profit on them. However, mangos zero is not updated.

So I wonder: is mangos zero on hiatus? Is it possible to copy the changes from mangos one scripts (and sometimes server) to mangos zero on my server ? If it works, how do I submit it?

[Xenithar]

I'd be interested in this myself. I want to have a perfect classic experience, and we have a LONG way to go at this point.

[Unkle Nuke]

Several of the Zero developers are involved in other projects. Between that and the holidays, plus school starting after the holiday break, it might just be there's been no time to work upon the Zero project. It doesn't help that the Zero website and forums have died and none of the team from there has come forth with any announcements or news.

TheLuda, the leader of the Zero Project, has also been mysteriously absent as Administrator of our forums. I know he has personal matters that can pull him away for long periods, but he usually informs someone when that happens.

At this point, it's anybody's guess about the future of Zero. Perhaps they have gone silent because of big changes to their organization and plans to start up with a new community site?

An alternate fork of Zero is under active development, ClassyWoW, with the most recent commit being January 1st. They have even shared code with the main Zero repository.

Salja's Github Repos have forks of Zero and ZeroDB that has commits as recent as December 30th.

It's TheLuda's disappearance that has me worried. He's the founder of MaNGOS. That has begun to raise concerns in my own mind about the future of the entire MaNGOS scene. A lot of the original development team has retired or moved on to other things. However, so long as there are C++ and SQL programmers, there will be someone working upon the server and database. There are two facts that are the true concerns. The end of MaNGOS would mean an end to a philosophy and way of doing things that has made MaNGOS the gold standard of all the private server projects out there. It also means a loss of knowledge and skills that would be extremely difficult to replace. Things like opcodes, packet structures, encryption, byte offsets, and so many other details that unlocked WoW's secrets and made private servers possible in the first place are being lost.

All good things...

My recommendation is not to wait around to see what happens. Gather as many as you can find that want to keep Zero going and create a fork of the repositories for your team to work upon. Do searches for and download every tool, tutorial, guide, and wiki you can find that concerns the inner workings of the game client before time erases their existence. It's already become impossible to find client caches and packet captures from public resources for 1.12 and materials for 2.4.3 are becoming exceedingly hard to find. I cannot overstate the urgency with which you must act if this older data is to be preserved, before it disappears forever.

I'm working on sorting and archiving everything I have gathered over the years. Once that's done, I will try to find a way to make it freely available to those that are serious about continuing development of Zero, One, and MaNGOS. I only wish I'd had the foresight to save more than I have.

[Schmoozerd]

I can only say that I know that udb project and sd2 project are very safe

Give Luda some time - december/ januaray are both "short" month for hobbies.

About udw forums: Yes it is a pity that they seem to have disapeared, however they were hosted by yehonal whom i haven't seen in ages

Also I am pretty sure that commit access related to zero github repos (that is a dev state) can be obtained after some time lag for anyone seriously interested.

[Cala]

Thank you for you answers.

If the SQL structures are similar between MaNGOS One et MaNGOS Zero and the various object IDs are the same between the two projects, I'll gladly take what is updated in One and put it in Zero (as long a it is not a One-only update).

As stated above, I have basic C++/SQL programming knowledge and unfortunately, few spare time of late. However, I'll do what I can, based on tutorials available (if you do have good ones to advice).

[Unkle Nuke]

I believe the IDs and values should mostly be the same between Zero and One, excepting those changes made in patches 2.0.0-2.4.3. A few items may have been "rebalanced" or deleted. Spells, skills, talents, and pets were most certainly changed. The only way to know the differences, as well as the original client's data, is by studying the official and unofficial patch notes stored at WoWWiki and any archives at places like WoWDevWiki, Allakhazam, WoWHead, or Thottbot. Old YouTube game play videos may be another good resource.

I have tried to find client caches (the WDB files), packet analysis, and databases for 1.0 through 1.12. Unfortunately, it seems there are no public downloads available despite scouring every CVS, SVN, Git repository, and file or project hosting site I could think of, plus dozens of WoW developer and modding sites for anything that would be helpful in correcting flaws in the server. The oldest data or information only goes as far back as late 2006 or early 2007, after the Scourge had already invaded Azeroth.

Without this data, you'll have to rely on lots of research and the recollections of players. It's probable that you'll never find everything you need, but you should be able to piece together a server that is 90% accurate in reproducing the 1.12 game play.

My own archives are primarily for 2.4.3 and 3.0.3-3.3.5a, with some minor tools for 2.3.0-2.4.2. I had not joined the MaNGOS community until just as 2.4.3 was being released.

I am making an appeal, for the sake of Xenithar and others who wish to work on Zero, that someone who may still have data for 1.0-1.12 to please provide it and give them the same opportunity to create something great. If privacy is a concern, then it can be handled via PM.