Graeme from idsoftware has updated his plan with a heap of news on problems with the auth server, info on performance for Mac users and some other good stuff. Not sure how relevent this is to the Aussie gamer since we dont have Team Arena available here yet and by the time we do you wont be able to find this info:

I've been looking at the auth server pretty much all weekend, going over the logs for those people we specifically deny access to. In almost every case the original Q3A cdkey is somehow mangled and replaced by "generatedby" (ignoring the crazy haxor keys we get) which is the first few characters of the text we place after we write the cd-key out to the file.

As I see it, the client, or some mod, has erased the cd-key on the client. We're authorizing around 60k people a day, this is an issue affecting a small number of people. I apologize if it has affected you.

Before we even write a CD key in Q3A 1.27, we validate it. We did not do this in 1.17 or 1.25, so the mangling of keys should be decreasing as more people move on to 1.27 and re-enter their valid keys (one more time).


I've paid close attention to Team Arena cdkey entrances, in every case of a "deny" going to the client, there's been a valid Q3A cdkey come through, but no Team Arena cdkey at all. If you're having problems, check that there is a cdkey displayed in the in game menu system for both Q3A and Team Arena. Make sure you have started Team Arena directly, and not entered it from either the mods menu or the "Team Arena" menu item in Q3A. Make sure that the Q3A cdkey is entered in Q3A and the Team Arena cdkey is entered in Team Arena (I've seen swapped keys come in).

In other news on the idsoftware front, Tim Wilits updated his plan with a challenge from idsoftware to all (North American) gamers in Team Arena on one of the id servers

Id Challenge, Team Arena

Id versus the World in CTF Team Arena

If you want to play, connect into 192.246.40.88 and join BLUE id will
Play RED.

CTF on Distance Screams (mpterra2), capture limit 5, number of games ??

Sounds like fun, maybe I should point a qtv server at it.

I can't help wondering why they are so stupid about CDkeys. None of the other Quakes used online auth, nor did Doom, but they all became ferrari/viper driving millionaires outta those.

They give themselves and many paying customers (that includes your truly) headaches over auth errors. BTW, I've emailed Devine over these but they are so temporary he's never been able to track them.

Man I'm all for controlling piracy if it can be done without abusing the legit customer, but that isn't the case atm.

I don't want to start a piracy debate tho, just wondering what others think about the use of auth keys.

>Sounds like fun, maybe I should point a qtv server at it

Er, won't we need TA to watch it tho? sif those id wouldn't be owned

It was worse for games using won's services at the start, they didnt even include options for lan, you had to bind the won servers in your hosts file. From memory you had to do that on the inital test of quake3 too. I dont think there really is an answer to this one, the technology behind this is still in its infancy. We just have to cop it sweet till they all get better at it.

Or we could write our own and give it to them :)