Creating an Rcontool

[Virtual]

Hi
I'd like to learn how to create an rcon tool for a game. It's a remote control tool that allows admins to administrate their servers. I once had a tutorial but I really can't find it anymore. First you have to connect with the winsock control but that's all I know, perhaps anybody else knows anything about this?

thanks

[jeroen79]

Winsock would handle the connection between server and admin client.

Does the game have any remote admin interface of it's own?

You need to define a protocol of commands to send over the winsock connection.
For example, to kick a player you would send the string "kick Virtual" to the server.

The server reads that string and determines that the first word signals the intention to kick someone and that the second word signals that it is you who has to be kicked.
The server then does whatever it needs to do to get rid of you.

Commands can also be used to request data.
"list sessions" would make the server send a list of the active sessions to the admin client.

It would be best to make a dedicated class for this interfaces.
The class would talk to a winsock connection, interpret the commands it receives and relays them to the proper parts of the game.

The objects would relate like this:
game---serverside_admin_interface---serverside_winsock---internet---adminside_winsock---adminside_admin_interface---admin_UI

The key goals are to define a good protocol, determine how to interface with the game on the server and making a good UI for the admin.

Another option is to run something like a php page on the server and interface that with the game.
Then you can control the server with any webbrowser.

[Virtual]

Yes it has a remote admin interface. Ingame, you should first login > /rcon login password then you can edit every setting, cvar, ... with a command. Like you said /rcon kick Virtual. But I'd like to know how to create it with VB6. It's for call of duty 2 btw.

First I should let it connect to the server with winsock. But when it's connected how can I, like login ? Like you do ingame /rcon login password.
Would it be like

Dim cmd As String
cmd = "/rcon login password"
Winsock1.SendData cmd

[jeroen79]

You will need to find out how you can talk to the game as an admin without using the game itself.
This will be different for each game.

[Virtual]

I hope I will find a tutorial on this because It won't work

[jeroen79]

The game probably won't listen to to regular console commands alone.

What you should find out is either how you can make your application masquerade as a normal game client or find out how a program running on the server can change things in the game.

This will require intimate knowledge of the game's network protocols.
This your first obstacle and has nothing to do with VB.
It is no use to do anything in VB before youget this tackled.

Do you have access to the server computer?
Do you have access to the game's source or developer documentation?
Is the game yours?

[Virtual]

Damn you're making it hard. The server computer itself, no but I do have FTP acces and stuff. and the game is mine ye. No I don't thing you can get its source code.