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Forums > Home› The Academy

Zaturi's Star Trek Online ServerChecker

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,018 Arc User
edited January 2013 in The Academy
I programmed a small server checker for Star Trek Online. The program reads the sever status from the launcher website, so don't blame me if the checker displays server online when it's actually offline. :p

Features:
  • setup your preferred refresh time for the online and offline states of the server
  • play an alarm sound and display balloon tips when the server comes back online
  • start the Star Trek Online launcher from the tray or automatically when the server go online
  • check out the latest dev posts from the devtracker and check them for server news automatically
  • automatically checks for new versions of the ServerChecker

You need .Net 3.5 (<- link) to run the application. The program is not tested on older versions yet.

Download Warp 6 (88 kB)

Members of the 3rd Fleet already tested it out, it's virus free. Scan here if you don't trust the program: http://www.kaspersky.com/scanforvirus

Any feedback is desirable! Have Fun. :D

Changelog:

Warp 6:
  • servercheck fixed

Warp 5:
  • bug at Windows startup fixed
  • bug at version checking fixed
  • options will now be saved in the application data of the user

Warp 4:
  • new option to run the ServerChecker at Windows startup
  • read DevTracker links are saved when exited
  • onlinechecker should no longer hang on certain moments
  • removed annoying timeout balloons

Warp 3:
  • get the latest dev posts from the devtracker
  • check the dev posts for server up or down news
  • manually check online state or update devtracker
  • changed some options
  • minor bugfixes

Warp 2:
  • grammar, spelling and layout fixes

Credits:
Zacharias Stahl (Windows startup idea)
Dustrova (spelling, grammar, layout tips)
Oliver Richards (idea)
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Neat.. you should figure out a way to make this a Vista/Windows 7 gadget.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    sirurza wrote: »
    Neat.. you should figure out a way to make this a Vista/Windows 7 gadget.

    As far is I know a gadget is made of JavaScript, XML, HTML, and CSS files. I don't like all the webstuff but maybe someone here has experience with gadgets and is interested in making one.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Sorry for the doublepost but had to fix a nasty bug. Running the application at Windows statup will now work properly. You can delete the "Star Trek Online ServerChecker.pref" and "Star Trek Online ServerChecker.vis" files in the application directory.

    Warp 5:
    • bug at Windows startup fixed
    • bug at version checking fixed
    • options will now be saved in the application data of the user
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Awsome ... simple, clean .... works :)
    Score: 10 / 10
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Everyone who uses this vote here :)
    I am 100% for sticking this tool to the topic!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    sadly this might be useful. but, giving credit to cryptic when deserved, the servers have been up pretty well in the last few days. at least when ive tried to get on.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I've also written a conky script for you linux people out there. I was using it during beta to check when the servers would be up for me to log in.

    I can post it, if theres enough interest.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    This is pretty neat. Good job mate!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Catkicker wrote:
    sadly this might be useful. but, giving credit to cryptic when deserved, the servers have been up pretty well in the last few days. at least when ive tried to get on.

    Yea that's why I build in the DevTracker reader. Perfect for lazy guys like me. :p
    Grelf wrote: »
    I've also written a conky script for you linux people out there. I was using it during beta to check when the servers would be up for me to log in.

    I can post it, if theres enough interest.

    I haven't tried it out yet, but maybe my program will work under Mono.

    Feel free to post your script, I would love to see some other implementations. :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Zaturi, you (sir?) are awesome! I'm an Eve player (well, was, until STO came out lol), and I've always liked Eve Mon's server status info. Now, I have it for STO. :D Thank you so much for this program!

    And I also call for sticky! (Well, for other people, anyway. I'm bookmarking this page for myself lol)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    after 12 years of mmo playing you'd think i'd know better than to say something about how good uptime has been :P
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Fractal_Eye wrote:
    Zaturi, you (sir?) are awesome! I'm an Eve player (well, was, until STO came out lol), and I've always liked Eve Mon's server status info. Now, I have it for STO. :D Thank you so much for this program!

    And I also call for sticky! (Well, for other people, anyway. I'm bookmarking this page for myself lol)

    Thank you and all the others of course too! And yes, real life = sir, but ingame = lady. :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2011
    Thank you very much for this tool. But since this week, the server checker is grey all the time. Is it possible, that this tool is not campatible with season 4 ???
    If that´s so, would you please so kind to update this ???:)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2011
    Blimy, this is an old one. *ponders*
    *mummifies the Zombie and puts it somewhere useful*
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2011
    WishStone wrote:
    Blimy, this is an old one. *ponders*
    *mummifies the Zombie and puts it somewhere useful*

    Even mummies still walk once woken.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    Sorry for the late response! I've updated the server checker to work with the "new" launcher page. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited November 2011
    I tried to tell the server status checker to start the launcher automatically when STO came online, but when I tell it where my Star Trek Online.exe application is, it gives me the message "Invalid Star Trek Online"! What's the matter? Is it me, or something else?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited November 2011
    It's actually the built-in SHA-512 and MD5 check of the Star Trek Online.exe to prevent abuse of this function but it's using hashes of an older exe version. I haven't updated that part of the program for months. I can't promise you an update in the following days but maybe there will be one in the near future because I have to install Star Trek Online again to read out the current hashes. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Zaturi wrote: »
    It's actually the built-in SHA-512 and MD5 check of the Star Trek Online.exe to prevent abuse of this function but it's using hashes of an older exe version. I haven't updated that part of the program for months. I can't promise you an update in the following days but maybe there will be one in the near future because I have to install Star Trek Online again to read out the current hashes. :)

    How could anyone abuse the function? why not just launch an exe with the file name of "star trek online.exe" that way if the hash changes it wouldn't matter?
    Why not, instead of a hash, just check the properties (same that you get when you Right Click, Properties on the EXE) for the Digital signature? it is signed: Cryptic Studios Inc.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    The path to the STO exe is saved in plain text within the program preferences. Without an abuse check, one could easily modify the path to a malicious program named the same way as the STO exe.

    I like your idea of checking the digital signature but I'm actually not aware how secure this will be in comparison to the easy-to-implement hash check.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2012
    Anyway you could add a email notification when the server goes back on line?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2012
    Yeah, of course! I will note this feature for the next update.
  • starkymanstarkyman Member Posts: 158 Arc User
    edited October 2012
    did u know the dev tracker has stopped graftin???
  • zaturiizaturii Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2013
    I'd love to update my project but right now I just can't find any time for it. As for the Dev Tracker, there seem to be two issues:
    1. The program is using the forum as an unregistered user and there seems to be no results in the Dev Tracker for this usergroup?
    2. The parser needs to be updated as the structure of the Dev Tracker changed quite a bit.

    Maybe I will find some time in the future to release an update, but I don't know how far away this future is. If there is an common interest in further development I could also release the source code.
This discussion has been closed.