First, let me preface this post with this:
I am running an "HL1: Opposing Force" server which is an outdated MOD which virtually no one supports anymore - including Gearbox (the creators).
Not only does NFO still support this MOD, but my server has been running flawlessly ever since I got it (more than a year).
I was the original source of the problem, and while the Automated Repair Script did not function as intended, NFO gave me the tools I needed to fix the problem myself.
What happened was that I had added a custom map to the server. This is nothing new, my server runs many custom maps. I logged into the server and switched to the map and it seemed to be running fine. However, over night when that map came up (I am assuming this part) the server would crash. After three crashes the automated repair script ran and "repaired" my server. The report I found the next morning said:
I didn't know any of this had happened until I tried to connect to the server. I received and error: "Your dll (dlls/client.dll) differs from the server's". I thought that my game client had been updates by Steam overnight. I tried to connecting to three other Opposing Force servers, and I was able to connect to them without any problems. That's when I went back and checked the server logs and found that the Automated Repair Script had run on the server.Processing <server name>:
Refreshing hardlinks:
2688 missing or corrupted files were replaced.
Resetting custom.hpk.
Checking autoexec.cfg.
Checking server.cfg.
Checking mapcycle.txt.
Loading and checking addons/metamod/plugins.ini.
Refreshing steam_appid.txt from mod folder.
..Done.
So I brought down the server so that it would simply be "absent" and not turning people away with a "bad dll" error and scheduled a wipe + restore. That fixed the problem - the server is now back up and running as before (minus the bad map).
I post this only to help the NFO admins be aware that for this very rare case, the automated repair is not working as intended. I suspect that it has a store of outdated files for HL-Op4.
Also, I'd like to make a feature request for the Admin Console - the ability to trigger a wipe and restore right away. I don't know if this is possible with your backup system, but if it is possible it would have been a great option for me and would have reduced me server's downtime from 16 hours to just 2~3. It also occurred to me that had I not seen the problem with my server, it would likely have run the Monday Morning Backup, which would have overwritten my good backup. It would be nice if backups were disabled in the event of an Automated Repair until an administrator could acknowledge the action in the control panel.
Again, this is not a gripe, but simply an FYI and a big THANK YOU for a great service.
D-Gen
<edited - Title was too long and truncated>