Haru

This is something I started working on a while ago (but I had to suspend it in order to take care of some other urgent issues). 
The reason why I wanted to split it is another: the current .po file is very large, and it crashes (or is rejected by) various .po editors (both online and offline). My idea was to generate, instead, one .po for each .txt file in the scripts folder (and load them when loading each .txt). This would also have a positive side-effect of only loading the strings that are actually needed (and potentially warn you if a .po is missing).
Preliminary work to support this was started in the split-huld branch in my fork of the repository (commit 908d531f. So far only the generation is handled, the loading part is not yet implemented.
If there's interest for that, I'll resume working on it.

Fixed in https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/2c60e01501cdce2fb18eba0fa07f6a350ae96d5e

Fixed in https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/2c60e01501cdce2fb18eba0fa07f6a350ae96d5e

I agree with you that libconfig is quite bad, but that's what we're stuck with for the time being. If it was up to me, I'd convert everything to yaml, but I was too late to the party, and Hercules had already started using libconfig for some files.
 
The old .txt format had a lot of (parsing and future extensibility) problems, and it was overdue for an update.
 
I disagree with your point about the sql_connection. The most common case is to have everything in one database, and now you can do that by just editing one file. The format allows for more advanced cases using different databases of course, and it's not much harder to achieve than it used to be (or possibly easier, since the format is standardized, and it makes easier to find things, just do a folder-wide search for sql_connection and you'll find all the files that support separate configurations. You'd previously have to search for sql, db_ and possibly other words.
 
About the separate folders, it might be personal preference, but it feels better organized this way. If you're using any decent/modern text editor, you'd normally open the whole config folder with it, and the files to edit are just one click or keypress away, tidily organized in a nice folder tree (Vim/GVim/MacVim (screenshot), Atom (screenshot), Kate, TextMate, Sublime Text, Coda and possibly many more allow you to do that. If you're stuck with the old notepad++ and it still forces you to open all files separately, maybe it's time to start looking around for alternatives)
On a side note, the files in the import folder are still all in one place.
 
Could the file format and structure be done better? Probably. Are we still in time to do improve it? Of course. Got specific suggestions? Post them in the bugtracker. Complaining that something sucks is pointless, just say how you'd improve it.

Doxygen is a developer-only dependency. We use it (check the 'hooks' target in the top directory Makefile) only to re-generate the HPM Hooking definitions and the HPMDataCheck definitions. That operation is only needed when you edit something in the interfaces (and it's generally not needed to do manually if you push code to the repository or make a pull request, because the build-bot will take care of re-generating those after each push to the master branch)
It's not needed at all in order to run Hercules or to load HPM plugins (even if they use the HPM Hooking)
 
About vim plugins and configurations, this is a good start: https://github.com/HerculesWS/StaffPlugins/tree/master/Haru/vimsyntaxgen
it's a HPM plugin that will let you generate syntax definitions, filetype detectors, etc for Hercules scripts.
It also includes a syntax definition for Syntastic, in case you want to use the Hercules built-in script checker to test the syntax of your scripts every time you save the file. Note that this last part needs the syntastic vim plugin available at https://github.com/scrooloose/syntastic and some configuration (you'll need to tell it where your compiled Hercules is located:
" from my .vimrc let g:syntastic_herc_compiler = '/usr/local/Hercules/script-checker' Other noteworthy plugins that I use: 
- airline - https://github.com/bling/vim-airline (a better status bar)
- commentary - https://github.com/tpope/vim-commentary.git (comment in/out code quickly with 'gc')
- DirDiff - https://github.com/grota/DirDiff.vim.git (diff directories)
- easy-align - https://github.com/junegunn/vim-easy-align.git (auto-align definition blocks, such as enum definitions)
- fugitive - https://github.com/tpope/vim-fugitive.git (git commands from inside vim)
- gitgutter - https://github.com/airblade/vim-gitgutter.git (show markers for added/removed/edited lines if a file is in a git repository)
- repeat - https://github.com/tpope/vim-repeat.git (extends the '.' repeat feature with support for more commands)
- signature - https://github.com/kshenoy/vim-signature.git (show visual hints for 'm' markers)
- unite - https://github.com/Shougo/unite.vim (a framework to search/show/select various kinds of things - advanced stuff, check their page for examples of use)
- YouCompleteMe - https://valloric.github.io/YouCompleteMe (very good autocompleter that actually works, even with Hercules)

We don't really have any archive of actual Ragnarok database data (it's quite unfortunate, yep). Since many Hercules developers have/had access/owned a private server at some point in our life, we have some private samples we can use for tests. I generally use a clean database though.
 
As for packet replays, it depends on what you're working on. I either gather it myself from official servers, if it's something I can access, or ask others if they can record something... There are also some packet structure/length tables available, and most stuff we implement comes from those (followed by test s with the actual client, where possible) - you can find some packet information here http://herc.ws/wiki/Packets (and if you google for some of those IDs, you can likely find more)
 
You can find various more or less useful tools around the Downloads area (http://herc.ws/board/files/) and the Support&Releases area (http://herc.ws/board/forum/13-support-releases/), but there isn't very much tailored to source development. My main friends are vim and the dozen of general purpose vim plugins I use, along with a gcc-compatible compiler and the almighty Z-shell. For in-game testing, I tend to either download a pre-hexed client if I'm testing a specific version that I haven't made on my own, or download a clean one and hex it with NEMO. That goes on a case by case basis
 
Probably not the kind of answer you expected, but I guess this is it at least for me

In order to specify the " character, please prefix it with a backspace (\").
 
This is from the libconfig documentation at http://www.hyperrealm.com/libconfig/libconfig_manual.html#String-Values :

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

You have to override the global settings from inter-server.conf.
 
You need to copy the content of global/sql_connections.conf and paste it inside the "log: { }" block that you see in inter-server.conf (and delete the @include directive that you find there).
 
Please see doc/global_configuration.txt for more details and an example.

The reason why no one works on this "feature" is that, while being an official feature, it has nothing to do with the game. Its sole purpose is to monetize (which certainly isn't what players are looking for). If a private server owner wants to monetize (from a game they don't even own the rights for), they can invest some time, and develop a VIP system (and why not, make a pull request, we'd likely merge it, as long as it wouldn't impair the Hercules performance for those who want a vanilla Ragnarok experience).
 
Hercules development is progressing (see the number of branches that are being worked on -- it's not only the feature that make it into master), but no one, including Ind, would want to spend their free time on something whose sole purpose is to make leechers earn money more easily. And I believe Ind was especially bitter about that aspect of the community, when he left.

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

No commits to the master branch doesn't mean there wasn't any development activity! There will be some commits soon, don't worry

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

Rationale:
This changeset updates the syntax of the configuration files, to allow for more flexibility, and get rid of our some times buggy custom parser.
 
Contents:
All the txt-based configuration files in the conf folder have been replaced with more modular files that use the libconfig syntax. This allows more expressivity in the configuration syntax (i.e it allows to use arrays/lists/groups, especially in settings such as the starting items for players, or the hash check), but, more importantly, it allows to modularize and cross-reference some settings (for example, to change a database username and password, an user only needs to edit one file now, which is in turn included by the other files).
 
Impact:
Users will need to update their custom configuration. A tool that parses the old configuration and suggests appropriate edits, is included.
 
Details:
Some highlights about the improvements of the new syntax:
 
The start items/start point syntax (char-server.conf) is now improved as follows:

// Old syntax // Start point, Map name followed by coordinates (x,y) start_point_re: iz_int,97,90 start_point_pre: new_1-1,53,111 // Starting items for new characters // Format is: id1,quantity1,stackable1,idN,quantityN,stackableN // stackable: // 0 - Not stackable (weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) // 1 - Stackable start_items: 1201,1,0,2301,1,0 // Starting zeny for new characters start_zeny: 0 // New syntax player: { new: { // Start point (Renewal) start_point_re: { map: "iz_int" x: 97 y: 90 } // Start point (Pre-Renewal) start_point_pre: { map: "new_1-1" x: 53 y: 111 } // Starting items for new characters //{ // id: Item id // amount: Item amount // loc: Item position, same as in item_db if you want the item to be equipped, otherwise 0 (optional) // stackable: Is stackable? (not stackable item types: weapon, armor, egg, pet armor) //}, start_items: ( { id: 1201 // Knife amount: 1 loc: 2 stackable: false }, { id: 2301 // Cotton_Shirt amount: 1 loc: 16 stackable: false }, ) // Starting zeny zeny: 0 } The new format is certainly more verbose, but it's much easier to understand (and allows for new fields, see for example the 'loc' optional field of the starting items. 
Another important feature is the 'global configuration' mechanism. There are files in conf/global/, that are included by all three (login, char, map) default configurations. For example, to globally edit the sql connection parameters for all three servers, an user can simply edit the configuration in conf/global/sql_connection.conf:
sql_connection: { // [INTER] You can specify the codepage to use in your mySQL tables here. // (Note that this feature requires MySQL 4.1+) //default_codepage: "" // [LOGIN] Is `userid` in account_db case sensitive? //case_sensitive: false // For IPs, ideally under linux, you want to use localhost instead of 127.0.0.1. // Under windows, you want to use 127.0.0.1. If you see a message like // "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)" // and you have localhost, switch it to 127.0.0.1 db_hostname: "127.0.0.1" db_port: 3306 db_username: "ragnarok" db_password: "ragnarok" db_database: "ragnarok" //codepage:"" } In order to migrate the old configuration to the new format, a helper tool is provided in tools/configconverter.pl. The script will parse any existing config files with the old format, and suggest the corresponding new format. The user will need to manually paste the suggestions in the appropriate configuration file (we decided not to automate this, so that the settings are validated by a human, rather than blindly copied over). The helper tool is smart enough to understand which settings were left to their default setting in the old configuration file, and ignore them, only printing the relevant information. % perl tools/configconverter.pl =============== Hercules Configuration Migration Helper =============== = _ _ _ = = | | | | | | = = | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ = = | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ \/ __| = = | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __/\__ \ = = \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___||___/ = ======================================================================= This tool will assist you through the migration of the old (txt-based) configuration files to the new (libconfig-based) format. Please follow the displayed instructions. ======================================================================= Checking conf/char-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/char_conf.txt... Old file is still present 1 non-default settings found. Please review and migrate the settings as described, then delete the file 'conf/import/char_conf.txt', as it is no longer used by Hercules. - Found setting: 'pincode_enabled'. Please manually move the setting to 'char-server.conf' as in the following example: char_configuration: { pincode: { enabled: false } } Checking conf/inter-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/inter_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/inter_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/login-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/login_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/login_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/map-server.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/map_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/map_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/logs.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/log_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/log_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/script.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/script_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/script_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/packet.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/packet_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/packet_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Checking conf/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battle.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/client.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/drops.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/exp.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/gm.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/guild.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/battleground.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/items.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/monster.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/party.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/pet.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/homunc.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/player.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/skill.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/status.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/feature.conf... Ok Checking conf/battle/misc.conf... Ok Checking conf/import/battle_conf.txt... Old file is still present 0 non-default settings found. The file 'conf/import/battle_conf.txt' is no longer used by Hercules and can be deleted. Merge Date:Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300
 
Related Pull Requests:
- #1399 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/pull/1399 - Ported the configuration to libconfig format [Haru]
 
Related Commits:
6be7aab - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6be7aab - Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:38 +0100 Renamed some char and inter server variables [Haru]
c84a447 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c84a447 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 18:08:14 +0200 Ported char-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9783ce1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9783ce1 - Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:58:28 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
ea9ceb1 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/ea9ceb1 - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:42:31 +0200 Ported inter-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3c84a4d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3c84a4d - Mon, 7 Sep 2015 01:39:50 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
f56264d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/f56264d - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:41:54 +0100 Ported login-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
9d70a6f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9d70a6f - Sun, 21 Feb 2016 01:02:00 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
85d1088 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/85d1088 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:28:18 +0100 Ported map-server.conf to libconfig [Haru]
e370cc4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/e370cc4 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:39:49 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
86dde24 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/86dde24 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:15:33 +0100 Improved map list loading [Haru]
654bfa0 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/654bfa0 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:29:27 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
dc2130b - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/dc2130b - Sat, 19 Jul 2014 18:17:59 +0200 Updated Travis script to work with the new configuration files [Haru]
5b983fc - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/5b983fc - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:35:08 +0100 Ported npc config to libconfig [Haru]
998b48e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/998b48e - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:38:26 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
1746627 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/1746627 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:53:58 +0100 Ported logs.conf to libconfig [Haru]
3f85b17 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/3f85b17 - Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:57:33 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
aa3a3f4 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/aa3a3f4 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:43:14 +0100 Ported script.conf to libconfig [Haru]
8ecf562 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/8ecf562 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:49:19 +0100 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
445a68f - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/445a68f - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:00:00 +0100 Removed unnecessary typedefs in socket.c [Haru]
a8ca27d - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/a8ca27d - Sun, 14 Feb 2016 01:09:21 +0100 Changed access_allow and access_deny to VECTORs [Haru]
c0e59c8 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/c0e59c8 - Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:30 +0100 Ported socket.conf (was packet.conf) to libconfig [Haru]
6cdb1e5 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/6cdb1e5 - Sat, 13 Feb 2016 15:38:23 +0100 Ported battle.conf to libconfig [Haru]
67a84ce - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/67a84ce - Sun, 17 Apr 2016 03:10:29 +0200 HPM Hooks Update [Haru]
4e5b040 - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/4e5b040 - Tue, 2 Aug 2016 01:35:41 +0200 Added option to make plugin-defined battle config entries optional [Haru]
9e02b4e - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/9e02b4e - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 15:18:14 +0200 Updated references to the old config in the documentation [Haru]
af77eec - https://github.com/HerculesWS/Hercules/commit/af77eec - Sat, 20 Aug 2016 16:27:11 +0300 Merge pull request #1399 from HerculesWS/settings_libconfig [Andrei Karas]
 
 
Trivia
This change was started by our fellow developer Panikon back in 2014, and never completed until recently (September 2015, February 2016, April 2016, August 2016), when I restarted working on it.

The reason why no one works on this "feature" is that, while being an official feature, it has nothing to do with the game. Its sole purpose is to monetize (which certainly isn't what players are looking for). If a private server owner wants to monetize (from a game they don't even own the rights for), they can invest some time, and develop a VIP system (and why not, make a pull request, we'd likely merge it, as long as it wouldn't impair the Hercules performance for those who want a vanilla Ragnarok experience).
 
Hercules development is progressing (see the number of branches that are being worked on -- it's not only the feature that make it into master), but no one, including Ind, would want to spend their free time on something whose sole purpose is to make leechers earn money more easily. And I believe Ind was especially bitter about that aspect of the community, when he left.

The reason why no one works on this "feature" is that, while being an official feature, it has nothing to do with the game. Its sole purpose is to monetize (which certainly isn't what players are looking for). If a private server owner wants to monetize (from a game they don't even own the rights for), they can invest some time, and develop a VIP system (and why not, make a pull request, we'd likely merge it, as long as it wouldn't impair the Hercules performance for those who want a vanilla Ragnarok experience).
 
Hercules development is progressing (see the number of branches that are being worked on -- it's not only the feature that make it into master), but no one, including Ind, would want to spend their free time on something whose sole purpose is to make leechers earn money more easily. And I believe Ind was especially bitter about that aspect of the community, when he left.

The reason why no one works on this "feature" is that, while being an official feature, it has nothing to do with the game. Its sole purpose is to monetize (which certainly isn't what players are looking for). If a private server owner wants to monetize (from a game they don't even own the rights for), they can invest some time, and develop a VIP system (and why not, make a pull request, we'd likely merge it, as long as it wouldn't impair the Hercules performance for those who want a vanilla Ragnarok experience).
 
Hercules development is progressing (see the number of branches that are being worked on -- it's not only the feature that make it into master), but no one, including Ind, would want to spend their free time on something whose sole purpose is to make leechers earn money more easily. And I believe Ind was especially bitter about that aspect of the community, when he left.

The reason why no one works on this "feature" is that, while being an official feature, it has nothing to do with the game. Its sole purpose is to monetize (which certainly isn't what players are looking for). If a private server owner wants to monetize (from a game they don't even own the rights for), they can invest some time, and develop a VIP system (and why not, make a pull request, we'd likely merge it, as long as it wouldn't impair the Hercules performance for those who want a vanilla Ragnarok experience).
 
Hercules development is progressing (see the number of branches that are being worked on -- it's not only the feature that make it into master), but no one, including Ind, would want to spend their free time on something whose sole purpose is to make leechers earn money more easily. And I believe Ind was especially bitter about that aspect of the community, when he left.

The reason why no one works on this "feature" is that, while being an official feature, it has nothing to do with the game. Its sole purpose is to monetize (which certainly isn't what players are looking for). If a private server owner wants to monetize (from a game they don't even own the rights for), they can invest some time, and develop a VIP system (and why not, make a pull request, we'd likely merge it, as long as it wouldn't impair the Hercules performance for those who want a vanilla Ragnarok experience).
 
Hercules development is progressing (see the number of branches that are being worked on -- it's not only the feature that make it into master), but no one, including Ind, would want to spend their free time on something whose sole purpose is to make leechers earn money more easily. And I believe Ind was especially bitter about that aspect of the community, when he left.