Why you should never make a repack public

[Darksoke]

Here are my thoughts on why you should never do this, as I've observed many people over the years trying to make repacks of consecrated servers public.

Every public server is first and foremost a repack; nevertheless, a repack without the source will cause you a lot of problems, starting with the most obvious one. After you compile the source, the source is essentially useless in the server launching process.

1. We're talking about emulation; not even Retail is bug-free, and there are plenty of things that might cause the server to crash, including speaking to a distant NPC in Azzeroth. These kinds of problems cannot often be rectified without access to the source code.

2. Nowadays, private servers depend on custom scripts. If you don't have the source code and aren't utilizing ELUNA, you won't be able to write custom scripts, which means you'll be limited in how much new content you can add to the database.

3. You won't be able to comprehend what is going on on your server, and the list of problems is endless. For example, you might not understand how the database is organized or where a specific group of objects or npcs are introduced.

4. Due to your restricted ability to develop, even if you manage to reach to a large population, you won't be able to keep them busy. To summarize, repacks are solely useful for educational purpose or for exploring a server you enjoyed but couldn't obtain BIS on.

Feel free to complete the list !

 

[Guybrush]

I think it's also worth noting that a repack is essentially black box code, and unless you personally know who compiled it, there is absolutely zero reason to trust that it isn't malicious. Not that I think the WoW emulation community is rife with those that aim to take advantage, but repacks are an especially large opportunity for vulnerability.

 

[Instadev]

Here are my thoughts on why you should never do this, as I've observed many people over the years trying to make repacks of consecrated servers public.

Every public server is first and foremost a repack; nevertheless, a repack without the source will cause you a lot of problems, starting with the most obvious one. After you compile the source, the source is essentially useless in the server launching process.

1. We're talking about emulation; not even Retail is bug-free, and there are plenty of things that might cause the server to crash, including speaking to a distant NPC in Azzeroth. These kinds of problems cannot often be rectified without access to the source code.

2. Nowadays, private servers depend on custom scripts. If you don't have the source code and aren't utilizing ELUNA, you won't be able to write custom scripts, which means you'll be limited in how much new content you can add to the database.

3. You won't be able to comprehend what is going on on your server, and the list of problems is endless. For example, you might not understand how the database is organized or where a specific group of objects or npcs are introduced.

4. Due to your restricted ability to develop, even if you manage to reach to a large population, you won't be able to keep them busy. To summarize, repacks are solely useful for educational purpose or for exploring a server you enjoyed but couldn't obtain BIS on.

Feel free to complete the list !

A shorter version of my thread:

https://forum.emudevs.gg/threads/all-about-repacks.236/

 

[Deleted member 150]

Imo the headline is a bit misleading.
You should totally make your repack public! There's a lot of people without any IT knowledge that will love to use an easy solution.
But don't release a public server on a repack. It will die sooner than later.

 

[Darksoke]

Imo the headline is a bit misleading.
You should totally make your repack public! There's a lot of people without any IT knowledge that will love to use an easy solution.
But don't release a public server on a repack. It will die sooner than later.

I'm talking 100% about releasing it as a playable server to public not about realeasing the repack itself ( files ) on the internet.