Synchronization error - dedicated server

[brummbaer76]

Hello everyone,

I have two dedicated servers running. After several weeks without any problems, all of a sudden players can no longer log in because a synchronization error occurs.
The map is still being downloaded, you can see it for a few seconds, then the connection is lost.
The only error I found on the Internet was that the client was too slow to process the data.
The external players and I from several PCs can no longer access the server, which would then exclude the client.
Is there a way to locate and fix the error?

[skc]

Assuming you've got access to a terminal/console of the server itself (not the OTTD console), you should be able to dig up some log messages explaining what the OTTD server process is seeing.

Of course, the usual (and rather obvious) trick of 'turning it off and on' is assumed to have been tried, as well, without resolving the issue.

[brummbaer76]

What I've found out so far.
If I pause the server using rcon, all users can connect and see the map, there vehicles etc.
If I start the game with unpause, the game crashes with a sync error.


The server is running under Windows Server, no messages in the event log.
The second dedicated server from openttd is still running normally on the system, no changes have been made.

[JGR]

What I've found out so far.
If I pause the server using rcon, all users can connect and see the map, there vehicles etc.
If I start the game with unpause, the game crashes with a sync error.


The server is running under Windows Server, no messages in the event log.
The second dedicated server from openttd is still running normally on the system, no changes have been made.

Which version is this incidentally?
As a temporary fix, you can try saving the game from the server console/rcon, restarting the server, and then loading that same savegame from the server console/rcon.
Likely some cached state has become incorrect at the server and no longer matches what new clients calculate on load.

[brummbaer76]

The version ist 13.4

I was able to export the save, restart the server and load the save again.
Unfortunately, this action causes the users' PW to be lost. So everyone could now take over another user, or after a few months players without a PW will be automatically deleted.
How can you save a game with the user PW?
Because I don't know when the players will come back and if necessary be able to set a PW again.

[Redirect Left]

How can you save a game with the user PW?

This is intentionally not saved with the savegame, and it seems to have always been that way in openttd, despite it being brought up a few times. A fix has been floated and active but unresolved (not at all uncommon, unfortunately) since 2020.
An initial (from what i can tell) thing was raised in 2005 according to this reply, which... yeah, welcome to OpenTTD my friend.

As a workaround currently, you could password your server so only people you know can join to begin with, and then there's no risk of messing up other peoples companies & work, not without it being an inside job anyway.

[Eddi]

Saving passwords has to be done The Right Way(tm).

If nobody is putting in that work, it's better to not save them at all.

[brummbaer76]

It's really a shame that there is no real solution here.
As I said, I don't know the people who play on my public server. That's why PW for the server doesn't help here.
And if the game is running and the companies are not protected with a PW, they will be automatically deleted or someone else can simply take over the company.

The error mentioned above has crept in again, I will now close the server and watch the second available one.

I thank everyone who has written so far.