Masterserver

Effective May 31, 2014, GameSpy will cease providing all hosted services for all games still using GameSpy.

What is a masterserver?

A masterserver keeps track of all the gameservers that are currently online. Each gameserver tells the masterserver at interval that they are online.

When someone is looking to play an online game, they go to the serverbrowser (the list with servers). In the background a request to the masterserver is made, and that will return the list of servers that are currently online.

What effect does GameSpy ceasing services have on Deus Ex?

For singleplayer it has no effect at all, for multiplayer though, the effect is huge.

Deus Ex uses the GameSpy masterserver, and thus, if that would go offline, the serverlist (as explained above) would no longer function at all.

What can we do about it?

Fortunately an alternative masterserver can be launched to replace GameSpy. This would solve the problem entirely. Unfortunately, both players and gameservers need to be configured to use this alternative masterserver.

Who is behind this alternative masterserver?

The situation is a bit complicated. The address of the masterserver is master.deusexnetwork.com, which is in control by the Deus Ex community. But the actual masterserver is hosted by 333networks.com, a group of people from the Unreal Tournament community who provide an alternative masterserver for several games, such as Deus Ex, which we are very thankful for.

We use a different masterserver address (which is basically an alias of their masterserver) to keep some control and as a backup plan. Should 333networks have any issues or for some reason be unable to support Deus Ex anymore, we are able to find an alternative without having to change everyone's masterserver again.

How do I use the new masterserver?

Configuring the masterservers is done in the DeusEx.ini file.

Finding the DeusEx.ini

The DeusEx.ini is usually in a directory named System in your DeusEx game directory. The DeusEx game directory can be in different locations:

• C:\DeusEx
• C:\Program Files\DeusEx
• C:\Program Files (x86)\DeusEx
• C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\Deus Ex
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Deus Ex

The above list uses the C partition as example. If you've picked a different location during installation, the above list of course does not apply.

Configuring the client

If you reached this page via the "More info" button ingame, you can just press the button "Yes, apply the fix!" and the step below will be performed automatically for you! (except if you're using Kentie's launcher)

If you only play Deus Ex and never host a gameserver, this is the only step that is required.
Open DeusEx.ini and find the following:
[DeusEx.MenuScreenJoinGame]
Beneath this line, there will be something in the sorts of MasterServerAddress= with a value behind it. This value will most likely be similar to: master0.gamespy.com
Replace this value with the following: master.deusexnetwork.com
Save the file and you're done! Everything should work without any problems but should you run into any issues or have further questions, feel free to leave a message via the forum (in the menu above).

Configuring the gameserver

If you're also hosting a gameserver it's important to add the alternative masterserver to your server's uplink as well. This way players can also find your server on the new masterserver.
Open DeusEx.ini and find the following:
[DeusEx.DeusExGameEngine]
Beneath this line, there will be one or multiple lines looking like the following:
ServerActors=IpServer.UdpServerUplink MasterServerAddress=
or
ServerActors=Nephthys.NptServerUplink MasterServerAddress=
You will have the first line if you don't use Nephthys (which you should, it adds vital protection to your server!), and second if you do use Nephthys.

Copy the entire line, and paste it beneath the line you copied. Then change the value behind MasterServerAddress= with the following: master.deusexnetwork.com
The value MasterServerPort does not need to be modified.

In the end, it should look something like this:

(The alternative masterserver is underlined)

Save the file and you're done! Everything should work without any problems but should you run into any issues or have further questions, feel free to leave a message via the forum (in the menu above).