Build 1057 - Mod verification

So, this update is what build 1053 was meant to be about - mod verification.

Its all working now, and you may notice some thumbs up/down icons on the server browser now. These only show for modded servers and they indicate whether or not a server is running mods that are verified (thumbs up = verified, thumbs down = not verified).

What does it mean for a mod to be verified? It means that a mod is confirmed to have come directly from the developer that it claims to have been written by, without having been tampered with. If every mod currently active on a server is verified and the server has mod verification turned on, then the server will get a thumbs up icon in the browser.

So how do you turn on mod verification? With the sv_mods_verified - set it to 1. Note that it is 0/off by default and will be turned off if any of your active mods fail verification.

How does a mod get verified? It needs to first be registered (currently the simplest way to do this is with this app, and then it needs to have a registration.json file generated and distributed with it. Mod devs should therefore generate a new registration file every time they make a new release. This can be done with the same app used to register the mod in the first place, or alternatively a script like this can be used to do it over the command line.

This might seem a little tedius at first, but once you’ve done it once its really quite straightforward. Additionally, this is only the first phase in a move towards a more managed system of mod distribution. For example, it’ll soon be possible to setup your servers to auto-update their active mods whenever a new release of them is made.

I think I’ve covered the broad strokes of the system, but let me know in the forums if you have any questions.

Shadlington

Original DevBlog post.

 

There's already a thread for this.
Clearly someone forgot to search before posting.
Requesting a lock.
Edit:

 

So I'm guessing it's going to use checksums, and the like to verify?
An added side step to a loading system that already checksums everything upon loading, and so on doesn't seem too intrusive.

 

Cool beans.

 

"Mods verification failure"

..

 

Upon joining any verified servers you'll get that message; "Mods verification failure"

 

What about map generator?
Or maybe ore generator? (cause it is hard to set all materials on map)

 

Can you tell me how to verify a "mod" that's not really a mod ? For example I have changed some ctf vars and my server gets the "down thump" icon now.

 

Custom maps and changed vars, server gets the modded flag even if you change an "." to an ",".

 

Nah, too much work for a thumb, the system should give a "ok" automatically if no real mods are used.