As of approximately 8.30PM this evening Neocron once again has been plunged into darkness. The good news is that it does not appear to be the result of a DDoS attack, and maybe someone has unplugged the servers to hoover maybe.
GM_Zoltan over twitter said this:
"Main Host is unreachable. Its not a part of the DDoS attack... It seems that someone unplugs the server or something -.-"
As always, we hope that all services are resumed as soon as possible, and as soon as they are, we will update this post.
The work so far, with the talk of the new server Titan, so far has been a product of the voluntary Neocron Support Team, we thank them greatly for all their hard work so far and in the future. As always guys, we are here to help :)
This was posted today over on the NC forums from Trivaldi,
Hello,
Below is some information regarding the Neocron Service. We hope to remove confusion by providing this concise run down of the situation.
Recent DDoS Attacks A solution has been implemented to ease the stress caused by the attacks. There should be a noticeable improvement in game server availability over the next few days. Web based services should already see an improvement. For obvious reason we cannot give any details on this solution.
Terra [EN] & Mars [DE] Game Servers Provided on Canadian hosting by Kirk Lenke, these servers remain as they were. Up time should improve but these servers remain available for players to utilise under the standard rules, with in game support provided (in English and German) by the Neocron Support Team. Lag spikes on these servers unfortunately cannot be resolved due to the nature of our hosting agreement.
Although considered “Legacy Servers” Terra and Mars will still receive future patch updates. Now changes to the infrastructure have been made, these servers will become Terra [NA] and Mars [NA], to reflect their physical location (North America).
Mercury [DE] Game Server Mercury’s database was backed up and is securely stored. The server itself will not be returning.
*NEW* Titan [EU] Game Server An entirely new 4 slot server provided by members of the Neocron Support Team. Better hardware in a more secure environment hosted in Europe. A fresh server enabling a fresh start for the game to improve the Neocron experience for everyone, thanks to improved hardware and hosting environment performance. Supported in full by the Neocron Support Team (in English and German) under the usual rules, receiving all future patch updates.
Titan [EU] will launch Soon™ and have a completely clean economy. At least initially only brand new 0/2 rank characters will be available, to anyone with a Neocron 2 Game Account.
Titan [EU] Character Transfer At this time discussions are still going on internally as to our stance on character transfers to the new server. We hope to reach a decision as soon as possible; after investigating the technical feasibility of different tiers of character transfer. We will post another update once we have confirmed our stance on this. We can confirm however, that no character transfer will be available at the launch of Titan [EU].
In the meantime all players still have the choice of playing on the older servers.
We hope this makes the situation clearer. Neocron Support Team ------------------------------------------------
Neocron has gone down for some scheduled maintenance at the moment, this annoucement on the Neocron forums gives some information to runners:
To allow us to perform some needed maintenance and updates across the entire Neocron server environment, all servers will be slowly taken offline starting at 11:30 GMT / 12:30 BST / 13:30 CET.
This down time will affect all of our first party services, including the game servers, launcher, website, IRC channel and these forums.
For up to date information during the downtime, please join us at facebook or follow us on twitter
We apologise for the inconvenience caused and hope to be back online ASAP.
Your Neocron Support Team
They really do mean everything but so far other than for "needed maintenance" we do not know what is being completed. No doubt, more information will follow regarding this downtime, and as the annoucement states, join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
The THN will be keeping a close eye on developments and let you know when everything is back up and running again. When we asked them earlier this was the response:
THN :: @OfficialNeocron Is there an estimated time for this scheduled down time? Or is it a case of it will be up when its up?
Neocron :: @TechHaven We'll let everyone know via Twitter and Facebook when we're back online. Current ETA is "When it's Done™" ;)
Keep tuned for more info!
UPDATE :: As of 3pm BST the Neocron servers across the board were reported as back online again. Still no word on the reason for the downtime, but we will keep trying to find out for you all! :: Just down for maintenance - @TechHaven Just good old fashioned maintenance :)
As per the source , a new Neocron test server has become available for testing on. Please read the thread, and the details below on how to connect to it.
as of today, a new public testserver is available for you to help test ongoing developement of Neocron. Please keep in mind that this is a testserver and no retail install. Your items, characters and basically everything on that server can be changed arround or deleted at any time.
Our #1 priority is to fix some of the long known issues and bugs. Please do not expect any big content updates in this phase of developement.
How can you access the testserver?
1) Create a copy of your retail client folder 2) Using the new copy, edit the "UPDATER.INI" in the subfolder "INI" and replace its contents with the following:
3) Launch the NeocronLauncher.exe and in the dropdown menu (top-right corner of the launcher), choose "Neocron Evolution Testserver" 4) Launch the game.
We hope you enjoy testing and look forward to your feedback and reports in the new testserver forum section that will soon be open.
We at the THN are looking forward to the progress this new testserver will have to offer for the Neocron community, and it looks like the many hours of hard work that have gone into Neocron over recently months/weeks are really starting to show now. Thank you.
"The following information is not easy to deliver, however this action must be taken for the benefit of our ongoing restructuring to the Neocron Service.
The German 4 slot server "Mercury" will be permanently shut down on 25th August 2012. Please ensure you take screenshots of important information such as your character's skills (each section of the F5 window) and any important in game E-Mails. We also reccomend you take screenshots of anything you wish to keep a memory of from your time on Mercury.
The character data from Mercury will be securely backed up and stored once the server is taken offline. We will then provide a secure transfer for characters on the Mercury server. In order to prevent further damage to the economy of the desination server; the Inventory (including implants and armour), GoGuardian and Appartments of characters will not be transfered. Only the character itself and its related skills will be moved.
We appreciate this news may be hard to accept, but offer this partial transfer as a compromise securing your investment of time leveling your characters. "
The announcement in English can be found here, and the German announcement can be found here.
The Rares DB does keep a list of parts for the Mercury players. Shortly after the server is closed, we will hide all the Mercury parts from view. If there are any issues please drop myself (Brammers) a PM on the THN forums.
Due to an issue with turrets in-game, the Neocron 2 Support Team have temporarily banned the use of outpost turrets ingame.
There isn't much details on what the issue is, or when the isseue will be fixed. However there is an open thread on the official forums here where you can discuss the issue.
The official Neocron Forums have been back a few days, and I've have to say how fantastic it is looking. Well done to the Neocron Support Team and Mokoi for the hard work in moving to the new version of vBulletin.
Some of the new and fixed stuff which I've come across so far.
A new theme, including a theme that works well on mobile browsers.
The forum can send emails again. So if you lost your password, you can get it back. Don't have a forum account, register here!
A new blogs section which is the new home of the Neocronicle.
I quite like the new activity stream page, so you can see what has been happening.
There are a few minor gremlins with the forums, so if you find one, let everyone know in this thread.
Finally, the most important news. There is a contest on the official forums to win a Gold WoC PA. All you have to do is either design some new NC Themed Smiley's or NC Themed Avatars. So if you want to have a go, check this thread out and fire up your favourite graphic design package and get drawing.
We have some important news if you use the Official Neocron Forum – regrettably the user database for the Neocron Forums has been breached. If you use similar passwords used on other forums you are advised to change them. Please read the following announcement on the official forums and take action ASAP.
However this breached has allowed the Neocron Support Team to push forward a well needed forum upgrade to the latest version of vBulletin forum and CMS software. As I type this, the forum upgrade is in progress and a temporary forum area is available for the community, so you can continue to spam post your away.
We are looking forward to seeing the new forums in action soon.
Finally I must stress this breach effects only the Official Neocron Forums. It does not affect the Techhaven Network forums or any other parts of the THN. However over the next few months, the THN will also be announcing changes and upgrades to the website. Stray tuned for more details in the next few weeks.
It is with sadness that today that myself and THN has learnt that Nicole "Chenoa" Montag is sadly no longer with us after a long illness.
This announcement was just posted on the official forums by Kirk Lenke.
"Hi all, I am sorry that I have to return with really sad news. News that have made us all pause for a minute or even longer.
With Danae's words:
"It is a very sad day for the Neocron family. Over the years, we have been blessed with the pleasure to work with the greatest people in the world. Nicole "Chenoa" Montag is one of those dear people. As some may know, Chenoa has been battling illness now for quite some time. It is with a heavy heart I post today that her body could take no more. Chenoa has gone far too soon to be with her maker. We pray and hope for those left behind; that they will find comfort in knowing her pain has ended and her legacy lives on in our hearts, our minds, and in our gaming community. Chenoa will never be forgotten.
Remember her kindly and warmly; All the good times we shared together in game, on chat, and even in person for those lucky enough to have met Chenoa. Our deepest condolences to all friends and family who survive her.
We all love you, Chen."
Thanks Nicole
Kirk"
Myself and the THN would like to express our condolences to her family and friends in these difficult times. We all remember her well for many of her events and all the support she has given to the Neocron community over the years.
Neocron Game News 
