epic.Technology
Websites
There are a number of different websites used by epic.LAN. There’s the online website, intranet, forums, hunt and EPOS. The forums are run on phpBB and are closely integrated into the website. All the other websites run our custom PHP framework which utilises PHP 5, MySQL and mod_rewrite in Apache. The websites are fast, responsive and usable. Our main website developer is a guy we know only as ChicagoTed. Rumours of him being trapped in Mercy Hospital are unfounded.
Intranet and Hunt
The Intranet is probably the most important part of the event software. It contains basic information about the event, the seating plan and attendance list. More than this it also manages the checking in of users to the event and when you attempt to access the Internet, the Intranet logs you in and grants you access. All of these is with the aim to make you use the Intranet more and also allows us to link your username to an IP address (which we can then link to MAC Address, Switch Port and Seat).
The two main features for the Intranet which were mostly added at the event are achievements and server browser. The achievements are Steam style and awarded to all players at the event based on what they participate in or anything that we like. The aim is to encourage people to play and take part. The server browser helps this. Every minute we scan the network for the most popular games and display the results on the Intranet with click to join links, making it easy to find out what servers are up and for what games.
The Intranet also allows you to have an event account with us. You can add money to your account using cash, Paypal, Credit or Debit Card. You can then spend this money at reception on snacks, drinks and more. It adds a bit of flexibility and basically allows us to accept card payments in a secure and affordable way.
The third public website that you’ll see at the event is the epic.Hunt site. Heavily inspired by The DreamHack Game, the Hunt is a test of skill, logic, perseverence and lateral thinking. The site allows real-time monitoring of attempted answers and an updated leaderboard showing the exact position of every team taking part. Surprisingly, more than half the event took part in the Hunt with only 20% or so dropping off after the first question.
Other Sites
Finally we have the parts you don’t see. First is the EPOS or Electronic Point of Sale (epic.Point of Sale). This logs and accounts for all the sales at reception. Designed for a touch screen and completely written from scratch on the Wednesday before the event (finishing touches on Saturday morning at the event), it allows us to work out what you like and don’t like to buy. Unlike Tesco, we won’t send you vouchers for this market research, but we will use it to buy things you like (Yorkies) and not buy things you don’t like (Red Bull).
Another important part is the Event Daemon or EventD. It runs 24/7 throughout the event and handles things like updating the users on the Intranet, synchronising with the website, processing account topup payments and exporting the DHCP lease table and storing it in the database. Another similar script is GameD which scans the network every minute for game servers. These are written in PHP and without them, the Intranet would be useless!
The online website was finished for epic.ONE about a month before the event when the final few touches were put on it. After the event some more work was done integrating a gallery (ZenPhoto) to the website.
Categories: LAN Parties, epic.LAN :
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