BF:BC2 server admin details

From Mikael Kalms on the Battlefield blog:

A lot of people are asking about server administration. What's up there?

A little background

Since the Frostbite engine had not yet been used for any PC titles, there had been no need for advanced server administration tools. BFBC2 PC changed that however.

There was a sort of "server console" thing, but it was intended for developer use only. Something easier to use and more stable was necessary when we came closer to release it to the PC users.

So what are we doing?

We are creating a separate command console, which is stable, and where the commands will not change. This will be the Remote Administration interface for BFBC2 PC. BF2 console commands have been a good source of inspiration :)
The Remote Administration interface is accessible over a network port on the game server.

While we ensure that there is a solid administration interface, we are not creating any fancy tools. Why not? Because the community will do a much better job! RSPs have already been using the interface for weeks, and several people are working on user friendly tools. We will continue to improve the protocol with functions that are necessary to make good tools.

When Closed Beta Server R5 (yes, we have already patched the game servers 3 times. I love our new patching system) is released, the RSPs will be allowed to expose the Remote Administration interface on their servers to the public... and we will publish the FULL protocol specification. You have my word on that.

Stay tuned.

It sounds like DICE will provide a bare-bones RCON, but it's not clear from the post whether it will reside in-game. In other words, it remains to be seen whether a server admin will have to back out of the game to kick a player, rotate the map, etc.  I personally haven't tried Alt+Tabbing out of the game yet, as I haven't wanted to risk a game (or worse, a system) crash. Though the patching process is progressing nicely, it's possible that this asteroid is not entirely stable.

On the other hand, the ability to create a more feature-rich RCON tool is most welcome. Mod tools aside, it's a relief to hear that DICE understands the necessities associated with running a dedicated server, even though they're leaving it to the community to write the code.