The Grand Semi-official Soaprun Re-opening

Yeah so I got bored a few months ago and decided to actually try reverse engineering the Soaprun game server instead of meme-ing about it.

soaprun.cavestory.org
Client DLL Source Code / Server Source Code​

How To Join

1. Download/extract the last version of Soaprun (either the original or the newly enhanced version by @EnlightenedOne (based on work by @hammil ))
2. Download/extract Soapdish next to your soaprun.exe
3. Go to soaprun.cavestory.org and copy the url of the server you'd like to join
4. Open server_config.ini with your favorite text editor and paste URL in the spot the comments tell you to
5. Start the game

For People Who Played The Original
Please send help, the client didn't include any code that made entities move so I had to recreate enemy behavior from a total of seven (7) videos. If you could elaborate on how they worked in this github issue I would be very grateful.

 

WE GOT SOAPRUN 2 BEFORE GTA6.
EPIC FUCKING W IN THE CHAT
Edit:
Fuck I died.
Also what server are you guys playing on even? Me and serri are on this one should we be on another one https://soaprun.cavestory.org/2010/05/15/server.html
Edit 2:

Serena got killed by this guy lol lmaoo

Edit 3:
Okay you guys are awesome for doing this.
This is the kind of stuff the community needs and it makes me happy.
This game kinda suffers bc of no text chat ngl and I think if you guys mixed this with a web irc (like a lot of old forums had) you'd have room for a pretty fun environment.
You should make it default to the most recent server though, and distribute a pre-patched version. It'd make the setup less annoying and I think you guys are perfectly fine in doing that (it's not like the cs site doesn't have that kinda thing everywhere)

Now we just gotta make a custom map and custom skins to make it as stupid as possible lol

 

We be eating good before Cave Story turns 20.

Edit: Get owned, n00b.

But yeah, 10/10 would play again. Makes a neat little distraction. Also can't wait for someone to go "the oldest anarchy server in soaprun"

 

Quote doesn't fit in the soap

Edit : I went on the other server lol this shit's funny ok I love this wtf.

 

What if we kissed in the communism room?

 

Good job.

 

Quote Shawty form

 

There's some insane soaprun lore happening in real time man.

Soapcels seething over swordchads

Edit:

Nevermind it's joever

 

Very cool! It was very fun playing this game and watching people make art. Playing old games like these are always interesting, nostalgic and surreal for me, I am very happy to be able to play such old online games like these. Thank you for doing this!

 

We are so back. This is amazing, honestly. Thank you for doing this!

 

Played for a good number of hours at the launch party but I'll post my plans (which are separate from Brayconn's) before I go to bed.

• Having (the first version of a) map editor by August 10th, because something something might be able to do it as a school assignment. This is the first thing before anything else.
• Community Edition v2, achieving (some of) the goals in its changelog file:

- Make a new nice-looking Soaprun Title Image for both .exe files.
- Have the community draw the 4 placeholder ending images.
- Verify the translation of the 4 possible ending strings, since they are the most ambiguous.
- Check if I can force ShiftJIS for the "Multiple Game Instances" error box for SoaprunJP
- Re-introduce Map Name feature that was removed from the client (requires custom Soap Dispenser server code).
- Maybe look into adding new characters/draw tiles in a way that unpatched clients can handle (they're instead given default versions) (requires server code)

• With the map editor made, host my own custom server with a custom map. Maybe custom entity behavior.
• Maybe NEW protocol version? Mainly to do with those new characters and draw tiles.

 

Good evening to be alive I'd say

 

One thing I will say tho, and I feel like this was already mentioned in the discord servers, now that Soaprun pretty much got a revival and is very much playable, will the same happen with Akantares? Since it's the only other game Pixel worked on that has online multiplayer and all that.

 

Maybe NEW protocol version? Mainly to do with those new characters and draw tiles.

You guys need to rewrite the game in HTML or something. Get it running on web and put a big banner for it on the main page of the tribute site.
I think the mystique of it all would pull people in very quickly, but you'd probably want to have moderation tools and guidelines ready before we do that.
Pixel meant for this game to be really easy to pick up and play so you should focus on lowering that barrier to entry as much as possible and find a way to get the most out of this game. Idk, a community modded soaprun being the first thing people see would be a lot more fun in current year. Maybe try getting it working on phones? It'd require an on screen display tho and idk how you guys would code that knowing pixel's code (Also I can't just give you guys how he did it in Azarashi for obvious legal reasons but it's not that hard)

I've been busy with work at the moment but later on I could help do sprites if you guys want me to do some.

i think it'd be cool if you could navigate through the forums using soaprun as a really elaborate index but idk if you guys would wanna do that lmao.

I just got a new phone btw and I tried to text alula and Discord threw an error and I thought she blocked me and I almost cried for a sec then forgot it's beceause I have a new phone lmfao.
Oh also you guys should read Page 666 of Homestuck : Beyond Canon. Even if you don't have the context I think "The girl nobody likes trying to remedy shit and solve the issue her friends have been facing" is enough context lol. I'm very grateful media like this exists as a cautionary tale for me in times like this.

 

I cannot believe it. Yes! Thanks for actually making custom servers, and a means to connect to (the DLLs and INI from Soapdish). You rock!

I got credited in the Soapdispenser project. Nice.

My guide I made from March 26, 2011 is still on the Tribute Site, found here.
EDIT 7/25/2024: I decided to update the guide to be consistent with the Community Edition, now here in PDF. Your instruction manual!
Just remember the limits of how many users can join a server, though.

Depending on server, you can get up to four possible endings when you reach the checkered flag.
One: No equipment
Two: Either the Sword, the Shield or the Crown
Three: Two of the mentioned equipment
Four: All equipment

Lastly, I'll ask the same that Serri asked. Will there be a new server for Akantares, the other multiplayer game?

EDIT: The logo that's on the Soaprun site, I designed it. I simply used the 'Hurry Up' font and placed the Soaprunner in the letter 'O' of it.

 

The logo that's on the Soaprun site, I designed it. I simply used the 'Hurry Up!' font and placed the Soaprunner in the letter 'O' of it.

lol ok that's really cute tbh

Really what I think we should do to make this more fun is make there be drawing tiles everywhere, because the dark ones seem to block you when you have a shield, it's really funny and I think we could use it to make the world's worst fucking soaprun nightmare labyrinth

 

Now I am unable to connect. I do not see Protocol Validated in the message and it is taking forever.

I will tell some history, Pixel usually opened the server over the weekend and then puts the server to sleep when the weekend is over (roughly Sunday night in Japan, sometimes with a custom message). Then during the sleep, Pixel sometimes "reinitializes the server" (and modify the maps, especially the room with the today's date) before waking it up. By "reinitializing the server" all the coloring shade tiles reset to the lightest, all the fallen Soaprunner (corpses) disappear and all the monsters reset and respawn (any blue demons reset to normal black and the snail returns to the room where it spawns).
Recommend to set server open and close schedules, as the game was a work-in-progress. Also great for excessive user control.

The snail's function, it moves when a player is nearby. If it is next to a fallen Soaprunner, it will automatically move over it and clean it up. If there is another next to the one the snail cleaned up (i.e., bunch of corpses), it will also move to it, cleaning up one by one.

 

I think the permanence is fun. We need to find a way to allow the server to save a state and keep specific things (i.e the snail's spot and the colorable tiles) and reset things related to the progression.

I can't believe we lost the communism room in a server reset.
The west has fallen.
Billions must soap.

 

Depending on server, you can get up to four possible endings when you reach the checkered flag. One: no equipment, two: just the Sword or the Shield, three: wearing the Crown, and four: both Sword and Shield and wearing the Crown. (I am not really sure about the Crown thing that affects the ending...)

With the last version of the client (v432), the ending number depends on the number of items, with bullet points detailing which items were obtained. For example it doesn't matter which two items you have, reaching the goal with any two will net you ending three.

I don't know about earlier clients. Brayconn only focused on getting a server for v432, while also making a map for the May 2010 version of the game.

 

Finally figured it out. I have edited my earlier post. Navigate to the very first of my posts here.

At the time of writing this post here, I can connect again, but for the time being, the November 2010 map is live.
7/24/2024 11:30 PM PDT, both servers are now closed, undergoing testing. Please wait until "maintenance" is finished.