Dedicated servers for Black Ops on PS3 and RPCS3
Lantern is a new online backend for Black Ops, written from scratch. Your matches run on a server instead of on another player’s console, and PS3 and RPCS3 players play together in the same lobbies.
Early access, testing with a small group.
Live
What’s different
On retail Black Ops, one player’s console hosts the match for everyone. On Lantern, a server does.
| Question | Retail | Lantern |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs the match | One of the players’ consoles | A dedicated server |
| Host advantage | The host plays with no delay | None |
| Your connection | Only as good as the host’s home upload | Your own connection to the server |
| When the host quits | Everyone waits while a new host is found | The match carries on |
| Who you play with | PS3 players | PS3 and RPCS3 players, same lobbies, same stats |
The server isn’t a player. It has no score, takes no slot, can’t be killed, can’t vote and never leaves mid-match.
Get started
Access is by request while Lantern is in testing.
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Set up your console or emulator
On PS3: a console running custom firmware or HEN, and your own copy of Black Ops.
On RPCS3: a dump of your own copy of Black Ops, and an RPCN account.
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Join the Discord and ask for early access
Early access is set up by an admin. Ask in the Discord.
When Lantern is released, you’ll create your own account instead, with
/registerin the Discord. -
Get the patcher
The patcher comes with your early access. There’s no public download yet.
The patcher doesn’t include the game, its executable or any of its files. It only modifies the copy you already own.
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Patch your game
The patcher changes 18 locations in the game’s multiplayer executable. Nothing else in your copy is touched.
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Play
Start multiplayer as you normally would. The game now connects to Lantern.
Questions
What does the patcher do?
It changes your own copy’s multiplayer executable so the game connects to Lantern’s servers instead of the original online service.
Is it secure?
Your game and the server complete a handshake before any game traffic is exchanged, and the connection is encrypted from then on.
Why can’t I just download it?
While Lantern is in testing, access is given out by hand. With a small group, we know who is running which version on which setup, and problems are far easier to track down. At release, anyone will be able to create an account with /register in the Discord.
Is it open source?
No. Lantern runs as one network rather than lots of separate servers, so everyone plays in the same lobbies and builds up the same stats. With a player base this size, spreading it across dozens of independently run servers would leave most of them empty. Keeping the code private also keeps the parts that handle security out of circulation.
Later on, we may let people host their own game servers that connect back to Lantern. The core of Lantern, which covers authentication, matchmaking and stats, will stay closed source.
What state is it in?
Dedicated hosting and cross-play between PS3 and RPCS3 both work and are in testing. There’s no public download of the patcher yet, and things can change at short notice.
When reporting a problem, include what you were doing, which platform you were on and roughly when it happened.
Join the Discord
For now the Discord is a single channel for talking about Lantern. It’s where you ask for early access, chat to other players and report problems.
Join the Discord