Biller

Purpose

The Billing Server is a server that is separate from ASSS that keeps track of player's passwords and handles chat channels.

One biller can be shared between many game servers. This makes chat channel and inter-zone private messaging a desirable feature of a biller. More importantly billers can contain a ban system that allow one ban to affect all zones (called a netban).

Today, the name Billing Server is confusing as it is just a user database. The publishers (VIE) of SubSpace probably wanted to charge players a subscription and this server would control it, hence the name biller.

Excerpt from a copy of the VIE website:

We are just concluding deals with various partners the upshot of which is that billing for Subspace will almost certainly not happen till July we are still assuming a $10 a month or $1 a day scheme and a box version that will include several months play built in.

Billing Software

Billers communicate using either the TCP or UDP Billing Protocol.

UDP

The original billing protocol.

Windows

SubSpace Billing Server 2.00b by Confess

• This is Confess' version of SSBiller2 with a bunch of new features. (C++ source)
• http://www.mervbot.com/files/ssb2confess.rar

SubSpace Billing Server 2 Release 11j by Catid

• This is SOS' much improved version of my billing server, open-sourced as well. The BAN.DAT and BANFREE.DAT files are not compatible with the original SSBiller2. New: Fixed a large security-related bug. Download and replace your copy of SSBilling2.EXE!
• Fully Featured
• History of SSB2
• http://www.mervbot.com/files/ssb2.zip

Subbill 0.23 by PriitK

• Not recommended as it uses 100% CPU
• Has only basic features.
• http://www.subspacedownloads.com/index.php?act=file&fid=31

Linux

• Linux Port of SubSpace Billing Server 2 Release 11j by doc flabby
  • No Encryption
  • Issues with Compilation from source (compiler version specific)
  • http://forums.minegoboom.com/viewtopic.php?t=7782

TCP

The new billing protocol. See the TCP Billing FAQ.