Dead Space 2 Multiplayer Server

An open-source server emulator for Dead Space 2 (PC, 2011) multiplayer, implementing EA's proprietary Blaze protocol.

Project Goal: Restore online multiplayer functionality for Dead Space 2 after EA's official servers were shut down.

🎮 Features

• Full Blaze Protocol - Custom C++ implementation of EA's BlazeSDK server
• TDF Encoding - Complete Tag Data Format encoder/decoder
• SSL/TLS Support - Secure connections matching original infrastructure
• Multiple Server Components:
  • Redirector Server (port 42127) - Initial connection routing
  • Blaze Server (port 10041) - Authentication, matchmaking, game sessions
  • QoS Server (port 17502) - Network quality detection

Implementation Status

Component	Status	Notes
Redirector	✅ Complete	Server instance routing
Authentication	✅ Complete	Login, silent login, Origin login
Util	✅ Complete	Pre/post auth, client config
GameManager	🔄 In Progress	Create/join/list games
Matchmaking	🔄 In Progress	Queue-based matching
Association	⏳ Planned	Friends lists
Stats	⏳ Planned	Leaderboards

---

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• C++ Compiler: GCC 8+ or Clang 7+ (C++17 support)
• CMake: 3.16+
• Perl: Required for OpenSSL build
• Dead Space 2: Steam or Origin version

Note: OpenSSL 1.1.1 is automatically downloaded and built during the CMake process. This bundled version provides native TLS 1.0 support required for Dead Space 2 (2011) compatibility.

Building

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourname/ds2-server.git
cd ds2-server

# Initialize dependencies
cd server
git submodule update --init --recursive

# Build (first build downloads and compiles OpenSSL 1.1.1)
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)

⏱️ First build takes ~5 minutes due to OpenSSL compilation. Subsequent builds are fast.

Generating SSL Certificates

cd server
mkdir -p certs

# Generate private key and certificate
openssl genrsa -out certs/server.key 2048
openssl req -new -x509 -key certs/server.key -out certs/server.crt -days 365 \
    -subj "/CN=gosredirector.online.ea.com"

Running the Server

cd server
./build/ds2-server

You should see:

[INFO] Dead Space 2 Server Emulator starting...
[INFO] SSL configured with bundled OpenSSL 1.1.1
[INFO] TLS versions enabled: TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, TLS 1.2
[INFO] Redirector listening on port 42127
[INFO] Blaze server listening on port 10041
[INFO] QoS server listening on port 17502

Connecting Your Game

Add these entries to your hosts file:

Linux/macOS: /etc/hosts
Windows: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

127.0.0.1 gosredirector.online.ea.com
127.0.0.1 ds2prod.online.ea.com

Launch Dead Space 2 and select Multiplayer!

---

📁 Project Structure

ds2-server/
├── server/                       # 🎯 Main server implementation
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt            # Build configuration (downloads OpenSSL 1.1.1)
│   ├── README.md                 # Server-specific documentation
│   ├── extern/                   # Git submodule dependencies
│   │   ├── asio/                 # Standalone networking library
│   │   └── spdlog/               # High-performance logging
│   ├── include/
│   │   ├── blaze/                # Protocol implementation
│   │   │   ├── types.hpp         # Core types and enums
│   │   │   ├── packet.hpp        # Packet encoding/decoding
│   │   │   ├── tdf.hpp           # Tag Data Format
│   │   │   └── component.hpp     # Component base class
│   │   ├── network/              # Network layer
│   │   │   ├── ssl_server.hpp    # SSL/TLS server
│   │   │   ├── client_connection.hpp
│   │   │   └── qos_server.hpp    # HTTP QoS endpoints
│   │   └── components/           # Blaze components
│   │       ├── redirector.hpp    # Server routing
│   │       ├── authentication.hpp
│   │       ├── util.hpp
│   │       └── game_manager.hpp
│   └── src/                      # Implementation files
│
├── docs/                         # 📚 Protocol documentation
│   ├── README.md                 # Documentation index
│   └── 04-blaze-connection-analysis.md  # Connection flow analysis
│
├── scripts/                      # 🔧 Utility tools (Python)
│   ├── memory_dumper.py          # Binary analysis tools
│   └── find_process.py           # Process utilities
│
└── research/                     # 🔬 Reverse engineering notes
    └── REVERSE_ENGINEERING_NOTES.md

---

🔧 Configuration

The server uses sensible defaults but can be configured:

Setting	Default	Description
Redirector Port	42127	Initial connection point
Blaze Port	10041	Main game server
QoS Port	17502	Network quality endpoints
SSL Certs	certs/	Certificate directory

---

📖 Protocol Documentation

This project includes extensive reverse engineering documentation:

Document	Description
Blaze Connection Flow	Complete connection sequence
Server Documentation	Implementation details
RE Notes	Raw research notes

EA Blaze Protocol Overview

The Blaze protocol uses:

• TDF (Tag Data Format): Binary serialization with 3-byte compressed tags
• Components: Modular RPC system (Auth, GameManager, Util, etc.)
• SSL/TLS: All traffic encrypted
• Async messaging: Request/response with notifications

Client                          Server
  |                               |
  |----[SSL Handshake]----------->|
  |                               |
  |----[preAuth request]--------->|
  |<---[preAuth response]---------|
  |                               |
  |----[login request]----------->|
  |<---[login response]-----------|
  |                               |
  |----[postAuth request]-------->|
  |<---[postAuth response]--------|
  |                               |
  |----[Game operations...]------>|

---

🔬 Research & Reverse Engineering

This project was built through extensive reverse engineering of Dead Space 2's binaries.

Tools Used

• Ghidra - Static analysis and decompilation
• x64dbg - Dynamic analysis under Wine
• Custom Python scripts - Memory dumping and binary analysis

Key Discoveries

• 453 BlazeSDK classes identified in executable
• 164 Blaze error codes documented
• Complete connection state machine mapped
• TDF encoding scheme fully reversed

RE Documentation

Document	Description
Solidshield Unpacking	DRM layer analysis
Binary Analysis	Function mapping
Executable Analysis	PE structure, classes
Blaze Protocol	Network protocol

---

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Areas that need work:

• Complete matchmaking queue logic
• Stats/leaderboard component
• Association (friends) component
• Game state relay between clients
• Traffic capture for protocol accuracy
• Persistent storage backend
• Docker containerization

Development Setup

# Build with debug symbols
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..
make

# Run with verbose logging
./ds2-server --verbose

---

📜 Legal

This project is for educational and preservation purposes only.

• Reverse engineering conducted for interoperability under applicable law
• No copyrighted game assets included
• Server implementation is clean-room based on protocol observations
• Original game required to play

Dead Space 2 is a trademark of Electronic Arts Inc.

---

🙏 Acknowledgments

• The Dead Space community for keeping the game alive
• EA/Visceral Games for creating Dead Space 2
• Open-source projects: Asio, spdlog, OpenSSL

---

📊 Project Stats

Metric	Value
Lines of C++	~3,500
Blaze components	4 implemented
Protocol commands	15+
Documentation	~130 KB

---

Reverse engineering analysis conducted 2024-2026