This is the December 2020.12.18 branch of DorkNet — a self-hostable reimplementation of the Rec Room backend tuned to the wire protocol of the Rec Room 2020.12.18 client build.

⚠️ Not affiliated with Rec Room Inc. or Against Gravity. See DISCLAIMER. DorkNet ships no Rec Room game assets or modified binaries — you supply your own legally-acquired Rec Room 2020.12.18 install.

If you're not sure which DorkNet branch you want, start at the main branch's chart. The launcher on main also auto-detects your install.

What this branch targets


Client build	Rec Room 2020.12.18
Version key (sent as `X-DorkNet-Version` header)	`december_2020_12_18`
Version plugin	`DorkNet.Server/Versions/Late2020/Late2020VersionPlugin.cs`
Schema	One EF `Initial` migration; SQLite + Postgres both work
Diverges from `march-2020-03-10` by	~170 files

Subsystems present on this branch that the March branch doesn't have:

Chat threads + group DMs (ChatThreads, ChatThreadMembers)
Clubs surface (clubs.{apex}/* — announcements, categories, subscriptions)
Playlists (curated + user-created)
Weekly challenges
Room keys (purchasable room access)
Room roles (per-room co-owner / moderator / host grants)
Leaderboard channel metadata
Loading-screen tips

Quickstart

1. Install .NET 9 SDK and (optionally) dotnet-ef:

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef

2. Clone this branch:

git clone --branch december-2020-12-18 https://github.com/DorkSquadRR/DorkNet
cd DorkNet

3. Configure secrets. Drop in DorkNet.Server/appsettings.Local.json (gitignored) or export environment variables:

Config key	Env var	Required	Notes
`Jwt:Secret`	`Jwt__Secret`	yes	≥64 random chars
`Photon:AppId`	`Photon__AppId`	yes	Photon Realtime AppId (free at dashboard.photonengine.com)
`Photon:VoiceAppId`	`Photon__VoiceAppId`	no	only if voice chat
`Photon:CloudRegion`	`Photon__CloudRegion`	no	defaults to `us`
`Database:Provider`	`Database__Provider`	no	`sqlite` (default) or `postgres`
`ConnectionStrings:Default`	`ConnectionStrings__Default`	postgres-only	full Npgsql connection string
`ConnectionStrings:Redis`	`ConnectionStrings__Redis`	no	enables SignalR backplane
`Domain:Apex`	`DORKNET_DOMAIN`	no	defaults to `localhost`; set for production

4. Boot:

dotnet run --project DorkNet.Server

First boot creates bin/Debug/net9.0/data/dorknet.db, runs every LegacyUpgrades pass, seeds canonical rooms / store catalog / club categories / playlists, and starts listening. You should see Application started. in the log; curl http://localhost:8080/healthz returns 200.

For a full Docker / VPS deploy, see main's Advanced setup guide.

Patching your client

.\tools\install-melon.ps1 `
  -RecRoomPath "C:\Path\To\Recroom_Release_Data" `
  -PhotonAppId "<your-photon-realtime-app-id>" `
  -PhotonVoiceAppId "<your-photon-voice-app-id>"

This installs the MelonLoader mod (DorkNet.ClientMod) into the client's Mods/ folder and writes its config to MelonLoader/UserData/dorknet-clientmod.json. The mod rewrites all *.rec.net URIs to your configured DorkNet apex, swaps the Photon AppIds, and bypasses TLS verification on the client's HTTPS calls so self-signed certs work. (First run prints "launch the game once"; do that, then re-run with -ResumeBuild to finish — see the script's -? help.)

Standalone Quest build (experimental)

The December Quest APK is also IL2CPP and can build the same DorkNet.ClientMod source against LemonLoader's Android runtime. The current Quest path is still device-tested manually: build the mod as a net8 LemonLoader DLL, install it into a LemonLoader-patched APK, then sideload the resigned APK.

From this branch:

dotnet build .\DorkNet.ClientMod\DorkNet.ClientMod.csproj `
  -p:TargetFrameworks=net8.0 `
  -p:MelonLoaderDir="C:\path\to\LemonLoader\melon_data\MelonLoader"

Output lands at DorkNet.ClientMod\bin\Debug\net8.0\DorkNet.ClientMod.dll. Desktop builds still default to net6 and keep the historical flat output path.

Quest notes:

Target package: com.AgainstGravity.RecRoom.
Use a public HTTPS DorkNet host; keep "EnableTlsTrustBypass": false for Quest builds.
The Dec Photon hooks are discovered from the unique PUNNetworkManager methods returning AppSettings and AuthenticationValues, with the known Dec obfuscated names as fallback.
Standalone APK patching/resigning is not yet wrapped by install-melon.ps1; this is the porting path, not a public one-click installer yet.

Debug console (opt-in)

The 2020 client ships a built-in dev console (RecRoom.Debugging.DebugConsole) with commands like SetTimeScale, Fly, Teleport, GoToRoom, and KillAllEnemies — normally locked to developer accounts. Set "EnableDebugConsole": true in dorknet-clientmod.json and relaunch: the mod force-toggles the console UI on a hotkey ("DebugConsoleToggleKey", default BackQuote = the ~ key) and silences CheatManager so the movement/time commands don't drop you to the dorm. Both default off.

The Maker Pen "Desktop Sharing Screen" (RecRoom.Tools.Productivity.DesktopScreenSharingDisplay) broadcasts at a baked refresh rate (~5 fps). Set "DesktopScreenShareFps" in dorknet-clientmod.json (e.g. 30) and relaunch to override it — the mod rewrites the gadget's screenShareImageRefreshFrequency at runtime and, when "DesktopScreenShareRaisePhotonRate" is true (default), lifts PhotonNetwork.SendRate/SerializationRate to match so the frames actually transmit (the image streams over OnPhotonSerializeView, capped at the serialization rate otherwise). This is global — it raises every object's network sync rate, so back it off on a busy room. "DesktopScreenShareResolution"/"DesktopScreenShareQuality" (both 0 = keep the prefab value) trade per-frame size for bandwidth if a high FPS saturates the link. Only the player sharing needs the override. Default 0 (off).

RRO quest team size (opt-in)

RRO quests ship with a baked 4-player GameConfigurationAsset team cap. Set "QuestMaxTeamSize" in dorknet-clientmod.json (for example 8) to raise that cap for the allowlisted quest configs in "QuestMaxTeamSizeRooms":

{
  "QuestMaxTeamSize": 8,
  "QuestMaxTeamSizeRooms": [
    "CrimsonCauldron",
    "Crescendo",
    "GoldenTrophy",
    "IsleOfLostSkulls",
    "TheRiseofJumbotron"
  ]
}

The quest host must run the mod: the host builds the game configuration that gets networked to joiners. The patch also relaxes the quest spawn filter for extra players, so player indexes above the four baked spawn slots can reuse existing quest spawn points instead of being left out. Default 0 (off).

Code map

Folder	Purpose
`DorkNet.Server/`	ASP.NET Core backend (controllers, services, data, hubs, middleware)
`DorkNet.Models/`	DTOs shared between server and client mod
`DorkNet.ClientMod/`	MelonLoader IL2CPP mod — the client patcher
`tools/`	Installers (`install-melon.ps1`, `install-legacy-client.ps1`, `remove-eac.ps1`), Cloudflare tunnel templates

See docs/architecture.md for the full mental model (project layout, request lifecycle, watch-mirror controller pattern, where to start contributing).

Database & migrations

One EF migration (Migrations/<timestamp>_Initial.cs) captures the schema. SQLite dev DBs apply it via Database.Migrate(); Postgres uses EnsureCreated() behind a transaction-scoped advisory lock. The entity model is the single source of truth — to add a column, edit the entity, boot, done (on SQLite — Postgres prod needs a migration).

Data transforms that can't be schema (seed renames, computed backfills) go in DorkNet.Server/Data/LegacyUpgrades.cs. See DorkNet.Server/Data/MIGRATIONS.md for the full discipline.

Tables added after the consolidated Initial migration (e.g. SignupCodes / PendingDevices) are created by an idempotent CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS step in Startup/DatabaseBootstrap.cs so both providers pick them up on existing DBs without a new migration (the Postgres path is EnsureCreated-only and never replays migrations).

When account creation is disabled (admin Settings → Server), the only way in is an admin-issued single-use signup code: generate one in the admin panel's Settings → Signup codes tab (with a descriptor + optional expiry), hand it to the player, and they redeem it on the site's /join page — which creates their account bound to the device their game client reported, so the next launch logs straight in.

Everyone-is-friends toggle

For small servers where searching + friend-requesting each other is friction, admin Settings → Server → "Everyone is friends" makes every account a friend of every other account. It writes no relationship rows — the friend graph is synthesized at read time (RelationshipQueries.EffectiveFriendIdsAsync, gated on ServerSettings.GlobalFriendsEnabled), so flipping it off reverts instantly. Blocks are still honored and the system/coach account is excluded, as are auto-generated Player_NNN placeholder accounts that never set a real username (they only appear if there's a genuine friend row). Flipping it broadcasts RelationshipsInvalid to every connected watch, which calls Relationships.RefreshList and re-pulls api/relationships/v2/get — so players see everyone appear (or disappear) without relogging. It covers the friends list, the friends-online HUD, and room-move presence fan-out.

Contributing

See main's CONTRIBUTING guide for the project-wide rules.

Branch-specific: schema changes on this branch don't flow to march-2020-03-10 automatically. If a fix applies to both, cherry-pick it across. Don't rebase across branches.

License

AGPL-3.0. Hosted forks must publish their source.

Languages

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TypeScript 11.2%

PowerShell 1.4%

Python 1.3%

JavaScript 1.2%

Other 2.1%

README.md

DorkNet — december-2020-12-18