NFS Online Server

Unofficial community server and Windows x86 client plugins for:

• Need for Speed: Underground 2
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
• Need for Speed: Carbon

The server is written in Python and uses one TOML configuration. The three ASI clients are built from Zig source.

Requirements

Server:

• Linux
• Python 3.10 or newer with sqlite3

Client build:

• Linux x86-64 or Termux
• Zig 0.16.0
• Python 3 and file

No original game files are included.

Files kept local

The repository deliberately ignores generated, private, and machine-specific files. This includes:

• runtime/, logs/, PID files, caches, and virtual environments;
• account databases, password/user data, backups, server state, and Carbon progression/social/blob files under data/;
• built client plugins (*.asi) and other Zig/client build output;
• credentials, private keys, and locally generated release archives.

Do not force-add these files to a commit. Keep a separate backup of production data when upgrading the server.

The original Need for Speed executables, game assets, and other proprietary files must also remain on the operator's machine. They are required for compatibility testing but are never distributed by this repository.

Quick start

git clone <repository-url>
cd NFS-Online-Server
python nfs_online.py check
python nfs_online.py configure --public-host server.example.com
python nfs_online.py create-account
./start.sh

Useful commands:

python nfs_online.py status
python nfs_online.py stop
python nfs_online.py start --games u2,mw --daemon
python nfs_online.py start --games carbon
python nfs_online.py kick ACCOUNT_NAME
python nfs_online.py dlc show ACCOUNT_NAME
python nfs_online.py stats --help

Run python nfs_online.py --help for the complete command list.

Connect to a public server

Players who want to join the my server can use this address:

brake.go.io

Configuration

Server settings are stored in:

config/server.toml

Client settings remain game-specific:

clients/underground2/net_u2.ini
clients/most-wanted/net_mw.ini
clients/carbon/net_carbon.ini

Change PUBLIC_HOST before an Internet deployment. Keep the Messenger IPC and standalone DLC listener bound to loopback unless they are placed behind a secured reverse proxy.

Default ports

Service	Protocol	Port
Shared Messenger	TCP	13505
Messenger IPC	TCP, loopback	13506
U2 bootstrap	TCP	20921
U2 lobby	TCP	20922
U2/MW web and PREL	TCP	20923
Most Wanted lobby	TCP	30920
Most Wanted bootstrap	TCP	30921
U2/MW race relay	UDP	20000
Carbon FESL	TCP	18210
Carbon Theater	TCP	18215
Carbon race transport	UDP	19119
Carbon Massive Ads	TCP	9000
Standalone DLC page	TCP, loopback	8081

Open only the ports required by the games you run.

Client plugins

Build all three clients:

cd source/client-zig
./build_linux.sh

Outputs are written to source/client-zig/zig-out/bin/:

net_u2.asi
net_mw.asi
net_carbon.asi

Copy each ASI beside its matching INI in the game's ASI/plugin directory. Do not load it together with an older plugin that patches the same game code.

Roadmap

Planned bug fixes, protocol work, ranking support, configuration options, documentation, and general polish are tracked in TODO.md.

Tests

python -m unittest discover -s tests -q

cd server/common
PYTHONPATH=.. python -m unittest discover -s tests -q

cd ../classic
PYTHONPATH=.. python -m unittest discover -s tests -q

cd ../carbon
PYTHONPATH=.. python -m unittest discover -s tests -q

Before publishing, also run:

python tools/check_public_tree.py
python nfs_online.py check

Data safety

The first run creates runtime/, logs/, the account database, and other persistent state. These paths are ignored by Git. Never publish a production server directory or force-add ignored files.

License

Original project code is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later. See LICENSE and LICENSE-NOTICE.md.

Need for Speed and related names are trademarks of Electronic Arts. This project is unofficial and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Electronic Arts.