8 players online - dedicated server 1.1.0

8 players online in City Trial. With the 8-rider build, up to eight players - one per PC - play a City Trial match online: the city, the machine stats, the Stadium and the results, each player with their own screen and HUD, all in step. The host sets Match Players above 4 in the lobby (City Trial only above 4).

What made eight work:

• The lockstep no longer runs ahead of a PC that is loading (the others wait for it, as the game's own ring would) - before, a long load could overwrite input that PC had not played yet.
• Disc loads and scene starts are seen at the same point of the game on every PC.
• Waiting in an online lobby no longer drops the game back to the title; a late music stream no longer stops the game.

Not yet: Air Ride with more than 4; riders 5-8 have no name label floating over them; two 8-player matches in a row in one lobby are not tested yet.

The game has no download: build it from your own disc (README) - tools\build8p.ps1 for the 8-rider build.

Dedicated server 1.1.0 (lobbies of up to 8 players; Windows, nothing to install):

1. Unzip AirRideServer-win64.zip anywhere and double-click StartServer.bat (Python's embeddable runtime is built in). Allow it through the Windows firewall when asked.
2. In the game, players choose Online > Settings > Service: Dedicated Server and type your PC's address (the server window lists them). Over the internet, forward TCP 27600 and UDP 27601 to this PC.
3. Close the window to stop it. Accounts and profiles stay in airride.db beside the bat.

Linux / macOS, a VPS, backups and bans: server/DEPLOY.md.