diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index bcd9169f..aca7538a 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ config/servers.cfg
 config/configtemplates.zip
 config/mapmodelattributes.cfg
 config/entropy.dat
+config/servervita*
 packages/maps/*.cfg
 !packages/maps/new_content.cfg
 packages/maps/*.cgz
diff --git a/config/servercmdline.txt b/config/servercmdline.txt
index 9af8915a..6e1b57ec 100644
--- a/config/servercmdline.txt
+++ b/config/servercmdline.txt
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 // -H     // server logfile path, default logs/
 // -r     // server maprot file, default config/maprot.cfg
 // -A     // server parameter file, default config/serverparameters.cfg
+// -U     // vitapath, path & filename prefix to store the server vita database at, default: config/servervita
 // -X     // server passwords file, default config/serverpwd.cfg
 // -B     // server IP blacklist file, default config/serverblacklist.cfg
 // -G     // server geoip file, default config/geoip.cfg
diff --git a/config/serverparameters.cfg b/config/serverparameters.cfg
index 402e5f6b..c15305a9 100644
--- a/config/serverparameters.cfg
+++ b/config/serverparameters.cfg
@@ -19,6 +19,14 @@ auth_verify_ip:0
 //   integer [0..1], default 1, 0:disabled, 1:enabled
 mandatory_auth:1
 
+// vitaautosave    Vita file autosave interval in minutes (0: only when server is empty)
+//   integer [0..1440], default 10
+vitaautosave:10
+
+// vitamaxage    Omit vitas from autosave, if the last login has been more than the specified number of months ago
+//   integer [3..120], default 12
+vitamaxage:12
+
 
 // **** Maprot settings ****
 
diff --git a/source/src/clients2c.cpp b/source/src/clients2c.cpp
index 8a955400..3c7781f2 100644
--- a/source/src/clients2c.cpp
+++ b/source/src/clients2c.cpp
@@ -321,7 +321,13 @@ VARP(voicecomsounds, 0, 1, 2);
 bool medals_arrived=0;
 medalsst a_medals[END_MDS];
 
-struct session_s { enet_uint32 serverip, clientip, clientipcensored, curpeerip; int curpeerport, serverclock, clientclock, cn, clientsalt; uchar serverpubkey[32], clientsignature[64]; } session;
+struct session_s
+{
+    enet_uint32 serverip, clientip, clientipcensored, curpeerip;
+    int curpeerport, serverclock, clientclock, cn, clientsalt, datecodes;
+    uchar serverpubkey[32], clientsignature[64];
+    string clan, publiccomment;
+} session;
 
 void parsemessages(int cn, playerent *d, ucharbuf &p, bool demo = false)
 {
@@ -443,6 +449,18 @@ void parsemessages(int cn, playerent *d, ucharbuf &p, bool demo = false)
                     formatstring(servauth)("SERVINFOSIGNED<%s>", bin2hex(tmp, (uchar*)s->clientsignature, 64));
                     memmove(servauth + 64, servauth, (auth = (int)strlen(servauth)) + 1);
                     p.get((uchar*)servauth, 64);
+                    s->datecodes = getint(p);
+                    getstring(text, p);
+                    filtertext(s->clan, text, FTXT__VITACLAN);
+                    getstring(text, p);
+                    filtertext(s->publiccomment, text, FTXT__VITACOMMENT);
+#ifdef _DEBUG
+                    formatstring(text)("server-side%s", s->datecodes ? " timed flags:" : "");
+                    loopi(VS_NUMCOUNTERS) if(s->datecodes & (1 << i)) concatformatstring(text, " %s", vskeywords[i]);
+                    if(s->clan[0]) concatformatstring(text, " clan tag: \"%s\"", s->clan);
+                    if(s->publiccomment[0]) concatformatstring(text, " comment: \"%s\"", s->publiccomment);
+                    if(strlen(text) > 12) conoutf("%s", text);
+#endif
                 }
                 if(curpeer && sk && !auth) conoutf("\f3server refuses to authenticate");
                 if(sk && auth)
diff --git a/source/src/command.cpp b/source/src/command.cpp
index fffb24e6..a79ef267 100644
--- a/source/src/command.cpp
+++ b/source/src/command.cpp
@@ -1492,32 +1492,6 @@ COMMANDF(rnd, "i", (int *a) { intret(*a>0 ? rnd(*a) : 0); });
 
 #ifndef STANDALONE
 
-const char *escapestring(const char *s, bool force, bool noquotes)
-{
-    static vector<char> strbuf[3];
-    static int stridx = 0;
-    if(noquotes) force = false;
-    if(!s) return force ? "\"\"" : "";
-    if(!force && !*(s + strcspn(s, "\"/\\;()[] \f\t\n\r$"))) return s;
-    stridx = (stridx + 1) % 3;
-    vector<char> &buf = strbuf[stridx];
-    buf.setsize(0);
-    if(!noquotes) buf.add('"');
-    for(; *s; s++) switch(*s)
-    {
-        case '\n': buf.put("\\n", 2); break;
-        case '\r': buf.put("\\n", 2); break;
-        case '\t': buf.put("\\t", 2); break;
-        case '\a': buf.put("\\a", 2); break;
-        case '\f': buf.put("\\f", 2); break;
-        case '"': buf.put("\\\"", 2); break;
-        case '\\': buf.put("\\\\", 2); break;
-        default: buf.add(*s); break;
-    }
-    if(!noquotes) buf.add('"');
-    buf.add(0);
-    return buf.getbuf();
-}
 COMMANDF(escape, "s", (const char *s) { result(escapestring(s));});
 
 int sortident(ident **a, ident **b) { return strcasecmp((*a)->name, (*b)->name); }
diff --git a/source/src/crypto.cpp b/source/src/crypto.cpp
index ef1c4df9..58587c51 100644
--- a/source/src/crypto.cpp
+++ b/source/src/crypto.cpp
@@ -1092,7 +1092,7 @@ static int certtypemaxrank[] = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 0 };  // max allowed rank of
 static int certtypeexpiration[] = { 0, 0, 0, 2 * CERTTIMEMONTH, CERTTIMEMONTH, 3 * CERTTIMEMONTH, CERTTIMEMONTH }; // time after which certs are usually re-signed, after 3x the time they expire
 
 vector<cert *> certs;
-hashtable<const uchar *, char> certblacklist;
+hashtable<const uchar32, char> certblacklist;
 
 static inline int aktcerttime() { return time(NULL) / (time_t) 60; }      // use minutes instead of seconds as timebase, so int will be more than enough
 
@@ -1345,7 +1345,7 @@ void rebuildcerttree()       // determines the rank of all certs; ages them; rem
             if(c->days2renew < 0) c->needsrenewal = true;
             if(c->days2expire < 0) { c->expired = true; c->isvalid = false; }
         }
-        if(c->pubkey && certblacklist.access(c->pubkey))
+        if(c->pubkey && certblacklist.access(*((uchar32*)c->pubkey)))
         {
             c->blacklisted = true;
             c->isvalid = false;
diff --git a/source/src/protocol.cpp b/source/src/protocol.cpp
index 0887c75a..49e71ffa 100644
--- a/source/src/protocol.cpp
+++ b/source/src/protocol.cpp
@@ -391,6 +391,7 @@ void filterrichtext(char *dst, const char *src, int len)
                 case 'a': c = '\a'; break;
                 case 't': c = '\t'; break;
                 case 'n': c = '\n'; break;
+                case '_': c = ' '; break;
                 case 'x':
                     b = 16;
                     c = *++src;
@@ -410,6 +411,37 @@ void filterrichtext(char *dst, const char *src, int len)
     *dst = '\0';
 }
 
+// counterpart of filterrichtext
+
+const char *escapestring(const char *s, bool force, bool noquotes, vector<char> *buf)
+{
+    static vector<char> strbuf[3];
+    static int stridx = 0;
+    extern bool isdedicated;
+    if(noquotes) force = false;
+    if(!s) return force ? "\"\"" : "";
+    if(!force && !*(s + strcspn(s, "\"/\\;()[] \f\t\a\n\r$"))) return s;
+    if(!buf) buf = &strbuf[stridx++];
+    stridx %= 3;
+    buf->setsize(0);
+    if(!noquotes) buf->add('"');
+    for(; *s; s++) switch(*s)
+    {
+        case '\n': buf->put("\\n", 2); break;
+        case '\r': buf->put("\\n", 2); break;
+        case '\t': buf->put("\\t", 2); break;
+        case '\a': buf->put("\\a", 2); break;
+        case '\f': buf->put("\\f", 2); break;
+        case '"': buf->put("\\\"", 2); break;
+        case '\\': buf->put("\\\\", 2); break;
+        case ' ': if(isdedicated) { buf->put("\\_", 2); break; }
+        default: buf->add(*s); break;
+    }
+    if(!noquotes) buf->add('"');
+    buf->add(0);
+    return buf->getbuf();
+}
+
 // ensures, that d is either two lowercase chars or ""
 
 void filterlang(char *d, const char *s)
diff --git a/source/src/protocol.h b/source/src/protocol.h
index 225c5c19..43e29ddc 100644
--- a/source/src/protocol.h
+++ b/source/src/protocol.h
@@ -232,3 +232,5 @@ enum
 #define FTXT__ZIPDESC       (FTXT_NOWHITE | FTXT_ALLOWBLANKS | FTXT_TABTOBLANK | FTXT_NOCOLOR | FTXT_SAFECS)
 #define FTXT__CERTFILENAME  (FTXT_MAPNAME | FTXT_TOLOWER)
 #define FTXT__CONSOLEPASTE  (FTXT_TABTOBLANK)
+#define FTXT__VITACOMMENT   (FTXT_NOWHITE | FTXT_ALLOWBLANKS | FTXT_NOCOLOR | FTXT_TABTOBLANK)
+#define FTXT__VITACLAN      (FTXT_NOWHITE | FTXT_NOCOLOR)
diff --git a/source/src/protos.h b/source/src/protos.h
index 0a20c48a..5e86b3af 100644
--- a/source/src/protos.h
+++ b/source/src/protos.h
@@ -1019,7 +1019,6 @@ extern void writecfg();
 extern void deletecfg();
 extern void identnames(vector<const char *> &names, bool builtinonly);
 extern void explodelist(const char *s, vector<char *> &elems);
-extern const char *escapestring(const char *s, bool force = true, bool noquotes = false);
 extern int execcontext;
 extern void pushscontext(int newcontext);
 extern int popscontext();
@@ -1030,6 +1029,9 @@ extern void dumpexecutionstack(stream *f);
 extern const char *currentserver(int i);
 
 // server
+enum { /* timecodes */ VS_FIRSTLOGIN = 0, VS_LASTLOGIN, VS_MUTE, VS_NOVOTE, VS_BAN, VS_ADMIN, VS_OWNER, VS_MAPUPLOAD,
+       /* stats/counters */ VS_MINUTESCONNECTED, VS_MINUTESACTIVE, VS_FLAGS, VS_FRAGS, VS_DEATHS, VS_TKS, VS_DAMAGE, VS_FF, VS_NUM, VS_NUMCOUNTERS = VS_MINUTESCONNECTED };
+extern const char *vskeywords[VS_NUM + 1], *vsnames[VS_NUM + 1];
 extern int modeacronyms;
 extern void servertoclient(int chan, uchar *buf, int len, bool demo = false);
 extern void localservertoclient(int chan, uchar *buf, int len, bool demo = false);
@@ -1073,6 +1075,7 @@ extern void freegzbuf(ucharbuf *p);  // free a ucharbuf created by getgzbuf()
 extern bool validmapname(const char *s); // checks for length, allowed chars and special DOS filenames
 extern char *filtertext(char *dst, const char *src, int flags, int len = sizeof(string)-1);
 extern void filterrichtext(char *dst, const char *src, int len = sizeof(string)-1);
+extern const char *escapestring(const char *s, bool force = true, bool noquotes = false, vector<char> *buf = NULL);
 extern void filterlang(char *d, const char *s);
 extern void filtercountrycode(char *d, const char *s); // returns exactly two uppercase chars or "--"
 extern void trimtrailingwhitespace(char *s);
@@ -1155,7 +1158,7 @@ struct serverconfigfile
 struct servercommandline
 {
     int uprate, serverport, syslogfacility, filethres, syslogthres, maxdemos, maxclients, kickthreshold, banthreshold, verbose, incoming_limit, afk_limit, ban_time, demotimelocal;
-    const char *ip, *master, *logident, *serverpassword, *adminpasswd, *demopath, *maprotfile, *pwdfile, *blfile, *geoipfile, *nbfile, *infopath, *motdpath, *forbidden, *demofilenameformat, *demotimestampformat, *service, *logfilepath, *parfilepath, *ssk;
+    const char *ip, *master, *logident, *serverpassword, *adminpasswd, *demopath, *maprotfile, *pwdfile, *blfile, *geoipfile, *nbfile, *infopath, *motdpath, *forbidden, *demofilenameformat, *demotimestampformat, *service, *logfilepath, *parfilepath, *ssk, *vitabasename;
     bool logtimestamp, demo_interm, loggamestatus;
     string motd, servdesc_full, servdesc_pre, servdesc_suf, voteperm, mapperm;
     int clfilenesting;
@@ -1165,7 +1168,7 @@ struct servercommandline
                             maxclients(DEFAULTCLIENTS), kickthreshold(-5), banthreshold(-6), verbose(0), incoming_limit(10), afk_limit(45000), ban_time(20*60*1000), demotimelocal(0),
                             ip(""), master(NULL), logident(""), serverpassword(""), adminpasswd(""), demopath(""),
                             maprotfile("config/maprot.cfg"), pwdfile("config/serverpwd.cfg"), blfile("config/serverblacklist.cfg"), geoipfile("config/geoip.cfg"), nbfile("config/nicknameblacklist.cfg"),
-                            infopath("config/serverinfo"), motdpath("config/motd"), forbidden("config/forbidden.cfg"), service(NULL), logfilepath("logs/"), parfilepath("config/serverparameters.cfg"), ssk(NULL),
+                            infopath("config/serverinfo"), motdpath("config/motd"), forbidden("config/forbidden.cfg"), service(NULL), logfilepath("logs/"), parfilepath("config/serverparameters.cfg"), ssk(NULL), vitabasename("config/servervita"),
                             logtimestamp(false), demo_interm(false), loggamestatus(true),
                             clfilenesting(0)
     {
@@ -1222,6 +1225,7 @@ struct servercommandline
                 break;
             case 'H': logfilepath = a; break;
             case 'A': parfilepath = a; break;
+            case 'U': vitabasename = a; break;
             case 'c': if(ai > 0) maxclients = min(ai, MAXCLIENTS); break;
             case 'k':
             {
diff --git a/source/src/server.cpp b/source/src/server.cpp
index 45734ea8..8d87490c 100644
--- a/source/src/server.cpp
+++ b/source/src/server.cpp
@@ -112,12 +112,14 @@ int cn2boot;
 const char *endis[] = { "disabled", "enabled", "" };
 SERVPARLIST(dumpmaprot, 0, 1, 0, endis, "ddump maprot parameters for all maps (once, to logs/debug/maprot_debug_verbose.txt)");
 SERVPARLIST(dumpparameters, 0, 0, 0, endis, "ddump server parameters when updated");
+SERVPAR(vitaautosave, 0, 10, 24 * 60, "sVita file autosave interval in minutes (0: only when server is empty)");
+SERVPAR(vitamaxage, 3, 12, 120, "sOmit vitas from autosave, if the last login has been more than the specified number of months ago");
 
 void poll_serverthreads()       // called once per mainloop-timeslice
 {
     static vector<servermap *> servermapstodelete;
-    static int stage = 0, lastworkerthreadstart = 0, nextserverconfig = 0;
-    static bool debugmaprot = true;
+    static int stage = 0, lastworkerthreadstart = 0, nextserverconfig = 0, lastvitasave = 0;
+    static bool debugmaprot = true, serverwasnotempty = false;
 
     switch(stage) // cycle through some tasks once per minute (mostly file polling)
     {
@@ -188,7 +190,15 @@ void poll_serverthreads()       // called once per mainloop-timeslice
                     serverconfigs[nextserverconfig]->process();  // processing of config files is done in mainloop, one at a time
                     nextserverconfig++;
                 }
-                else stage++;
+                else
+                {
+                    if(vitaupdatebuf)
+                    {
+                        mlog(ACLOG_INFO, "read/updated %d vitas from %s", parsevitas(vitaupdatebuf, vitaupdatebuflen), vitafilename_update_backup);;
+                        DELETEA(vitaupdatebuf);
+                    }
+                    stage++;
+                }
             }
             break;
         }
@@ -215,6 +225,25 @@ void poll_serverthreads()       // called once per mainloop-timeslice
                     delete f;
                 }
             }
+            else if(!vitastosave && serverwasnotempty && (numclients() == 0 || (vitaautosave && (servmillis - lastvitasave) > 1000 * 60 * vitaautosave)))
+            {
+                serverwasnotempty = false;
+                lastvitasave = servmillis;
+                vitastosave = new vector<vitakey_s>;
+                vitakey_s vk;
+                int too_old = 0;
+                enumeratekt(vitas, uchar32, k, vita_s, v,
+                {
+                    if((servclock - v.vs[VS_LASTLOGIN]) / (60 * 24 * 31) <= vitamaxage)
+                    {
+                        vk.k = &k;
+                        vk.v = &v;
+                        vitastosave->add(vk);
+                    }
+                    else too_old++;
+                });
+                if(too_old) mlog(ACLOG_VERBOSE, "omitted %d vitas from autosave (exceeding maxage of %d months)", too_old, vitamaxage);
+            }
             else stage++;
         }
         case 5:  // pause worker threads for a while (restart once a minute)
@@ -228,6 +257,7 @@ void poll_serverthreads()       // called once per mainloop-timeslice
                     delete servermapstodelete.remove(i);    // delete outdated servermaps
                 }
             }
+            else serverwasnotempty = true;
             break;
         }
     }
@@ -2994,11 +3024,24 @@ void polldeferredprocessing()
                         client *cl = clients[sa->cn];
                         if(sa->wantauth)
                         {
-                            memcpy(cl->pubkey, sa->clientpubkey, 32);
+                            memcpy(cl->pubkey.u, sa->clientpubkey, 32);
                             memcpy(cl->servinforesponse, sa->clientmsg, sa->clientmsglen + 64);
-                            bin2hex(cl->pubkeyhex, cl->pubkey, 32);
+                            bin2hex(cl->pubkeyhex, cl->pubkey.u, 32);
+                            cl->vita = vitas.access(cl->pubkey);
+                            if(!cl->vita)
+                            {
+                                vita_s v;
+                                memset(&v, 0, sizeof(v));
+                                cl->vita = &vitas.access(cl->pubkey, v);
+                                cl->vita->vs[VS_FIRSTLOGIN] = servclock;
+                            }
+                            if(cl->country[0] != '-') cl->vita->addcc(cl->country);
+                            cl->vita->addip(cl->ip);
+                            cl->vita->vs[VS_LASTLOGIN] = servclock;
                             cl->needsauth = true; // may have been voluntary, but it's done
-                            sendf(sa->cn, 1, "riim", SV_SERVINFO_CONTD, 1, 64, sa->servermsg);
+                            int datecodes = 0, *vs = cl->vita->vs;
+                            loopi(VS_NUMCOUNTERS) datecodes |= vs[i] == 1 || (servclock - vs[i]) < 0 ? (1 << i) : 0;
+                            sendf(sa->cn, 1, "riimiss", SV_SERVINFO_CONTD, 1, 64, sa->servermsg, datecodes, cl->vita->clan, cl->vita->publiccomment);
                         }
                         else sendf(sa->cn, 1, "rii", SV_SERVINFO_CONTD, 0);
                     }
@@ -3152,6 +3195,7 @@ void process(ENetPacket *packet, int sender, int chan)
             }
         }
 
+        if(cl->vita) cl->vita->addname(cl->name);
         sendwelcome(cl);
         if(restorescore(*cl)) { sendresume(*cl, true); senddisconnectedscores(-1); }
         else if(cl->type==ST_TCPIP) senddisconnectedscores(sender);
@@ -3449,6 +3493,7 @@ void process(ENetPacket *packet, int sender, int chan)
                             break;
                         }
                     }
+                    if(cl->vita) cl->vita->addname(cl->name);
                 }
                 break;
             }
@@ -4356,6 +4401,11 @@ void serverslice(uint timeout)   // main server update, called from cube main lo
             linequalitystats(0);
         }
         serverhost->totalSentData = serverhost->totalReceivedData = 0;
+        loopv(clients) if(clients[i]->type == ST_TCPIP && clients[i]->isauthed && clients[i]->vita)
+        {
+            clients[i]->vita->vs[VS_MINUTESCONNECTED]++;
+            if(clients[i]->isonrightmap && team_isactive(clients[i]->team)) clients[i]->vita->vs[VS_MINUTESACTIVE]++;
+        }
     }
 
     ENetEvent event;
@@ -4650,6 +4700,15 @@ void initserver(bool dedicated)
         loopi(scl.maxclients) serverhost->peers[i].data = (void *)-1;
 
         if(scl.ssk) mlog(ACLOG_INFO,"server public key: %s", servpubkey);
+        formatstring(vitafilename)("%s.cfg", scl.vitabasename);
+        formatstring(vitafilename_backup)("%s_bak.cfg", scl.vitabasename);
+        formatstring(vitafilename_update)("%s_update.cfg", scl.vitabasename);
+        formatstring(vitafilename_update_backup_base)("%s_update_", scl.vitabasename);
+        path(vitafilename); path(vitafilename_backup); path(vitafilename_update); path(vitafilename_update_backup_base);
+        char *vn;
+        int gotvitas = readvitas((vn = vitafilename));
+        if(gotvitas < 0) gotvitas = readvitas((vn = vitafilename_backup));
+        if(gotvitas >= 0) mlog(ACLOG_INFO, "read %d player vitas from %s", gotvitas, vn);
         maprot.init(scl.maprotfile);
         passwords.init(scl.pwdfile, scl.adminpasswd);
         ipblacklist.init(scl.blfile);
diff --git a/source/src/server.h b/source/src/server.h
index e6093c98..f3b9b59d 100644
--- a/source/src/server.h
+++ b/source/src/server.h
@@ -223,6 +223,27 @@ struct medals
     }
 };
 
+#define VITANAMEHISTLEN 4
+#define VITAIPHISTLEN 4
+#define VITACCHISTLEN 4
+#define VITACOMMENTLEN 31
+#define VITACLANLEN 7
+
+struct vita_s
+{
+    char namehist[VITANAMEHISTLEN][MAXNAMELEN + 1];
+    enet_uint32 iphist[VITAIPHISTLEN];
+    char privatecomment[VITACOMMENTLEN + 1], publiccomment[VITACOMMENTLEN + 1]; // private comments can be seen by admins and owners only, public comments can be seen by everyone
+    char clan[VITACLANLEN + 1];
+    char cchist[VITACCHISTLEN * 2];
+    int vs[VS_NUM];
+    void addname(const char *name);
+    void addip(enet_uint32 ip);
+    void addcc(const char *cc);
+};
+
+struct vitakey_s { const vita_s *v; const uchar32 *k; };
+
 struct client                   // server side version of "dynent" type
 {
     int type;
@@ -232,8 +253,9 @@ struct client                   // server side version of "dynent" type
     enet_uint32 ip, ip_censored;
     int connectclock;
     char country[4];
-    uchar pubkey[32];
+    uchar32 pubkey;
     char pubkeyhex[68];
+    vita_s *vita;
     string servinforesponse;
     string name;
     int team;
@@ -334,6 +356,7 @@ struct client                   // server side version of "dynent" type
         name[0] = pwd[0] = demoflags = 0;
         ip = ip_censored = 0;
         pubkeyhex[0] = '\0';
+        vita = NULL;
         bottomRTT = ping = 9999;
         team = TEAM_SPECT;
         state.state = CS_SPECTATE;
diff --git a/source/src/serverfiles.h b/source/src/serverfiles.h
index e77a64d6..e2324fd9 100644
--- a/source/src/serverfiles.h
+++ b/source/src/serverfiles.h
@@ -715,6 +715,11 @@ void serverconfigfile::process() // in main thread: refill data structures with
     }
 }
 
+string vitafilename, vitafilename_backup, vitafilename_update, vitafilename_update_backup_base, vitafilename_update_backup;
+char *vitaupdatebuf = NULL;
+int vitaupdatebuflen = 0;
+vector<vitakey_s> *vitastosave = NULL;
+
 int readserverconfigsthread(void *data)
 {
     while(1)
@@ -723,6 +728,27 @@ int readserverconfigsthread(void *data)
 
         loopv(serverconfigs) serverconfigs[i]->trypreload();
 
+        // special treatment for vita updates: read once and move out of the way
+        if(!vitaupdatebuf && getfilesize(vitafilename_update) > 0)
+        {
+            formatstring(vitafilename_update_backup)("%s%d.cfg", vitafilename_update_backup_base, (int)(time(NULL) / 60));
+            backup(vitafilename_update, vitafilename_update_backup);
+            serverconfigfile vsf;
+            vsf.init(vitafilename_update_backup, false);
+            vsf.load();
+            vitaupdatebuf = vsf.buf;
+            vitaupdatebuflen = vsf.filelen;
+            vsf.buf = NULL;
+        }
+        if(vitastosave)
+        { // mainloop prepared a selection of vitas to save
+            backup(vitafilename, vitafilename_backup);
+            stream *f = openfile(vitafilename, "w");
+            extern void writevitas(stream *f, vector<vitakey_s> &vs);
+            if(f) writevitas(f, *vitastosave);
+            DELETEP(f); DELETEP(vitastosave);
+        }
+
         entropy_save();
         recheckallserverconfigs = false;
     }
@@ -1804,4 +1830,153 @@ void serverparameters_dumpdocu(char *fname)
 }
 #endif
 
+// player ID bookkeeping
+
+const char *vskeywords[VS_NUM + 1] = { "first", "last", "mute", "novote", "ban", "admin", "owner", "mapupload", "minconn", "minact", "flags", "frags", "deaths", "tks", "damage", "ff", "" };
+const char *vsnames[VS_NUM + 1] = { "first login", "last login", "muted until", "novote until", "banned until", "admin until", "owner until", "mapupload until",
+                                    "minutes connected", "minutes active", "flags", "frags", "deaths", "teamkills", "damage dealt", "team damage dealt", "" };
+hashtable<uchar32, vita_s> vitas;
+
+void vita_s::addname(const char *name)
+{
+    int rem = 0;
+    for(; rem < VITANAMEHISTLEN - 1; rem++) if(!strcasecmp(name, namehist[rem])) break;
+    if(rem) memmove(namehist[1], namehist[0], rem * (MAXNAMELEN + 1));
+    copystring(namehist[0], name, MAXNAMELEN + 1);
+}
+
+void vita_s::addip(enet_uint32 ip)
+{
+    int rem = 0;
+    for(; rem < VITAIPHISTLEN - 1; rem++) if(iphist[rem] == ip) break;
+    if(rem) memmove(iphist + 1, iphist, rem * sizeof(ip));
+    iphist[0] = ip;
+}
+
+void vita_s::addcc(const char *cc)
+{
+    int rem = 0;
+    for(; rem < VITACCHISTLEN - 1; rem++) if(cchist[rem * 2] == cc[0] && cchist[rem * 2 + 1] == cc[1]) break;
+    if(rem) memmove(cchist + 2, iphist, rem * 2);
+    loopi(2) cchist[i] = cc[i];
+}
+
+int parsevitas(char *buf, int filelen)
+{
+    vita_s v, *vp = &v;
+    uchar32 pubkey;
+    string tmp;
+    enet_uint32 ip;
+    int res = 0;
+    char *l, *r, *p = buf, *pe = p + filelen, *b, *o;
+    while(p < pe)
+    {
+        l = p; p += strlen(p) + 1;
+        l = strtok_r(l, " \t", &b);
+        while(l && (r = strtok_r(NULL, " \t", &b)))
+        {
+            filterrichtext(r, r);
+            if(!strcmp(l, "PUBKEY"))
+            {
+                if(hex2bin(pubkey.u, r, 32) == 32)
+                {
+                    if(!(vp = vitas.access(pubkey)))
+                    {
+                        memset(&v, 0, sizeof(v));
+                        vp = &vitas.access(pubkey, v);
+                    }
+                    res++;
+                }
+                else vp = &v; // bad pubkey: point to dummy
+                break;
+            }
+            else if(!strcmp(l, "NAME"))
+            {
+                filtertext(tmp, r, FTXT__PLAYERNAME, MAXNAMELEN);
+                if(*tmp) vp->addname(tmp);
+            }
+            else if(!strcmp(l, "PUBCOM") || !strcmp(l, "PRIVCOM"))
+            {
+                filtertext(tmp, r, FTXT__VITACOMMENT, VITACOMMENTLEN);
+                copystring(l[1] == 'U' ? vp->publiccomment : vp->privatecomment, tmp, VITACOMMENTLEN + 1);
+                break;
+            }
+            else if(!strcmp(l, "IP"))
+            {
+                if(atoip(r, &ip) && ip) vp->addip(ip);
+            }
+            else if(!strcmp(l, "CC"))
+            {
+                filtercountrycode(r, r);
+                if(*r != '-') vp->addcc(r);
+            }
+            else if(!strcmp(l, "CLAN"))
+            {
+                filtertext(tmp, r, FTXT__VITACLAN, VITACLANLEN);
+                copystring(vp->clan, tmp, VITACLANLEN + 1);
+                break;
+            }
+            else if(!strcmp(l, "STAT"))
+            {
+                if((o = strchr(r, ':'))) // key:value
+                {
+                    *o++ = '\0'; // r is key, o is value
+                    loopk(VS_NUM) if(!strcmp(vskeywords[k], r))
+                    {
+                        vp->vs[k] = atoi(o);
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    return res;
+}
+
+bool readvitas(const char *fname)
+{
+    serverconfigfile vsf;
+    vsf.init(fname, false);
+    vsf.load();
+    return vsf.buf ? parsevitas(vsf.buf, vsf.filelen) : -1;
+}
+
+void writevitas(stream *f, vector<vitakey_s> &vs)
+{
+    string tmp;
+    vector<char> ctmp;
+    f->printf("// AC server vita database\n// autosaved %s\n// (don't edit this file, while the server is running)\n\n", timestring(true, "%c", tmp));
+    loopvj(vs)
+    {
+        const vita_s &v = *vs[j].v;
+        f->printf("PUBKEY %s", bin2hex(tmp, vs[j].k->u, 32));
+        if(v.namehist[0][0])
+        {
+            f->printf("\n\tNAME");
+            loopirev(VITANAMEHISTLEN) if(v.namehist[i][0]) f->printf(" %s", escapestring(v.namehist[i], true, true, &ctmp));
+        }
+        if(v.iphist[0])
+        {
+            f->printf("\n\tIP");
+            loopirev(VITAIPHISTLEN) if(v.iphist[i]) f->printf(" %s", iptoa(v.iphist[i], tmp));
+        }
+        if(v.privatecomment[0]) f->printf("\n\tPRIVCOM %s", escapestring(v.privatecomment, true, true, &ctmp));
+        if(v.publiccomment[0]) f->printf("\n\tPUBCOM %s", escapestring(v.publiccomment, true, true, &ctmp));
+        if(v.clan[0]) f->printf("\n\tCLAN %s", escapestring(v.clan, true, true, &ctmp));
+        if(v.cchist[0])
+        {
+            f->printf("\n\tCC");
+            loopirev(VITACCHISTLEN) if(v.cchist[i * 2]) f->printf(" %c%c", v.cchist[i * 2], v.cchist[i * 2 + 1]);
+        }
+        f->printf("\n\tSTAT");
+        loopi(VS_NUM) if(v.vs[i]) f->printf(" %s:%d", vskeywords[i], v.vs[i]);
+        f->printf("\n\n");
+    }
+}
+
+
+
+
+
+
 
diff --git a/source/src/tools.h b/source/src/tools.h
index f984a88f..3b6be9d2 100644
--- a/source/src/tools.h
+++ b/source/src/tools.h
@@ -506,14 +506,16 @@ static inline bool htcmp(const char *x, const char *y)
     return !strcmp(x, y);
 }
 
-static inline uint hthash(const uchar *key)
+struct uchar32 { uchar u[32]; };
+
+static inline uint hthash(const uchar32 &key)
 {
-    return *((uint *)key);
+    return *((uint *)&key);
 }
 
-static inline bool htcmp(const uchar *x, const uchar *y)  // assume "uchar *" points to 32byte public keys
+static inline bool htcmp(const uchar32 &x, const uchar32 &y)
 {
-    return !memcmp(x, y, 32);
+    return !memcmp(&x, &y, 32);
 }
 
 static inline uint hthash(int key)
@@ -590,10 +592,10 @@ template <class K, class T> struct hashtable
         }
         chain *c = unused;
         unused = unused->next;
-        c->key = key;
         c->next = table[h];
-        table[h] = c;
+        c->key = key;
         numelems++;
+        table[h] = c;
         return c;
     }