tserver.html - vaccinewars - be a doctor and try to vaccinate the world
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tserver.html (5271B)
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1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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3 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
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6 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
7
8 <head>
9 <title>Setting up and running a dopewars server</title>
10 <meta charset="utf-8"/>
11 </head>
12
13 <body>
14 <h1>Setting up and running a dopewars server</h1>
15
16 <p>Multiplayer games of dopewars require a running dopewars server; this
17 mediates the interactions between each player (each player runs a
18 <a href="clientplay.html">client</a> which connects to this server). The server
19 runs the game, generating drug prices and the like, and instructs the clients
20 accordingly. The server can be run on any machine that can be reached over
21 the network by clients (so you don't have to run it on the same machine that
22 you run your client on, for example, unless your firewall blocks the dopewars
23 port).</p>
24
25 <p>Single player games do not require a server (although you can still connect
26 to one if you like) as a "virtual server" is run by the dopewars client.</p>
27
28 <p>The dopewars server can be heavily customised by means of the
29 <a href="configfile.html">configuration files</a>. For example, you can
30 change the names of all the game locations so that the game is set in your
31 home city rather than New York. Any players that then connect to your
32 customised server will play this customised game.</p>
33
34 <ul>
35 <li><a href="#server">Running a server</a></li>
36 <li><a href="#interact">Interacting with the text-mode server</a></li>
37 <li><a href="#ntservice">Running as an NT service</a></li>
38 <li><a href="#metaserver">Private and public: the dopewars metaserver</a></li>
39 </ul>
40
41 <h2><a id="server">Running a server</a></h2>
42
43 <p>All the code for the dopewars server is included in the same binary as the
44 standard client. To run the binary in server mode, specify the <b>-s</b> or
45 <b>-S</b> <a href="commandline.html">command line option</a>. The type of
46 server that runs depends on how you configured the binary; by default, on
47 Windows systems a simple graphical window containing the server output and
48 a line for entering <a href="servercommands.html">server commands</a> is used
49 (an "interactive" server) while on Unix systems a text-mode server that
50 accepts no input ("noninteractive") is used.</p>
51
52 <h2><a id="interact">Interacting with the text-mode server</a></h2>
53
54 <p>Once started, the text-mode server does not accept commands directly. This
55 is problematic if you want to adjust settings, eject players, etc. To send
56 commands to a running server, run dopewars with the <b>-A</b>
57 <a href="commandline.html">command line option</a>. (This should only work
58 from the machine running the dopewars server, not over the network, and only
59 for the user that started the server, as it uses a Unix-domain socket for the
60 communication.) Also, by default the text-mode server sends its log output to
61 standard output; you may wish to instead log to a file with the <b>-l</b>
62 option.</p>
63
64 <h2><a id="ntservice">Running as a Windows service</a></h2>
65
66 <p>On Windows systems, the graphical server has one major drawback; it can
67 only run while you are logged on. As soon as you log out, the server is
68 killed. To get around this limitation, dopewars
69 <a href="windows.html">supports being run</a> as a "Windows Service".
70 The disadvantage of the server in this configuration is that server commands
71 cannot be issued once the server is running. This limitation should be
72 fixed in a future release of dopewars.</p>
73
74 <h2><a id="metaserver">Private and public: the dopewars metaserver</a></h2>
75
76 <p>By default, a server reports its status to the dopewars
77 <a href="metaserver.html">metaserver</a>. It does this on startup and
78 shutdown, and whenever players join or leave the game. In addition, you
79 can force a report (under Unix systems) by sending the dopewars server
80 process a SIGUSR1 signal. The server will "remind" the metaserver that it
81 exists by ensuring that a report is sent at least once every 3 hours or so,
82 regardless. A "status report" comprises contact details for the server,
83 a count of the number of active players, and current high scores.</p>
84
85 <p>The metaserver also has a web interface, which is used by dopewars clients to
86 obtain the list of servers, and can also be viewed with a web browser
87 <a href="https://dopewars.sourceforge.io/metaserver.php?getlist=2">here</a>.</p>
88
89 <p>Whether your server connects to the metaserver can be configured with the
90 <a href="configfile.html#MetaServerActive">MetaServer.Active</a> configuration
91 file setting, or the <b>-s</b> and <b>-S</b> <a href="commandline.html">
92 command line options</a>.</p>
93
94 <p>N.B. Your machine may have trouble connecting with
95 the metaserver in some circumstances, most notably if you are using an
96 enforced proxy server or your DNS does not correctly resolve your IP address
97 to your domain name. In such cases, you may be unable to connect to the
98 metaserver, or it may register your server with an incorrect name. For
99 information on getting round these difficulties, see the
100 <a href="metaserver.html">metaserver</a> page.</p>
101
102 <hr />
103 <ul>
104 <li><a href="index.html">Main index</a></li>
105 </ul>
106 <p>
107 Last update: <b>05-12-2020</b><br />
108 Valid <a href="http://validator.w3.org/check/referer">XHTML 1.1</a>
109 </p>
110 </body>
111 </html>