View source for Running a LAN server

With the release of R4, hosting a LAN server is possible again. This article explains how to properly setup a LAN server. This article does not cover running a public server. For more info on this topic, see [[Running a Server]].

{{Step|1|Download files}}
Download the R3 server pack from the "Server Files" section in FreeAllegiance.org's [http://www.freeallegiance.org/downloads/ downloads page]. Download the R4 binaries from [http://fazdev.alleg.net/FAZ/AllSrv_R4_080408.zip here].

{{Step|2|Install the server}}
[[Image:LAN_Setup_Service.png|thumb|
<li>Do not install as a service.
<li>Do not enable autoupdate.]]
Install the R3 server. Make sure you '''do not install it as a service'''. Also leave the "Enable Autoupdate" feature unchecked.
{{clear}}

{{step|3|Set up configuration files}}
{{substep|3.1|<tt>ranks.txt</tt>}}
Make sure this file exists:
 %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Games\Allegiance\Server\Artwork\ranks.txt

If it is not present, make one. Contents follow:

 31
 0,Newbie
 1,Novice 1
 2,Novice 2
 3,Novice 3
 4,Novice 4
 5,Novice 5
 6,Novice 6
 7,Novice 7
 8,Inter. 1
 9,Inter. 2
 10,Inter. 3
 11,Inter. 4
 12,Inter. 5
 13,Inter. 6
 14,Inter. 7
 15,Veteran 1
 16,Veteran 2
 17,Veteran 3
 18,Veteran 4
 19,Veteran 5
 20,Veteran 6
 21,Veteran 7
 22,Expert 1
 23,Expert 2
 24,Expert 3
 25,Expert 4
 26,Expert 5
 27,Expert 6
 28,Expert 7
 29,Expert 8
 30,Expert 9
 31,Expert 9

{{substep|3.2|<tt>maps.txt</tt> (optional)}}
Check whether this file exists:
 %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Games\Allegiance\Server\Artwork\maps.txt

If it is not present and you wish to host custom maps, make one. Otherwise, skip this section.

Here is a sample maps.txt file:

 28
 2,Limited,m2xiblimited
 2,Polished,m2xibpolishe
 2,Blender,m2xibblender
 2,Bowtie,m2xibbowtie
 2,Emerald,m2xibemerald
 2,Sapphire,m2xibsapphir
 2,Splitmix,m2xibsplitmi
 2,Starflake,m2xibstarfl
 2,Chaos,m2xibchaos
 2,Octagon,m2xiboctagon
 2,Topaz,m2xibtopaz
 2,Pentagram,m2xibpentag
 2,Dual,m2xibdual
 2,Ruby,m2xibruby
 2,Sliver,m2xibsliver
 2,Obsidian,m2xibobsidia
 2,Escher,m2xibescher
 2,Amethyst,m2xibamethy
 2,Crush,m2xibcrush
 2,Kill,m2xibkill
 2,Destroy,m2xibdestroy
 2,Gold,m2xibgold
 2,Nova,m2xibnova
 2,Jade,m2xibjade
 2,Quartz,m2xibquartz
 2,Rhodium,m2xibrhodium
 2,Platinum,m2xibplatinu
 2,Palladium,m2xibpallad

The first line of this file contains the number of map files the server should load. An incorrect figure ''will'' crash the server.
The following lines list the map files to load with the following syntax:
:''MaxNumberOfTeams,MapDisplayName,MapFilename''

In the example above, the server will load the <tt>m2xiblimited.igc</tt> file as the 'Limited' map. This map is only available for 2 teams.

Catches:
* The map display name may not be longer than 25 characters.
* The file name must may not be longer than 13 characters. This field is case sensitive. Strip off the .igc suffix.

{{substep|3.3|Set up the registry}}{{registry}}

Fire up regedit and switch to the following key:
 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\Allegiance\1.0\Server]

We will need to set a few vital values.

*Set '''ASGS_ON''' to the dword <tt>00000001</tt> (make sure you are entering hexadecimal data.)
*Set '''ASGS_RANKS_ON''' to the dword <tt>00000001</tt> (make sure you are entering hexadecimal data.)

Please note that this may not function properly on some machines, mainly 64-bit operating systems. The two registry keys above are not required, simply recommended,  and if you receive an error with them it is safe to continue without them.

{{Step|4|Update the Binaries}}
Unzip the R4 binaries package and copy AllSrvUI.exe, AllSrv.exe, and AGC.dll into your server installation directory. You should overwrite the current files. 

{{Step|5|Start the server and run games}}
Run AllSrvUI.exe. "Game Visibility" should remain on "Private Game". The "Core" field should be the filename of the core you want to use, without the .igc suffix. Click "Create Game" to start the game. 

{{Step|6|Play}}
Run each client and go to the LAN games menu. Your game will be listed there. For developers trying to test on a single machine, you can check the "Allow empty teams" box. Alternatively, running Allegiance with the "-multi" switch will let you run multiple copies of Allegiance on the same computer. 

[[Category:Help]]
[[Category:Configuration]]
[[Category:Tech support]]