Running MudOS (1993/01/28)

This file describes how to run the driver once you have it installed.

This installation file assumes you wish to refer to your mud by the name of 'basis'. If this is not the case, simply use the name of your choice whenever this file mentions the word 'basis'.

• Read the 'Install' file if you have not yet done so.

• Check the value of INSTALL_DIR that you set in the Makefile. Make sure that startmud and basis.info (from the bin subdirectory) are in that directory. Edit basis.info so that the values for the various macros are appropriate for your setup. Macros that you will likely need to change include MUDNAME and APORT. You also may need to change LOGDIR. Edit 'startmud' and make sure the value of $BINDIR is the same as that of $INSTALL_DIR (again, as specified in the Makefile).

• Check the value you set for CONFIG_FILE_DIR in src/options.h. Make sure etc/config.basis is in the CONFIG_FILE_DIR directory that you specified.

• Edit $CONFIG_FILE_DIR/config.basis so that it is customized to be the way you want it.

• Move (if necessary) your mudlib subdirectory so that the value you specified for "mudlib directory" in config.basis is correct. If you have ftp'd an existing mudlib that is meant to work with MudOS 0.9.15, then you should follow the instructions included with that mudlib. In general, just make sure that the value for "mudlib directory" in config.basis is correct. The mudlib basis-19.tar.Z (on the same ftp site as the driver) is a more complete version of the mini-lib that was previously included with MudOS. In addition, the TMI-2 beta mudlib release and Nightmare mudlib are now available.

• Test the setup by starting the driver from the command line (without using the startmud script). Do this by switching into the INSTALL_DIR and typing:

  ./driver config.basis

  If the driver doesn't startup smoothly at this point then put on your thinking cap and start tracking down the source of the problem (hint: reread the Install file and this file to see if you can find a place where you made a mistake). If you can't find any mistakes on your part, then we may have made one when writing up these instructions. In that case, you may look for our mistake (please let us know if we made one). Note: the 'init_addr_server: connect: Connection refused message' is normal at this point. Also, the two *Warning messages dealing with 'default error message' and 'maximum efun sockets' may be ignored.

• Telnet into your running mud by typing:

  telnet localhost 6363

  (you will need to use a different number than 6363 if you changed the port number in config.basis). After you've finished playing around in the mud, type 'halt' to shutdown the mud.

• Switch into $INSTALL_DIR and type: nohup startmud basis &

  This command will start a script that will run the driver. If the driver crashes or is rebooted, the script will restart the driver. The script writes information into various different log files when the driver reboots or crashes (read the startmud script and basis.info to see where the logfiles will be). If the driver exits with an exit code of -1 then the script will stop (and the driver will not be restarted).

• Note that the startmud script attempts to start the addr_server as well as the driver. The addr_server is an autonomous replacement for the old hname binary. Be sure that addr_server is started with an argument specifying a port # the same as the port # listed for the address server in config.basis (note: the addr_server must run on a different port than does MudOS).

• If you wish to stop the mud, either type 'halt' (or 'shutdown' depending on the mudlib you are using) from inside the mud or type 'stopmud basis' from outside the mud. Stopping the mud from the inside is the preferred method (when possible).

• If you wish to run more than on MudOS mudlib on the same machine, there is no need to recompile the driver since you can use the same driver binary for each mudlib by adding additonal runtime config files (in the same directory as config.basis) for any new mudlibs. In addition multiple instances of the driver can communicate with the same addr_server. This feature is very useful when you need to run a test system on a different port (your main system and test system can even use the same mudlib). If you do this, you may wish to make logfile names based on the value returned by mud_name() (give the two muds different names in the runtime config file).