WHAT IS CROSSFIRE?

  Crossfire is a multiplayer graphical arcade and adventure game made for the
  X-Windows environment.  It runs on a client/server model.  There are two
  officially maintained, up-to-date clients.  One is developed with GTK+ 2 and
  can use SDL or OpenGL.  The other is a Java client.

  The game has certain flavours from other games, especially Gauntlet (TM) and
  Nethack/Moria.

  Any number of players can move around in their own window, finding and using
  items and battling monsters, solving quests, etc.  They can choose to
  cooperate or compete in the same "world".

  This README is for the server.  The client, which is downloaded separately,
  has it's own README.


REQUIREMENTS

  For UNIX, an ANSI C compiler (with some C99 features, such as snprintf()) is
  needed to compile the server. GCC is recommended.

  To build a functional server, you not only need the server files, but also
  the archetype files.  They need to be unpacked or sym-linked under the lib
  directory.

  The map distribution is needed in order to have a usable map set.

  You also need Perl to generate the archetype files.  This is only done at
  build time.

  There are some optional dependencies:
  * Support for dynamically loaded libraries.  Most modern systems have this.
  * SQLite3 - For cflogger and cfnewspaper.
  * Python 2.4 or later - For cfpython. This is highly recommended.  A lot of
    items, maps and quests will not work without Python.
  * Check - for unit tests.  This is required for developers, normal users
    do not need to bother about this.  Check is not always distributed with
    popular distributions, but it is found at http://check.sourceforge.net/.

  For Windows: Someone with Windows: please fill this in.


COMPILING

  Crossfire has been known to compile on a wide variety of systems.  It should
  compile on most all ANSI C and POSIX compliant systems.

  To get directions on compilation under Unix/Linux, read the INSTALL file.
  For Windows: Someone with Windows: please fill this in.


USAGE

  Crossfire runs on a client/server model.  You will also need the client to
  play.  You can either connect to a server someone else has set up, or run
  your own server and connect to that.  The client package has information for
  connecting to servers.

  To run your own server, you need to make the crossfire binaries and install
  them, and then run the crossfire-server program.  This creates a server
  that you and other people can connect to.  The map files must be downloaded
  and installed for the server to run properly.  They should be unpacked in
  the $(TARGET)/share/crossfire directory - after unpacking, you should have a
  $(TARGET)/share/crossfire/maps directory.  Alternatively, maps in that
  location may be a sym-link that points to a different folder.

  If you plan to run a long term server, you should use one of the scripts
  provided that will re-run crossfire if it dies for some reason.

IRC

  It is possible to link up with a small community of Crossfire aficianados on
  #crossfire at irc.freenode.net.  Though activity waxes and wanes, it is
  often possible to get "live" help there.


MAILING LIST

  For the latest subscription for crossfire mailing lists, go to:
  http://crossfire.real-time.com/mailinglists/index.html

  There you can subscribe/unsubscribe any of the mailing lists.  Links to
  archives of the mailing lists can be found there, as well as at:
  http://gmane.org/find.php?list=crossfire


FTP SITES

  FTP-sites where you can look for the latest versions are:
    http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/crossfire/
    ftp://ftp.real-time.com/pub/games/crossfire

  Changes made since the latest release can be found at the SVN
  repository.  Information on anonymous SVN access and browsing
  the repository can be found at:
    http://sourceforge.net/svn/?group_id=13833


WEB SITES:

  The following web addresses have crossfire information that you may find
  useful:

  real-time is the main crossfire site:
  http://crossfire.real-time.com/

  Following link contains much more detailed steps on compiling
  the server from source:
  http://wiki.metalforge.net/doku.php/crossfire_compile_guide

  If you plan to run a public server, the following link provides a lot of
  useful information on various customizations you should make:
  http://wiki.metalforge.net/doku.php/serverhosting:hosting_a_crossfire_server


REPORTING BUGS

  First, check the INSTALL file for common problems, and see if yours is
  mentioned.

  Bugs should be filed at the sourceforge web site:
        http//sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=13833&atid=113833

  When reporting bugs, make sure you include the following:

  o If you have a sourceforge login, make sure you are logged in.  This way,
    if there are questions about the bug, you will be notified about the
    request for more information.
  o What version of crossfire did you use?
  o What type of computer did you use (CPU type)
  o What is the version of the OS?
  o What compiler (and its version) did you use (ie, gcc, icc, etc)?
  o Which flags did you give it?
  o If the bug happens when compiling crossfire, send an EXACT copy of the
    compiler line, as well as the errors it puts out.  Sending bugs of the
    sort 'it failed with a line like ...' doesn't help at all.
  o If you are using any of the plugins, what version(s) of Python and SQLite
    do you have installed?
  o If the bug happened while running crossfire:
    - Include any output before to the bug.
    - Give a description of what you did before the bug occurred.  The better
      detailed the description, the better chance we have of figuring out
      where the bug happened, or how we can recreate the bug.
    - If possible, a stack trace from gdb (or other debugger) is very helpful.

  The more information provided, the better chance of the bug being fixed in
  a timely fashion.

  Further debugging information can be found at
  http://crossfire.real-time.com/debugging_tips.html

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  SUBMITTING PATCHES:  See the doc/programming_guide file.
     The patches should be submitted to the patch tracker on sourceforge:
          http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=13833&atid=313833


PUBLIC SERVERS:

  The best way to find a server to play is to run the client.  It will contact
  the metaserver and present a list to choose from.  You can also see a list
  at http://crossfire.real-time.com/metaserver/ or
  http://crossfire.real-time.com/metaserver2/.


COPYRIGHT

    Don't get scared by the below, it's included just for "safety" reasons 8)
    (Don't want anyone to start selling the game)

    Copyright (C) 2000,2006 Mark Wedel
    Copyright (C) 1992 Frank Tore Johansen

    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
    under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
    Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
    any later version.

    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
    WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY
    or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
    for more details.

    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
    with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
    675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

    The author can be reached via e-mail to crossfire-devel@real-time.com

