SPHERESERVER Guide

This thread to be filled at a later date.

It just depends on the amount of users you want to support, the size of your worldfile and how much of your world you want to open.
First a tiny/private Shard:
5 Users
Any Area
20 accounts

P2-233 with 64 Megs RAM, 1 GIG hdd, 56K/ISDN Line.

A small shard:
20 Users
open area: Vesper, Minoc, Cove, up to the waste and swamps.
50 active accounts

A P2-300 or Celeron 400 with 128 Megs of Ram and a 128kBit's line should be enough (Double ISDN)

Lets look at an average shard:
40 users
fully open except T2A
200 active accounts

That could be done with a bandwidth of around 256kBit's, a P2-500, 128MB Ram and a 10 GIG Harddsisk.

Larger Shard:
100 users
fully open
400 Active accounts

A P3-500 with 256 Megs of RAM, 10-15Gig Harddisk and a 400kBits uplink

Top Ten Shard
150-200 users
fully open
800 Active accounts
P3-800/ Athlon 800, or dual P3-600+, 256 to 374 Megs of Ram, 20 Gig HDD.
512kBit's line.

Top 3 Shard
200-400 Users
fully open
1500 Active accounts
no CPU on the market can handle that much without lag. Sorry to say that, but its god's own truth. Dual P4-1.5, 521-1 Gig Ram
40-80 GIG's hdd - and a 2-10 MBit Line..

These values (except the last one) are built on my own statistics and logs

General Note: It is always preferable to use Windows NT 4.0 workstation/server for a Server. Windows 95/98/ME are a lot slower, don't Support real multithreading, and far more important no real multitasking. That means, if you play on your server, this is bond to laaaag. Windows 2000 no matter which version is a lot slower then Windows NT - but disadvantages are also the 2 Gig initial HDD Size limit, and some others. Always turn on DMA Support for Harddisks (do it ie. with JD's Tricks etc..) And last but not least... NO ROUTERS! Users canNOT connect to you if you have a router!

Ok, so you've decided you have the connection and you have an idea of what kind of server you hope to create. Now what? Now you go download sphere. The "best" server version will never be decided, people each have their own opinion. Version 55i is the most popular right now, and will have the most support available from other community members. Versions 48e and 51a and other old ones are hard to get support for, but still have a few diehard loyal followers. Versions 99f and 99m (as are available as of writing this) are test versions only, and should not be used for a 'real' public shard. I recemmend 55i.

For WINDOWS 55i:
Unzip your new server to C: as the file structure is already in the zip file and will create C:Sphere for you. If you use some weird version of winzip I'm not familiar with, or just want it elsewhere, unzip to it's own folder. I'll be using C:Sphere in all future docs I write.

For LINUX or FBSD* 55i:
Upload the file to your host in /home/sphere/
Type cd /home/sphere
Type tar -xzvf filename.tar.gz
This should extract it according to the directory structure in the zip (that I don't remember :P)
Type ls to view what it created.
Remember ALL unix/linux filenames are case sensitive, type it exactly as you see it!

For WINDOWS 99f:
Unzip your new server to c:Sphere You will get 3 other zips. Create the following directories:
C:SphereScripts
C:SphereScriptsSpeech
C:SphereScriptsSpeechTest
C:SphereAccounts
C:SphereSave
C:SphereLogs
C:SphereWeb
Unzip the file scripts55.zip to C:SphereScripts
Unzip the file scripts55_speech.zip to C:SphereScriptsSpeech
Unzip the file scripts55_test.zip to C:SphereScriptsTest

For LINUX or FBSD* 99f:
This should be exactly the same as 55i for LINUX or FBSD I believe.

* Note: I have never downloaded the FBSD version of any Sphere, I am merely assuming the file structures are the same as linux tars Next step: go to http://www.sphereserver.com/modules....rticle&artid=8 to find out how to configure your sphere.ini file the way you want to run your shard.

And that's basically it on how to set up your sphere... I will post later about all the commands and tools you can use to make your sphere better than ever!

GM Commands

ADD # - GM & COUNSELOR Adds an item to the world.
If the itemnumber (#) is left out, a gump menu will be displayed with different menu options of what can be created. The current gump this command produces is limited. Item numbers are listed in the items.scp file.

.ADMIN - GM & COUNSELOR This will display a menu that allows you to do a variety of things without having to enter the commands by hand. Most of the commands listed below are included in this menu.

.ADDNPC # - GM Adds an NPC to the world. NOTE: This method of adding NPCs will result in an NPC which is not associated with a spawn point. The added NPC will respawn after death at the point of creation. The only way to remove an NPC created by this method is to .REMOVE it while it's alive.

.ALLMOVE - GM This makes it possible for the you to move items not normally movable, i.e. items whose properties have been set to make them non moveable.

.ALLCLIENTS - GM This command brings all clients to your location in the game. This is a dangerous command on large shards as it may crash clients in heavily populated servers when used.
Syntax: .SERV.ALLCLIENTS GO x
VERIFY: where x is the x,y,z location?

.ANIM # - GM & COUNSELOR Performs the selected (#) animation. Refer to Inside UO to see Animation Numbers.

.BANK
or
.BANK # - GM If no # is supplied, it opens the bankbox of the selected character. (A target cursor appears after the command is entered.)
For the # command, use 1A,1B or 1C for vendor storage areas. 1A is the main vendor stock. Items put in here are periodically restocked. Use the SETZ command to set the restock count. 1B is the area vendors store things they have bought from players. 1C is the list of items that vendors will buy from players but not actually stock.

.BANKSELF - GM This will open your personal bank box.

.BLOCKIP #.#.#.# - ADMIN Block an IP. Only blocks full IP's, not ranges See also: UNBLOCKIP

.CAST # - GM Attempts to cast spell #.

.CLOCK - ADMIN Displays timing/clock information. Usable for debugging.

.COLDCHANCE # - GM Set the % chance of snow in a 64x64 map tile area. Settings are saved in the worldfile.

.RAINCHANCE # - GM Set the % chance of rain a 64x64 map tile area. Settings are saved in the worldfile.

.CONTROL - GM Gain possession of the PC/NPC selected. WARNING: .CONTROL is very useful for on the fly quests, but be warned! Your original body will assume the characteristics (NPC BRAIN) of the new body you intend to inhabit. Your original body may wander off. To prevent this use the .set flags 4 command on your original body to keep it paralyzed while you inhabit the new body. If your old body was a ghost, the ghost is deleted. All newbie items are carried with you as you move. Create a newbie backpack inside your main pack and all items in the pack will be carried with you.

.CLIENTS - GM Lists all the clients currently connected to the server.

.xCRIMINAL - GM Sets a character as criminal, more useful when used in a script trigger.
Leave the x off if you wish yourself to be the target.

.DEBUG - GM Toggles debug mode of the invoking client. All objects look like visible worldgems. All creatures look like white humans and do not animate. all objects will appear at the same Z level as the viewer. This is a good way to remove a house or a ship, enter .DEBUG mode and .REMOVE the structure or ship object gem.

.DETAIL - GM & COUNSELOR Toggles detail level on system messages. Defaults to ON, and it gives you information when people log on and off the server.

.xDISCONNECT - GM Will disconnect a client character without blocking the account. Great for characters that are stuck in-game after a crash. Leaving off the x will disconnect your client.

.DRY - GM Turn off rain and snow in this quadrant of the world.

.DUPE - GM Duplicates the selected object.

.xEDIT - GM Allows you to edit the contents of any container, including NPC and Player Characters

.EXPORT- filename.scp <boolean> # ADMIN Exports the whole or a part of the world to a file.
Syntax: .EXPORT filename.scp exportchar pacesfromyou
Comment: exportchar is 1 or 0 ; pacesfromyou is # of paces.
Example: .EXPORT tailorshop.scp 1 10

.EXTRACT - filename ADMIN Extracts multi items out of the MULTI.MUL file.
Syntax: .EXTRACT multi.txt
Comment: This will create the multi.txt file, after which you need to edit the file and change the header
Sample Header: XXX template id change the XXX to 1 and import with /MULTI 1

.FIX - GM & COUNSELOR Attempt to set the Z coordinates after a teleport.

.FIXWEIGHT - GM Recalculates the weight of the selected character. For use when weight gets outside of normal range due to scripting errors or resync problems.

.xFLIP - GM & COUNSELOR Attempt to flip the item to it's directionally different equivalent. (ex. right and left handed stacks of hides or change the facing direction of a creature.), as allowed by the game art. This will rotate characters or corpses as well as change the shape of light sources. Not all settings for the flips are correct. If you find an error, please report it in our bug forum including the base ID of the flipped item.

.xFOLLOWED - GM Allows a GM to follow any targeted char. Toggle war mode to cancel

.x FORGIVE - GM & COUNSELOR Release someone who has been jailed using the /jail command. Leave off the X if you wish to target yourself

.GM - GM Toggle GM mode for testing as player. Also handy for wandering around incognito.

.GMPAGE - GM Enter a page request into the page que.

.GO X Y Z - GM & COUNSELOR Teleports to the selected X, Y, Z coordinates.

.GOCHAR # - GM & COUNSELOR Teleport to the selected (#) character. Good mostly for random player checking. If there are 5 characters in the game, valid values for # are 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.

.GOCLI # - GM & COUNSELOR Teleport to the selected (#) client on the server. If there are 5 clients connected to the server, valid values for # are 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.

.GOPLACE <string> - GM Teleport to the location, as named in SPHEREmap.scp. Town names are used as default. Example: .GOPLACE Yew

.GOSOCK # - GM & COUNSELOR Teleport to the client connected to the selected (#) socket. If there are 5 sockets in use, valid values for # are 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4. The socketcodes are obtained on the console or from the .CLIENTS list.

.GOUID # - GM & COUNSELOR Teleports to the selected (#) UID (gameobject). Every object in the game has a UID number as listed in the world file. Going to a key code (MORE) will allow you to locate to house, ship or container the key belongs to.

.HEARALL - GM Gives you the ability to hear all that is said in the world.

.HUNGRY - GM & COUNSELOR Reports your current hunger level.

.IMPORT #CHAR #RANGE ADMIN - Imports an area from another server's save file or from an UOX WSC-file.
Syntax: /IMPORT FILENAME .(WSC or SCP) #CHAR #RANGE
Some fields are lost during conversion of UOX files, type=x is sometimes not translated correctly. Remeber that the files to be imported must end with *.WSC or *.SCP.
#CHAR - 1 = include characters in conversion, 0 = exclude characters.
#RANGE - This is a distance limit from the current location to import.

.INFO - GM & COUNSELOR Brings up an in game dialog for viewing and modifying object attributes. A councilor may view, but not modify.

.INFORMATION - GM Displays information about the server.

.INVIS - GM This toggles the invisibility flag of the invoking client. When the invisibility flag is set, you will not show up on .CLIENTS or on tracking. You will however show up on the console Client list. You will produce no words of power when you cast a spell. You can talk normally.

.INVULNERABLE - GM This toggles the invulnerability flag of the invoking client. This command makes the invoker invulnerable. NPC's wont attack an invulnerable client (they aren't that stupid you know). When used on a regular player, the player cannot do harm or be harmed.

.xJAIL #
or
.xJAIL - GM & COUNSELOR Moves the selected player to a jail cell. Leave the x off if you wish yourself to be the target. Valid cell numbers are 1-10, if the number is left out, the selected player will be moved to jailcell number 10.

.xKICK - GM Kicks the selected player off the server.

.KILL - GM Kills the selected PC/NPC.

.LAST - GM & COUNSELOR When the client is in target mode (cursor), this command targets the invoking players last selected target. When a client creates an object or a npc, the npc/object is automatically set to last target. VERIFY: THIS FEATURE MAY HAVE BEEN REMOVED IN RECENT VERSIONS.

.LIGHT # - GM Sets light level for a 64x64 map tile area. It is saved in the world file.
The lightlevels (#) range from 1 (brightest) to 19 (darkest). In T2A light levels range from 1 - 30.

.LINK - GM Links two objects together. This command is most commonly used to link two doors in the same doorframe together so that with a single click they both open. This command may also be used to link a key to a door.

.LISTEN - GM See HEARALL.

.MOVE X,Y - GM Move your (or a target's) x or y position.
Example: .MOVE 0,10 will move your character 10 paces along the y axis (south)

.MOVE - 10,0 will move your character 10 paces along the x axis (east)
Use negative numbers for moving north and west.

.MULTI # - ADMIN Places a multi object into the world. The .MULTI command is used with the multi.txt file which lists large items made up of multiple images like the telescope or shrines.

.MUSIC # - GM & COUNSELOR Plays the music code supplied.

.NUDGEDOWN - GM Shift the Z level of an item down by one.

.NUDGEUP - GM Shift the Z level of an item up by one.

.NUKE - GM Deletes the items in a selected area. This is the opposite of the TILE command. When you invoke this command you will be prompted for two points (via targeting cursor) that should reflect the rectangle/square you want deleted. WARNING: If you are standing on the roof of a tower and delete a range of objects, all objects in all Z levels of the building will be deleted within the selected range.

.NUKECHAR - ADMIN Deletes the character(s) in a selected area. When you invoke this comment you will be prompted for two points (via targetingcursor) that should reflect the rectangle/square you want the NPC's deleted from. WARNING: If you are standing on the roof of a tower and delete a range of objects, all objects in all Z levels of the building will be deleted within the selected range.

.PAGE <letter> - GM & COUNSELOR Displays the GM page queue. The page command have several flags, below are listed the most common.

.PAGE D - Disposes the current page.

.PAGE L - Lists the page queue.

.PAGE O - Go to the Origin point of the page.

.PAGE P - Go to the current location of the calling Player.

.PAGE Q - Send page back to Queue.

.PAGE CURRENT or

.PAGE ? - Displays information about the Current selected page.

.PAGE K - .Kick the player who made the page. Only works if they are online.

.PAGE BAN - Ban the player who made the page and lock their account.

.PAGE JAIL - Send the calling player to jail. Only works if they are online.

.PAGE OFF - Turns of intrusive page notify messages.

.PAGE ON - Turns on intrusive page notify messages.

.PASSWORD - GM & COUNSELOR Changes your account password. This command clears your current password, you will then need to log out and log in using your new choice of password.

.PRIVSHOW - GM Turn on or off the privilege label showing on the paperdoll. For example GM Joe becomes simply Joe. The privs remain intact but players cannot see the GM tag.

.PRIVSET #
or
.SETPRIV # - ADMIN Sets a characters privilege level.
LEVEL 0 PLEVEL_Guest Restricted Guest Account, ie. can't PK
LEVEL1 PLEVEL_Player Player or NPC
LEVEL2 PLEVEL_Counsel Can travel (teleport)
LEVEL3 PLEVEL_Seer Can add items and NPC's but cannot directly affect players <<-- broken
LEVEL 4 PLEVEL_GM GM Command Clearance
LEVEL 5 PLEVEL_Dev Developement Clearence, not bothered by GM
LEVEL 6 PLEVEL_Admin Can Switch into and out of GM mode

.POLY #### - GM Polymorph into the selected NPC, by ID hex number

.PROPS- GM See INFO.

.RAIN - GM Make it rain in the immediate 64 x 64 map tile area of the world.

.RAINCHANCE # - GM Set the % chance of rain in a 64x64 map tile area. Settings are saved in the world file.

.REGION # <binary> - GM Change the default map settings for the area you are currently in. Options are defined on the SPHEREmap.scp file.

.REMOVE - GM Permanently remove the item or character from the game. This cannot be used on players. It will also remove all the contents of a container or corpse so be careful.

.REPAIR - GM Attempt to repair the selected item

.RESEND - GM & COUNSELOR Reload all objects and chars on screen for the client. Used to fix some sorts of display problems.

. RESPAWN - GM Respawns all dead monsters in the world, ahead of their regular schedule on the spawn bit timer.

.RESTOCK - GM Restocks the monster spawns and the vendors in the current quadrant of the world.

.RESTOCK ALL - GM Restocks the monster spawns and the vendors in the whole world.

.RESYNC - GM See RESEND.

.SAVE

or

.SAVE # - GM Force an immediate world save.

.SAVE - If background save is enabled, .SAVE 1 forces a fast foreground save .

.SELF - GM & COUNSELOR When the client is in target mode (cursor), this command targets the invoking player.
VERIFY: THIS FEATURE MAY HAVE BEEN REMOVED IN RECENT VERSIONS.

.SEND # - ADMIN Sends a string of bytes to the client. DANGEROUS! The # represents the string of bytes you want to send to the client.

.SET #PROP #VAL - GM Modify any property of an item or character. There are many many properties. This is probably the most useful in game command in the server. See the Properties explanation in the Customizing your SPHERE area of the SPHERE Support menu.
Syntax: /SET #PROP #VAL
#PROP = The property to be changed.
#VAL = The new value.

.SETZ - GM Sets the Z coordinate of the selected object. This is also used for setting the restock count for items in vendor vaults. See the BANK command for this.

.SHOW - GM Command to show specific properties that may or may not be listed in the .info dialogue.

.SFX # - GM Plays the selected sound code.

.SHRINK - GM Turns the selected creature into a TYPE_FIGURINE object. This does not work on players.
For further help on what this command actually does, summon a horse and use SHRINK on it, then play around with the figurine. If you want to turn it back into a real horse again, doubleclick the figurine.

.SERV.SHUTDOWN # - GM & COUNSELOR Shuts down the server in # minutes.
VERIFY .SHUTDOWN # or .SERV.SHUTDOWN #

.SNOW - GM Make it snow is in this quadrant of the world.

.SPLIT - GM Allows you to separate from your body to become a ghost. It leaves your current body behind as an NPC.

.STATIC - GM Sets the targeted item as unmovable. Also may be used instead of /ADD to add items preset to static.

.SUICIDE - GM & COUNSELOR Mostly used in triggers but may be used in game.

.SYNC - GM & COUNSELOR See .RESEND.

.SYSMESSAGE <text> - GM Sends a system message.
Example:

.SYSMESSAGE - This SPHERE is shutting down in 10 minutes.

.TELE - GM & COUNSELOR Teleport to selected location.

.TILE - GM Lay a blanket of tiles (objects) on the selected area and at the selected Z-coordinate.
Syntax: /TILE #Z #
The #Z is the height (Z-coordinate) at which height you want your area fill to appear. The item number (#) is what item from the SPHEREITEM.SCP file you want the area filled with. When you invoke this comment you will be prompted for two points (via targeting cursor) that should reflect the rectangle/square you want filled.

.TWEAK - GM See .INFO.

.TYPEDEF - GM This will allow access to the base class information like SELLVALUE and BUYVALUE. This information will not be saved as it exists only in the SPHEREITEM.SCP file but it will allow you to play with this a bit.

.UNBLOCKIP ADMIN - Unblock the IP that was previously blocked See also: BLOCKIP
VERIFY USAGE: .UNBLOCKIP #.#.#.#

.UNDERWEAR - GM & COUNSELOR For removing the default underwear from PC and NPC chars.

.VERSION - GM Displays current server version.

.WEBLINK - GM Launches your system's browser and loads the SPHERE page.

.WHERE - GM & COUNSELOR This command tells you your current X Y and Z coordinates in the world.

.XGO - GM Teleports a PC/NPC or an object to the selected coordinates.
Syntax: .GO #X #Y #Z

Hue Editor!
http://server2047.virtualave.net/hal...oHueEditor.zip

GM Tool
http://www.wvc.net/~halterk/axis/axis13.2.setup.zip