EN Installation

Installation

Requirements

• Rust 1.85 or later, installed with rustup (tested with 1.99).
• MariaDB 10.6 or later (tested with 13.0). On Windows: winget install MariaDB.Server.
• An extracted 64-bit ArchLord client, by default in ../client/ArchLord/Game relative to the ArchCore folder. ArchCore ships no game data.

1. Get and build the code

git clone https://github.com/BlaMacfly/ArchCore.git
cd ArchCore
cargo build --release

The build produces a single executable, target/release/archcore (archcore.exe on Windows). It holds the server and every tool. Below, archcore means that executable; cargo run --release -- works too. Run the commands from the repository root, where config/ lives.

2. Start MariaDB

The db/start-mariadb.cmd script starts a local instance whose data lives in db/data (port 3306, user root, password archcore). An existing MariaDB server works too: just set its credentials (Database.*) in config/auth.conf and config/world.conf, created on first start from their .dist templates (see Configuration).

3. Create the databases and an account

archcore db-init --account test test

This creates archcore_auth, archcore_characters and archcore_world, applies the scripts in sql/, then creates the account test with the password test. A game master level (1 to 3) can be given as a fourth argument; 3 opens every command (see Administration):

archcore db-init --account admin password 3

The same command updates an existing account (password, GM level). It is safe to run again after a code update: it only adds what is missing.

4. Import the client data

archcore decrypt     # Game/ini → data/client-ini (plain text)
archcore import      # data/client-ini → archcore_world

The client tables are RC4-encrypted, with a key derived from MD5("1111"), and written in CP949. The import converts them to UTF-8: character templates, experience, NPCs, items, shops, skills, quests. It also reads the ground height from the world geometry (the client's world/), which takes a few minutes.

Monsters, drops and map. They are not in the client: they come from the original ArchLord server tables (spawndatatable.txt, spawninstancetable.txt, itemdroptable.txt, groupdroprate.txt, droprankrate.txt and world/node_data), which ArchCore does not ship. Put them in data/server-ini (never versioned), or point to their folder:

archcore import data/client-ini --server path/to/ini

Without them the server starts, but the world has no monsters. The files are detailed in Tools.

5. Start the server

archcore                     # login (11002) + world (11008)
archcore login               # login only
archcore world               # world only
ARCHCORE_TRACE=1 archcore    # detailed log of every packet
ARCHCORE_PROBE=1 archcore    # probe: data/probe-*.log, what each player sees (adds, removals, moves, hits, tracked position)

Useful settings

Settings live in config/auth.conf and config/world.conf (all described in Configuration). The most useful ones to start with, in world.conf:

Key	Purpose
WorldServer.Name	World name in the server list
WorldServer.PublicAddress	Address given to players to join the world (see "Playing with others")
World.MonsterDensity	Monsters per spawn point (1: tables as they are; 2 or 3: more crowded)
Rate.Exp, Rate.Gold, Rate.Drop	Experience, gold and drop rates (1: normal)
World.Language	Language of the NPC titles sent to players (fr by default)

Every key can also come from an environment variable: World.MonsterDensity → ARCHCORE_WORLD_MONSTER_DENSITY. A setting change needs a server restart.

6. Check without the game

archcore sim client test test Testeur

The simulator replays the handshake, the login, the character list and the world entry. It should end with "entrée en jeu confirmée", then "flux complet OK".

7. Connect the real client

The client reads the server list from an encrypted .ini file next to its executable. It first reads, if present, a plain-text file with the same name followed by Test (for example <ClientName>Test.ini). Create that file in Game/ with:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<IPInfo>
  <ServerGroup><GroupName>ArchCore</GroupName><IP>127.0.0.1:11002</IP></ServerGroup>
</IPInfo>

The client runs with administrator rights, so type the login in the game window: another program cannot send it keystrokes.

To play in French, write 17 in Launcher/LanguageInfo.txt (see Translation).

Playing with others

By default everything is set up to play on the same machine (127.0.0.1). To welcome other players:

1. World address. In config/world.conf, set WorldServer.PublicAddress to the address players use to reach the machine: its local network address (for example 192.168.1.20, given by ipconfig) or its public address / a domain name for the Internet. The login server hands it to clients to join the world.

2. Firewall. Allow TCP ports 11002 (login) and 11008 (world). On Windows, in a PowerShell run as administrator:

   New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "ArchCore" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 11002,11008 -Action Allow

3. Router. For players outside the local network, forward these two ports to the server machine in the router's settings.

4. Player side. In <ClientName>Test.ini, replace 127.0.0.1 with the server address (<IP>192.168.1.20:11002</IP>).

5. Accounts. Create one account per player with archcore db-init --account name password.

After restarting the machine

Nothing is lost on shutdown: characters, items and positions are in the database. After a restart, start again in order, each in its own window:

1. MariaDB: db/start-mariadb.cmd (not needed if MariaDB is installed as a Windows service);
2. the server: archcore from the repository root.

If the machine was cut off abruptly, MariaDB repairs its tables on start ("Crash table recovery finished"): this is normal.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Lead
"Cannot access the login server"	ArchCore is not listening on 11002, or <ClientName>Test.ini is missing
Endless loading when entering the world	Run with ARCHCORE_TRACE=1 and read the log
The server stops at start-up on a database error	MariaDB is not running, or its credentials (Database.*) are wrong
The server refuses to start: "schema of the databases to update" (schéma des bases à mettre à jour)	Database not tracked yet or behind: run archcore db-init; ahead: update the executable (see Database)
No monsters in the world	The server tables were not imported (archcore import --server …)
Creatures vanish when moving or coming closer	Client display setting: in Game/ini/COption.ini (client closed), CharView multiplies the character draw distance (0: 0.25; 1: 0.45; 2: 0.875; 3: unlimited) and MapView the map's (0.5 to 1.8). Set both to 3, or to the maximum in the game's graphics options
Another player is stuck after choosing a character	WorldServer.PublicAddress is still 127.0.0.1, or port 11008 is closed
"Unknown column" message in the log	Code updated without running archcore db-init again
Empty inventory or shop	The client's language folder (ini_fr…) must hold ItemTemplateAll.ini (see [[Translation
No sound	Check [Sound_Option] in Game/ini/COption.ini; the game rewrites this file on exit