Tutorial Join a Server

Tutorial: Join a Server

Someone you know runs a Monworks server (or you do) and you want in: point your game at it once, then walk to any Cable Club.

Point your game at the server

Open the engine settings screen (F9 anywhere — or the SETTINGS start-menu row, in games that enable it) and pick the SERVER row. Press A and type the address on the keyboard — an IP or host:port if the server runs off the standard port (17226). ED confirms; the row reads ON and shows the address while selected.

The address is your preference, remembered per game on your machine. To leave a server behind, open the row again, delete the address with B until the line is empty, and confirm — the game falls back to whatever the creator suggested, or to no server at all.

For creators: ship a default server with your game by adding "server_addr": "play.example.net" to presentation/version.json. Players see ONLINE out of the box, and anyone can still override it from the settings row. The identity gate means only players of your exact release can enter — update the server's copy when you ship an update.

Walk to the Cable Club

With a server configured, the attendant's menu grows ONLINE beside HOST and JOIN. (Without one, the menu is exactly the classic three — nothing changes until you opt in.)

Your first visit asks you to pick a handle — the name you are on that server (2–16 letters/digits/underscore; it doesn't have to match your character's name). The server registers it and your game quietly stores the credential for that character. Every save-slot character keeps its own credentials — a household of three plays as three people.

If the server's registration is invite or closed, you can only enroll with a code, or not at all — ask the operator. And if your game's content doesn't match the server's exactly, the door refuses you with a message naming what differed: you and the server are running different releases.

The lobby

The lobby lists everyone open to play, plus REFRESH and LEAVE. Pick a name to challenge them; if someone challenges you, the ask pops up wherever you are in the lobby — YES accepts, NO declines.

On an accepted match the two games connect to each other directly (the challenged side hosts; the server hands the challenger the address). From there it is the cable link you know: the save beat, then TRADE CENTER or COLOSSEUM, with the same rules — and the same refusals — as a wire between two machines.

If a direct connection can't form (both sides behind strict NATs), the session falls back to the server's relay automatically. The relay never reads your traffic and changes nothing about the game — battles and trades stay a private lockstep between the two of you, byte for byte.

The trade board

The lobby's BOARD is for trades that don't need you both online at once. Post a monster from your party — it stays in your party; the board only shows its public card (species, level, moves, DVs) and, if you like, what you want for it. Browsing players can claim a listing whenever; the moment you're both online, both of you get the call — "Board trade with X is ready! Meet at the table?" — and a YES walks you straight into the normal Trade Center ceremony together. The listing comes down automatically the instant the trade completes; if either of you backs out, it stays up. Withdraw a listing any time from the board, and listings quietly expire after the server's time limit (a week, unless the operator says otherwise).

Blips and drops

A connection hiccup mid-battle or mid-trade doesn't end the session: both sides hold for up to two minutes while your game redials — through the server, if you were relayed — and the fight or trade picks up where it left off. Press B on the "link lost" box if you'd rather give up waiting. Trades stay two-phase safe across any outage: a trade either completes on both saves or on neither.

Walking out of the club leaves the server; your handle and credentials keep, and your next ONLINE visit is two presses.

If the server was reset

Operators sometimes wipe their server. Your stored credential then names a handle that no longer exists — your game notices and simply re-enrolls the same handle on the spot. If someone else claimed your handle in the meantime, you'll be refused; pick a new handle with the operator.

The full protocol and design live in docs/engine/server.md.