Game Server + Game Client + Editor Tools + Documentation

introducing Invasion. the minimalistic MMO.

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The Invasion Begins.

Welcome to Invasion, the massively multiplayer online game from Dean Pearce and Stephan Toivonen. The contents of this CD is the culmination of our work this year on the client and the server. Within this web page you will find information about the design of the game, documentation, the installers for both the game and the server and the installers and information about the editors. We hope you enjoy playing the game as much as we enjoyed researching and designing the entire game environment.

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Software that works.

The CD launcher was designed to make the entire process, from putting the CD in the drive to starting up the client to play the game as simple as possible. All the files can be found in the Files tab above, and gives you the most flexibility in what you install. Once installed, all of the software can be found under the Invasion folder in your All Programs list on the start menu.

Install a project in seven clicks or less.

The site is easy to navigate, just use the tabs found along the top of the content you're reading now, or click one of the arrows. Once you download and run the installer, you can sit back and relax while all the setting up and work is done for you.

Project Documentation. Simplified.

You will find all the program documentation in the Docs tab. The documentation is either in PDF format or in CHM. If you don't have Adobe, you can find the installer in the Files tab above, and Windows is able to open the documentation manuals that are written in other formats.

The power of one.

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The power of one is inexplicable, particularly in an installer, so we won't waste any time trying. Below you can find the files that are relevant to our project, including all the game equipment as well as the other required software to run the game. The installers are self explanitory, so go ahead and enjoy!


Game Client, Game Server, XML Editor and World Editor

Other Software

Elegant and powerful game editing.

All of the programs were designed and assembled with great care, and reflected our own values of how a program should look. The results are easy to use and flexible game development tools. Working with the XML Editor is a breeze and the World Editor makes game development easy and hands on. Best of all, is the updates that you make can be automatically sent to your client users, so they can enjoy any new content that you may release.

  • Team Design. Based on what we know on game design, we produced an interface that is simple and fun to use.
  • clips window Power. The ability to update and control the client ensures a fair and fun gaming opportunity for all players.
  • Sustainability. Easy to update game environment allows for fast and flexible updates to bring more content to your users.

Try them out yourself!

The editors are included in the server installer, so if you have installed it already, look in the Invasion folder in your All Programs menu on your start menu. The editors will allow you to customize your game to your specifications, and that's always a good thing.

Gaming is just a click away.

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The game client was designed to be as user friendly and efficient as possible. Running the client takes all of the work out, like a good client should, but it also handles everything else including character creation. In the game, the interface is minimalistic, with the game board in play displayed with a small chat window and the player's HUD (head's up display - the health and level bar). This simplicity adds a whole new level of recognition and allows the player to concentrate on what's important: the game.

Keep up to date!

The client automatically keeps itself up to date by retrieving updates from the server and installing them automatically to keep game play as seamless as possible. The game experience can be updated at any time and users can take advantage of those features upon reboot.

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Platform Built

The game client was developped in Visual Basic 2005, and is built on the .Net 2.0 platform. This allows for great portability of code between various versions of Microsoft Windows and also onto Linux with the dot GNU code implementation project. The game is flexible, but requires at least a 1GHz processor and 256MB of RAM.

Create amazing maps.

The client and the world editor rely on the strong foundation of libmap.dll, a library written by Stephan Toivonen. The game client and world editor are able to take any "tile" (image that is 32x32 pixels at 96bpp) and render it on the game board. So innovate to your heart's content! Since the game engine and the world editor are built on the same foundation you can be sure that the client will render the map as beautifully as the world editor did for you. Convienient that the editing view is the same size as the client window, isn't it?

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Manual XML? Never!

The XML editor allows for the quick and easy creation of new items, creatures and attacks without all the pesky XML that goes along with the server. The server will accept manually written XML, but why make life difficult for yourself when you can simply press "New Item" and save all the redundant work for the program... After all, isn't that why computers were invented initially? You can then register the files with the server so your clients can begin to receive your newly updated masterpiece!

Don't like it? Change it!

There is a reason (other than for grading) that we included the client and server source code: you can customize it as you see fit. Not only does it make a great base for programming examples, but the documentation will allow you to understand what is going on in your program and where.

Terminal design: simple and powerful.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that a pure Java-console based server is not that easy to use or that appealing to the eye, so we decided to wrap it in a nice easy to use interface. Simple click "Start Server" in the Server Manager application and watch the magic come to life! The server comes preconfigured, but if you want the power of customization, you can access all sorts of command line arguments to customize and enhance gameplay. For more information about customization, refer to the server documentation.

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Why don't I see anything?

A feature of the server is its low resource requirements, so things like console output are skipped unless absolutely necessary. If you want to see what the program is up to, read the documentation to learn how to do this. Don't worry, just because you don't see any information scrolling across your screen doesn't mean that your clients aren't tearing each other up in a heated battle!

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What runs it?

The server is built on the powerful Java 6 platform, which is known for its speed, reliability, flexibility and security. The game console is completely written in Java 6, meaning in a consistent code style and complete, easy Java Docs to boot! The documentation can be found in the Docs tab, along with information about everything else in the package.

Documents and References and Specifications, oh my!

The documents are either in CHM (compiled help manual), HTML or in PDF format for your convienience.

Game Client and Game Server

General Documentation