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198 changes: 157 additions & 41 deletions source/pages/Tutorial/dev-server.rst
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Setting up a development game server
================================================
Setting Up a Development Game Server
======================================

Requirements
-----------------------
This guide walks you through the chronological steps to set up a development environment for the Brave Frontier emulator server, ensuring all prerequisites are met and potential issues are avoided from the start.

* A C++17 or greater compiler (like Visual Studio or GCC)
* CMake
* vcpkg
* git
* A way to launch the game client (see below for the supported methods)
Installing Visual Studio 2022 Community with C++ for Developers
----------------------------------------------------------------

Cloning the repo
-----------------------
Before cloning the server repository or setting up dependencies, install Visual Studio 2022 Community with the necessary C++ development tools to prevent common build errors, such as the ``missing rc.exe`` issue.

Clone the server repository:
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/decompfrontier/server
**Steps**:

Setting up vcpkg
-------------------------
1. Download and install Visual Studio 2022 Community from `https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/`. (For best results, run the installer with Admin Privileges)

Clone the `vcpkg repository <https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg>`_ and bootstrap vcpkg:
bootstrap-vcpkg -disableMetrics
2. During installation, select the following in the Visual Studio Installer:

.. admonition:: Windows-only extra steps
- **Workload**: "Desktop development with C++" (ensure this is checked).
- **Individual Components** (under "Installation details"):

You also need to open an elevated command prompt and type `vcpkg integrate install` in your
vcpkg directory.
- "Windows 10 SDK" (select the latest version, e.g., 10.0.22621.0).
- "MSVC v143 - VS 2022 C++ x64/x86 build tools." (Usually selected by default)

Setup an system or user environment variable called `VCPKG_ROOT` which points to your vcpkg installation directory.
.. image:: ../../images/VisualStudio2022COptions.png

Setting up the server
-----------------------------
3. Click "Install while downloading" or "Modify" to apply changes (approximately 10.7 GB of additional space may be required).

Using cmake, select the preset `Development config for XXXXX (64-bit)` depending on your operative system. (or use cmake --preset debug-win64, debug-lnx64 or debug-osx64)
.. note::
To verify all files are installed correctly, you can modify your Visual Studio installation at any time using the Visual Studio Installer. Open the installer, select "Modify" for Visual Studio 2022 Community, and ensure the above components are checked. This step can help confirm the presence of critical tools like ``rc.exe``, which is necessary for building C++ projects.

Configure and then generate the target project.
Cloning the Server Repository
------------------------------

Once you build the project, you will have a binary called "gimuserverw", this binary is your
development start that you should run and debug to develop new functionalities.
Clone the server repository to begin working on the Brave Frontier emulator server.

Download the assets `21900.zip <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ApVcJISPovYuWEidnkkTJi_NI8sD1Xmx/view>`_ to your `server repository/deploy/system/game_server` (if the folder does not exist create it)
**Steps**:

Extract `assets.zip` from the `21900.zip` like so:
To clone the server repository, run the following command in a terminal (e.g., Git Bash, Command Prompt, or PowerShell):

.. image:: ../../images/archive_21900.png
::

Open `assets.zip` and inside, extract the two folders (`content` and `mst`) inside the `deploy/game_content`:
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/decompfrontier/server

.. image:: ../../images/assets_zip.png
.. note::
Ensure Git is installed on your system (a base installation is all you need).

You should have two folders called `content` and `mst` inside the `game_content` folder, like so:
Setting Up vcpkg
-----------------

.. image:: ../../images/servercontent_root.png
Set up `vcpkg`, a C++ library manager, to handle dependencies for the server project.

The content of the `content` folder should contain the following assets:
**Steps**:

.. image:: ../../images/servercontent_content.png
1. Clone the `vcpkg` repository and bootstrap it with metrics disabled:

The content of the `mst` folder should contain the following assets:
- In a terminal, run:

.. image:: ../../images/servercontent_mst.png
::

You can modify the server configuration by editing the JSON files contained inside the `system` directory,
you can also setup extra settings inside the `gimuconfig.json` and adjust Drogon-specific settings inside the `config.json`.
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg.git
cd vcpkg
.\bootstrap-vcpkg -disableMetrics (for Windows, PowerShell)
./bootstrap-vcpkg.sh -disableMetrics (for Linux/macOS)

You should now have an environment ready to begin developing the Brave Frontier emulator.
.. admonition:: Windows-Only Extra Steps

On Windows, open an elevated PowerShell (Run as Administrator) and run the following command in your `vcpkg` directory:

::

.\vcpkg integrate install

2. Set up a permanent environment variable named ``VCPKG_ROOT`` pointing to your `vcpkg` installation directory. Choose one of the following methods based on your preference:

- **User-Level (Recommended)**: Sets the variable for your user account only. In a PowerShell terminal, run:

::

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("VCPKG_ROOT", "C:\Projects\vcpkg", "User")

- **System-Level (Admin Required)**: Sets the variable for all users on the system. In an elevated PowerShell (Run as Administrator), run:

::

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("VCPKG_ROOT", "C:\Projects\vcpkg", "Machine")

- Replace ``C:\Projects\vcpkg`` with the actual path to your `vcpkg` folder (e.g., ``A:\BF\vcpkg`` if that’s where it’s located).
- To verify it worked, restart your terminal and run:

::

$env:VCPKG_ROOT

Example Output: ``C:\Projects\vcpkg``

- Alternatively, set it via the GUI:

- Open `sysdm.cpl` (via `Windows Key + R`), go to “Advanced” > “Environment Variables.”
- Under “User variables” (for user-level) or “System variables” (for system-level, admin required), click “New”:

- Variable name: ``VCPKG_ROOT``
- Variable value: Your `vcpkg` path (e.g., ``C:\Projects\vcpkg``).

.. important::
Setting ``VCPKG_ROOT`` permanently is required for this and subsequent tutorials. Ensure you choose the method (user-level or system-level) that best suits your setup to avoid issues later.

Building the Server Using CMake
--------------------------------

Configure and build the server project using CMake with a preset for your operating system.

**Steps**:

Using CMake, select the preset ``Development config for XXXXX (64-bit)`` based on your operating system. Alternatively, use one of these commands in a terminal (e.g., Developer PowerShell for VS 2022 on Windows):

- ``cmake --preset debug-win64`` (Windows)
- ``cmake --preset debug-lnx64`` (Linux)
- ``cmake --preset debug-osx64`` (macOS)

.. warning::
If you encounter an error (e.g., "The C++ compiler is not able to compile a simple test program" or a missing `rc.exe` issue), you may be missing critical components in your Visual Studio installation. To resolve this, uninstall all Visual Studio components, then return to the "Installing Visual Studio 2022 Community with C++ for Developers" section and reinstall from scratch, ensuring all required workloads and components (e.g., Windows 10 SDK, MSVC v143) are selected.

Once built, you’ll find a binary named ``gimuserverw`` in the ``server\standalone_frontend`` folder. This is your development server executable, which you can run and debug to implement new features.

.. hint::
At this point, if there are no errors in the console, you are free to close the admin PowerShell (and remove VCPKG_ROOT from root)

Double Click ``gimuserverw.vcxproj`` to open Visual Studio 2022 Community.

In Visual Studio 2022 Community, right click ``gimuserverw`` in the Solution Explorer pane and select ``Set as Startup Project``.

.. image:: ../../images/SettingUpTheServer1.png

From here, select the ``Debug`` dropdown menu in the top ribbon. Select ``gimuserverw Debug Properties`` at the bottom of the dropdown.

.. image:: ../../images/SettingUpTheServer2.png

In this pop-up window, select ``Debugging`` under ``Configuration Properties``, Change ``Configuration:`` dropdown to ``All Configurations``, then change ``Working Directory`` to the ``server\deploy`` folder. Click ``OK`` to close this window, then click ``Apply`` and finally ``OK`` to return to Visual Studio 2022 Community.

.. image:: ../../images/SettingUpTheServer3.png

.. image:: ../../images/SettingUpTheServer4.png

Final Stretch
--------------

Complete the server setup by downloading and organizing assets.

**Steps**:

1. Download the assets from `21900.zip <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ApVcJISPovYuWEidnkkTJi_NI8sD1Xmx/view>`_ and place them in the ``server\deploy\system\game_server`` directory. If this folder doesn’t exist, create it.

2. Extract ``assets.zip`` from ``21900.zip`` as shown below:

.. image:: ../../images/archive_21900.png

3. Open ``assets.zip`` and extract the ``content`` and ``mst`` folders into ``deploy/game_content``:

.. image:: ../../images/assets_zip.png

After extraction, you should have two folders, ``content`` and ``mst``, inside ``game_content``:

.. image:: ../../images/servercontent_root.png

The ``content`` folder should contain the following assets:

.. image:: ../../images/servercontent_content.png

The ``mst`` folder should contain these assets:

.. image:: ../../images/servercontent_mst.png

4. Modify the server configuration by editing the JSON files in the ``system`` directory. You can also adjust additional settings in ``gimuconfig.json`` and tweak Drogon-specific options in ``config.json``.

Your environment is now fully set up and ready for developing the Brave Frontier emulator. You can run the server by clicking the ``Green Filled-in Play Button`` at the top of Visual Studio 2022 Community.

What's next?
-------------

.. important::
Now that you are done with the server set-up, please make your way over to game client set-up for installation steps.

.. note::
If you encountered an error in set-up or a bug is preventing you from progressing in one of these tutorials, please create an ``Issue`` on the main repo. Thanks for your interest in our project!