Introduction
The Host Server
The Host server is where gameplay actually happens. This is the most important piece of the puzzle.
It is possible to have a setup with only a Host server. Players can connect directly to it and play the game. It might not be the most user-friendly experience, but it will work. Notably, the Host server alone is not capable of providing any services outside of the actual gameplay, such as lobbies, accounts, matchmaking, etc. You connect and get directly thrown into a game, that's it.
However, this is perfectly fine for many use cases. Such a configuration is simple and easy to set up. Perfect for LAN parties, tournaments, etc.
The Host server is multi-session. One Host server instance is capable of running many parallel gameplay sessions (possibly even thousands, depending on your hardware).
See Session Configuration to learn more about hosting many sessions on one server.
More Complex Setups
If you are really serious about MineWars server hosting and you would like a more complex setup with extra features such as:
- For users: services outside of gameplay: accounts, lobbies, etc.
- For admins: management of the Host server(s): runtime configuration, session management, load balancing, telemetry, etc.
See Runtime Management to learn more.
The Config File
The Host server needs a config file. Don't worry. We provide some example configs for you, which you can probably use as-is without modification.
See Tutorial and Examples to get started.
Security
MineWars requires encryption. Encryption requires keys and certificates.
However, don't worry about it. To make things easy for you, we provide some default pre-made certificates that will just work out of the box. The example config files that come with the game use them. Everything is already set up for you.
If you are more serious about security and would like to customize things, see the page on Security to learn more. There are also various other optional security features beyond encryption.