The War Server

 

The War Server is an add-on for Artemis versions 2.1.5 through 2.6.0, which simulates a galactic war. It was designed for Conventions and other gatherings where a large number of ships would be available for play. The War Server is not easy to describe or set up. Thus, maybe the best place to start is with what the War Server is NOT.

• The War Server is not included as part of the Artemis SBS installation. It is a separate application that must be downloaded from the Artemis SBS web site. (At this time, the War Server application is available from the web site at the unlinked address here. If the link ever stops working you can also download the zip file from here: ArtemisWarServer1.zip )
• The War Server is not an MMORPG. You do not log into it and fly around from sector to sector looking for enemies. Instead, it is more like a configuration tool allowing you to play a series of missions which are connected. You must log into each "sector" separately and play a standard game of Artemis in that sector.
• The War Server is not a persistent world. Each time an individual ship logs into a given sector, that sector is generated from scratch. Locations of vessels, stations, and terrain may change. The only features the War Server controls are how many of each enemy ship and friendly base are in a sector.
• The War Server is not for the usual group of players playing as a single ship. It is designed for fleets of at least 9 ships, which would not be able to play in the same sector. It is far more fun with 10-12 ships, although it can be played with as few as 2-4, if you give plenty of time for Turns and few enemies.
• The War Server is not just an expansion to the sector, to make it bigger. Each individual sector is separate from all others, and the same size as the standard game sector. "Warping" or "Jumping" from sector to sector takes no time, and is accomplished just by selecting that sector and starting the game.
• The War Server is not continuous. The game is broken up into "Turns", at the end of which is an "Interlude", allowing crews to recover and get ready for the next turn. When the turn ends, or an individual ship clears a sector, Artemis will terminate, displaying the usual combat results. All ships will have to log back in at the beginning of the next turn.

 

The following image of the War Server display screen will be referred to throughout this guide. Important parts of this display are the 8x8 sector grid, to the left, the War Server's IP address, to the top right, the Turn number, Build Points, and time remaining in this turn. (3 minutes and 36 seconds in this example) If you are already familiar with the War Server, and are interested in ideas which might make the War Server experience better, visit the Hints and Tips page.

 

 

 

Setting Up the War Server

 

To set up a War Server game, first the War Server must be started. The War Server should be installed on a PC server. The Android and iOS versions of Artemis are not compatible with the War Server, so all Artemis game servers (hereafter referred to as "Sector Servers") and game clients must also be installed on PCs. The application itself is called "ArtemisController.exe", and should be configured to run as an administrator, just like the main Artemis program. There is no installer, just unpack the zip file into its own directory. The War Server includes all relevant files from the Artemis installation, but does not overwrite any files, so it can be installed into the Artemis folder, a subfolder, or a completely separate folder.

 

The person who sets up and controls the War Server is called the "Admiral". It is the Admiral's job to determine where the ships in his fleet are needed, and direct them to individual sectors. The Admiral will not actually play a role on any ship, but will essentially be a commander "above" the Captains of the individual ships. The Captains are expected to report to the Admiral when objectives are achieved, so the Admiral can respond immediately with new orders.

 

 

 

Once started, the War Server will display the above setup screen. Seven configuration settings can be set to control the difficulty of the game, and the amount of time it will last. These values are as follows:

• Game Difficulty - this will be passed on to the Artemis Sector Servers, and will set the difficulty level for all ships. Obviously, a higher value will make for a much harder game. This setting may also effect the appearance of monsters and other hazards in the sector.
• Invaders Per Turn - After each turn, reinforcements will arrive in the form of more enemy ships at the "beachheads". As shown in the image of the War Server display above, when the game starts, six turns will be "played out" before the players even get a chance to respond. This allows the first wave of enemies to spread out across the sector grid, instead of being bunched up in one sector. 
• Invasion Beachheads - The enemy invaders will always start in one or more sectors, which are called the "beachheads". In the image above, the beachhead is sector E1. Ships will arrive in that sector, and spread out to adjacent sectors to attack them. Setting this value to more than one will add more beachheads across the top row of the sector grid.
• Empty Sectors - Certain sectors on the War Server grid above are blank, and solid black. These sectors cannot be entered by ships of either side. Consider them obstacles that the enemy must go around.
• Total Turns - This will set how long the Galactic War will last. It will also effect how many enemies ultimately appear. For instance, if Invaders Per Turn is set to 20, and Total Turns to 5, then a total of 200 enemies will be generated, 120 on the first turn, and 20 every turn thereafter.  More turns with less enemies means the Galactic War will be more active, with enemies constantly on the move, while fewer turns with more enemies means the players will have more time to clear the sectors, only to have to face more waves later.
• Minutes Per Turn - This also determines how long the Galactic War will last. Longer turns take more time, of course, but give the players more time to accomplish multiple objectives before they are forced to stop for the Interlude. Shorter turns means a shorter Galactic War, but the players will have to rush to complete even a single objective, and may find the turn ending before they can finish!
• Minutes Between Turns - This sets the length of the Interlude, which is the period of time after a turn where the players' individual games are all terminated, and they cannot begin another. This is meant to give the players time to rest and recover between games. The Admiral may plan strategy during this time, asking the Captains to all meet at the "Admiral's Table" if all the players are in the same room. If set long enough, this time could be used for a bathroom break!  
• The final value reported under the configuration selections is the time that the Galactic War will actually take. This is calculated from the values of Total Turns, Minutes Per Turn, and Minutes Between Turns.  Note that it is rounded down to the nearest hour, so in the example to the right, it states the war will take "0 hours", although the actual total is 30 minutes. (25 minutes for 5 turns, plus 5 minutes for rest breaks)

 

Clicking on "Begin War" will start the first turn, resulting in a War Server display similar to that shown at the top of this page. Normally, the Admiral will wait until all players are ready, but the War Server must be started before the player ships can log in. The Admiral can wait to click on "Begin War" until the Captains report that they are ready.

 

Although this is not required, it is highly recommended that a voice chat program like TeamSpeak or Ventrilo be used for communications between ships. Even if all players are in the same room, the noise level of a crowd this size will likely make it impossible to communicate by shouting. The Admiral should set this system up, and ensure all Comms officers correctly connect to the system. While the Captains could connect to the system instead, it is more traditional to have Comms handle communications traffic, and this leaves the Captain free to concentrate on battle. In the absence of a voice chat program, the Admiral can communicate with Comms via written messages, or send helpers to relay the message. As stated above, an Admiral may call for a face to face meeting with all Captains during the Interlude after a turn.

 

Connecting Player Ships To The War Server

 

Once the War Server is started, the players can begin to assign themselves to their ships, and connect to the War Server. This is done by starting the Artemis game server (called a "Sector Server" here, as stated above) and clicking on "Join War Server" on the Server Control Screen. As usual for an Artemis game, clients will be able to connect after the Sector Server has been started, but one client should log in so the ship's class and name can be selected. If multiple ships want to share the same sector (see below) they should all log in and select their class and name before clicking on "Join War Server". Note that any ship class can be selected, although to help the Admiral in planning long-term strategy, a given crew should probably pick a class and stick with it. Scouts tend not to be useful in the War Server, as their long range capabilities really only come into play when teamed with another ship. Light Cruisers can also tend to be underpowered, although they are useful for beginning players that don't want to take on a lot of responsibility.

 

This will bring up a display that looks very much like the War Server display, above, but with additional controls for specifying "War Server Address or URL", connecting to the War Server and entering a sector. The IP Address from the War Server display, described above, should be entered into the War Server Address field. (127.0.0.1 in the example above, although it would be different for an actual game) Just to repeat one more time for clarification's sake, the War Server and the individual Sector Servers are each servers, and must all be connected to. All of the ship clients will connect to the Sector Servers, which will in turn connect to the War Server.

 

 

 

Once the IP address is entered and all players are ready, the Captain can click on "Connect to War Server". If the Admiral has begun the War, this will result in the sectors in the War Server display being populated, as shown here. Note that this display is identical to the Admiral's War Server sector grid, only with a background from the Artemis server behind it. This grid can be moved around by clicking and holding the mouse button on a location in the grid, and moving the mouse to slide the map around. The zoom control located to the right of the display will zoom in on this grid, and can be useful to take a closer look at a specific sector.

 

This display may appear less cluttered on a larger resolution screen. The Sector Server IP Address, for instance, is covered up in this image, which was taken on a 1024x768 screen. 800x600 was even worse. All players should already be logged in, but the IP Address may be needed for any stragglers. Fortunately, the map can be slid out of the way as described above.

 

To begin play on the War Server, the Captain should select a sector on the sector grid. Usually, this will be provided by the Admiral, but the Captain may wish to take a look at the state of the Galactic War and maybe take some initiative on his own. Sectors on the grid appear in three colors, green, red, and dark red. Green sectors are not under attack and contain no enemies, while red sectors contain enemies. The number of enemies in a sector will appear at the top of the sector, along with the abbreviation "INV" (on the Sector Server) for "Invader" or "ENE" (on the War Server) for "Enemy".

 

Dark red sectors contain friendly bases that are under attack. Some green sectors will have bases as well. Bases are listed as a set of three numbers, separated by a slash character. The numbers represent Rear bases, Forward bases, and Fire bases, which will be described below. Obviously, red sectors with bases in them will be a priority, since they can help a ship in the defense of the sector, and can't help once they have been lost. Finally, under the number of bases in a sector will be any other player ships that are in the sector. While it may be helpful to direct more than one ship to the same sector, this can be a very complicated process, as described below. If there are many enemies in a bunch of different sectors, an Admiral or Captain may find it more effective to split up their forces, and not attack a sector another Captain is already assigned to.

 

The only sectors that may be entered by the player ship are those that a) are red sectors and b) are adjacent to at least one green sector. "Adjacent" means to either side or top and bottom, not diagonally. For instance, the Captain can enter sector D4, E4, C3 or F3, but he cannot enter E3. To get to E1, the "beachhead", he would have to fight through E4, E3, E2 and finally E1. Green sectors cannot be entered either, as there are no enemies to fight there. The blank spaces, or "empty" sectors cannot be entered and do not count as an adjacent sector. (So it is impossible to get to C1 unless you go through B1 first)

 

Once a suitable target sector is chosen, clicking on that sector will highlight it, and enable the "Enter Sector" button. Note that in the image above there is no "Enter Sector" button, as the turn has ended and an Interlude has started. The button would appear where the text "War Server Interlude" appears, right under the "Disconnect From War Server" button. (Which is also the "Connect To War Server" button) Clicking on "Enter Sector" will start the game, and the Captain and crew can begin to try to clear the sector for this turn.

 

Once the Captain clicks on "Enter Sector", that ship's name will appear on the War Server, in the sector chosen, followed by a number such as "1" or "2" to prevent duplicates. Any name may be chosen, but must be set before the sector is entered. The ship name will also appear on all other Captain's Sector Servers, so they can tell that the sector has already been assigned to a Captain.

 

If the Admiral has not yet begun the Galactic War, the Captain should report his status once he and his crew are ready to play. The map will be populated as soon as the Admiral starts the war, and the Captain can pick his target sector.

 

Directing Multiple Player Ships To the Same Sector

 

At some point during the Galactic War, the Admiral will find it strategically important to send more than one ship into the same sector. Usually, this will be in the final turns of the game, once the enemy have been driven back to their beachheads. The sheer number of enemy ships in these beachhead sectors will almost certainly require multiple ships to destroy them. Directing multiple ships to the same sector brings up a number of new complications, however, which demands some planning and forethought.

 

There are two ways to handle multiple player ships in the same sector. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, so either may be the preferred method under certain circumstances. For consistency, though, and so everyone knows what they have to do, the method that will be used should be chosen before the game is started, and stuck to throughout the Galactic War. In short, the two choices are for each individual Captain to enter the sector separately, fighting on their own Sector Server, or they should choose a Captain to set up the Sector Server, and all other Captains will direct their crewmen to connect to that server.

 

1) Separate Sector Servers

 

Benefits - This setup is easiest, and requires no explanation for the players. The IP address used for the Sector Server is the same one that is used normally, and the clients do not have to change their setup procedure. Captains can also easily "jump" between sectors when their objective is achieved or if they are overwhelmed. There is no need to "back out" of the War Server screen between turns, the Captains can simply click on a new sector and enter it, whether it is occupied or not.

 

Disadvantages - Player ships are isolated from each other, and cannot see each other. Each player ship has a completely different view of the sector and what is in it. Each Captain sees only his own kills, and not those of the other Captains, so coordination is required with the Admiral to let everyone know when the sector is clear. Combat can be more difficult, as each ship is still taking on a full sector of enemies even when the number remaining on the War Server is nearing zero. (Because the other Captains have racked up a number of kills)

 

Procedure - Each Captain sets up the Sector Server as usual, and selects the common sector specified. (For instance, E4) The crew connect to the Sector Server using the usual IP address. Once the first ship enters the sector, the others will see that ship name in the sector. Each additional Captain will select the same sector and enter it as usual.

 

2) Single Sector Server

 

Benefits - Greater interaction between players, making them feel less "alone" in a cooperative action. All Captains see each other's ships, the same terrain features, and the same enemies. The War Server count will be in sync with the actual number of enemy ships in the sector, and Captains will know when the sector is cleared. Captains may coordinate their plans to better suit their ship class, for instance, Scouts can actually scout the sector, and the combat will get easier as the sector is cleared.

 

Disadvantages - The setup is very difficult, and not intuitive. Some players may have to have the procedure explained to them or demonstrated before the game begins. A Captain will have to be chosen to start the Sector Server, and his IP Address will have to be reported to the other Captains and their crew. Most likely, this will be the Admiral's job. Captains will have to change the configuration of their Mainscreen from server to client, and recreate their ship's specific name and class. If anyone does not setup their server correctly, they will appear as with Separate Sector Servers above.

 

Procedure - The Admiral chooses a Captain to lead the attack, and directs him to set up a Sector Server. The Captain disconnects from the War Server, and relays his IP Address to the Admiral, who relays it to the other Captains. Each Captain directs his crew to connect to the IP Address given, with coordination as to which crew will choose which ship slot to create their ship in. Each Captain but the one who sets up the Sector Server will also shut down his server (or disconnect from the War Server and minimize it) and start a client with a connection to the Mainscreen console. (He can select his ship's name and class at this time) The Captain leading the attack will then connect to the War Server and select a sector, only AFTER all ships have been added.

 

If a Captain wishes to enter an occupied sector after a Single Server Sector has been started, the Helm or Mainscreen should connect first, and select the ship's type and name. This can be done even if only one player ship is in the sector. Again, the Admiral would be responsible for relaying the IP address to connect to. Failing to connect the Helm or Mainscreen and selecting a ship before connecting to an already running sector will result in that Captain being assigned a Light Cruiser with the default name for that slot.

 

It is not absolutely necessary for the Captain in charge of the Sector Server to disconnect from the War Server, but that Captain will be unable to see the ships added to his "fleet" unless he does. None of the other Captains will be able to see the sector grid, or select the sector they will be entering, but they will at least be able to see the list of ships already connected to the Sector Server. Again, it is recommended that the Captain in charge of the server determine which ships should choose which slot, and make sure all crew players connect to the correct ship.

 

Note that with either method above, only the first ship that connects will have its name appear on the War Server. The Admiral will have to keep track of which ship entered which sector manually, confirming this with the Captain in charge of the Sector Server if necessary.

 

Note also that the Single Sector Server method can only handle 8 ships maximum. If more than 8 ships wish to enter the same sector, they will have to either enter the sector separately, or use a hybrid method where two or more Sector Servers are set up, and the player ships are divided between them. If at all possible, the Admiral should try and divide more than 8 ships between two sectors, so the enemy ships can be cleared out faster.

 

Completing a War Server Game Turn

 

Now that a Captain has entered a specific sector, he and his crew can begin clearing that sector before the turn ends. This can be referred to as a "turn" or a "round", because a Captain can actually enter multiple sectors in the same turn. Each round will be a separate game of Artemis, which is played like any other game mode. A War Server round is somewhat similar to Single Front mode, as the enemy all descend from the top of the screen. The friendly bases in the sector are arranged at the bottom of the screen, with Rear bases in the E row of the sector, Forward bases in the C row, and Fire bases (which much be created by the Admiral) in the B row. All bases in a sector will be Deep Space Bases, other base types will not appear.

 

The terrain in a sector will be random, but will consist of obstacles such as asteroids, nebulae, black holes, and the occasional monster. BioMechs will also be present in a sector, and will not count towards the number of enemies in a sector. The number of enemies (and bases) is the only feature that will be determined by the War Server. The number of enemies listed on the War Server will appear from the top of the sector and move to attack the player ship or bases. If there are more than one, the enemies will divided into fleets, with Torgoth and Arvonian support vessels, and individual Skaraans may also appear. A single enemy in a sector will often be a Skaraan, particularly on high difficulty levels, so be cautious in assuming a single enemy will be easy to beat. Note that if the player ship disconnects from the server and "comes back", the sector will have changed, and the enemy will begin attacking from the top of the sector all over again.

 

As the player ship defeats enemies in the sector, the Sector Server will contact the War Server and update it with the number of enemies left. Likewise, if the enemy ships destroy a base, that will be reflected on the War Server display, and the Admiral will be aware of the loss. What this means is, if you defeat all but 5 of the enemies in a sector and retreat, or the turn ends, only those 5 remaining enemies will still be there when you return. This will effect how the enemies advance at the end of the turn, as described below. If a player ship is destroyed, the "round" automatically ends, and the Sector Server returns to the sector grid display. The Captain can and should re-enter the sector, so his crew can continue the battle. The Captain can continue to enter the sector, or switch to another sector, until the turn ends.

 

When all enemies are cleared from the sector, or if the Turn ends due to time expired, the Sector Server will terminate, ending the "round" and bringing up the Game Results display. This is normal, and the Galactic War will continue even though an individual ship's game has ended. As above, the Captain can choose another sector to enter, if there is time left in the round. The Game Results display can be ignored, because the War Server will record the relevant information from this screen and give a total score at the end of the Galactic War. Just click on "End Game" to return to the sector grid and select a new sector. If the sector was cleared (time for the Turn didn't run out) then the total kills and bases protected will be transmitted to the War Server for display in the final score, and the Admiral will be awarded a Build Point. (see below)

 

Note that within a turn, bases can only be destroyed if a player ship is operating in a sector, and one of the enemy ships destroys the base. The enemy ships cannot destroy a base while a ship has been logged out because it was destroyed, or while player ships are fighting to defend other bases elsewhere. This means an Admiral does not have to worry about which bases are the "most immediate priority" to protect. If he has two ships and four sectors with bases in them, he can direct the two ships to two sectors each. As long as they complete their mission to clear those sectors before the turn ends, the bases will not be damaged.

 

In some cases, in particular if there are fighters launched by an Arvonian Carrier still in the sector, there may be enemies remaining after the War Server registers all enemies destroyed. In such a case, the Captain and his crew must destroy the fighters in order to record a "sector clear" and transmit it to the War Server. The Captain may choose instead to manually terminate the game and move on to another sector, if time is running short and help is needed elsewhere. However, the Captain will lose the Build Point for this sector, so this should be done only in emergencies. Just like in the normal game modes, BioMechs do not need to be destroyed and the game will end if only BioMechs are left.

 

End of a War Server Turn and the Interlude

 

At the end of every War Server Turn but the last, there is an Interlude. Just prior to the Interlude, the enemy ships advance. Note that enemy ships do not move around during a turn, the player ships have a whole game turn to attack the enemy before they get to counter attack. However, it is important to understand exactly how the enemy invaders advance across the sector map:

 

1. If there are any bases in a sector occupied by the enemy, they are destroyed. Even one enemy can destroy any number of bases, as long as they are in the same sector, and the enemy has controlled that sector for the whole round.
2. Reinforcements in the amount specified on the settings screen arrive in the "beachhead" sectors. For multiple "beachheads", they are divided evenly between the sectors.
3. Enemy ships advance from one sector to any adjacent sectors, starting at the beachheads and spreading outwards from there:
• If there are less than 8 ships in a sector, they stay where they are
• Half of the ships in a sector will stay behind
• The rest will split into equal groups and advance to adjacent sectors, including possibly the sector they came from last turn
• Ships moving into a sector that has not yet advanced will spread further if this brings their total to 8 or more
4.   Just like friendly ships, enemy ships cannot enter "empty" sectors, and will go around them.

 

Any missions that have not been completed before an Interlude will be terminated immediately. As stated above, all Sector Servers will go to the Game Results screen and display their score for the round. Total kills will be transmitted to the War Server, but any bases remaining in this sector will be lost automatically, if any enemies survived. The game clients will all disconnect from the server and display the Client Control Screen. The Captain can click on "End Game" to return to the Server Control Screen. Note that as shown above, the Server Control Screen for the Sector Servers will not display the "Enter Sector" button during the Interlude, but will instead show the text "War Server Interlude". Once the Interlude ends, the players will be able to select a new sector, and resume play in the new sector.

 

The Interlude is intended to give players a chance to take a break and plan strategy during the "downtime". Nothing can happen during an Interlude, so the players lose nothing by taking a break. The time until the Interlude ends is displayed on the Server Control Screen (albeit in very small letters) or the War Server display can be checked for the amount of time remaining in the Interlude. As long as players are ready for the next Interlude when it begins, there will be no loss of ground against the enemy invaders.

 

Build Points and Base Construction

 

In addition to destroying the invading enemy ships, player ships also have the opportunity to earn Build Points, (BP) which are used by the Admiral to build bases. One Build Point is earned for each player ship that completely clears a sector, destroying all enemies within it. It is not known if Build Points are earned at the end of a turn, when the Sector Server is forced to the Game Over screen, but most likely none are scored, unless the enemies have been completely cleared. Multiple Build Points may be earned in the same turn, either by different ships, or by the same ship, clearing more than one sector before the turn ends. This is one advantage to moving on to another sector once a ship has completed its objective in the first sector. As noted above, on clearing a sector, the player ship will be returned to the Game Over screen, and can contact the Admiral to report that the sector is clear. The Admiral may then direct the ship to another sector, where the Captain will connect the Sector Server to that sector, and begin a new game to clear that objective.

 

The Admiral starts with no Build Points available. As Build Points are earned, however, the Admiral gains the ability to build bases in the occupied sectors of the War Server grid. For best results, the Admiral will want to build bases in strategically important sectors, right before sending player ships in. For instance, the Admiral may wait until a ship clears sector C1, and then place a base in D1, which that ship can use as support to take on the 14 enemies in that sector. Multiple bases can be placed in the same sector, and bases can be placed at any time during a turn, as long as there are Build Points available. Note that although a base can be placed in a sector where a player ship has already engaged the enemy, that player ship will not see the base unless it exits the current mission and re-enters the sector. Likewise, placing a base just before the end of a turn will likely result in its destruction, and it is better to hold it until the beginning of the next turn.

 

As noted above, there are three types of bases, Rear Bases, Forward Bases, and Fire Bases. Rear Bases cost 1 BP, Forward Bases 2 BP, and Fire Bases 3 BP. All bases are Deep Space Bases, all the BP cost effects is the location of the base. (Closer to the "front") The "Add Rear/Forward/Fire Base" buttons will add the indicated base type to the currently selected sector. Note that Fire Bases do not appear normally on the sector grid, they must be built by the Admiral. Likewise, bases cannot be moved or "cashed in". The Admiral may decide to hold some Build Points in reserve for the final assault on the beachhead sectors. Since there are so many sectors with one or only a few enemies in them at the start of the Galactic War, it is easier to earn Build Points at first, and it gets harder as the War goes on, and enemies become more numerous.

 

Winning the Galactic War

 

If the player ships are able to eliminate all enemy ships before the final turn ends, the players win, and the enemy invasion will be thwarted. All Sector Servers will terminate with a Game Results screen as usual, but the War Server will display the actual final score. If the final turn of the game ends with any enemy ships still remaining on the map, then a Peace Treaty will be signed with the enemy, and the job the players did will depend on the terms of the treaty. The War Server will still display the final score, and if the players managed to contain the enemy and kept them from destroying friendly bases, they may be considered to have won a marginal victory. If the enemy forces overwhelmed the players and took over most of the sector grid, the Peace Treaty could surrender the captured territory to the invaders!

 

In addition to a text description of how well the players did, the War Server will also assign a Grade, from A to F. Game Difficulty will be listed, along with Invaders Per Turn, Beachheads, Total Turns and Minutes Per Turn, as on the Settings screen. Each participating ship will then receive an individual score, with the top ranking ships listed first. Each ship will list total kills, total bases protected, and the number of sectors defended by that ship. Kills count first towards the highest rank, then bases protected and sectors cleared. Naturally, these totals will be over the duration of the War, not the individual battles reported on the Game Results screens on the Sector Servers.