Introduction to Skynet Server Installation and Program - Study Guide | COMP 410, Exams of Software Engineering

Download Introduction to Skynet Server Installation and Program - Study Guide | COMP 410 and more Exams Software Engineering in PDF only on Docsity! Sit witiGet GLOBAL CONFLICT SIMULATOR User Manual Rice University Comp 410 1  2 Special Thanks: The Comp410 class and staff would like to express their deepest gratitude for the financial, software and other resource support from the following organizations: • Brad Jensen, Vito Sabella, Steve Waters and the rest of the team at Microsoft University Relations, the Education Solutions Group and the Microsoft Technology Center in Austin TX • Steve Dadoly and the rest of the FlyWheel development team at Velocitis Inc • The George R. Brown Fund from the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University • The Computer Science Department at Rice University • SourceGear LLC A special thanks to Dr. Dung X. Nguyen for his Oscar-quality role as our "customer". Without their help, this class would still be a dream. Thank you. 5 leaders in the field, so simply knowing the “book” practices is not enough. We want our students to understand the why and the how of software engineering. The students need to understand what causes the problems that the various software engineering methodologies address and what fundamentally one needs to do to correct them. This understanding is not tied to a particular methodology, but requires deep and careful reflection on real development processes and the issues that face them. The only way that students can truly understand a “real world” software development process is for them to be immersed in it themselves. They must experience all that goes wrong (and right) and figure out for themselves what it takes to correct the problems, overcome the hurdles and achieve their goals. Comp410 achieves this by having the entire class simulate the development department of a small software company faced with the daunting task of completing, in 14 weeks, a very large project involving numerous unfamiliar technologies. In addition, through discussion and weekly journals, the class reflects upon and attempts to solve the various issues and problems that arise during real-world multi-team software development. 6 Getting Started To begin, please visit the Installer Releases page to find the SkyNet installers. There are separate installers for the SkyNet server and client. Download the installers for the components you wish to use. Once the downloads are complete, double-click on each installer .zip file and then on the .exe file located inside. SkyNet Server Installation Follow the on-screen instructions of the installer. If you do not have the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE) installed, it will automatically be downloaded and installed. On the Database Server screen, leave the Database Server field blank if you would like it to default to the present computer. Also, if you are not familiar with the authentication method, you should leave it to the default selection. The default installation directory is “C:\Program Files\COMP410\SkyNet Server”. Proceed to perform a complete installation. SkyNet Client Installation Follow the on-screen instructions of the installer. The default installation directory is “C:\Program Files\COMP410\SkyNet Client”, though you have the option to change it. Other Programs In addition to the Sky.NET installers, you may need to install the following components, if they are not installed already:
DirectX SDK Update April 2005 (necessary for 3D): Download here.
Tablet PC SDK 1.7: Download here.
.NET Framework 1.1: Download here. 7 Server Setup Starting Up a Server To start a Sky.NET server, run the SkyNet Server Controller executable located in the COMP 410 Start Menu item. Server Controller The SkyNet Server Controller gives you the capability to manage your server. The machine to administer to will default to the local computer. To administer to a different computer, change the contents 10 Playing the Game Starting a SkyNet Client To start a Sky.NET client, run the SkyNet Client executable located in the COMP 410 Start Menu item. Login Once the client has started, the login screen will appear. On the login screen, you will see various account options as well as the ability to choose between a push and a pull system. Given the flexible nature of the SkyNet framework, you may change the type of updating system. The default option is to use a pull system, which causes the clients to poll the servers for updates. The alternative is a push system, in which the servers will directly inform 11 clients about changes in the model. The push system will result in a lower CPU load on the client-side. To log in, there are three account options that you may choose from:
Reset User: “Reset User” will delete all of the data for a user on a server and create a new base for the user. Input the IP address of the server to connect to as well as the name and password of the user to reset.
Create a New User: If you do not have an existing account on a server, you will need to use this option to create a new account. Input the IP address of the server to connect to and create a name and password. If there already exists a user with the inputted name, you will need to input a different name.
Login as Existing User: In order to continue playing a game, you will need to input the IP address of the server to connect to as well as the name and password of the account to continue playing on. If valid data is inputted, the user will be allowed to proceed to the Device Selector. 12 Device Selector After the login screen, the Device Selector will appear. At this screen, you may select which devices you would like to have enabled for the game. The Device Selector will provide a robust library of devices to meet different needs (such as a 2D display for less-powerful hardware like the Pocket PC). If your computer lacks the requirements to use a device, the device will not be selectable in the Device Selector. At the present time, the most developed game interface display is the two dimensional device (2D display). While the 3D display is also functional, it requires greater system requirements and is lacking some features. As such, the rest of the Playing the Game section will detail gameplay using the 2D display. In the future, developers can create new devices, potentially allowing you to experience the game in a whole new manner. 15 is selected, that unit and its child entities (i.e. a bomber and its bomb supply, or a tank and its current fuel supply) will be displayed. You can differentiate between multiple units and one unit and its child entities by looking at the Object Information Panel for the “(Multiple Units)” notification. Command Mode (a command with an entity target is being executed): If you have chosen to execute a command that requires an entity target, the next click on the world view will not select the units at that location. However, the unit display panel will still be updated to allow you to select an entity target. A major difference is that child entities are never displayed while in Command Mode because you are only allowed to choose units on the map as targets. Commanding Your Units If you have selected units that belong to you, you will see a list of possible commands in the commands panel. There are three types of commands: 1) No target: No further user input is required. The command will execute immediately upon selection. Examples include mining and creating units. 2) Map target: The prompt bar will notify you that a map target is required, and the next click on the map will be interpreted as the target location. Examples include moving. 3) Entity target: The prompt bar will notify you that an entity target is required, and the unit display panel will be updated with possible choices on your next map click. You must then select 16 one of the units in the unit display panel to be the target. Examples include attacking and certain types of building. If further user input is required, the commands panel will also allow you to cancel the current command. Similarly, clicking another command will cancel any pending command you have not finalized. Scenarios Scenario Lake & Scenario Tokyo These are basic RTS scenarios in which you start off with a base and some units and your objective is to destroy the other players in the world. WarChess A real-time chess game designed primarily to demonstrate the robust framework of SkyNet. Modeled after the game of the same name developed by the Spring 2005 Comp 460 class. [Reference their manual or website here.] Dynamic Unit Loading If you have created an xml file describing a new unit, complete with all its attributes and behaviors, you can inject the unit into your game at runtime. Choose “Load xml unit” in the File Commands menu, and a windows dialog will appear prompting you to select the xml file. Once you have made your selection, the unit will be loaded (appear) at all of your bases. Future design could prevent this arbitrary injection by allowing Administrator profiles or a “God” object that can create dynamically injected units. As a note, improper xml files cannot be loaded. 17 User Modification Tools Unit Editor The Unit Editor is a tool that allows you to create new and modify existing entities through a graphical interface. Loading an existing Entity From the File menu, select the “Load…” command. This will bring up a file browser from which you can select the .xml file that you wish to modify. This XML file must be a properly formed Sky.NET entity. Saving the current Entity From the File menu, select the “Save…” command. This will save your current entity with all its attributes, behaviors, etc. as an .xml file 20 that does not already have a folder with the same name you gave to the media package. If the media package corresponds to a piece of terrain on the map, select the check box labeled “Represent the entity as terrain.” When you enter in a valid name for the media package and a valid path for the workspace, the OK button will be enabled. The dialog will also display the target workspace directory. Once you click OK, the dialog box will disappear and you will be able to add files and properties. You can add files to the media package by clicking the Add File button under the “Files” table. A dialog box will pop up asking for the source, destination, and description of the file. The destination corresponds to a file path relative to the root of the workspace. To enter in a new 21 property, simply click into the empty fields at the end of the “Properties” table and enter in the key and value. Once all the files and properties are properly entered into the tables, select the “Generate Archive…” item from the “Action” menu. The media package builder will then ask you for the location in which to place the zip file. This could be any location. This action will generate a compatible media package at the location you specified. Adding Media Packages to the Game Media packages can be added to the system both before and during the execution of the game. To add a new media package to the system, simply copy the zip file into the “AssemblyController\mediaPacks” folder within the SkyNet installation directory. If the installation directory is “C:\Program Files\COMP 410” then put the file into the directory named “C:\Program Files\COMP 410\AssemblyController\mediaPacks.” If the game is currently running when you copy the file, the media package will be loaded right away. Expect a small lag in the program while the package is unpackaged. Once the media packages are loaded into the system, they should also be distributed to the other clients connected to the game. 22 Credits COMP 410 Staff Brian Armstrong – Course Assistant Christy Beatty – Course Assistant Eric Cheng – Course Assistant Will Price – Course Assistant Stephen Wong - Instructor SkyNet Development Team Richard Anaya Timothy Bussmann Steven Cheng Justin Crites Michael Friedman Ray Hwong Henry Jin Andy Johnson Adam Kauffman Benedict Lee Michael Loughry Jonathan Lugo Patrick MacAlpine Clement Pang Ryan Prichard Abhishek Ray Nikolai Sinkov Alex Tribble Angela Wise Jessica Wu