Running the Client from the Command-Line

From Multiverse

Using the Multiverse Client

Install & Run • Supported Graphics Cards • Release Notes • Client FAQ • Troubleshooting • Connecting to a World • Client Metering • Using the Client Log File • Debugging Client Errors

Reference

Command Line Syntax • World Settings File • Patcher Page Reference • Client Logging

During development, it is often useful to run the Multiverse client with command-line options. You must open a Windows command shell (or Cygwin shell window) to do so.

1 Client command line syntax
2 Command line option reference

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Client command line syntax

The command line syntax to run the Multiverse Client is:

MultiverseClient [[--option [argument]] [[--option [argument]] ...

See Command Line Syntax for a general description of command-line syntax notation.

Note: to run the MultiverseClient command, you must change your working directory to client_home\bin (by default, C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\Multiverse World Browser or C:Program Files\Multiverse Client\bin by default), or put this directory on your system path.

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Command line options and the world settings file

Values specified via command-line options override those specified in the world settings file.

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Running client and servers on the same machine

During development, it is often useful to run the Multiverse Client and servers on the same machine. When you do, use the --frames_between_sleeps command-line option to prevent the client from "starving" the server of system resources.

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Running a standalone client

To run the client without any server, use the --standalone and --noupdate client command-line arguments. In this case, you will see no animations, but other client functionality will work.

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Command line option reference

The table below describes Multiverse Client command-line options, which are mostly useful during development:

Option	Description	Arguments, if any
--character n	Specify the player character to use, for worlds that support multiple player characters.	An integer specifying the zero-based index of the player character to use (default is zero).
--config	Display the configuration dialog box to change the client display resolution. See Configuring the Client for more information.	None.
--development	Use in development mode when running the server and client on one machine, and sharing assets between the Multiverse Tools installation and the client. Shorthand for: `--use_default_repository --noupdate --frames_between_sleeps 2`	None
--frames_between_sleeps n	Specifies number of frames to render before yielding the CPU to other processes. The default value of this option is zero, so the client will use all CPU cycles available. Use this option when client and server run on the same system to ensure the server gets enough CPU resources.	Number of frames to render before yielding the CPU to other processes (positive integer). Generally, choose a value between one and ten. When running client on same system as server, two (2) is a good value to ensure server gets sufficient resources.
--log_level n	Specify the log level to use. Level zero provides the most detail, including per-packet tracing. Level five provides the least detail.	Integer log level to use, from zero through five (default is two).
--log_terrain	When this argument is present, the client will write the terrain config string received from the server to its log file. The terrain string will not be logged if this argument is not present.	None
--maxfps n	Sets the maximum number of frames-per-second that the client will allow. This setting can be useful to ensure that the client doesn't exceed a particular frames-per-second number, particularly on laptops where battery life is an issue.	Maximum Client FPS. Default is zero, meaning no limit.
--update_url	Specifies the client update url for legacy builds.	URL of the of the legacy client build, ie., http://update.multiverse.net/mvupdate-1.0/ to revert the client to the 1.0 version (not compatible with 1.1 release).
--noupdate	Do not update client software nor media. The client will run "as is" and get assets from the local Media directory instead of downloading from an asset repository.	None.
--no_client_update	Do not update the client software. The client will run "as is" but will still download any required media assets.	None.
--no_media_update	Do not update the media. The client will patch itself if needed, but will get assets from the existing assets already downloaded for the world, and will not check for updates.	None.
--repository_path path	Specify the location of the asset repository; where the client stores assets it downloads (if any) and locates them when required. You can use this instead of changing the default repository whose location is stored in the Windows registry. If both --repository_path and --use_default_repository are specified, the path supplied with --repository_path takes precedence. NOTE: You can use multiple instances of this flag. The client will "merge" the specified directories, looking for assets based on the order they are listed (left to right).	Paths to asset repositories (absolute or relative).
--standalone	Run the client without contacting a server, and load initialization options from `/Scripts/StandAlone.py` in the current asset repository. Disables all animations. See Overview of Developing Client UI for more information.	None
--tcp	Causes the client to connect to the proxy server over TCP rather than RDP, the default.	None.
--use_default_repository	Gets client assets from the asset repository designated for the tools, even if the client is not running in standalone mode. This also disables patching media as if the --no_media_update flag was provided.	None
--world id	Specify the world to which to connect.	String name of the world the client should connect to.
--world_patcher_url url	Specify URL of the patcher page; changing this allows you to brand the HTML for the patcher for your game.	URL of the HTML file for the patcher page.
--world_settings_file file	Specify the filename of a world_settings file to be used during this invocation of the client. The default is `Client-home/Config/world_settings.xml`, where `Client-home` is the directory where the Client is installed.	The filename of a world_settings file.
--world_update_url url	Specify URL of directory containing the world's asset repository. This is location from where the client downloads assets.	URL of asset repository.