Server game data

The server needs data from the game client: the DBC tables (spells, maps, areas, ...), terrain tiles (maps/*.map), cinematic cameras, and optionally collision (vmaps) and paths (mmaps). Where it keeps its databases and how it gets the game data are two settings in lonelyice.ini ([server] location, dataCache), chosen in the wizard's "Data" step and in Settings → Storage.

Location

• local (default): the databases are SQLite files in <server folder>/db.
• the id of a plugin's storage (docs/plugin-format.md, storage), e.g. mysql with mod-lonelyice-mysql: the databases are on a database server, reached with [remote] host, port, user, password and prefix. The launcher passes <id>:host;port;user;password;<prefix><name> for every *DatabaseInfo (auth, characters, world, playerbots) and the plugin's config values as environment overrides. The launcher's backups work on the built-in files only and are off there.

Disk cache

Off (the default, only with local), nothing is unpacked. LONELYICE_DATA=client makes the server (src/storage/ClientData):

• register an SQLite extension with one read-only virtual table per DBC file the core loads (dbc_spell, dbc_map, ...), served straight from the client's MPQ archives (DbcTables). The core runs with DBC.FromDatabase = 1 and loads its DBC stores from these tables; the *_dbc override tables apply on top as always;
• serve the core's data files (DataFiles) itself: a terrain tile is built from the client's ADT file the first time its grid loads (the map extractor's conversion, a few ms) and kept in <DataDir>/maps with a stamp of the client archives, so later loads read it like an extracted file; cameras come from the archives.

The locale read is LONELYICE_LOCALE (the launch language, else SET locale in the client's Config.wtf). When mmaps are generated, all tiles are built first (LonelyIce --tool tiles), since the generator reads them all.

On, everything is unpacked once and the server no longer needs the client: maps and cameras into <DataDir> (LonelyIce --tool maps <client> <data> 5), the DBC files into real dbc_* tables of the world database (LonelyIce --server --dbc fill, through the core's database interfaces). The server runs with DBC.FromDatabase = 1. Turning it off drops those tables and files (--server --dbc drop). A database server has no virtual tables, so the cache is always on there.

A real dbc_* table takes precedence over the virtual one of the same name.

Checking and switching

LonelyIce --server --storage-check -c <any config> opens the databases the environment names, with the plugins' backends loaded, and reports @@LI check db <auth|characters|world> ok|missing|empty|error <message>, @@LI check dbc <unpacked> <total> and @@LI check done. It needs no server folder: the launcher runs it with a config of its own whenever a storage is picked (after the connection fields stop changing) and again on Apply. When the chosen storage lacks something (databases, the cache, or holds a cache no longer wanted), the wizard shows what it will do (and asks for the player's account when the databases are new) and does it; otherwise the setting changes at once.

Table layout

dbc_<file name in lower case>: one column per character of the core's format string for the file (DBCfmt.h), named f<position>, except the index column (n, or d) which is ID; a file without an index has ID on its first column. There is no primary key: an index may repeat (the core keeps the last row).