Brainshell Diplomacy Server

This server has been designed as a permanent way to run real-time diplomacy games, so you don't have to find somebody who can serve each time. It has not been designed for high-speed bot testing or solo games; for such purposes, David's Server is still better.

Using the Server

• Download and unzip a copy of David's Mapper.
• Connect it to brainshell.org, default port (16713).
• If all previously-started games have finished, the server will automatically start a new one, whether or not anybody is still connected to an old one. Otherwise, you will be connected to the newest unfinished game. There is currently no way to connect the Mapper to a finished game.
• If a game is running, you will be notified if there are any disconnected or bot players you can take over, along with their passcodes.
• Recruit players on the RTNow mailing list.

To use the Mapper with the African, Americas, Iberian, South America 3.2, South East Asia, or World maps, you will need a set of replacement files for it to work correctly. Otherwise, you may find strange province names on your map, and units moving to crazy places.

The server will intercept and attempt to interpret any admin message that begins with "Server:" (case insensitive) or contains only capital letters. The accepted admin commands are listed on a separate page. None of them are essential, but many are useful at some point during a game.

Documentation

The server parses certain documents for information on the communication protocol. These include the following, heavily modified from documents written by Andrew Rose and David Norman:

• The Diplomacy AIJudge Client-Server Protocol
• The DAIDE Message Syntax document

The Todo list has been moved to a separate page.

Items of Interest

• There is a bug in Henrik's JAC that prevented bots based on it, particularly Project20M, from running on this server. (I would like to know how they can possibly work on David's.) A patch has been implemented, but not yet included in a released version.
• The admin command system has dropped the concept of a game master. Anyone can use the commands, but a few can be vetoed, and several others reversed, by other players.
• The server now sends CCD messages if a player fails to send orders on time; this has been required by the syntax document, but ignored by all servers until now. Unfortunately, the Mapper displays the wrong message in this case.
• PeaceBot and BlabBot have been added to the release package. Both are based on the DumbBot tactical core, but use simple press routines.
• A version of the Project20M bot has been added, and slightly improved from the Java version.
• The server no longer sends press in WRT syntax, but still accepts it.
• The server now differentiates between the three uses of CCD, by adding (turn) or (message) parameters where appropriate.
• The HST command has finally been implemented. Along with this, the server now saves game logs.
• New admin commands have been created to report and set time limits.

Release Information

The server and attendant bots have been written in Python, and have been released under various licenses. Don't expect much in the way of help or a user interface, though.

A few files in this package are based on the work of others, particularly David Norman. I do not claim copyright over those files, and will remove them at the request of the original authors.