 _____________________________________________________________________________
/                                                                             \
|   Lix                                           Server daemon information   |
\_____________________________________________________________________________/



This file is about the non-interactive server program lixd.

For information on the game Lix itself, see readme.txt.



PURPOSE
-------

Multiplayer Lix can be played on the central server. This is a machine in
Switzerland with the static address asdfasdf.ethz.ch, courtesy of tarzeau.
This machine runs lixd, the standalone non-interactive server daemon of Lix.

By running lixd, anybody can open a server similar to the central server.
Port 22934 via UDP should be open. If necessary, lixd can be run with a
different port number, see the -p <port> switch below.

It is possible to use the game itself as a server by clicking on 'Host a
game yourself' in the network menu. However, running the lightweight lixd
can be more comfortable. Even if you wish to play yourself, run lixd, then
connect with the main game to 'localhost'. This way, you won't kick the
connected peers if you close the game.



USAGE
-----

lixd start

    Starts the server daemon. It will listen to connections on the default
    Lix UDP port 22934.

    On Linux, the shell prompt is given back immediately, and the daemon
    runs in the background. A PID file is created in /var/run, so that the
    correct process can be terminated later with the command 'lixd stop'.
    The file prevents running a second instance of lixd on the same machine.
    You usually need root privileges to run PID-file-creating programs.

    I have not yet written daemonizing code for Windows, so you should keep
    open the command prompt.

lixd start --no-lock

    If you lack root privileges, you can still run lixd with this command.

    No PID file will be created. You should take care manually not to run
    several instances of lixd. To terminate lixd, use 'killall lixd'.

lixd start -p <port>

    Have lixd listen on UDP port <port> instead of the default UDP port 22934.

    This should be used only when necessary, because the Lix game program will
    use port 22934 unless the user reconfigures this in data/config.txt. There
    is no in-game option for the port number.

    You can combine --no-lock and -p <port>.

lixd stop

    Terminates lixd if you have run it with 'lixd start', i.e., it has created
    a PID file.

    On Linux, if you have run lixd with the --no-lock switch, you cannot use
    'lixd stop', instead use 'killall lixd'.

    On Windows, terminate it with Ctrl+C or closing the command prompt.
