Server Files
The server files are all the files used by the server aside from the core itself and its databases.
Configuration Files
For most emulators, the core uses two configuration files, the worldserver.conf
and the authserver.conf
. Some custom projects and extensions create their own custom .conf
files, while others simply extend the worldserver.conf
.
For how to use these configuration files, refer to your cores documentation.
Extract Data
Extractors, or Tools, are special programs built with the server core to extract data from the client that the server needs. For how to extract these files for your own core, refer to their documentation. The rest of this document will only explain what these files are and what they actually do.
There are generally four types of files extracted/generated from the client: DBC files, MAP files, VMAP files and MMAP files
Despite their names, extractors do not only just extract data, but also process it into new filetypes. DBC files that are extracted are read exactly the way they are written in the client, but MAP/VMAP/MMAP data is produced by processing other file types in the client, and there are no MAP/VMAP/MMAP files inside the client itself.
DBC Files
See the DBC Files article. These are the exact same DBC files used by the client itself so the server is aware of the data in them.
DBC files are required to extract for the server to function at all.
MAP Files
These are files that contain basic data used to calculate the games heightmap, as well as data to figure out what parts of the world is underwater and where to apply fatigue flags.
Map files are generated from the clients ADT files.
Map files are required to extract for the server to function at all, but some cores do not require them to be built for all maps.
VMAP Files
These are files that contain more complex map data used for visibility and line of sight.
VMap files are based on the clients ADT files, as well as the M2 and WMO files that are spawned in them.
Vmap files are optional to extract, and can be disabled in worldservers configuration files.
MMAP Files
These are files that contain even more complex map data used for pathfinding.
MMap files are based on the same data as VMaps, but process them differently and often takes significantly longer to extract.
MMap files are optional to extract.