How DimensioneX works – 1

1.2 How DimensioneX Works

• The DimensioneX engine is a Java Servlet. This servlet is named multiplayer and runs inside a web server (typically Tomcat).
• The game engine knows how your game is composed (rooms, characters, items) and keeps track of all the changes in the game. It reads the game description which is stored in a DXW file (actually a plain text file) and rebuilds it into its interal memory.
• The users connect to the game in the same way they are accessing an interactive web site. As the webserver sees the first user, it loads the multiplayer servlet, reckognizes the game slot that the user has specified on the url (game=N) then reads a configuration file (worldnavN.properties where N is the slot number). Then, the game file is loaded and the game world is constructed into the game engine’s memory. Since then, the game engine keeps track of the user’s status and position, and makes all the interactions to happen in the game.
• The game engine outputs HTML and Javascript to the user browser. Also it uses things named cookies. This all constitutes the game’s visual interface and can be customised by the game developer in several degrees. Please note that this guide is not focused on this topic. If you find this guide incomplete and think that your game is OK already but the user interface needs more work, then contact us.

1.2.1      Folder structure – What goes where

Under your webserver application folder (Usually C:\tomcat\webapps) there should be your DimensioneX folder, named dimx.

 

Below you see the folder structure of a typical DimensioneX installation:

 

 

The most important folders for you to consider are:

 

dimx	this is where the dimx web tree starts.
system	We call it the DimensioneX system folder. This is where you should keep: configuration files (worldnavN.properties) language files (msgs_xxx.properties) client files (.client extension) client.script file local games definitions (.DXW) local skin definitions (.DXS) debug files (.log extension – automatically generated by DimX). player profiles files (gamename.sav – automatically generated by DimX) hall of fame file (gamename.hof – automatically generated by DimX) HTML templates (.HTM, .HTML) Please note that you will find here the standard log file, debug.log. Tip: Create a shortcut on your desktop to this folder for quick access!
pics	this is where the graphics for demo games (such as The Beach) are kept. Typically you will create separate, parallel folders for your own games so that files do not get mixed up. Any folder for this purpose can have subfolders (eg. if you like to keep separated music/sound files from graphics).
skins	This is where files for skins are installed. One folder per skin: in the picture above you can see there are three installed: default, castle and forest. The game engine, however, assumes that skin’s DXS file (skin definition) is however located in the system folder. The skin folder name must match the skin’s ID
classes	This is where the DimensioneX game engine classes are kept. In Dimensionex distribution package this is also where you will find the java sources of the game engine.

 

 

Remember: for each game you develop, you should create a separate folder where to keep the game pictures and media files.