BZFS

This is an article specifically about the BZFS program. For general information on creating a BZFlag server, see Creating a server.

BZFS is name of the BZFlag server application. It is a command line application that can either be run manually or started from within the game. The server supports a large list of command line options that can be used. All BZFlag games are hosted on BZFS servers, there is no 'single player' game that is run with only a client.

Usage

BZFS use cases tend to fall into one of the following:

Use Case	Description
localhost	Most commonly used for map or plugin testing, or taking screenshots or previews of a world.
LAN	Frequently done with the -passwd option or by setting up a private list server.
Private	Usually done via the -advertise option to VERIFIED to keep servers hidden from unauthenticated players or via NONE keeps it unlisted for all players.(Servers can be made visibile to specific groups however.)
Public	The standard servers made visibile to regular players. (Specific requirements can be made for players however.)

The usage of the server types, which sometimes are the result of various configuration scripts and therefore are not really a specific type.

Type	Description
Replay Server	Most commonly used for viewing of events, league matches, or in general server administrative matters.
Rotation Server	Usually created via a set of scripts to rotate through a selection of maps.
Mapchange Server	Usually a combination of plugins and scripts to enable players to select a specific map from a collection.

Command line options and Config files

BZFS uses command line options to set the various modes and options for a game. These options can be specified from the command line prompt of the host OS or inside a plain text configuration file. The path (relative or absolute) to the config file is specified with the -conf option.

See the sample configuration for some examples of command line options. However, it is recommended that you create a configuration file from scratch, and test it every few lines. This will help in the case of configuration errors as you will have only modified a few lines that introduced the error.

World Files

BZFS can read in BZW formatted map files and use them to define the 3D world the game is played in.

Plug-ins and the BZFS API

BZFS can be extended by the use of server side Plug-ins. These Plug-ins are runtime loaded DLLs/SO files that use the BZFS API to modify and automate various game logic and settings.

See also

• BZFS Command Line Options
• BZFS API
• Plug-ins
• Sample Config File