Installation

All Ishtaria components are Debian packages for Debian and Ubuntu on x86-64. Windows and macOS are not supported.

Packages

Package	Contents
`ishtaria-server`	world server, systemd unit, `/etc/ishtaria/server.toml`
`ishtaria-client`	game client (`ishtaria-client`), desktop entry
`ishtaria-worldgen`	planet generator command-line tool
`ishtaria-content`	base ruleset `core-rules` in `/usr/share/ishtaria/content`
`ishtaria-protocol`	federation schemas in `/usr/share/ishtaria/protocol`
`ishtaria-datadisk-gilgamesh`	story datadisk: the Epic of Gilgamesh on the Early Dynastic Earth
`ishtaria-datadisk-endland`	story datadisk: The End Land
`ishtaria-datadisk-tutorial`	tutorial datadisk demonstrating every implemented feature
`ishtaria-doc`	this documentation in HTML

Adding the repository

Packages are published in the VitexSoftware APT repository:

echo "deb http://repo.vitexsoftware.com $(lsb_release -sc) main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vitexsoftware.list
sudo wget -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/vitexsoftware.gpg \
  http://repo.vitexsoftware.com/keyring.gpg
sudo apt update

Playing

sudo apt install ishtaria-client

Running a world

sudo apt install ishtaria-server ishtaria-content ishtaria-worldgen postgresql
sudoedit /etc/ishtaria/server.toml     # set server_name (permanent)
sudo ishtaria-server-init              # generate a planet and import it (once)
sudo systemctl enable --now ishtaria-server
journalctl -u ishtaria-server -f

The package creates the PostgreSQL role and database ishtaria when PostgreSQL is running during installation (peer authentication over the local socket). It never touches an existing role or database. ishtaria-server-init [seed] [face_size] runs ishtaria-worldgen and imports the result; the server refuses to replace an already imported world.

Running a world with a story datadisk

Datadisks are installed to /usr/share/ishtaria/datadisks/<id>/ and chosen when the world is generated; a disk’s version and content hash are pinned to the world, so changing or upgrading a disk means generating a new world. The example below creates the Gilgamesh world (an empty database is required; the server never replaces an imported world):

sudo apt install ishtaria-server ishtaria-content ishtaria-worldgen \
  ishtaria-datadisk-gilgamesh postgresql
sudoedit /etc/ishtaria/server.toml     # set server_name (permanent)
ishtaria-server --list-datadisks
sudo ishtaria-server-init "" 256 gilgamesh
sudo systemctl enable --now ishtaria-server
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:7400/world    # "datadisks" must list gilgamesh

The packaged service starts on installation; stop it and fix server_name before the first start, because the name is permanent once a world row exists. A world with a datadisk that brings its own planet (Gilgamesh) is rendered from the disk’s rasters instead of procedural noise. Put the server behind a TLS reverse proxy before exposing accounts publicly; see Hardening a public world. To recreate a world, drop and recreate the database from template0 (createdb -T template0 -O ishtaria ishtaria) and run ishtaria-server-init again; this deletes all accounts and changes and needs a backup (Backup, restore and upgrade) and the operator’s consent.

Administration

sudo apt install ishtaria-admin
sudo -u ishtaria ishtaria-admin

ishtaria-admin is a text-mode tool that works directly on the server’s database: save, load, rename, delete and export world maps; rename, ban and delete players; manage portals to linked worlds; and schedule a server shutdown. A scheduled shutdown shows players a non-dismissable system notice with a countdown (messages in GET /world) and then stops the service cleanly (exit status 0, so systemd does not restart it). Portals are records only until federation is implemented. These functions are deliberately not part of ishtaria-client.

The first-time setup wizard (F7, also offered when no world exists yet) stops the ishtaria-server systemd unit, drops the public schema (all accounts and world data), generates and imports a new planet, then starts the service again. On an existing world the operator must type RESET. This replaces the manual dropdb / createdb / ishtaria-server-init sequence.

The ishtaria-server package installs /etc/sudoers.d/ishtaria-server so the ishtaria user can start, stop and restart the systemd unit without a password (used by Start service / Stop service and the setup wizard in the admin tool).