Server Settings File

Freeciv21 servers can use a specially formatted plain text .serv file. This server settings file allows you to start a server with consistent settings. This way you can customize the way the server loads at startup instead of with the defaults from the default ruleset (Classic).

For some examples, refer to the Longturn games repository. Every Longturn game has its own directory and within is a .serv file for that game. It is recommended to look at more recent games such as LT75 or later.

For more information on the varying commands you can place in a .serv file, you can access help via the server command prompt:

$ freeciv21-server

...

For introductory help, type 'help'.
> help citymindist

To make use of the .serv file, you would start the server with the -r option, such as:

$ freeciv21-server -p 5000 -r mygame.serv

Tip

The Longturn community creates two .serv files for each game. The first (top-level) file is used to set all of the game option parameters and a second is used to define the players. The second file is loaded from the first file via the /read <filename> server command.

Tip

As noted on other pages, best practice is to use a Bash .sh script to standardize all the command-line parameters and loading of the settings file to ensure a consistent experience for your players.

For more information on setting up players, refer to Advanced Player Setup.