Nightly build

This article describes a special version of the game called 'Nightly'. It introduces you to the phenomenon, tells you where to get it, how get it up and running and includes some related information.

That Nightly thingy, what's that all about?
In plain language, the current nightly is the very latest version of PvPGN available for download from the PvPGN Web Page. It includes the latest new features, but might also include the latest bugs.

But why do you call it 'nightly'?
A 'nightly' is called a 'nightly' because a new version is generated and made available for download every night (this may not always occur on a nightly basis, due to limited development time).

What are the (dis)advantages?
One major advantage is that you can use all the new stuff which is not available in the latest stable release. A minor disadvantage is that a nightly might contain a serious bug affecting server reliability. But that's not too much of a problem, is it? You can get another nightly the next day (or is that night?), which most likely does work just fine!

On the other hand, a nightly usually also includes the latest bugfixes. From this point of view, a nightly is usually more stable than the latest stable release!

Installation of a nightly, isn't that difficult?
No, not at all. Although a nightly doesn't include an installer, installation of it is not really that difficult.

Where to get it
You can get yourself a copy of the latest nightly from the Nightly Download Page. Please read the information in the page, as it might be useful to you.

If you want to use older nightly, you can find source versions from pvpgn.berlios.de.

Extracting the archive
Because you just downloaded a compressed archive, you need to get the contents out of it. You remember where you put the archive, right? The exact process depends on your operating system and is described below for the major operating systems.

Windows
Windows XP or higher can extract a zip file by default. For older versions you need an additional tool like the free 7-Zip. Programs like WinZIP or WinRAR will also do just fine.

In all cases, you first need to find a location where to put the extracted contents. It's useful to create a new folder to put these new game files in.

Now, the easiest way to extract the archive is using the drag and drop method. Doubleclick the file you downloaded earlier on to see what's in there. You also have to open the folder you just created. Make sure both windows are in view. Now select all contents in the zip-archive and drag it into you newly made folder. That's it. Please read on in the next section; the game isn't working yet!

Linux
To extract a .tar.gz file use: tar -xzf pvpgn-support-blah.tar.gz

To extract a .zip file use: unzip pvpgn-support-blah.zip

You may need to install some packages that are not installed by default on your distribution to have the above commands work.

Alternatively, GUI programs such as ark (KDE) and file-roller (GNOME) exist to extract archives.

Compiling the Source Code
Follow the instructions for compiling nightly from source code.

Copying PvPGN support files
You might remember that PvPGN requires the support files in order to function. The support files are mandatory. You need to copy them to the /files or /var/files directory in the folder you just extracted the new nightly to.

How to do that? Well, that's fairly easy, too. Two options:


 * Download the support files, extract them, and copy them into your new nightly files directory.
 * Copy the support files from your stable server files directory into your new nightly files directory.

Bugs in the Nightly
If you think you have found a bug download a copy of the latest nightly build (or compile a version yourself) and check if the bug still exists.

If the bug is still there, please first check PvPGN's Bug web site (http://developer.berlios.de/bugs/?group_id=2291) to make sure that the bug has yet to be reported. If you cannot find a report, please make one on the Bug site.

New features in the nightlies
As written earlier on, the nightlies contain new features which are not available in the latest stable or beta versions. For a list of features added since the last stable version, see New_Features_Since_1.8.0. You can also check the roadmap for features to be added in the next releases. Currently, the features for the next release are on the Roadmap 1.9.0 page.