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brine edited this page Apr 22, 2013 · 3 revisions

This guide will teach you the basics on how OCTGN works, so that you can start playing games stress-free!

Introduction to OCTGN

OCTGN is a community-driven, open-source card game engine capable of playing many different types of games.

File Types Associated with OCTGN

Game Plugins (.o8g)

Game plugins have the file extension .o8g. These files are the rules of the game and provide OCTGN with all the relevant information to handle that game. Things like card text, sets/expansion data, counters, deck piles, background images, and game functions are all provided by this file.

In order to play a specific game, you must download and install the Game Plugin for that game first. Please note that the Game Plugins DO NOT contain any card images; you must download Card Packages for those.

Card Packages (.o8c)

Card Packages have the extension .o8c. These files contain images for the cards in the Game Plugin. If you do not install these, OCTGN will use the Game Plugin's default proxy templates to generate the card images for you. You need to have a Game Plugin installed first before you can start installing images for its cards.

Decks (.o8d)

Decks are created in OCTGN's deck editor and are used to build your own customized decks for play. Once a game has started, you may load your decks to play with.

Where to Find Game Plugins

OCTGN is a community-driven project, and there are many different people creating game plugins for you to play with. It is recommended to do a quick search in your favorite search engine to see if a particular game you wish to play is available to download.

Installing Game and Set Plugins

(sorta outdated)

Once you find the Game Plugins for your game, you must install them into OCTGN's database. To do this, go to the Game Management tab. You will see Install under Game Options and Install under Set Options. You can use these to install games and sets into OCTGN.

When you install a Game or Set Plugin, OCTGN will automatically copy the file from its original location and save them in OCTGN's directory. By default, this is in C:/users/your_name/documents/octgn/. After the file is installed successfully, you may delete the original file (usually your browser saves them to your downloads folder).

Changing OCTGN's Directory

Some games require a large amount of hard drive space for all the card images. If you want to change the directory that OCTGN installs the Game/Set Plugins to, you may do so by clicking Options and changing the Data Directory option. You will need to restart OCTGN for this to take affect.

Finding Players

OCTGN has a server that it automatically connects to when you log in. Once logged in, all games are hosted through the network. This makes it very easy to find games to connect to or to host your own. OCTGN also provides a chat room that all players have access to, including friends lists and private messaging.

OCTGN's server sometimes becomes unavailable. If this is the case, it will not allow you to log in. But don't fret! You can still host games through direct IP connection like with OCTGN2. Click the Custom Games tab and click Host. Then make sure to check Self Hosted Game. Currently it listens only to port 5000. This will allow you to create local area network (LAN) games, or connect to another player via IP address. NOTE: You may need to forward the ports on your router for this option to work.