Chapter 2. Using Kapitalist

Getting started

Quickstart Guide

There is a quick and easy way to get started. Just start the client on a console with the command

% kapitalist

or from the K-Menu. It will start in unconnected mode. Then

Select Game->Connect in the menu or use the corresponding toolbar icon to open the connect dialog to the server.
Type in a suitable nickname (not too long) and leave the hostname and port settings as is (localhost:2525).
Check the "Start new server" option and click the "Connect" button.

A server is started in the background and you are connected to it. Now you can select Game->Start in the menu or use the corresponding toolbar icon. A two-player game is started, in which you play against one AI opponent.

If you have trouble using the above method, follow the next sections step by step or see the Troubleshooting section.

Starting the server

Kapitalist is server-based, so at first you have to start the server on a console with the command

% capitalist

This opens up a special server console with a prompt,

This is the server for Capitalist version x.x
Get more info at http://capitalist.sourceforge.net/

1: Now accepting new client connections

Get a list of the available commands with 'help'.
> _

Here you can type in commands like

> help
Available commands:
----------------------------------------------------
help            - this help text
list            - list players
quit            - quit game and shutdown server
start           - start game
...
Abbreviations are allowed.
> _

Starting the clients

In the next step, each player who wants to play in the game should join the game by starting a client (i.e. Kapitalist) and connecting to the server. When a game is in progress, there is one server running, and as many clients as there are human players.

So each player types

% kapitalist

on the commandline (or starts Kapitalist in the K-Menu) and connects by selecting Game->Connect or using the toolbar icon. A Dialog appears where you must type in the correct hostname and port of the server (in many cases, the default, localhost:2525, is already ok). In addition you have to chose a suitable nickname.

The server announces itself in the output window in the center of the board. If you see an error message there, you should control if the server has started correctly and if you used the correct hostname and port.

Starting the game

When all human players have connected to the server, the game can be started by typing

> start

on the server console. Now most of the action takes place in the client windows.

Troubleshooting

If you don't get a connection to the server, this may have several reasons:

The server binary is not in your PATH. This is needed for the client if it should be able to start a new server in the background. Include the appropriate directory into your PATH and start the client again.
The server may not get the requested port (default 2525). Another service may be listening on that port. Change the port to something else.

For debugging server problems, it is favorable to start the server separate from the client.