The Wyvern server gives Wizards FTP access to their own Wizard directories. This is a privilege that can easily be revoked, so heed all the warnings and follow all the rules.
The Map Editor provides primitive support for uploading and downloading files. It's tedious to manage hundreds or thousands of files on the server using the Map Editor, not to mention memory-intensive.
Wyvern offers FTP access to its Wizards. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. There are hundreds of FTP clients available for all platforms, including some high-quality free clients. There's a short list at the end of this document.
Using an FTP client, you can transfer files back and forth between your local machine and your wizard directory on the Wyvern server. FTP clients let you upload, download, rename, and delete files, as well as create and remove directories.
Make sure you read and understand these rules, as violating them is grounds for removal of your FTP privileges, and possible punishment.
Don't use the FTP service for anything not related to Wyvern. For instance, don't use it as a storage area for your mp3 or video files.
Don't share your password with anyone else, or let any non-Wizards upload or download files to your wiz directory.
Don't try to get out of your wiz directory. It shouldn't be possible, but in the possible event of a security flaw, you could wind up in a directory outside of your own. If that happens, report the bug to contact us and exit the ftp client immediately.
Keep your Wizard directory neat and clean. Don't upload any files that you don't need to have on the server. Don't waste disk space by having duplicate copies of files in different directories. Don't keep backup files on the server - keep them on your local machine.
Don't keep copies of other Wizard files, especially Java files, since they don't compile if they're in the wrong directory.
Don't keep documentation and spec documents on the server. Keep them on your local machine. The only exception is putting in a package.html file if you have a Java package you'd like to export in the API documentation, for other Wizards.
Don't modify or remove the contents of the CVS/ directory in your wiz dir. It's used for backing up your stuff, and if you mess with it, your files won't get backed up. If the server crashes, and you lose all your data, it'll be your own fault.
Don't upload any executable programs or scripts of any kind, regardless of what platform they're intended to be executed on.
All ftp activity on the Wyvern server is logged.
Wizards can share files with each other using a shared directory.
Every Wizard with FTP access has a directory called "shared/" under their wizard directory. All of the "shared/" folders are linked together, so if you put something in there, another wizard can download it.
Because of the way Unix is designed, anyone can read, change, delete or rename a file uploaded by anyone else. So only put things in the shared/ directory if you're OK with someone else deleting them, either accidentally or on purpose.
You should consider the "shared/" directory to be a temporary place for swapping game files with other Wizards.
There is a cleanup script that runs periodically on the wizard directories. It removes any files that it doesn't like, including:
The script attempts to make sure that your wiz directory contains only useful Wyvern content. Generally speaking, your wiz directory should be limited to the following kinds of files:
You should NEVER have any executable files or scripts in your wizard directory.
The scrubber will clean out your Wiz directory periodically, but you should not rely on it to do your housekeeping. Make sure you review your wiz files regularly, and remove anything that's outdated and no longer in use.
To access the FTP server:
Obtain an FTP client. See the list below for some suggestions.
Set the FTP host to www.cabochon.com or opal.cabochon.com, the port is 21. (For browsers, type "ftp://www.cabochon.com" in the URL-address field. )
Log in with your wizard name and password.
If you change your wiz password, you'll have to let one of the archwizards know. Don't say what your password is. Just say you changed it, so we can run a script that changes your FTP password to be the same. Eventually this will be automated.
Read the Rules before connecting to the server.
You can use any FTP client you like. There are hundreds of them available on the internet. They offer a range of features, and depending on how picky you are, you might spend some time looking for a good one.
Some features you might want to look for:
Local and remote Explorer-style windows, with drag and drop between them.
Multiple simultaneous connections and resuming broken downloads.
Edit files directly on the server, for tweaking maps and archetypes on the fly.
Synchronizing your local and remote directories.
International language support.
Firewall/proxy support.
There are lots of (cheap) commercial FTP clients that offer all these features, such as ZillaFTP. They tend to be around $30.00 US. The trick is to find a free one that has all the features you want.
FileZilla is free, powerful, easy to use, and even open source. It supports all of the above, except editing directly on the server.
To search for FTP clients, you can use a search engine like Google and type search phrases such as "free ftp clients" or "best ftp clients", and start clicking through the links to see huge lists of clients.
The only one I've tried so far is FTP Explorer, available from www.ftpx.com. It's pretty good, but doesn't have most of the features I've listed above, that you'd really want in your day-to-day area development. I wouldn't recommend it, but it certainly worked.
(FTP Editor) looks promising, since it lets you edit files directly on the server, display remote images on the fly, zoom images, do search and replace, and it even has syntax highlighting for source code. However, it's $25.00 to purchase it, or $39.95 for the Professional version.
There really do seem to be hundreds of FTP clients, probably because of the explosion of peer-to-peer music-exchange networks in recent years. You can search Google for free FTP clients to see what turns up.
If you're an Emacs user, consider configuring "ange-ftp" mode. It lets you edit files directly on the server.