FOnline: The Life After

FOnline: The Life After (TLA) is a multiplayer post-apocalyptic isometric RPG built on the reusable FOnline engine. The game contains a persistent-world design, Fallout-style hex maps, quests, dialogs, combat, trade, crafting, world-map encounters and client/editor tooling.

This is the human-facing entry point. AI maintainers read AGENTS.md before changing files. The complete documentation index routes to current procedures, references and dated plans.

Play

Download the client from Releases and run TLA_Client.exe on Windows. Bundles include TLA-Client.zip, TLA-Server.zip and the Windows development package TLA-Dev.zip. Large bundles may be split into .zip.partNN; concatenate all ordered parts before extracting. Package details explain assembly and release preflight. Branch/PR CI artifacts are temporary.

Project site: tla.fonline.ru; repository: cvet/fonline-tla; project scripting API: SCRIPTING_API; maintainer: cvet@tut.by.

Build from source

Install Git, Python 3, CMake compatible with the checked-in presets and a C++ toolchain. Engine’s workspace setup owns dependency preparation; CMakePresets.json lists host/target requirements. auto is the default local preset, with output in Build/Auto.

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/cvet/fonline-tla.git
cd fonline-tla
cmake --preset auto
cmake --build Build/Auto --config RelWithDebInfo --target BakeResources
cmake --build Build/Auto --config RelWithDebInfo --target TLA_ServerHeadless
cmake --build Build/Auto --config RelWithDebInfo --target TLA_Client

For an existing non-recursive checkout, initialize Engine explicitly with git submodule update --init --recursive Engine. Let cloning finish before opening IDE Git automation against the destination. An interrupted clone should be inspected before deleting downloaded objects or restarting into the same path.

Presets also cover MSVC 2022/2026, ClangCL, Clang, GCC, Xcode, Emscripten and Android NDK. A configure preset or build matrix entry does not prove runtime qualification for that platform. TLA selects AngelScript and 2D hex geometry; Managed C# scripting and 3D are disabled by the project’s default options.

Run a local shard

From the repository root on Windows:

.\Binaries\Server-Windows-win64\TLA_ServerHeadless.exe --ApplySubConfig LocalTest

Wait for Start server complete!, then run the matching client:

.\Binaries\Client-Windows-win64\TLA_Client.exe --ApplySubConfig LocalTest

On Linux use Binaries/Server-Linux-x64/TLA_ServerHeadless and Binaries/Client-Linux-x64/TLA_Client. For a GUI server use TLA_Server with the same subconfig. LocalTest keeps the base localhost/port 4008 configuration and disables the login timeout. The default DB is Memory: it survives client reconnects, not a server restart. Restart tests need an explicitly selected persistent provider and isolated storage.

The default client language is English; resources bake russ engl. Every network connection uses a Noise channel. The base development key pair is intentionally public for local use; PublicGame requires its host-owned secret and an issued client pin. Configuration and secure channel describe that boundary. Preserve owner-selected defaults when testing.

Develop and verify

Use .vscode/tasks.json for exact local task names and launch.json for debug profiles. BuildAndLaunch owns build/launch/test commands, failure logs, process cleanup, platform limits and CI/package behavior. Important entry tasks:

Task	Use
Compile AngelScript	Script syntax/API checks.
Bake Resources / Force Bake Resources	Update resources / deliberately rebuild stale or incompatible output.
Build :: TLA_* / Prepare :: TLA_*	Build an application / bake and build.
Launch :: TLA_Tests [windows]	Run the project gameplay script harness.
Launch :: TLA_UnitTests [windows] / [linux]	Build and execute native tests.
Generate :: GuiScreens.fos	Generate GUI bindings from .fogui.
Format :: All	Format authored inputs; review any changes before final checks.
Verify :: All	Full local integration chain, including validators and tooling tests.

Compiler/baker/build warnings are failures. Use focused checks while editing and the full chain for broad integration. A compiled test executable is not a test run, and a headless startup is not GUI/gameplay acceptance. Verify the ordinary player action and persistence where relevant. CI uses its own jobs; it does not yet run the script gameplay harness. Do not infer a release from a local pass.

Repository and ownership

Path	Owner/purpose
Engine/	Pinned reusable engine submodule; Engine entry, docs.
Scripts/*.fos	Hand-written AngelScript gameplay; Systems maps domains and entrypoints.
Scripts/Core/, Json/, Tests/	Project utility library, JSON helpers and harness suites.
Scripts/Content.fos	Generated content declarations.
Scripts/Generated/GuiScreens.fos	Generated screen bindings; source is Gui/*.fogui plus the Python generator.
Scripts/GuiScreensExt.fos	Hand-written GUI companion.
SourceExt/	Project C++ hooks, dialog baker/runtime, SHA and client automation bridge; NativeExtensions.
Gui/, Dialogs/, Maps/, Critters/, Items/, Texts/, Resources/	Authored content and assets; ContentWorkflow.
TLA.fomain	Runtime/bake config, subconfigs and resource packs.
CMakeLists.txt, CMakePresets.json	Build options, source roles, packages and toolchains.
Tools/	Supported formatters, generators, validators and AI-control/playtest tools.
Binaries/, Baking/, Cache/, Build/, TLA-Dev/	Generated/debug outputs; never canonical authored inputs.
Workspace/<task-id>/	Ignored task-specific evidence and intermediates.

The content route is .fogui → Scripts/Generated/GuiScreens.fos, then authored inputs plus generated scripts → bake → matching applications. Script directories must be listed explicitly in both metadata and script packs; baking does not recurse. Detailed generation rules include the narrow paired-source exception. Never patch generated content, baked/cache output or VERSION in place of its owner.

Contribute

Keep changes focused and send PRs against master. Game policy belongs to TLA; generic capability belongs to Engine. Read Scripts, Russian ScriptStyle and Nullability before script changes. Do not copy another game’s serialized names or migrate TLA to C# merely because its engine supports that backend. Keep expected English/Russian content surfaces together and register new native files in CMake.

Update owning docs with behavior and use the checks in BuildAndLaunch. Engine updates follow revision reconciliation. Maintainer/agent Git action authority is defined in AGENTS.md.

License

Source code uses the MIT License. The repository also contains third-party dependencies and game data packs; check their licenses and asset rights before redistributing derived packages.