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docs(website): an operator runbook for extracting from your own UO client

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CLILOCS.md and SPAWN_ATLAS.md each explain WHY the operator has to supply
something out of their own client, but neither says how. UOFIDDLER.md is the
missing procedure: where to get UOFiddler, which two files in the zip matter,
which runtime it needs, where Cliloc.enu actually lives, the conversion, how to
point the site at the result, and how to confirm it took.

Verified end to end on a stock Windows box: UOFiddler 4.22.2 (Ultima.dll is
net10.0), .NET SDK 9.0.312 building the net8.0 converter, RollForward carrying
it onto runtime 10.0.8, and the site's own parser reading the output back.

Corrects one claim while doing it. CLILOCS.md said a UOFiddler GUI export
"works equally well"; it does not. Its Cliloc tab writes `Number;Text;Flag` --
three columns, flag LAST -- and parseClilocText splits on the first separator
only, so the flag is absorbed into the name and every item renders as
`quarter staff;0`. The parser already handles `number,flag,text` with the flag
in the middle, but a trailing `;0` is indistinguishable from a name that
genuinely ends that way, so this stays a documented `sed` on the operator's
side rather than a heuristic that would corrupt real names.

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
claude
2026-07-30 03:34:29 -05:00
parent 45fb4a3f15
commit afcdb373ec
4 changed files with 300 additions and 3 deletions
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website/CLILOCS.md
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@@ -44,6 +44,11 @@ they did before the table existed.
## Converting
> **Step-by-step operator instructions — where to get UOFiddler, where your
> client files are, and how to verify the import — are in
> [`UOFIDDLER.md`](UOFIDDLER.md).** This section covers the formats and the
> reasoning behind them.
Either format below is accepted; the site sniffs which one it was handed.
| Format | Fidelity | Notes |
@@ -77,8 +82,16 @@ dotnet run -- "<UOFiddler>/Ultima.dll" "<UO client>/Cliloc.enu" /srv/uo-data/cli
dotnet run -- "<UOFiddler>/Ultima.dll" "<UO client>/Cliloc.enu" /srv/uo-data/clilocs.tsv --tsv
```
A UOFiddler GUI export works equally well — anything producing one of the two
shapes above is fine.
A UOFiddler GUI export works too, but **not unmodified**: its Cliloc tab writes
`Number;Text;Flag` — three columns, the flag *last* — and the parser reads
`number<separator>text`, so the trailing field is absorbed into the name and
every item renders as `quarter staff;0`. Stripping it is one `sed`, given in
[`UOFIDDLER.md`](UOFIDDLER.md) §Route B.
The parser already tolerates `number,flag,text`, with the flag in the *middle*.
It is not extended to cover the trailing form because a final `;0` is
indistinguishable from a name that genuinely ends that way — a heuristic there
would corrupt real names to save the operator one command.
## Shard-added and shard-edited items

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website/SPAWN_ATLAS.md
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@@ -223,7 +223,8 @@ The atlas is fully functional as text. `shard_spawn_creatures.art` is nullable
and is NULL on every fresh import; pages render without images, which is the
normal and supported state, not a degraded one.
An operator who wants art:
An operator who wants art — step-by-step, with the UOFiddler side spelled out, in
[`UOFIDDLER.md`](UOFIDDLER.md) §Part 2:
1. Extracts it from **their own** client files (UOFiddler, ClassicUO tooling, or
any art extractor).

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# Extracting from your own UO client (UOFiddler)
**Audience:** the shard operator, once, at setup time.
**Related:** [`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md) (why the cliloc conversion is unavoidable),
[`SPAWN_ATLAS.md`](SPAWN_ATLAS.md) (where creature art fits).
Two features read data that **only exists inside a UO client**, and a UO client's
files are EA's, not ours to redistribute. So neither this repo nor any image we
publish can ship them — the operator extracts from **their own** client, once,
and points the site at the result.
| Feature | What it needs | Required? | Without it |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Item / title names** ([`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md)) | `Cliloc.enu`, converted | No | Names render as raw ids — `id 1023721` instead of *quarter staff* |
| **Creature art** ([`SPAWN_ATLAS.md`](SPAWN_ATLAS.md)) | Sprites from `.mul`/`.uop` | No | Atlas pages render as text, which is the normal state |
**Both are optional and neither is load-bearing.** A shard that never does any of
this is fully supported. Do part one and skip part two if art is not worth your
time — they share only the tool.
Everything you extract stays **outside the repository**: the converted cliloc
file lives at a path you choose, and `spawnAtlas.art.json` plus `server/uploads/`
are gitignored, so none of it can be committed by accident.
---
## Part 0 — Get UOFiddler
[UOFiddler](https://github.com/polserver/UOFiddler) is the community client-file
editor. We use it because its `Ultima.dll` already contains the cliloc
decompressor, maintained by people who do this for a living.
1. Download the latest release zip from
<https://github.com/polserver/UOFiddler/releases/latest> — one asset, named
`UOFiddler-<version>.zip` (4.22.2 is ~2 MB).
2. Extract it. The zip contains a single top-level folder, and the two files that
matter are at **its root**:
```
UOFiddler-4.22.2/
Ultima.dll ← the decompressor (Part 1 needs this path)
UoFiddler.exe ← the GUI (Part 2 needs this)
plugins/
…
```
3. **Runtime:** UOFiddler 4.22.2 is built for **.NET 10**. Running `UoFiddler.exe`
needs the .NET 10 **Desktop** Runtime (Windows only); loading `Ultima.dll` from
the converter in Part 1 needs the .NET 10 runtime. Install from
<https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0>.
### Finding your client files
The cliloc file is in your **UO client installation directory**, not in your
ServUO tree — the shard server has no copy of it. Look for `Cliloc.enu` (English;
the other seven are `chs`, `cht`, `deu`, `esp`, `fra`, `jpn`, `kor`) beside
`art.mul` / `artLegacyMUL.uop`. The EA Classic Client's default location is:
```
C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\Ultima Online Classic\
```
**If your shard distributes its own patched client to players, use that copy.**
Any cliloc edits you shipped to players are then already in the base table and
you need no overlay for them (see [`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md) §Shard-added and
shard-edited items).
---
## Part 1 — Convert the cliloc table
**Goal:** turn the client's compressed `Cliloc.enu` into a file the site can
read, and point the site at it.
The site cannot read `Cliloc.enu` directly. Every modern client compresses it
(the "Mythic" container), and so does ServUO's own bundled `Ultima.StringList` —
which is why the shard cannot supply names on our behalf either. The full
reasoning is in [`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md) §Why the operator has to convert the
file; this section is just the procedure.
Two routes. **The bundled tool is the recommended one** — the GUI export needs a
fixup step, described below.
### Route A — the bundled converter (recommended)
Needs a .NET SDK (any version 8 or newer — the project targets `net8.0` and rolls
forward, so whatever you have works) **plus** the .NET 10 runtime from Part 0,
which is what actually loads `Ultima.dll`.
```bash
cd website/server/tools/cliloc-export
dotnet build -c Release
# plain binary — recommended, exact
dotnet run -c Release -- \
"/path/to/UOFiddler-4.22.2/Ultima.dll" \
"/path/to/UO client/Cliloc.enu" \
/srv/uo-data/clilocs.plain
# or tab-delimited text, if you want to eyeball or hand-edit it
dotnet run -c Release -- \
"/path/to/UOFiddler-4.22.2/Ultima.dll" \
"/path/to/UO client/Cliloc.enu" \
/srv/uo-data/clilocs.tsv --tsv
```
Expected output for a stock English client:
```
wrote 123490 entries to /srv/uo-data/clilocs.plain (maxTextBytes=12150, skippedOversize=0)
```
**Sanity-check that number.** A stock `Cliloc.enu` is ~123,000 entries. A few
hundred means it read something else and you should not ship the result. The
tool exits non-zero and says `no entries were written — is that a cliloc file?`
when it gets nothing at all.
The conversion runs on whatever machine has the client (usually Windows), and the
site reads the output wherever it runs — so **copy the output file to the server**
if those are different machines. It is a single self-contained file (~5 MB); the
`--tsv` form is larger but diff-able.
<details>
<summary>Errors you may hit</summary>
| Message | Cause |
|---|---|
| `Ultima.StringList not found — is that really UOFiddler's Ultima.dll?` | First argument points at some other `Ultima.dll` (ServUO ships one too — it is **not** the same assembly and cannot do this) |
| `You must install .NET to run this application` | Missing the .NET 10 runtime from Part 0 step 3 |
| `Unexpected Ultima.StringList API` | UOFiddler older than 4.21 |
| `usage: clilocexport …` | Fewer than three arguments |
</details>
### Route B — the UOFiddler GUI
Use this if you would rather not install a .NET SDK. **It needs one extra step**,
so do not skip the fixup.
1. Launch `UoFiddler.exe` and point it at your client directory when it asks
(or **Options → Path Settings**).
2. Open the **Cliloc** tab and use its **export to CSV** action.
3. It writes `CliLoc.csv` to UOFiddler's configured output path, in **three**
columns with a header row:
```
Number;Text;Flag
1023721;quarter staff;0
```
4. **Strip the trailing flag column.** The site's text parser reads
`number<TAB|,|;>text`, so that third field is otherwise absorbed into the name
and every item on the site renders as `quarter staff;0`.
```bash
sed -E 's/;[0-9]+$//' CliLoc.csv > clilocs.csv
```
```powershell
Get-Content CliLoc.csv |
ForEach-Object { $_ -replace ';\d+$','' } |
Set-Content -Encoding utf8 clilocs.csv
```
The header row needs no removal — a line whose first field is not an integer
is skipped. Blank entries (`1005008;`) survive the fixup correctly and are
dropped at import, as intended.
5. Copy `clilocs.csv` to the server.
**Why the fixup is not just done for us:** the parser already handles
`number,flag,text` — the flag in the *middle*, which is what several exports
emit. UOFiddler puts it at the *end*, where it is indistinguishable from a name
that genuinely ends in `;0`. One `sed` on the operator's side beats a parser
heuristic that would corrupt real names.
### Point the site at it
Two ways, the setting winning over the environment:
| Where | How |
|---|---|
| **Admin → Shard → cliloc path** | Takes effect on the next refresh, no redeploy |
| `UO_CLIENT_PATH` env var | The deploy-time default |
The value may be **the file itself or a directory to search** — both are natural
answers to "where is it", and overlays are picked up either way.
Setting the path deliberately does **not** import as a side effect. Click
**Import** (or `POST /api/v1/admin/shard/clilocs/import`) to load it.
### Verify
`GET /api/v1/admin/shard/clilocs`, or the Admin → Shard panel, reports what each
source contributed:
```json
"sources": [
{ "label": "clilocs.plain", "kind": "base", "entries": 123490, "added": 123490, "overrode": 0 }
]
```
Roughly **67,500 rows stored** from a stock table is correct — about half a
cliloc table is empty strings for ids the client reserves and never uses.
Then load any character sheet with equipment: items should show names rather than
`id 1023721`.
<details>
<summary>What a refusal means</summary>
A bad file answers `200` with a `status` and a named reason, not a `500` — you
need to be told *which file* to fix.
| `code` | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `COMPRESSED` | You pointed at the raw client `Cliloc.enu`. Convert it — this whole page. |
| `TRUNCATED` | Half-copied file. Re-copy; the loaded table is untouched. |
| `EMPTY` | A text source with no parseable rows — the file is named in the reason. |
| `status: needsReview` + `missingSources` | A previously-loaded source has vanished (unmounted volume? deliberate deletion?). Nothing changes until you re-import with `{ "approve": true }`. |
</details>
### Custom items — do *not* re-export for these
Shard-added items carry ids no client table has. Drop a small delimited file in a
`custom/` directory beside the base file and re-import:
```
/srv/uo-data/
clilocs.plain ← base, from this guide
custom/
01-uomysticmoon.tsv ← your additions and overrides
```
Files are read in sorted order and **later sources win**, so an overlay both adds
new ids and overrides stock ones you have re-purposed. **Adding one item never
means re-exporting a 5 MB client file.** Details in [`CLILOCS.md`](CLILOCS.md).
---
## Part 2 — Creature art for the spawn atlas (optional)
**Goal:** put sprites on atlas pages. Purely cosmetic — the atlas is fully
functional as text, and `art` is NULL on every fresh import.
**This project ships no art and no art-extraction tooling, and never will.**
1. In `UoFiddler.exe` (paths configured as in Route B step 1), open the
**Animations** tab for creature sprites — or **Items** for object art — find
the creature, and export as PNG. Right-click an entry for its export options,
or use the tab's *Export All* action for a batch. (4.22.2 added an export
option to the Animation tab's thumbnail list, which is the convenient one
here.)
2. Put the images under `server/uploads/atlas/`.
3. Copy `server/db/data/spawnAtlas.art.example.json` to `spawnAtlas.art.json` in
the same directory and map creature slugs to file names:
```json
{
"lizardman": "lizardman.png",
"orc": "orc.png"
}
```
**Keys are the slugs the atlas API reports**, derived from the type names in
your own shard's `Spawns/*.xml` — read them off the atlas rather than guessing.
A creature with no entry renders without art, which is the default.
4. Restart, or `npm run atlas:import -- --force`.
The art map is re-read on every atlas refresh, so adding one image is an edit plus
a refresh. Both `spawnAtlas.art.json` and `server/uploads/` are gitignored.
---
## Licensing, briefly
UO's strings and sprites are EA's. Extracting from **your own** client for
**your own** shard is the arrangement here; redistributing the extracted files is
not something this project does or can advise on. That is the whole reason this
page exists instead of a download link.