Alef/MP testenv – User

How to run 2 ArmA on the same PC

A fast way to setup MP missions is to run two ArmA games on the same computer. Let's call the first *Editor and the second Client

• Editor run the mission editor, selected clicking on Multiplayer -> New -> Edit/New
• Client can now join it selecting Multiplayer -> LAN or Remote wiht IP 127.0.0.1
  • It will see Editor in edit mode.
• As Editor clicks on Preview to run the mission, a PBO named __cur_mp.pbo is create d on the fly for Client to be downloaded.
• Both now enter the usual lobby and choose the slot they want
• They play the mission, and when they leave back to the lobby, they can choose:
  • to run it again
  • to go back
    • Editor, in this case, returns in the the mission editor
    • Client, in this case, returns to the Wait for host screen.

In order to avoid to click through the menus, you can choose to start the two ArmA by command line:

For Editor

\ArmA\arma.exe  -host

For Client

\ArmA\arma.exe -connect=localhost

I like to suggest adding

-window -nosplash -nopause

to speed up things and run safe from alt-tabbing. You can start them at the same time, for instance using a .cmd like this:

start \ArmA\arma.exe -window -nopause -host
start \ArmA\arma.exe -window -nopause -connect=localhost
Problems
All of this above should works if ArmA doesn't check for duplicated CD keys, and you have a single operative system user and a single installation of ArmA. You maybe know that there is an option in server.cfg called kickduplicate, which if set to 0 allows the same CD key to join a MP game. The problem is that server.cfg, or better, the file you provide with -config, is only read if you run ArmA with -server or the dedicated arma_server.exe or server on Linux.
Because this check is done online at gamespy, if you drop your internet connection, the check isn't done. But this could be a problem, because while editing or testing, you usually want to search some forums or other online resources.