How to start with Atavism
Welcome to the Atavism Online Wiki, the home of all the documentation and reference material for the entirety of the Atavism Online Engine.
Read these pages to learn how to get Atavism working. It covers how to install, and configure your server, and how to get Atavism running in Unity.
1. Unity Asset Store Clients (License registration).
Skip if you purchased the license from the Atavism store.
If you purchased Atavism from Unity Asset Store then you should:
1. Register your account using this direct link.
2. Log into the customer portal (apanel) website using credentials from point 1.
3. Click on “My Licences” in the left section.
4. Click on the “Add Licence From Unity Asset Store” button.
5. Fill in the Invoice/Order ID and click on the Add Licence button.
6. Then in the “My Downloads” section, you will find packages that are available for you (including the latest full Atavism with demo data and examples) along with the UMA integration package and more.
7. You should follow one of the preferable installation methods for the server (1. Atavism Server Installation) and client in this document (https://unity.wiki.atavismonline.com/project/atavism-client-unity-installation/)
2. Atavism Server Installation
In order to start using Atavism, you have to install server-side Atavism software. You can do that by using various types of installations:
– Using our Atavism Windows Manager available to download from the Customer Portal. Materials about the installation process and requirements can be found here.
– Our premade Virtual Machine (CentOS or Ubuntu depending on your choice) which you can find in your Customer Portal. The installation process tutorial can be found here.
– You can also make the installation within your custom Linux and for that part check this documentation which will guide you through that process.
– Here you can also find a tutorial on how to install Atavism using different cloud service providers like Google Cloud or Netcup. Also, in cooperation with KSWeb (previously North Networking), we are providing our own Atavism Cloud Service where the whole process is automated.
Use only one of the installation methods!
Note: An important element is that in your Customer Portal, you will find two versions of the databases with and without Demo Data. Generally, databases without Demo Data are recommended for more advanced users who are familiar with Atavism. That version doesn’t have examples and definitions in the databases (You will have to define Player Character Template and Instance in order to at least enter the world). Atavism databases with Demo Data contain many examples and it is the recommended version for new Atavism users who want to learn how to use the software and its possibilities.
3. Client (Unity) Installation and Setup
Besides changing your project into Linear Color Mode (Edit -> Project Settings -> Player) and adding some text in layer number 8 (for example Targetable) (Note: These steps for Atavism 2019.2+ are handled automatically during the Atavism Client package import process) you should import one of the Atavism packages (Atavism Unity Version with Demo or Atavism Unity Version Core). The package with Demo suffix contains a similar setup as you might see in Atavism Live Demo, so models, animations, sounds, effects, textures, etc. while the Atavism package with Core suffix is recommended for clients who want to implement Atavism in existing projects to not overwrite any element inside it. There is one procedure how to set up the client which is presented in the documentation at the end of it.
If you imported the Unity Asset Store client version which is Core one, and you want to import all examples that are available in the Full version, please follow this guide. (This step is optional).
4. Install Atavism Standalone Editor (this step is only for Atavism 10.2.0+)
1. Download the Atavism Standalone Editor from the customer portal (apanel). It’s available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.
2. Install and start it.
3. Configure the profile by filling out the database form based on your server installation.
5. How to use Atavism
In order to get to learn the Atavism software, you should start with a short Getting Started Tutorial. From this tutorial, you will learn how to create your first account, assign administrative rights to it, how use in-game admin settings, and use Mobs and NPCs spawner.
The most common and recommended tutorials and documentation are related to in-game commands but also how to replace the Atavism default scene with your own as well as how to configure your own model as a player character one and the same for UMA if you are using UMA system for your characters.
You can find a lot more resources, tutorials, and documentation here, but it all depends on what you are looking for, so use the search box in the top section and let us know if you feel that something is missing.
6. Plugins overview and use cases
To learn more about Atavism you can search the topic on the documentation page in the searches bar or you can watch our video tutorials from the series called Plugins Overview. These tutorials can also be found under each plugin on this documentation page under Setting Up Atavism -> Plugins.