Bindstone
========
A Dark Age of Camelot On-Demand Freeshard - by Athena's Avatars

1. Install the free OpenDAoC client (the Bindstone page at athenasavatars.com/bindstone
   links its installer and shows the steps). This download does not include the game;
   Bindstone starts the client you installed. Install it to C:\OpenDAoC if you can (see
   "The OpenDAoC client" below); the installer's own choice, C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenDAoC,
   works too.

2. Unzip Bindstone anywhere you like: your Downloads folder, your Desktop or a folder of
   your own. It does not go into Program Files or into the game folder.

3. Double-click Bindstone.exe. Type the account name and password you chose at
   athenasavatars.com/bindstone and press Enter Realm: Bindstone checks the server,
   applies its current update and starts the game signed in. Tick "Remember me on this
   computer" and next time the fields are already filled; "Forget me" clears them.
   The remembered password is encrypted for your Windows user (it cannot be read by
   another user or on another computer) and is never written anywhere else.

4. Forgot your password? Sign in at athenasavatars.com/bindstone and change it there
   ("Forgot your password?" in the window takes you to the page).

5. While the game runs, the window stays as a small companion strip in the corner of
   your screen (tick "Keep on top" to keep it above the game). Its buttons are the
   hearth's command sheet, for your own character only: summon your group, pull,
   grind, defensive, aggressive, jump to crew, the safe teleports and the rest. The
   reply line shows what the server said; a fight has to end first. Esc closes the
   strip and the game keeps running; when the game closes, the full window is back.

If the realm is asleep, WAKE THE BINDSTONE wakes it (about a minute and a half). While
it wakes the button reads STARTS WHEN ONLINE: the game starts by itself as soon as the
realm is up and Bindstone's check is done. Press the button to cancel that and press
ENTER REALM yourself; "AutoLaunch": false in bindstone-settings.json turns it off.

A key file still works: a bindstone-key-<your name>.txt from the site's "Other ways in",
put next to Bindstone.exe, signs you in without typing. Keep it private: it holds your
account password.

The OpenDAoC client
-------------------
Bindstone finds the OpenDAoC client by itself (its Windows uninstall entry, C:\OpenDAoC,
or Program Files). It needs that client, game version 1.127: the official Dark Age of
Camelot client from Electronic Arts / Broadsword is version 1.130, which the Bindstone
realm cannot speak, so Bindstone does not use it ("This is the official 1.130 client;
Bindstone needs the OpenDAoC client"). Both can stay installed side by side.

If no OpenDAoC client is found, the window says "Get the OpenDAoC client first": its
button opens the steps on athenasavatars.com, and the window keeps looking and moves on
by itself a few seconds after the install finishes. If you installed it somewhere
unusual, "I already have it" lets you choose the folder that holds game.dll and
connect.exe; Bindstone remembers it (bindstone-settings.json).

C:\Program Files (x86) is a protected folder: Windows only lets programs change files
there when they run as administrator, and Bindstone never asks for that by itself. When
Bindstone has an update for a client in such a folder, the window says so ("Your game is
in a protected folder: ...") and the game does not start without the update: close
Bindstone and run it as administrator (right-click Bindstone.exe, Run as administrator)
to install it and play. Or install OpenDAoC to C:\OpenDAoC, where nothing needs to be
asked. Run as administrator, Bindstone still starts the game as your normal Windows user
(through Windows' own shell), never as administrator; it does not open web pages or
update itself that way.

For a game profile that has no window settings yet, Bindstone sets a window that fits
your screen (1920x1080 where it fits after Windows' scaling, smaller otherwise); once
you choose a mode or a resolution in the game, it is left as you set it.

When Bindstone publishes a client update (new models or effects), the stone lights up
and the window shows "Updating your game..." the first time: it checks the update's
signature and checksums and keeps your original game.dll as game.dll.stock. Enter Realm
wakes when it is done. To undo every change it made: "Restore stock client" in the
window, or run "Bindstone.exe --restore-stock".

Bindstone keeps itself up to date. When it starts it asks the athenasavatars.com download
store (not the realm, so this works while the realm sleeps) whether a newer Bindstone is
out. If one is, the window shows "Update available - installing", downloads only the new
Bindstone.exe, checks its signature and checksum and restarts itself; your key file,
settings and remembered login stay as they are. If the new one does not start, the old
one is put back. Offline, or in a folder Bindstone cannot write to (such as Program
Files), it simply starts as it is. To keep this copy as it is, start it with --no-update,
or put "AutoUpdate": false into bindstone-settings.json (an update the realm requires
still installs).

While Bindstone waits on something it cannot measure, a gold segment slides along the
bar and the line under it passes the time ("Sorting the Albs..."). To see plain texts
instead, put "FlavorText": false into bindstone-settings.json.

If something goes wrong, Bindstone shows one message saying why and writes a line to
bindstone-play.log next to it (never your password).

Windows SmartScreen may warn about an unrecognised app the first time; choose
"More info" and "Run anyway" if you downloaded it from athenasavatars.com.

Bindstone is an unofficial, non-commercial fan server. Dark Age of Camelot is a
trademark of its owners; Bindstone is not affiliated with or endorsed by Broadsword
or Electronic Arts.
