Message.xml

Server message strings for events, commands, and system notifications

Defines the server's indexed message strings. The server looks up a string by numeric index; the calling code formats and sends it. The strings may contain printf-style %d and %s placeholders that the calling code substitutes before sending.

File Location

Data/Message.xml

Loaded at GameServer startup. /reload common (or reload.common in the Server Manager) reloads it without a restart.

Configuration Structure

<MessageList>
    <Message Index="0" Text="Blood Castle will close in %d minute(s)"/>
    <Message Index="1" Text="Blood Castle closed"/>
    <!-- More messages... -->
</MessageList>

Message Element

Each message is defined with an index and text content.

Attribute	Type	Default	Description
Index	int	Required	Unique message identifier. The shipped file covers 0-880
Text	string	Required	Message text. Stored in a 128-byte buffer (127 usable characters plus null terminator). Supports %d (number) and %s (string) placeholders

Important Behavior

How Message Loading Works: The server reads Message.xml at startup and keeps messages in memory in a map keyed by Index. Each message is stored in a 128-byte buffer.

Missing Messages: If code requests an index that doesn't exist, the lookup returns a single shared fallback buffer containing "Could not find message <index>!" instead of crashing. The fallback buffer is shared across calls, so a second failed lookup on the same tick overwrites the first.

Character Limit: Message text is stored in a 128-byte buffer - at most 127 characters. Longer text is not truncated: the GameServer aborts during startup while loading Message.xml. If the server dies at boot right after reading Message.xml, look for an over-long Text attribute.

Placeholders expand at send time, so leave headroom for the substituted values.

How Placeholders Work: The message lookup returns the raw format string (e.g., "Blood Castle will close in %d minute(s)"). The calling code formats it with sprintf/wsprintf and sends the resulting string through whichever delivery path it uses (server notice, target chat, guild notice, etc.) - there is no single "broadcast" step inside the message subsystem. The placeholder order and types must match the arguments the calling code passes.

Message Categories

Event Messages (0-11, 16-20, 144-211, etc.)

Event-related announcements and status updates.

Index Range	Event Type
0-11	Blood Castle
16-20	Chaos Castle
144-149	Devil Square
176-184	Illusion Temple
192-211	Invasions
304-306	Double Goer
320-325	Incubator (Selupan)
336-343	Kanturu
352-356	Castle Deep
368-415	Crywolf Fortress
416-426	Castle Siege

Account & Permission Messages (32-35, 64-69, 248-251)

Account level indicators and permission errors.

Index	Purpose
32-35	Account level names (Free/Bronze/Silver/Gold)
64-69	Generic permission/requirement errors
248-251	Account level display with expiration

Command Messages (70-135)

Command execution responses and errors.

Index Range	Command Type
70-74	/add (stat points)
75-78	/pkclear
79-80	/money
81-84	/change (evolution)
85-88	/ware (warehouse)
89-95	/reset
96-113	GM commands
114-117	Auto point/reset toggles
118-125	/mreset (master reset)
126-134	Reset rate limits

Duel System (160-175)

Player versus player duel messages.

Guild Messages (432-443)

Guild management and alliance notifications.

Castle Siege (448-469)

Life Stone summoning and soldier recruitment.

System Messages (480-498)

Server shutdown warnings, anti-cheat, and game state changes.

Index	Purpose
480	Server closed
481-489	Shutdown timers
482	Duplicated item warning
485-486	Self Defense state

Custom Features (500-880)

Server-specific custom features and events.

Index Range	Feature
500-511	King of MU event
602-628	Marriage system
630-659	Character management
660-726	Custom events (Veloz, Quiz, Tag, etc.)
730-768	Economy (WC/WP/GP)
769-798	PvP and attack commands
799-824	DeathMatch event
825-834	Team vs Team event
863-880	Guild vs Guild event

Examples

Simple Message

<Message Index="1" Text="Blood Castle closed"/>

No placeholders - string is sent as-is by the calling code.

Single Placeholder

<Message Index="0" Text="Blood Castle will close in %d minute(s)"/>

The caller formats the string with the minutes-left value before sending, producing "Blood Castle will close in 5 minute(s)".

Multiple Placeholders

<Message Index="69" Text="%s: %s"/>

The caller formats with both strings before sending, producing e.g. "System: Message text".

String and Number

<Message Index="95" Text="You reset successfully, and now have %d resets"/>

The caller formats with the reset count before sending, producing "You reset successfully, and now have 10 resets".

Cross-File Dependencies

Value	Related in
Monster-spoken chat lines	CustomDeathMessage.txt provides its own string table and does not use Message.xml
Command responses	Triggered by commands defined in Command.xml / Command.dat
Item-related notices	Item names referenced in messages come from Item.xml

Common Issues

Incorrect Placeholder Types: Using %s for numbers or %d for strings will produce display errors or crashes, since the calling code passes positional arguments without type checking. Ensure placeholder types match the data being passed.

Missing Placeholders: If the calling code passes values but the text has no placeholders, the values are ignored. If the text has placeholders but the caller passes nothing, the formatter will read past the argument list and produce garbage.

Index Gaps: The configuration has many gaps in index numbers (e.g., 11->16, 20->32, 35->36). This is intentional to group related messages and leave room for expansion. Don't renumber existing indices - add new messages in gaps or at the end.

"Unknown Message" Placeholders: Indices 37-58 contain "Unknown Message" as reserved slots. These can be replaced with actual messages as needed; the calling code treats them like any other entry.