Message

Server message strings for events, commands, and system notifications

The Message configuration file defines all server message strings sent to clients for events, commands, and system notifications. These messages support printf-style formatting with %d and %s placeholders.

File Location

GameServer/Data/Message.xml

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 (0-880 in current config)
Text	string	Required	Message text (max 128 characters). Supports %d (number) and %s (string) placeholders

Important Behavior

How Message Loading Works: The CMessage::Load() function reads Message.xml at server startup and stores messages in a std::map<int, MESSAGE_INFO> indexed by message ID. Each MESSAGE_INFO contains the index and a 128-character buffer for the message text.

Missing Messages: If code requests a message index that doesn't exist, GetMessage() returns a default message buffer formatted as "Could not find message [index]!" instead of crashing.

Character Limit: Message text is stored in a 128-character buffer (including null terminator). The strcpy_s function copies the text from XML. While longer text won't crash the server, it will be truncated to 127 displayable characters.

How Placeholders Work: GetMessage() simply returns the raw format string (e.g., "Blood Castle will close in %d minute(s)"). The actual formatting happens in the calling function (like GCNoticeSendToAll, GCNoticeSend, etc.) which passes additional arguments for the placeholders. The placeholder order in the message must match the argument order in the calling code.

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 - message displayed as-is.

Single Placeholder

Multiple Placeholders

String and Number

Common Issues

Incorrect Placeholder Types: Using %s for numbers or %d for strings will cause display errors or crashes. Ensure placeholder types match the data being passed.

Missing Placeholders: If code passes values but the message has no placeholders, those values will be ignored. If code doesn't pass values but the message has placeholders, you'll get garbage output.

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 placeholders for future use. These can be replaced with actual messages as needed.