Distributing content
You've completed your creation. You've tested it, polished it, and tweaked it. You feel confident that your add-on is the greatest achievement since the sandwich was invented. Now what? Make it available to the world!
The Add-on Server
The add-on server is the preferred way to distribute your creations, whether it's a single map or a large campaign. The rules for publishing to the add-ons server are here.
In in order to publish an add-on to the server, you need to create a _server.pbl file inside your add-on's directory. Detailed instructions on the syntax of the file are located on the PblWML page. The _main.cfg file is also required, even for resource add-ons.
Once you are ready to publish:
- Open Wesnoth
- Select Add-ons from the main menu
- Connect to the default add-ons.wesnoth.org add-on server
- In 1.12: Select your add-on, which will be the last entry in the list of add-ons. Then select Publish add-on: Your Add-on Name
- In 1.14: In the "State" drop-down above the list, select "Publishable", and the list will show only your add-on. Select your add-on, then click on the shield icon with the upwards arrow.
Note: If you haven't included a passphrase in the _server.pbl file then Wesnoth will add a randomly-generated password to it. This password can be used to upload updates.
Note: By default, all files and folders inside the add-on's directory are uploaded, except those that begin with '.' and those that end in '~'. If you want to exclude any others, you may do so by creating a _server.ign file and listing within it the files or folders you wish not to be uploaded (see IGNFileFormat for more information).
Note: A command-line interface to publish add-ons exists for those who prefer it. The script is located in a path like "/share/wesnoth/data/tools/wesnoth_addon_manager" (may depend on your OS and wesnoth version).
License
Whenever you upload or update your add-on, you will have to confirm that it is licensed as required by
- Wesnoth:Copyrights#User_Made_Content_-_Code and
- Wesnoth:Copyrights#User_Made_Content_-_Visual_and_Audio_Content
When a user downloads your add-on, it will include the ART_LICENSE that you included and a COPYING.txt file containing a copy of the GNU GPL version 2, signifying the content is licensed under such.
The Forum
Creating a thread on the Wesnoth forums is a good way to receive feedback for your add-on. Making use of the [feedback] tag in your _server.pbl is also highly recommended.
While it is possible to upload your add-on directly to the forums, that is not recommended since it requires extra steps on the part of the downloader and limits the add-on's exposure to players who regularly visit the forum.
Version control distribution
It is recommended that you create your own personal repository on a service such as GitHub. This will allow tracking changes you make to your content, as well as make it easier for others to collaborate with you.