ivtesJabber is an Instant Messaging (IM) service, such as AIM or MSN, but Jabber is an open standard. To play iVTES you need to install a Jabber client, that is a piece of software that implements the end-user part of Jabber.
A lot of Jabber clients are available, but we recommend Gaim. Gaim has several advantages: it's free, multi-protocol (can be used for other IM services), and multi-platform (Linux and Windows). However, its main advantage as far as iVTES is concerned is to implement JEP-071: the part of the Jabber protocol that specifies how to send formatted text. This allows you to receive a colorized game state, which greatly improves its readability. Other clients might work as well, even with formatted text. Feel free to test some, I'd be interested to hear about your findings.
For Macos X users, we recommend Psi.
For quickly accessing the games from a computer that is not yours, or when you cannot install new software for some reasons, you can use the Jeti applet.
Assuming you chose to go with Gaim, you'll find the installer there. Windows users: only the first file (gaim-x.y.z.exe) is needed.
We operate a Jabber server at ivtes.net. For the moment, the server is open for anyone to create an account. You will be identified in the iVTES community as name@ivtes.net, where name is typically your first name. Please note that this is not an email address, although the format is the same. All email sent to name@ivtes.net will be lost. When creating a Jabber account, you can also choose a "resource", which is a word that is appended to your identifier and typically determine the client you are using or the place you are connecting from. A good choice is "home" or "work".
Using Gaim, open the "Accounts" window from the "Tools" menu. Click "Add". Choose protocol "Jabber". Enter your first name as screen name (or any pseudo of your choice). Important: change the server to "ivtes.net". Choose a resource. Clicking "Remember password" and "Auto-login" may be good ideas. Then click "Register". Important: do not click "Save". A window "Register New Jabber Account" appears, click "Register" again to confirm.
If you are trying to connect from a corporate network with strict security rules, you may be unable to contact the Jabber server. Try to connect to the server using adress port80.ivtes.net and port 80, but still using identifier name@ivtes.net. In Gaim, this can be done when clicking on "more options" from the account modification panel. If this does not work, little can be done. There is a small chance that your network operates its own Jabber server. Ask your network administrator. If it does, there is another tiny chance that this corporate server can contact other Jabber servers on the Internet and thus can act as a proxy server. Just try to send a Jabber message to someone in the iVTES community using your corporate Jabber ID.
Gaim is highly configurable: open the "Preferences" window from the "Tools" menu.
Some options of interest when playing iVTES:
ivtes.ivtes You are now ready to send IM to ivtes. Good choices for first messages are help or list games. You should receive an immediate answer. See Commands for a description of all commands.
Using Gaim, choose "New Instant Message" from the "Buddies" menu. Ensure your new Jabber account is selected in "Account", enter ivtes@ivtes.net as screen name, and click "Ok". A chat window appears. Enter your message at the bottom.
Click on the "+" icon, to add ivtes to your buddy list, so that you will be able in the future to send message to him by simply clicking in your buddy list. Soon you'll be interested to add other iVTES members in your buddy list, as well as chatroom of non-interactive games you are playing in.
iVTES games are currently planned in advance through a mailing list. Join the list by clicking here and you'll be kept informed of new games.
You first need to upload your deck to ivtes. Use the deck format described in the Deck Format page and the commands for deck management.
When all players are ready to start, one of them opens a new game. Tell ivtes you want to join this game and specify the name of the deck you chose. Wait that all player join the game and that the player who opened the game starts it. You'll receive a Jabber invitation to enter the chatroom dedicated to the game. Accept the invitation: a new window will appear. Keep the chat window and the ivtes window side by side and start playing.
If you get disconnected for some reason, or if you play a non-interactive game, you will want to enter the chatroom again. Simply tell your client to enter room 'gameXX@conference.ivtes.net', where XX is the game identifier. Using Gaim, select 'Join a Chat' from the 'Buddies' menu. You can create an entry in your buddy list for the chatroom to simplify the process.
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