Spellbinder: The Nexus Conflict Server and Client

The fastest and easiest way to play is to download a release here:

• https://github.com/Mindl-dev/Spellbinder/releases/

• Mac users will want to view this guide.

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This is a fork of the Magestorm repo @ https://github.com/Magestorm/Magestorm.

Includes a private server (C#/.NET 4.8), binary patcher, and portable game client builds for Windows and macOS.

Quick Start — Build the client from source

1. Get the game installer

Download spelinst.exe from the Internet Archive and place it in the repo root.

2. Extract and patch

python build_content.py spelinst.exe

This extracts the game, patches game.dll for community server compatibility, and patches spell.bin with balance fixes. Everything goes into Content/.

3. Build the client

Windows:

.\client\build_win.ps1 -Release
# Output: SpellBinder-win.zip — extract, double-click Play.exe

macOS:

./client/build_mac.sh --release
# Output: SpellBinder-mac.zip — extract, double-click SpellBinder.app
# See docs/mac-setup.md for CrossOver setup (recommended for best rendering)

4. Play

Extract the zip, double-click the launcher, pick a server, done.

Quick Start — Run a Server

Docker

docker build -t spellbinder .
docker run -d --name spellbinder --network host \
  -v ./Content:/app/Content -v spellbinder-data:/var/lib/mysql \
  -v ./Logs:/app/Logs spellbinder

Windows

.\setup.ps1
.\server.ps1          # kill/build/test/start

Host networking is required so the server sees real client IPs (NAT'd container networking makes all clients appear as the same IP, breaking anti-cheat and IP bans). Ports 10601/udp and 10602/tcp and 10603/tcp bind directly on the host.

The Content/ volume mount is required — game data files. The entrypoint handles MariaDB setup, schema import, file case normalization, and account creation automatically.

On first run, credentials are generated and saved to /app/credentials.txt:

docker exec spellbinder cat /app/credentials.txt

--dev flag: docker run ... spellbinder --dev creates accounts with simple passwords (password = username). Do not use in production.

Project Structure

client/                     # Client build tooling
  Play.cs                   # Windows launcher (C# WinForms)
  build_win.ps1             # Build Windows client zip
  build_mac.sh              # Build macOS .app bundle
  launch_mac.sh             # macOS runtime launcher (CrossOver/Wine)
  defaults/keyboard.dat     # Default keybinds
  dgVoodoo.conf             # Windows display compatibility config

patches/                    # Binary patches (no copyrighted code)
  apply_patches.py          # Generic binary patcher with MD5 verification
  full_v202_discord.json    # game.dll UDP fix (1 byte: JNZ→JZ)
  spellbin_discord.json     # spell.bin balance patch (debug spell)

tools/                      # Extraction and RE tools
  extract_game.py           # Extract game files from spelinst.exe

docs/                       # Setup guides
  mac-setup.md              # macOS client setup (CrossOver + Wine)

SpellServer/                # C# game server (.NET Framework 4.8)
SpellServer.Tests/          # NUnit tests
Helper/                     # Shared library (grid, timing, networking)
Content/                    # Extracted game data (not committed)
Build/Debug/                # Compiled server output
build_content.py            # Extract + patch game content
server.ps1                  # Kill/build/test/start server

Updates

./rebuild.sh

Dev Workflow

Server iteration

# Edit code in SpellServer/
.\server.ps1                # kills, builds, tests, starts (headless)
.\server.ps1 -SkipTests     # skip NUnit tests

Client iteration

# Edit client/Play.cs
.\client\build_win.ps1      # compile + assemble
.\client\build_win.ps1 -Server "1.2.3.4"    # custom server address
.\client\build_win.ps1 -Release              # + create zip

Debug flags

# Append to SpellServer.exe launch:
SpellServer.exe --headless --debug=ProjectileTracking
SpellServer.exe --headless --debug=ProjectileTracking,PlayerTracking,RuneTracking
# Valid: None, ProjectileTracking, PlayerTracking, RuneTracking, ThinTracking, OneDamageToPlayers

Server Configuration

Setting	Value	Notes
DatabaseName	magestorm	Must match SQL database name
ServerVersion	2.0.2	Must match client version
ListenPort	10602	TCP game port
UDPPort	10601	UDP game port

Prerequisites

Server:

• Windows: .NET Framework 4.8 + VS Build Tools 2022 + MySQL 8.0
• Linux: mono-devel + MariaDB
• Docker: just works

Client build:

• Windows: .NET Framework 4.8 (ships with Windows 10/11) + Python 3
• macOS: Python 3 + CrossOver (recommended) or Wine via Homebrew