One machine is the server. It runs the simulation, serves the console pages, and
needs no graphics work of its own — every screen is drawn in a browser. Everyone
else, including the person running the server, plays through a browser.
1. Start the server
Launch Horizons on the host machine. When it is up it prints the address it is
serving on — a local address like 192.168.1.20:1864. Write that down;
it is what everyone else types.
The server serves two things on two ports: the console pages over HTTP on
1864, and the live game connection over a WebSocket on
1865. Both must be reachable from every player's browser. There are
matching TLS ports, 1866 and 1867, used when a
client connects over HTTPS. See Hosting Over The Internet when players are
not on your network.
2. Open the Game Master console
On the host machine, open a browser to http://localhost:1864/. You get
a page headed STATION SELECTION listing every station this server can
serve, grouped as Main, Secondary, In Progress and Admin.
Pick Game Master, under Admin. That is your seat: it is the only
station that can choose a mission, start and stop it, and reach into the running
simulation. Keep it open for the whole session.
3. Choose a mission
The GM console opens on its mission list. Selecting a mission does not start it —
it stages it, and the panel beside the list fills in with that mission's briefing,
its options, and its player vessels.
Read the options. Missions can expose their own settings here, and some change
the shape of the session substantially — whether consoles work independently or
have to finish together, how difficulty is scaled, which faction you fly for. They
are set before launch, not during.
4. Let the crew connect
Players go to http://your-server-address:1864/ in a browser and choose
a station from the same list you saw — see Joining A Session. As they arrive
they appear in the pre‑flight panel, and you can see which vessel and which
role each one has landed on.
A mission with more than one player vessel is the normal case, not an exotic one.
Check the assignment before you launch: a console bound to the wrong vessel is the
single most common cause of "my panel does nothing".
5. Launch
Press LAUNCH. The server builds the map, spawns the vessels, and
every connected console switches from its waiting state to live. Consoles that
join after launch still work; they bind on arrival.
Once running, the GM console gains the controls you use during play — save,
pause, end, spawning, object editing, comms. Those are covered in
Running A Session As Game Master.
What to try first
If you are on your own and just want to see the game move, take
Flight and one other console in a second browser window. Flight
alone can fly, set waypoints and look out of the viewport, which is enough to tell
whether your setup works. Add Tactical when you want something to shoot at.
If something is wrong
- The station list is empty or the page will not load. The web port
(1864) is not reachable. Check the address, then the host firewall.
- The page loads but the console never goes live. The page came over
1864 but the WebSocket on 1865 did not connect. This is almost always a firewall or
a port‑forward that covered only 1864.
- A console is live but its panels are blank. It is probably not bound
to a vessel. Check the pre‑flight assignment, or the Active Consoles tab on the
GM console.
