SlumsMS

Getting started

1. Get the launcher

SlumsMS is friends-only. Ask an admin for the launcher. It's one small Windows (64-bit) program, SlumsMS Launcher.exe, with everything built in: no key to type, no settings to fill in. Run it from wherever you like. Please keep it to yourself; if a friend wants to join, ask an admin.

2. If Windows warns you

The first time you open it, Windows may show "Windows protected your PC", because the launcher is new and not from a big publisher. Click More info, then Run anyway. You only see this once.

If your antivirus flags the launcher or the game. Old MapleStory clients are modified to run on private servers, and SlumsMS's game uses a 4 GB memory patch so busy maps don't crash. Some antivirus programs guess that modified programs are dangerous; names like Wacatac.B!ml or !ml at the end mean it is a guess, not a known virus. If it flags SlumsMS Launcher.exe or a file in your game folder (MapleStory.exe, SlumsMS.exe, slums.dll), you can add the game folder as an exclusion (Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Manage settings → Exclusions). Only do that for a launcher you got from an admin, and tell an admin which file and what name it showed. If you're not comfortable, don't: ask an admin first.

Already playing with an older launcher? Nothing to do: it updates itself and keeps your settings. If a launcher ever asks for a key, ask an admin.

3. Install the game

The launcher checks your install when it starts and shows one button: Install, Update or Play.

  • Where it installs: the folder you pick in Settings. Otherwise it uses %LOCALAPPDATA%\SlumsMS, and no admin rights are needed.
  • Size: the first install is about 23.6 GB (about 86,000 files). It resumes if it gets interrupted.
  • Updates only download the files that changed. Your config.ini is never overwritten.
  • Something broken? Settings → Verify and repair re-checks every file. It's slow, but thorough.
  • The launcher updates itself.

4. Make an account

There is no website sign-up. On the game's login screen, type a new username and a passphrase of at least 6 characters, and the account is made for you. You can make up to 3 accounts per internet connection, with a short wait between new accounts.

5. Play

Press Play. The launcher opens the game with the SlumsMS client add-ons. The server address is already set, so you never type it.

6. Your first login

A short tour opens by itself a few seconds after your first login: what SlumsMS is, the buttons by the chat bar, where things are, the regulars, handy commands and trading. Close it whenever you like. @guide opens it again. Bera has five channels: channel 1 is the busiest, channel 5 the quietest. More in Getting around.

Streamers and Parsec users: the main display tip. If the game closes at start with error code: -2147467259, a virtual screen is your main display (Parsec, Sunshine, Steam Link, Virtual Desktop...). Make your real monitor the main display before you start the game. Or disconnect Parsec, start the game, then reconnect.

Where things are

  • Game settings: config.ini in the game folder.
  • Stuck or found a bug? Type @reportbug <text> in game, or tell an admin.