Command line

OpenAoK starts at its main menu. From the command line it can also start straight into a game, a scenario, a saved game or a network game, with the lobby's settings given as options. On a desktop run it from build/:

cd build
./OpenAoK --game --map Arabia --size small --difficulty hard

A game

Option
--game	Straight into a random map game against the computer
--map NAME	The map: a random map script by name (Arabia, Archipelago, Baltic, BlackForest, Coastal, Continental, CraterLake, Fortress, GoldRush, Highland, Islands, Mediterranean, Migration, Nomad, Rivers, TeamIslands)
--size S	tiny, small, medium, normal, large or giant
--seed N	The map's seed: the same seed makes the same map
--seats N	An offline game of this many seats, the computer in the rest
--difficulty D	hardest, hard, moderate, easy or easiest
--resources R	standard, low, medium or high starting resources
--age A	dark, feudal, castle or imperial starting age
--reveal V	normal, explored or all
--population N	The population limit: the largest of the lobby's choices (25 to 1000) not over N
--regicide, --deathmatch	A Regicide game, or a Death Match
--cheats	Allow cheats
--ai-only	The computer plays every seat, yours too: to watch
--no-ai	Nobody plays the other seats

Scenarios, saves and recordings

Option
--scenario FILE	Plays a scenario
--load FILE	Loads a saved game
--record	Records the game, as the lobby's Record Game does
--play FILE	Plays a recorded game back
--editor [FILE]	Opens the scenario editor, with a scenario if one is named

Network games

Option
--host PORT --players N	Opens a network game on this port, this machine at seat 1, started once N people are in
--join HOST:PORT	Joins the network game at that address; the seat and the game come from the host

These skip the lobby; the Multiplayer menu is described in Multiplayer.

The window

Option
--windowed, --fullscreen	In a window, or full screen
--widescreen	The frame as wide as the screen
--resolution 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024	The screen size the frame is laid out at
--zoom Z	The first frame at this zoom
--mute	No sound device at all
--vsync, --no-vsync	Wait for the display's refresh, or not
--fps	The frame rate under the top bar

For testing

Options like --screenshot PATH --frames N (render that many frames, write the image and exit), --select NAME, --spawn NAME, --place NAME, --look X Y, --advance SECONDS and --verify TICKS exist to test the engine; they are described in Building from source and Self-checks.