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What it does

The loading page (@nanoforge-dev/loader-website) is what players see while the game loads. The client loader serves it at /. It downloads the game files into a cache in the browser, so the next visit downloads only what changed, then starts the game.

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Loading steps

The text under the logo shows the current step:
  1. Fetching manifest: it asks /manifest for the list of files, with their hash and size.
  2. Cleaning cache game files: on the first visit (or after you clear the site’s data), it empties the cache.
  3. Verifying application integrity: it compares each file with the cached copy. Files no longer in the list are removed from the cache.
  4. Download n / total: [file]: it downloads only the new or changed files, with a progress bar.
  5. It imports main.js from the cache and fetches /env.
  6. Starting game: it calls the main function of main.js, then fades the loading screen out.
If a step fails, or the game throws an error later, the loading screen comes back with the error message and a Back home link that reloads the page.

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What your client’s main receives

The loading page calls the main export of the client’s main.js with one object: The main.ts that nf new generates passes this object to app.init, so you rarely read it yourself.

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Secure context

The cache uses the browser’s Origin Private File System, which only works in a secure context:
  • http://localhost:3000 works;
  • http://192.168.1.20:3000 or http://my-server:3000 does not;
  • any https:// address works.
Outside a secure context, the page stops at once with:
Serve the game over HTTPS to open it from another machine: see HTTPS with nf start.

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Cache

The cache belongs to the site’s address (the origin). Two games served on the same address and port share it: the second one replaces the files of the first. To empty it, clear the site’s data in the browser (storage and cache). The next load downloads every file again.