After downloading SCORE, you’re probably eager to jump right in and start a community. Before that though, we recommend reading through this document and understanding the license agreement:

Overview
The aim of SCORE is to provide a graphical system for distributing entire regions or sets of regions created in Simcity. This is done in an online environment where individual players ‘take ownership’ of particular cities, develop those cities in-game, and then upload them to the SCORE interface. Using this method, region development is dynamic, unlike FTP systems and happens at the rate users upload. This is done graphically, and makes region games a synch.

>Steps to Installing/Setting up SCORE

Almost anybody can set up a SCORE system, but there are a few requirements that must be met first.

Requirements:
- The server must have php (v4.3.4) + basic sql (mysql is recommended) --SCORE needs one database.
- gd library (mandatory)
- Windows version of a Simcity 4 region (SCORE doesn't support Mac OS regions yet)

Options
- SMTP installed (most servers have this feature.) This is only required if you intend to have public registration enabled. If you have broadband, you can use your own ISP and your own mail account with them. If you’re on a linux box you'll have access to sendmail.

Most free servers that you can find on the internet will not support a SCORE system. For example, Tripod has everything but the gd library and sufficient webspace/bandwith. This means that in order to set up a SCORE game, you’ll either need to buy a hosting plan with the above features, or use a personal server with the above software installed. It’s also possible to set up a SCORE game on a local area network (intranet).

In the future, we hope to integrate a Java applet which will allow users to integrate FTP (a protocol that some servers use to provide large amounts of space and bandwith for free.) This feature is meant to make SCORE more flexible and cost effective, but hasn't been completed yet.

>How to start a SCORE Game

After importing a region (step 3/4) into the system, it will appear in the region listings on the main page. Games can begin immediately at that that point, although you may choose to take advantage of some of the options in the admin panel, where each regions contains a list of these, along with paramaters (ie city points.) Leaving a field blank with a zero allows for unlimited use of that option

-Overview
One of the most interesting features of SCORE is the city distribution system. In short, it allows players to have their top picks of city tiles while adding variety to city selection and shaping game dynamics to the admins taste.

This is done using a city-points system. Players are allotted a certain number of ‘city points’ by the administrator. Those points can then be exchanged by the user for specific city tiles, and regained as soon as the mayor resigns from that city. City points are not global, but localized to the individual region games within SCORE.

-How it Works
By default, each city is given a value based on its size. Large cities are worth 4 points, with medium ones worth 2, and small cities worth 1. When a player requests a city, its value is automatically subtracted from their total points (for that region). Mayors have possession of the city until they resign, at which time they regain those city-points.

By limiting points, administrators can influence the rates of region expansion/growth, and also encourage users to select a variety of small, medium and large cities. One strategy is to grant a limited number of city points at the beginning of a game, and then to increase that limit as the game progresses. In smaller regions, allowing an odd/small number of city points can force users into selecting smaller cities over larger ones.

>Maintenance of your SCORE system

Even though SCORE is based on secure, clean code, there's still room for problems. One of the greatest problems is user abuse. A common situation is that users will, for some stupid reason, choose to upload blank cities as soon as they leave (and decide not to come back.) A city-points system allows them to do this repeatedly until they're booted. The only protection administrators have is from (a) backup their regions, and (b) only allowing registration of trusted members, adding them privately and disabling public registration.

Those admins who prefer public registration are advised to closely monitor the people that register, and turn off the option as soon as its not needed.

>Outline of Admin Panel

The admin panel is divided into blah blah..Administrators can organize these option any way they choose, but they must remember that some options/parameters are dependant on eachother and need to be set accordingly...blah blah