title: Using Maven for a client-server project with external dependencies
body: <p>I am working on a game that is split into 3 projects: client, server and common. Until now I have always relied on Eclipse to handle the build process, but as my project becomes more complicated I am considering using Maven (see my <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/29703607/sharing-resources-between-java-projects-in-eclipse">previous question</a>). I have begun looking into this, but I already have a lot of questions, and it's becoming a little overwhelming.</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>What would be the best way to structure such a project using Maven? Should each of my current projects become a separate Maven project? Or perhaps the common project should become a parent to the client and server projects? Or should all 3 of my projects become one giant super-project?</p></li>
  <li><p>My client project has a dependency on a couple of external JAR files; how do I set up this dependency in Maven? The documentation suggests that I need a groupId and artifactId, etc. Where do I find these? Does this system rely on the JARs being catalogued in some (remote or local) repository?</p></li>
  <li><p>I have a bunch of resources within the common project. I want these to be placed in the output directory as part of the build process, <em>not</em> inside the resulting JAR file. I read somewhere that all files in Maven's src/main/resources directory are automatically copied into the JAR file, so where else can I put them?</p></li>
  <li><p>The documentation explains how to use Maven on the command line to build the project. If I am developing in Eclipse, is the command line still the preferred way to run Maven, or will a plugin such as M2Eclipse achieve the same thing?</p></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Evidently my understanding of Maven is quite weak, so any advice / explanations / tutorials would be much appreciated.</p>