There are some that would argue the above title is an oxymoron. I however, feel that the future of computer gaming (on all platforms) will have it’s feet firmly planted in the mud (pun intended) of the online and network gaming firmament. From the early days of 1987 when Maze Wars Plus from Macromind gave us network and modem game play (at the blinding speed of 2400 baud) we knew that head-to-head gaming was here to stay. Online gaming takes network gaming one step further by making it not only head-to-head, but multi-player head-to-head. There are now several online gaming alternatives available for Mac users, and the number is growing rapidly. There are of course, the traditional online services such as GEnie, America Online, Delphi, and CompuServe as well as the Internet, which itself offers limitless opportunities.
Generally speaking, the game developers for online services tend to cater to the DOS box side before they consider investing in Mac development. GEnie was the exception and pioneered online gaming for the Mac with their now extinct A-MAZE-ING game that pitted multiple players against each other in a multi-level maze environment. They also have included the Mac in their most popular online game “Air Warrior” which is a WWII multi-player flight sim, and “Orb Wars” which is a wizard/spell casting foray. Of course there are other text based games such as Hundred Years War and Federation II, but these can be played from any machine and although highly entertaining, we will stick to the games with front end software. The future of online gaming looks solid, with a recent survey showing that 69 percent of new computer buyers claiming that they will be using their computers for games in one form or another, we can expect more Internet game servers to pop up as well as further support from online services. eWorld will most certainly be entering into this arena within the next year and America Online recently took the plunge with their AD&D games.
We will be looking at two popular online games from very different sources. Air Warrior from GEnie and Mac Fibs, an Internet backgammon game with a Mac front end.
Air Warrior (version 2.24)
Picture being able to dial into an online service and hop into a P-51D Mustang to engage in an historic battle in the Pacific theater of Operations in WWII. Or how about being the tail gunner in a bomber engaging in a raid on an enemy munitions dump where the pilot of your plane is some guy from Sweden? This has been a reality for Mac users for many years now, and the Air Warrior folk just keep making it better for us Mac folk to keep pace with the online gaming revolution.
The latest version of this classic is a great improvement over the earlier versions of Air Warrior. Although the graphic front end does not come close to rivaling the SVGA version, it is certainly very acceptable and indeed has some nice effects. There is a new commercial version of Air Warrior under development for the Mac, but this has been in the works for a very, very, very long time. I for one am not holding my breath for it’s release. One of the amazing things about Air Warrior is that it is still very playable even at 2400 baud. It sounds incredible, but exaggerate I don’t. Even at the snail’s pace of 2400 baud the game is smooth and communication between pilots does not degrade performance. Obviously this is due largely to the remote computer (your machine) doing all of the processing for the high frame rate and the host computer only sending and receiving tidbits of data to run the game. This is not Hellcats or Hornet, but somewhere in between Flying Nightmares on a 030 and Hellcats on an 040 (in terms of frame rate), which makes for a very acceptable frame rate. Especially when one considers the 2400 baud communication rate.
 
Getting to the Air Warrior area of GEnie involves typing AIR at any prompt. From there you can enter the download area and get the necessary software. Fortunately, this is free in non prime-time hours. This means that you can download the program, terrain update, and manual for no cost to you other than the time your computer is occupied. One thing about online gaming is that most of the games have varying levels of complexity. This is probably so that users will keep an interest in any given game once they are no longer novices. Air Warrior is simple enough to begin to play, but reading the manual becomes a must in order to fully utilize the communication, radar, and flight techniques used in the game. There is also a full training area with frequent classes held for those wanting to learn Air Warrior from the beginning, Air Warrior rules, etiquette and flight dynamics.
What makes Air Warrior so very cool is the ability for you to go in and just dogfight, or get into a bomber with three or four others and go on a mission to take out a runway! You can even get a jeep, tank or truck to participate in certain battles. There are specific dates set aside when certain key battles are recreated and 50 or 60 people will pile into the Air Warrior area to do battle. The complexity is fantastic and includes ground targets that hold ammunition and fuel as well as moving carriers and land bases. This makes for a never-ending exciting adventure into the air wars of WWII. It is no wonder why Air Warrior is the all time most popular GEnie online game.
Look for a complete Air Warrior review in the near future.
Mac F.I.B.S.
Ever wanted to have someone to play backgammon with at any time? Ever want to test your skills and luck against hundreds of competitors from all over the world? You are in luck, because if you have Internet access, you can have Mac FIBS. Paul Ferguson from California has given us this freeware gem to help us whittle away the wee hours of the morning whilst engaging in a five point backgammon match with some guy in Australia.
Mac FIBS is an acronym for the Macintosh version of the “First Internet Backgammon Server” and allows the user to play competitive Backgammon matches in real time with people all over the world. The FIBS server is located in Gothenburg Sweden and runs on a Sun SPARC workstation (there certainly does seem to be a lot of Swedes Fibbing it). The software itself needs Mac TCP/PPP software and Internet access for it to work. It takes up about two Meg of RAM and is presently at version 1.0. Logging on involves only registering yourself, and then you are on your way. There are no extra fees applicable other than the cost of your Internet connection and there always seems to be no less than 50 people hanging around. Isn’t the Internet great?
 
Games are started by “inviting” people to a match by pulling the selection down from a menu. When someone agrees to play with you the graphic front end comes up and you can play the game exactly like you would with a real board. The graphics are adequate (how good do they need to be for backgammon?) and the sounds of the dice being rolled and pieces moved are digitized. The speed of the game is largely dependent on the baud rate of your connection and the speed of your opponent. At present, your pieces have to be moved one at a time, so if you roll double sixes, you cannot just pick up four pieces and move them over. You can however, set Mac FIBS take care of all “automatic” moves. That is to say, if there is only one possible move after a roll, the computer will take care of it for you. There is a constant score kept in the lower right hand corner of the Mac FIBS window that tells you whether you are winning (a positive number) or losing (a negative number). You begin your life on the server with a score of 1500.00 and go from there. If you continue to lose match after match, your score will drop and you will find yourself being invited to play more often by folks wanting to strengthen their own scores.
The game board window can be set to either a large or small setting, either of which is functional, but the smaller window lets you watch the chatter, the comings and goings of players, and the player scores while still rolling your dice. Mac FIBS is really a blast and there is always someone there for you to play against. Unfortunately, the server occasionally goes down and the Mac FIBS software does have the odd bug. But considering it is shareware, and the performance is near flawless, Mac FIBS is a must for any backgammon player connected to that ol’ info super-highway.
