BlastDOS/ifrag21.zip/IF210.ZIP/IFRAG.DOC

Text File | 1995-04-08 | 37KB | 744 lines

                         iFrag Version 2.1

        This is the documentation for iFrag, a TCP/IP network
   driver for games based upon id Software's DOOM<tm> game
   engine. iFrag allows up to 4 players to play games based on
   the DOOM engine (DOOM, DOOM II, and Heretic) over the Internet
   using the TCP/IP protocol suite. iFrag is the successor to the
   iDOOM program; the name has been changed for this release
   because "it's not just for DOOM anymore."


                          Acknowledgements

        iFrag was written by Scott Coleman ([e-mail]) and
   Jay Cotton ([e-mail]). The authors wish to
   acknowledge the contributions of the following people: id
   Software, certainly for making DOOM but also for being totally
   cool and releasing the source code to their network drivers;
   Jake Page, author of TCPSETUP, for blazing the trail and
   setting the example; Erick Engelke, author of the (free!)
   WATTCP TCP/IP kernel upon which iFrag is based; and, of
   course, the many, many beta testers (dare I refer to them as
   the "Legion of DOOMers"? ;-) who put new version after new
   version through the play test wringer, sent me ideas, offered
   encouragement, put up with 3 new beta versions a day, and made
   criticisms. Thanks to all of you for helping to make iFrag
   what it is today and what it will be tomorrow.


                            What's New?

        iFrag has undergone many changes since the 2.0 release.
   iFrag is significantly faster and more robust than before,
   thanks to some internal restructuring of the code as well as
   the implementation of a cure for the dreaded "numtics"
   crashes. In addition, there are many useful new features,
   including:

        *    The complete elimination of "Tracker Lag" (and the
             flashing yellow asterisk on the command line).
        *    PWAD file transfers between server and clients, and
             a new /wadls command to display a listing of
             available PWADs
        *    The inclusion of player contact information in the
             iFrag.cfg file. This allows players to make their
             names, email addresses, and geographical locations
             available so that other players can more easily
             choose geographically close (and therefore
             potentially more playable) games. A new /whois
             command has been added to access this information.
        *    A new Pac Rim Frag Tracker has come on line to serve
             the needs of DOOMers in the Far East.
        *    iFrag is now actually two separate programs: iFrag,
             the user-friendly front end used for setting up
             games, and iDRV, the compact driver which handles
             the network traffic for the game itself. Splitting
             the functionality in this way allows iFrag to gain
             more useful features while still allowing DOOM the
             maximum amount of available memory (especially
             important on systems with only 4Mb of RAM).
        *    New commands to allow setting of the ticdup and
             extratics parameters from the server console.
        *    The /freeze command has been added to allow the
             server more control over the number of players in a
             game.


                      What the Hell is iFrag?

        iFrag is a program which allows people to play DOOM, DOOM
   II, and Heretic against others across the Internet. As
   distributed by id, DOOM-engine games come with drivers for
   serial connections (using modems and direct serial cables) as
   well as networks running the IPX protocol. This is enough if
   you have a fast modem (and enough money to pay the phone
   and/or DWANGO bills!) or if you happen to have 4 Pentium-based
   PCs in your basement rec room connected by a Novell network.
   However, what do you do if you're a poor college student? What
   do you do if the only PC to which you have access is sitting
   in your school's computer lab and is running the TCP/IP
   protocol suite? What do you do if you are the only person in
   your office who likes to play DOOM? Enter iFrag, a TCP/IP
   network driver for DOOM-engine games. Not only will it allow
   you to play network DOOM across the Internet, but since there
   are so many other players also connected to the 'net, you can
   easily find opponents practically any time of the day or
   night.

        iFrag is based on a client/server model. One machine in
   each game becomes a server for that game; up to three other
   machines may connect to the server as clients. When the server
   starts the game, the server machine and all client machines
   connected to it are launched into whichever game is currently
   selected.

        Another feature of iFrag's client/server architecture is
   the built-in chat facility, which allows players who are
   waiting for the game to begin to converse with each other by
   typing messages on their keyboards. These messages are
   typically broadcast to all the other nodes in the game.
   Players can use iFrag's chat facility to negotiate game
   parameters, arrange partners for team play, or merely to pass
   the time in idle conversation while waiting for other players
   to join in.

        Of course, the ability to play DOOM over the Internet
   isn't particularly useful unless you are able to quickly and
   easily find opponents against whom to test your mettle. The
   Frag Tracker is a special program (a "daemon" which is always
   running on a separate UNIX host) which helps players from all
   over the net find each other. Very similar in concept to the
   game tracker used by players of the Macintosh game Bolo, it
   keeps a list of all the iFrag games which are currently
   looking for players. When you start iFrag, it contacts the
   Frag Tracker and downloads this list of active games. It then
   allows you to join one of them or, if none look particularly
   appealing, with a keystroke you can start up your own game
   with your own set of parameters. The Frag Tracker thus acts as
   a virtual meeting place for DOOM players from all over the
   world.

                        System Requirements
        To use iFrag, you must have the following:

        * A machine capable of running DOOM (of course).

        * A standard packet driver. Note that a packet driver is
        different than the drivers commonly used for network
        operating systems such as Novell.

        * A connection to the Internet. Note that a DIRECT
        connection is preferable to a SLIP or PPP connection.
        Although it is possible to play DOOM over a SLIP or PPP
        connection, due to DOOM's high bandwidth requirements the
        game will be slow, most probably unacceptably slow. If
        your connection uses anything slower than a 28.8Kbps
        compressed SLIP connection, you'll be much better off
        investigating another connection method.


                       Installation and Setup

        To install iFrag 2.1 on your PC, perform the following
   steps:

        0) If you have not already done so, obtain and install
   the appropriate packet driver for your network card. If you're
   new to setting up networking applications, you will probably
   want to double check to make sure that the driver program you
   have really is a PACKET driver and not some other kind of
   driver (such as a Novell driver). Instructions for doing this
   are included with your card and/or with the packet driver. For
   information on how to obtain a packet driver, as well as
   additional help with troubleshooting your TCP/IP
   configuration, see the Internet DOOM FAQ which should be
   included with this iFrag archive.

        1) Create a new subdirectory on your hard disk where
   iFrag and its related files will be stored. You can name it
   whatever you want, but for the remainder of this document we
   will refer to this directory as "t