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***************************************************************************** * IPX NETWORK FAQ * * v1.2 * ***************************************************************************** * DATE: 6/10/94 * * * AUTHOR: Joshua Jackson (jsoftware@delphi.com * * Jackson Software * * 10506 Bayard Rd * * Minerva, OH 44657 * * (216) 868-1169 * ***************************************************************************** ------------ !!!NOTICE!!! ------------ Anyone who has been sending EMAIL to my former EMAIL address: joshjackson@delphi.com should re-address it to jsoftware@delphi.com. My previous account is no longer online. --------- A REQUEST --------- I would be most greatful if someone out there that is good at ASCII art, PLEASE send me a header for this FAQ. I had originally used the one from the DOOM.FAQ. Only to find out that that header has a copyright on it. For now, the header on this FAQ is a tad generic. Anyone willing to design a good header will be credited for it. Josh ---------------- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ---------------- Thanks Id for such a KICK ASS game!! DOOM is a registered trademark of Id Software. Hank Leukart for the "OFFICIAL" DOOM FAQ. Matt Fell for the Unofficial DOOM Specs v1.3 References are made to the following programs, here is a list of the authors: DEU 5.21 : Raphael Quintet, Brendon J Wyber DUE 5.21 GCC port: Per Allansson, Per Kofod IDBSP10 : Ron Rossbach BSP11X, BSP11TC : Collin Reed BSP11W : Collin Reed, Alex Korobka VNB1050 : Robert Fenske, Jr. DOOM, IPXSETUP : The Mighty Wizards of ID -------- CONTENTS -------- =SECTION ONE= Introduction [1-1] What is an IPX NETWORK? [1-2] Distribution of this FAQ [1-3] Disclaimer =SECTION TWO= Setting up an IPX NETWORK for DOOM [2-1] Required Hardware [2-1-1] The LAN cards [2-1-2] The interconnecting cables/T's/Terminators [2-2] Required Software [2-3] Purchasing your equipment [2-4] Connecting the computers =SECTION THREE= Playing the game [3-1] Trouble Shooting [3-2] Speeding up your game play (Notes for level builders) [3-3] Recommended add on software [3-3-1] IPXFER [3-3-2] DFE [3-3-3] IPXSETUP 1.1 =SECTION FOUR= Technical Information [4-1] DOOM's IPX communications ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SECTION *1*: Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1-1]: What is an IPX NETWORK? The term IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange protocol) simply represents an industry standard, developed by XEROX, for communicating between computers in a Local Area Network (LAN), Mainframe, or the two computers that you have sitting around your house. In order to implement this you will need all of the required hardware (detailed later), software, and the know how. Hopefully this FAQ will detail most of this information so that you can be up and running in 2, 3, or 4 player games soon. [1-2]: Distribution of the FAQ This FAQ is intended for anyone and everyone that wants more information or is having trouble setting up an IPX based network for DOOM. I would appreciate it if no modified copies of the FAQ other those I release in the future be distributed in any form. NOTE: If you feel any of the information in this FAQ to be incorrect please send me EMAIL or contact me in person to let me know. I will make a prompt adjustment and re-release it. [1-3]: DISCLAIMER The author accepts no responsibility for any damage whether it be hardware, software, or mental caused by the use of the information contained in this FAQ. All the information presented here is, to the best of my knowledge, technically correct. NOTE: I am not a certified network technician. All of the information in this FAQ was obtained through personal experience. I have been working with IPX based networks (mostly Novell) for the last five years and have become quite familiar with both their inner and outer workings. Therefor I do not claim that all of the information contained in this document to be free of error, but it is working for me, so I hope it works for you! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SECTION *2*: Setting up an IPX Network for DOOM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2-1] Required Hardware Contrary to popular belief, you do NOT need a full blown LAN to operate IPX network DOOM. Since you simply need the LAN cards and your IPX drivers, you can set up a network for DOOM for around $10,000 less than a server based local area network. [2-1-1] The LAN cards The first piece of equipment you will need to set up your DOOM network is a set of LAN cards. Whether they be Ethernet, ARCNET, or some other off the wall type, they just need to be able to talk to one another. My personal system is set up on a series of NE2000 compatible Ethernet cards. Most all of my discussion will be based around NE2000 compatibles, since I have had no trouble whatsoever with these cards. (Plus they are very fast and inexpensive). When purchasing your LAN cards, it is recommended that you purchase cards that support CO-AX cable hookups. CO-AX is cheaper, easier to obtain and a better medium for network communications than twisted pair. [2-1-2] The interconnecting cables/T's/Terminators Next is your cable hookups. The cable that I am using is standard RG-58 CO-AX cable. This cable is inexpensive and VERY easy to obtain. In order to hook your cables to the LAN cards, you will NEED a set of BNC style T connectors. >>>NOTICE<<< YOU CAN NOT HOOK TWO CARDS DIRECTLY TOGETHER WITH THE CABLES AND HAVE IT WORK!!! YOU WILL NEED A SET OF Ts AND TERMINATORS. THE TERMINATORS ARE EXPLAINED IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. Finally, you will need a set of 50ohm terminators. These terminators are crucial to your network's operation. If you are not sure what I mean by terminators, I will include a description of them and how to build your own in the next section. Whether you are connecting 2, 3, or 4 computers, you will need exactly 2 terminators. [2-2] Purchasing your equipment Purchasing all of this equipment is not as tricky or as expensive as you might think. The LAN cards can be obtained either through me, the Computer Shopper, or at most Computer shows. The rest of the equipment is available at your local Radio Shack store. If you would like to order LAN cards, you may do so through me (Jackson Software) by contacting me at the following: internet: jsoftware@delphi.com Snail : Joshua Jackson Jackson Software 10506 Bayard Rd. Minerva, OH 44657 Phone : (216) 868-1169 For those of you wishing to setup a DOOM network, I am currently offering you a deal that you won't find anywhere else: I am selling NE2000 compat. Ethernet cards to anyone who wants them at my cost (wholesale) plus shipping charges. Both software and hardware configured cards are available starting at around $40. The cabling and all of its accessories can be obtained pre-made through me, or if you are a do-it-yourselfer, at you local Radio Shack. If your cards do not already come with a BNC T connector on the back, the Radio Shack Part# and current price is: 278-112 BNC T-Adapter $3.19 ea (You will need one per network card) Next is the terminators. The parts to make one of these from Radio Shack are the following: 278-251 BNC male to F female $1.99 ea (One per terminator - you will need two of them) (BTW: F style is the same as used for cable TV connectors) 271-1311 5pack of 100ohm Resistors $.49 ea (You will need two resistors per terminator and two terminators per network) Building the Terminator: Take two 100 ohm resistors and twist the end leads together so that the resistors are in parallel (this will give you 50ohms) here is a poor rendition of a text diagram -----------[100]------------ leads `twist, `twist, leads -----------[100]------------ once you have your 50 ohm resistor, you will need to insert one of the twisted ends into the small hole on the F style end of the BNC to F style adapter. The other end you will simply wrap around the threaded outer casing of the adapter. To secure the resistors in place, you can use tape, but I recommend either heat shrink tubing (Radio Shack Part Number: 278-1627) or better yet Liquid Plastic (available at most hardware stores). Your terminator is now complete, on to the cables. As mentioned earlier, the cable you will need is standard RG-58 cable. The Radio Shack part number and price is: 278-1314 RG-58 Co-AX $.20 per foot. The ends for the cables are: 278-103 $2.99 ea. (You will need two per cable) Building your cables: First, I recommend that you either get some practice stripping CO-AX or you buy yourself a set of CO-AX strippers. This is not the easiest thing in the world to do! 1. Cut the cables to the desired length (Plus a couple of inches if you have never attempted to strip CO-AX before) 2. Strip the CO-AX to the below specifications: _________ _________}}}=------ | | | | | | | `---> Inner solid copper wire 9/16" | | `------> Dielectric (White plastic) 1/32" | `--------> Shielding (Braided wire) 1/8" - 3/16" `--------------> Outer casing 3. Twist the BNC end onto the stripped cable, making sure that the inner wire fits into the VERY small hole up inside the center of the connector. 4. Get excited, you are almost there! On to the next section. [2-3] Required Software The required software that will be needed to play your game as far as your LAN card is concerned will come as three files: LSL.COM <A vendor specific driver> (Mine is NE2000.COM) IPXODI.COM Please do note: I have received several calls regarding an file called IPX.COM that comes with a lot of the LAN cards out there. From my experience, DOOM does NOT like these drivers unless you are attached to a fully server based LAN. This file IPX.COM, integrates all of the three above drivers into one itsy bitsy little file. If anyone out there has gotten DOOM to run with MORE than 2 player while using this file and you are NOT on a full Local Area Network, please write or call and let me know exactly what you did you make this configuration functional. This is purely speculation, but I believe that the IPX.COM file is geared toward a server based network and is not designed for peer to peer communication with the lack of some form of packet routing service available (such as a hub or router in a LAN). ================= ***NEW to v1.1*** ================= It was brought to my attention that v1.0 of this FAQ did not mention anything about the required NET.CFG that must accompany the above mentioned drivers. When setting up your <vendor specific driver> and linking it (in memory) to the DOSODI driver, you will need to either modify an existing NET.CFG or create your own. This file tells the drivers what port address/IRQ your card in on as well as what protocol frame to use. The following is my NET.CFG file: Link driver NE2000 Int 10 Port 300 Frame Ethernet_802.3 protocol ipx 0 Ethernet_802.3 The values for Int and Port are assumes to be in hexidecimal format. These values MUST be modified to reflect the settings of your card. The first line should contain the name of your vendor specific driver. NOTE FOR CD-ROM DRIVE OWNERS: Port address 0x300 is the factory default for most CD-ROMs. If you have a CD-ROM and you are using it proprietary card, make sure that your LAN card and CD-ROM aren't in conflict. I also would reccomend creating a set of files that load your network drivers and also unload them from memory. a followinf is a copy of my batch files for doing so: C:\NETWORK>type startnet.bat @echo off lsl ne2000 ipxodi C:\NETWORK>type stopnet.bat @echo off ipxodi -u ne2000 -u lsl -u echo. echo Network drivers have been unloaded. ================= The final piece of required software is of course IPXSETUP.EXE. This file is supplied with DOOM v1.2 or above. To get a two player game going with no special options simply type: IPXSETUP on both computers. If you wish for more than two players in a network game, you will have to specify the -NODES parameter when starting IPXSETUP. eg: IPXSETUP -NODES 3 would start a three player game. A maximum of four players can be specified for a network game of DOOM. [2-4] Connecting the computers Now the the grand finale- Putting it all together. 1. Install the LAN cards in an available slot in your computer. Refer to the instruction manual provided with the card if you are unsure as how to go about doing this. If you still have trouble, call your 8 year old son/daughter into the room and have them do it! :) 2. Connect the BNC T connectors to the back of all the cards. 3. The two end computers (or both in a two player network) should have one of their BNC T ends capped off with the BNC terminators that we made earlier >> AGAIN I STRESS- THIS IS CRITICAL FOR PROPER NETWORK OPERATION!!! << 4. Connect the remaining BNC T ends with the cables that we made earlier. Another poorly designed diagram: < or > indicates a terminator T indicates a BNC T === indicates the cabling <T===============T==============T===============T> ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Computer #1 Computer #2 Computer #3 Computer #4 5. GO FOR IT!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SECTION *3*: Playing the game ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3-1] Trouble Shooting The following section is a Questions and Answers section of commonly asked questions (hence the name FAQ I guess) Q) Why can I only get two players working? A) #1 Make sure that you are specifying the -NODES parameter for IPXSETUP. #2 Make sure that all of the LAN cards that you are using speak the same language (Ethernet 802.3, etc) #3 Make sure all of your cabling is properly connected and there are no shorts in it. (Some LAN cards WILL use a shorted cable as a terminator hence causing you a lot of grief trying to figure out why the third computer is not being recognized) #4 This one is somewhat a mystery, but it does happen: I have received several calls regarding an file called IPX.COM that comes with a lot of the LAN cards out there. From my experience, DOOM does NOT like these drivers unless you are attached to a fully server based LAN. This file IPX.COM, integrates all of the three above drivers mentioned in section 2-3 into one file. If anyone out there has gotten DOOM to run with MORE than 2 player while using this file and you are NOT on a full Local Area Network, please write or call and let me know exactly what you did you make this configuration functional. Q) Why can't I get any of the computers to talk to one another? A) #1 Make sure that all of the LAN cards that you are using speak the same language (Ethernet 802.3, etc) #2 Make sure that the end computers have the Terminators attached to the open ends of the BNC Ts! #3 Check your cables for a dead cable. Q) What is IPX NOT DETECTED? A) ummm, go figure! (Load your drivers!) Q) Why does IPXSETUP give me an "OPEN SOCKET 0xFF" after I abort an IPXSETUP session? A) The original IPXSETUP.EXE has a bug in it. It does not close the communication channel that it opens if you abort it. The error 0xFF if generated by the IPX driver if you try to open an already open IPX socket (communications channel). Q) What can I do about "OPEN SOCKET 0xFF" short of rebooting the all of the computers? A) #1 Write a program that closes the open socket (yeah, right! :) #2 Obtain a copy of the IPXSETUP.EXE that I have modified and placed on Software Creations and the ftp site: infant2.sphs.indiana. edu called IPXSTP11.ZIP (located in the /pub/doom/multi_doom/net directory) I have corrected the bug in the program so that it will close the open socket before terminating. Other than this bug fix, IPXSETUP 1.1 is identical to the original IPXSETUP by ID (I used their source and simply recompiled it) Q) Why is my network game play so slow? A) #1 The speed of your network is limited to the following: -The speed of the SLOWEST computer -The speed of you network cards -The number of active images on the level being played #2 You are using a PWAD file that was either poorly created or the PWAD file you are using was run through a poor NODES builder. #3 Your cables are too long, the maximum length for a cable should be 580 ft. (That's one heck of a long cable!) Q) Why won't my network drivers load? A) #1 Check to make sure that you card is properly seated in its expansion slot. #2 Make sure that your NET.CFG reflects the actual settings of your LAN card. #3 If you own a CD-ROM, the factory default for a CD-ROM card is usually 0x300, it is the same for LAN cards. Make sure you don't have both of these devices on the same port address. [3-2] Speeding up your game play (Notes for level builders) The speed of your network game play is based on several things. The most limiting factor in network game play is the speed of the slowest computer. For instance even if you have 3 Pentium/90s and only one 386sx/33 running on a network, game play will be reduced to a crawl! Second is the speed of the LAN cards that you are using. I do not recommend that you use cheap 8bit cards, such as many of the ARCNET cards that you can pick up at a local computer show for half the price of a good 16bit card! Next, make sure that all of the cables and most importantly, the terminators are properly connected and of the right values. Excessive packet collisions can result, hence slowing down you game play. Finally, a note for level builders: The following is from my personal experience. If certain NODE builders are used to compile the necessary BSP information in a PWAD file, it can very seriously reduce the speed at which the game engine can generate images. The following is my personal review as well as ratings and problems that I encountered while developing my own PWAD levels: NODE builders (Best - Worst) Name Description/Problems ------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDBSP10.EXE A port of John Carmack's source for Id's NODE compiler. Absolutely AWESOME! This is by far the best node builder that I have run across. No problems to mention. This program was written for GCC therefor is 32bit DOS extended and does not have any memory problems BSP11X, An excellent series of NODE builders! Before the above BSP11TC, mentioned program can into existence, this was my node builder BSP11W.EXE of choice. Problems: does not calculate REJECT data therefor some games can be slowed down, especially if there are a lot of monsters lurking about. Also, BSP11X and BSP11TC will run out of memory on large PWADs. BSP11W works in both Windows and DOS, if you use it in DOS, you are limited to 640k, and for you speed freaks out there like myself, you probably don't want to start up Windows just to compile your PWAD (unless you use a Windows WAD editor, yech!) VNB1050.EXE Builds a glitch free set of nodes, but does so in such a fashion that they are not optimized for use with the DOOM game engine. This will seriously slow down game play. If you have a faster computer, you may never notice this, but on a 386, you will most likely find that the games are a bit choppy when looking out across large areas. DEU's Well, I LOVE the editor, but their node builder still needs a little bit of work. In some complex areas, it will give you the Hall Of Mirrors effect. Here is my personal setup for creating PWADs: DEU521GCC The 32 bit extended port of DEU 5.21 IDBSP10 For recompiling the NODES and other related BSP information [3-3] Recommended add on software [3-3-1] IPXFER file: IPXFER10.ZIP I wrote this package of software for sending files back and forth across an IPX network. I hate to brag, but I have received SEVERAL email messages about how useful this program is and have even had a few people wanting to register it (it's freeware, but if you want to send money for a registration fee, I'll gladly repay the favor in DOOM related software that I have collected from MANY sources, free of charge) IPXFER is currently at version 1.00 and is available on Software Creations BBS and at the ftp site: infant2.sphs.indiana.edu If the copy you have is less than 1.00 you should upgrade as soon as possible. I did release a v.99beta that is still floating around out there. The beta release works ok, but is VERY limited as compared to v1.00. NOTE- if the version your have doesn't display a blue status window while sending files, it's version .99. It is designed to eliminate the headache of flipping floppies when you are swapping PWADS (wow, what a tongue twister). It will transmit data at rates between 50k - 250k per sec, depending on the speed of the slowest computer and the speed at which your computer writes to the harddrive (a cache helps) It is also capable of multiple file transfers (you can tell it to send *.*). [3-3-2] DFE file: DFE133.ZIP DFE stands for DOOM Front End. If you have a copy that is below version 1.33, you should upgrade as soon a possible! The lesser versions of this program were rather bug infested, sorry about that :( This program is basically like a menu system that allows you to choose what Episode/Level you want to play, Load an external PWAD, Select Number of player, and whether you want there to be No Monsters. It supports Single Player, Modem, Serial, and IPX network games. It also has a built in Map/Sprite Viewer that will allow you to locate all of the Weapons/Monsters/Goodies on a level and view them. The Map viewer can load external PWAD files and display their maps as well. This file is available at the same locations as IPXFER10.ZIP [3-3-3] IPXSETUP 1.1 file: IPXSTP11.ZIP This program is a modified version of Id's IPXSETUP.EXE. It has been modified to eliminate that annoying little tick "OPEN SOCKET 0xFF" after you abort a Network game start up session (IPXSETUP). This program is 100% identical to Id's IPXSETUP other than the fact the this bug has been fixed. NOTE: If you download a copy of either IPXFER10.ZIP or DFE133.ZIP, the IPXSETUP 1.1 is included. This file is available at the same locations as IPXFER10.ZIP Software Creations BBS 14.4k Lines: (508) 368-7036 (508) 368-4137 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SECTION *4*: Technical Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This section is not very large at the moment, in future releases I plan to expand on this section. This section is designed to aid those of you who are attempting to write their own software that deals with the IPX communications of DOOM. This section is geared toward those of you who already have a background in IPX communcations programming. [4-1] DOOM's IPX communications The Official DOOM socket # 0x869C If during your fumbling about with the DOOM IPX communications, you should leave the socket open, the following little program will close it for you. mov bx, 1 mov dx, 9C86h ;Socket #'s are in hi-lo format int 7Ah NOTE: IPXSETUP.EXE allows you to change the default socket for communications. This is accomplished by specifying the -PORT parameter, followed by the socket ID you wish for DOOM to use. IF you are in a server based network, BE CAREFUL when you do this!!! The followinf sockets are defined are reserved by XEROX: 1 Routing Information Packet 2 Echo protocol packet 3 Error Handler Packet 20h-3Fh Experimental 40h-BB8h Are registered as in use by XEROX The following are used by Novell Netware: 451h File Service Packet 452h Service Advertising Packet 453h Routing Information Packet 455h NetBIOS Packet 456h Diagnostic Packet Finally, the communications packets that are send by DOOM have the following format: During Setup, the following packet structure - Less the ECB, and IPX headers typedef struct { short gameid; short drone; short nodesfound; short nodeswanted; } setupdata_t; And during game play, it switches to the following structure (Including headers) typedef struct { char private[512]; } doomdata_t; typedef struct { ECB ecb; IPXPacket ipx; long time; doomdata_t data; } packet_t; If anyone has information about the actual data being passed between the computers in the doomdata_t structure, PLEASE send me some info!! I have been looking far and wide for someone who has this information, but it seems to be a rather well kept secret. If you are interested in IPX programming, there are MANY good books out there on the topic. Happy Hunting! Josh jsoftware@delphi.com