PC Player Special 1997 #1

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ PC Player Special 1997 #1 / PC-Player - Special - 1997-01.iso / PATCHES / CIVNET / 1 / README.TXT < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1995-12-04 | 19.4 KB | 483 lines

********************************************************* ** Sid Meier's CivNet ** ** ** ** Release notes and hints for running CivNet ** ** ** ** Copyright (c)1995, by MicroProse Software, Inc. ** ********************************************************* CivNet version 1.1 -- 12/1/95 File List: civnet.exe, smedsnet.dll, civeng0.dll, civeng0.dll, civger0.dll civger1.dll, gcpsystm.ini, nwipxspx.dll, civmaps.exe, patch.txt Changes and fixes in Version 1.1 - NETWORK DETECTION In an attempt to make the network setup process more easily understood we added another dialog that appears when you select the Network item in the Multiplayer Setup. This dialog offers a choice between NetBIOS and IPX/SPX so the final decision can be made by the user. The box will attempt to detect the correct type of network and select the corresponding option. These .ini lines are no longer used or neccessary: Network.drv=Netware.drv (in system.ini) Protocol=NETBIOS (in snet.ini) - NWIPXSPX.DLL This redistributable file from Novell is now part of the install and will allow CivNet to use IPX/SPX networks that are not Netware. This will now allow people to play using the Netware compatible drivers provided by Microsoft in Windows 95. Note: If your network setup uses NetBEUI, you must use NetBIOS, not IPX/SPX - HOTSEAT There is now an option to allow players to not see each others maps. This checkbox is found in the startup window when choosing the number of hotseat players. Problems when a civ was defeated has been fixed. When a human player is defeated, they are just removed from the game and the remaining players are informed that that civ has been defeated. Civs controlled by AIs will no longer initiate parley. This is to avoid the problem where the AIs would try to talk to someone who might not be at the console at the time. - TRUE TYPE FONTS CivNET will now detect if the "Show only true type fonts" option is set, warn the user of this condition and exit without crashing. - MULTIMEDIA TIMERS Some older installations of Windows 3.1 do not have the multimedia extensions installed. This was causing the ERR_TIMERSETFAILED error during startup. This problem has been fixed. If CivNET cannot find the high-resolution timers, it will use the standard Windows timers. The intro movies may appear chunky, but it will not crash. We recommend installing the multimedia extensions. - 16-COLOR DESKTOPS CivNET was not designed for less than 256 color desktops. If you are running in a 16-color mode, CivNET will warn you of this fact and not continue. Version 1.0 Last minute additions/Changes-- - Setting Different IPX/SPX or TCP socket We added the ability to change the default IPX/SPX or TCP socket on the off chance one of your applications was using the same socket. To make use of this feature, copy the SNET.INI file into your WINDOWS directory. The file has been commented and explains how to make changes to it. - "U"nload key After pressing "U" to unload units from a ship you should then press "W", this will switch to the units in the ship so you can unload them. - Quitting from a Hotseat Game To quit from a hotseat game do not select retire from the game menu, this will end the game for all players. Select quit Hotseat from the Multi-player menu. - Playing your own CD with Civnet. Before you start CivNet you can place an AUDIO CD into the CD-ROM and Civnet will use it for playing music. Civnet looks for tracks 02 - 18, if there is no track or no CD CivNet will not play music. Please note: Because WIN 95 uses auto play you will not be able to do this on Win 95 machines. - Problems with the Win 95 Auto Launcher. If you are running Win 95 and are experiencing a GPF message when you insert the Civnet CD, you will need to do the following. Close the GPF message and then click START, Select Run and type D:\install.exe (where D: is the letter of your CD-ROM drive) click OK. Civnet will then install. After you have installed the auto launcher will now work. This problem is caused by WinG not being installed on the machine. Windows 95 by default should install WinG on the system, but for whatever reason it was not there. General Notes-- - If, for some reason, you decide to remove CivNet from your system, there is an initialization file which is created in the Windows sub-directory. The file is called CIVNET.INI and can safely be deleted after you have removed CivNet from your computer. This file will be recreated when you reinstall CivNet from the CD. - Saves from the DOS and WINDOWS versions of Civilization will NOT work with CivNet. You can however use the saves from the windows version in the map editor to get the maps from your saves and use them with Civnet. Notes for running single player-- - Show only TrueType fonts: If this option is set for your fonts in either Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, CivNet will not run. The default is off. Notes for running multi-player games-- - Who are we waiting for? CivNet's turns have a few phases as outlined in the manual. In a multi- player game, all players must complete one phase before continuing to the next. The movement phase (certainly the most time consuming) can have a time limit imposed. However, the upkeep phase has no time limit. It is simply over when everyone has read their reports and done their maintenance tasks. If you notice the game is frozen in the upkeep phase, make sure you have read all your reports and hit the Done button on the report window. (Hitting F5 will bring up your reports again so you can double check). Try to stay aware of the turn phase as you chat with other leaders as well. You may be holding the game up for everyone else while trading technology with someone. - Blue lights: Occasionally, the network status light bulbs in the lower portion of the Status Window will turn blue. This indicates a "hold" on the game usually because a machine in the game cannot keep pace with the other machines. This should not last more than a few seconds and the game should resume normally. Pulling down a menu item and leaving the popup menu up will also produce this condition. It will not clear until the menu is released. This is important to remember. As the game appears to be locked, check to make sure no menu items are selected. You could be holding up the game for others. - Modem and Game Connection: Because of the design and implementation of Windows 3.1, serial communication can sometimes be hindered by hardware overruns. These occur when the system cannot attend to the serial port as frequently as is necessary to keep data flowing. There are other and more sinister conditions that can cause overruns, and they are usually hardware or configuration related. CivNet does its best to recover from overruns, but they will affect speed. If you notice "HARDWARE OVERRUN" in the modem status window, try switching to a slower baud rate. There are known conflicts with the serial port when Windows is driving sound devices. If you notice frequent hardware overruns, try turning off sounds and music. - IPX/SPX LAN games: Windows 95 machines that use the default IPX support provided by Microsoft should be correctly detected by CivNet without the use of the system.ini line. The IPX/SPX support is system resource intensive and thus care should be taken to insure that large games (5-7) players are being played on fast machines with lots of memory(16MB). Also, try loading DOS drivers only up to the IPXODI level. Not loading VLM and logging into the server has helped the speed and stability of net games on some machines. - TCP/IP LAN games: Windows 95 comes with a TCP/IP protocol that runs over most typical networks. This is an excellent protocol to use for LAN games. There are also TCP/IP emulator that can be purchased from network vendors that perform the same feature on Windows 3.1 and DOS machines. The drawback is that you will have to know the IP address for the computer you wish to connect to. - TCP/IP "live" Internet games: Games running on the Internet using a SLIP/PPP connection will vary greatly in speed of play. Depending on the Internet provider, utilization of the provider's server, and geographical proximity of the players, the game could be unusually slow and unresponsive. This is a condition beyond our control. Try to keep "live" Internet games to two or three players (preferably two) using the same service provider. Ideally, the players should dial into the same server as well. ( Special note: The ability to receive and send Internet E-mail through an on-line service like CompuServe or America On-line does not necessarily mean you can play CivNet. Your on-line service needs to provide a SLIP or a PPP connection that provides you with a unique IP address. If you can telnet, ftp, or browse the WorldWideWeb, you can probably play CivNet. ) Also, if you are logged in over a modem, please read the above section on modem games, some of the same issues may apply to TCP/IP games over a modem. - The Importance of knowing your IP address for TCP/IP games: It is extremely important that you, as well as others, know your correct IP address when starting CivNet. CivNet will attempt to resolve your IP address for you, however, depending on the type of TCP/IP connection you have, this may report an incorrect address. It is your responsibility to verify that CivNet is using the correct address. This is extremely important for services which provide you a dynamic IP address, where an IP address is assigned to you when you log in. CivNet will not work properly if your IP address is different then what it is reported as. If CivNet reports your IP address as "0.0.0.0", this can mean one of two things, either you are not connected to your provider or have access to a host file. There are some services which hide your IP address from the user on purpose ( internetMCI is known for this ). It is impossible for CivNet to know what your IP address is in this case and is your responsibility to find out what it is. There are several apps available via the Internet which will help you find out what it is. -Connecting to a Game Connection Protocol game via the Internet If you know of a game being played on a BBS with Game Connection Protocol and that BBS has a connection to the Internet, you can attach to that game via an Internet host. Using rlogin, issue the command: rlogin -8 address.net Where address.net is the Internet address for the bulletin board. You must be using an eight bit connection for this to work. rlogin should be used we have had some problems playing CivNet with telnet sessions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Multi-Player Connectivity Overviews: CivNet allows a multitude of connectivity options. Currently, players may cooperate/compete through IPX/SPX, NetBIOS, Direct Connect (serial connect or modem),TCP/IP (Protocol or The Internet), Hot Seat, and Game Connection Protocol (on Bulletin Board Systems which support the GCP packet exchange). IPX/SPX: Recommended Max: 7 players Performance: typically fast, depending upon size of IPX/SPX network Overview: IPX/SPX is simply the protocol used to communicate with over a network. The most common of these is NOVELL Netware. Startup Process: Users must be on the same network and must have already connected and logged in before running CivNet. Once CivNet has been started, by selecting the multiplayer game choice "Network Game", CivNet will detect the presence of IPX/SPX and use this protocol for connectivity. NetBIOS: Recommended Max: 7 players Performance: Ranges according to network size Overview: NetBIOS is another type of network protocol and works in similar regards to IPX/SPX. Startup Process: Users must be on the same network and must have already connected and logged in before running CivNet. Game startup is the same as in IPX/SPX setup. Direct Connect - Serial: Recommended Max: 2 players Performance: Faster than modem (providing both machines use 16550 UART), slower than Network (IPX/SPX) Overview: Serial connections allow two players to serially link their computers through the use of a Null Modem cable. This cable is plugged into a free serial connection on both computers. Startup Process: After physical setup of the serial line, players choose the "Head to Head" option under multiplayer game. There is some setup involved in telling CivNet which serial port is being used as a direct connection. This setup is done from the Head to Head menu. SPECIAL NOTE: Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 does not respond well to attempting to write to an invalid serial port. Therefore, it is critical that the users know which serial port is valid for the Null Modem connection. This problem is not restricted to CivNet, as it is an operating system problem and a fundamental design aspect of Windows. Direct Connect - Modem: Recommended Max: 2 players Performance: High speed modems, 14400 baud and above, tend to perform well. Slower modems, 9600 BAUD, will display a noticeable wait time between all aspects of gameplay. Overview: Modem connections allow two players to connect through the use of a modem and phone line. After modem setup, the two players decide who will call and who will answer. Startup Process: As in Direct Connect - Serial, the modem must be setup under the Head to Head menu. Setup involves configuring CivNet to recognize the unique modem in the machine. TCP/IP - On the Internet: Recommended Max: 2 players. Performance: Extremely variable, depending upon type of Internet connection and rate of traffic elsewhere on the Internet. Requirements: See TCP/IP - Protocol requirements above. Overview: "The Internet" is today's buzzword for world-wide connectivity. All that is needed is a direct connection to the Internet or access through a service provider and the assigned TCP/IP address to your machine. Startup Process: Access to the Internet must be established before starting CivNet. This process varies, depending upon the means of connection. For access through a service provider, this means logging on to the actual provider and beginning a SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) or PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) session. The setup process for these types of sessions will depend upon the service provider. SPECIAL NOTE: TCP/IP addresses are typically assigned dynamically from service providers, and will vary from one on-line session to another (between disconnecting from the service and then reconnecting). TCP/IP - Protocol: Recommended Max: 7 players Performance: Comparable to IPX/SPX Overview: The TCP/IP protocol is similar in nature to IPX/SPX in that it is merely the language computers use to communicate. Any network which utilizes TCP/IP can be used to run multiplayer CivNet games. Requirements: WinSock, version 1.1 or greater, must exist on the machine and in the Windows sub-directory. This is a Microsoft DLL used for socket communications. Many different versions of this file is available, and some "hybrid" copies will not work properly with CivNet. Windows 3.11 and Windows 95 already have the WinSock DLLs installed. Startup Process: A TCP/IP protocol must be installed and operational the computer (see Special Note). The unique TCP/IP address must be provided to CivNet, and usually this number can be obtained without user intervention. A TCP/IP address is of the form ###.###.###.### and each "###" ranges from 0 - 255. The host system may simply start the game without knowing other TCP/IP addresses. The players who wish to join a game, however, must know the TCP/IP address of the server machine in order to connect. SPECIAL NOTE: During testing of CivNet, it was found that Windows 95 supports the binding of the TCP/IP protocol to the machine's adapter, allowing TCP/IP gameplay. This has proven to be a very stable and fast mode of communication between computers, and the setup process is relatively easy. A group of computers could be setup with Windows 95 and TCP/IP, and after giving all machines unique TCP/IP addresses, CivNet could be played as if running on any other network, such as Netware. HotSeat: Recommended Max: 7 players Performance: Fastest possible Overview: HotSeat is the only way to play a multiplayer game on a single machine. It allows numerous players to operate the game from the same computer by taking turns. Obviously, simultaneous movement is not possible in HotSeat games. Startup Process: Users take turns choosing armies, and once the game has begun, gameplay takes place in a "round-robin" fashion. Game Connection Protocol: Recommended Max: 7 players Performance: There are a number of variables which affect performance: speed of modems used to connect, speed of host BBS, and number of players. Overview: Players who wish to play under the GCP mode must find a BBS which supports the GCP protocol (meaning that the BBS has GCP up and running on-line). Startup Process:After selecting a GCP site and connecting through the modem (accomplished within CivNet in the GCP menus) users must find the "Game Connection" section on the BBS by using the CivNet terminal. Users must then start a new "Game Channel" or join an existing one. Please NOTE: you must select either GCP or Civnet as the Channel's Protocol Once in this "Game Channel", users are in a mini-conference from where they may chat or start the game (done by typing "/start"). /Start should take everyone in the "channel" to the join/start game screen, if not you will need to click begin. Joining Game Process: After selecting a GCP site and connecting through the modem (accomplished within CivNet in the GCP menus) users must find the "Game Connection" section on the BBS by using the CivNet terminal. Users must then enter a game "channel" that has a game of Civnet in progress. Type /enter to enter the game in progress then click begin. This will take you to the Join/Start screen, select join and your on your way. Quality Assurance would like to thank the following additional people for their help testing Civnet. James King Mike Prendergast Vaughn "Guru" Thomas Don "Postal" Emmel Jeff Dinger Todd Cioni Bob "Tank" Abe Brian Wilson Chrispy Bowling Brian Hellesen Darren Brown Dwight Tice Mike Richardson Mike Davidson Special Thanks to: Dr. Jeffrey Briggs 411 West Hampton Inn (Chapel Hill) Peter English (Lord Bawlmer's BeBs (410) 532-0100) Monty Python Caffeine The Machine Schmee-Ah