🚀 go-pugleaf

I wrote this article for our INTERNET group newsletter. It makes a
decent FAQ for KALI/IPX setup. Hope it helps.

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With all of us trying to recover from the holiday season, I thought it
might be appropriate to devote this month's column to games on the
Internet. Games are being played on the Internet as we speak. Most are
played from point-to-point. In other words, the two 'gamers' make a
computer connection directly between their two Internet sites. To do
this you must know the actual 'IP' address of your opponent. With PPP
connections, your IP address changes everytime you connect. Slip (PPP
emulated) connections are more difficult and in some cases not
possible.


Now to get all the pieces to fit took some learning on my part. I had
no one to assist me on many of the more intricate settings, but it
wasn't long before I had the connection up and running. 
Okay, let's see if we can simplify how this works..

First off, your game software must be able to run on an IPX network
connection. An IPX protocol network is a Local Area Network (LAN)
system that is used in many large companies and organizations.
However, the INTERNET does not use the IPX protocol (it uses TCP/IP).
There is a solution to this, but I am getting ahead of myself. There
is a growing number of games being made with IPX network
'multiple-player' capability. Some of the latest titles, are TERMINAL
VELOCITY, DOOM I and II, WARCRAFT I and II, DESCENT, COMMAND AND
CONQUER (Dune 3) and more being released all the time. Most are very
user-friendly when it comes to connecting. However, you must get the
NETWORK set first!

1 - PPP PACKET DRIVER/DIALER
As of this writing there are NO windows based games for IPX
networking. So all connection software is DOS-based. This means that
the legendary WINSOCK will not be available for communication. You
must use a INTERNET Packet driver/dialer. One such version is called
PPP.zip and readily available on the net. This program will dial your
provider, and make the internet connection like WINSOCK would in
Windows. 

2 - IP ADDRESS RETRIEVAL SOFTWARE
After the connection is made, you need to 'tell' the network software
what your IP address is. This normally, would mean that you would have
to edit a configuration file. However, there is another piece of
software that will automatically search for your IP address, and then
rewrite the configure file. It is called SNATCH.zip and is readily
available. Be sure you get version 1.21 or later, some older versions
are not so automatic and I spent nearly 3 hours on one of them.

3 - IPX TO TCP/IP NETWORK CONVERTER
As I mentioned earlier, the IPX protocol (communication method) is not
the same as the INTERNET TCP/IP protocol. You must run software that
will 'channel' the data both ways and convert it as it comes along. A
gentlemen in Georgia has made a piece of software for the PC that does
just that. It is called Kali and a 15 minute shareware demo is
available on the Internet. A full registered version is available for
$20.00 . (I have come across references to a similar type of software
for the MacIntosh called IP-Remote, but have no information on it).
When the program is executed, it will connect your computer to a
'dedicated' location for games. At last count, there are currently 7
locations on the Internet that are 'centers' for Kali. But you can use
your own IP address as a location, and have others come to you. But
then, you would have to tell any opponent of your current address for
them to connect with you.

4 - CHAT SOFTWARE
When you have the Kali Software running, you need to talk to others at
your current location, and see who is up for a game. Another piece of
software is available for that purpose. It is called Kali Chat, and is
very similar to the many IRC (INTERNET RELAY CHAT) client programs
available on the Internet. You are able to change rooms,
download/upload files, and talk to anyone on the current IP address
location. 


5 - START GAME SOFTWARE
After you have decided to play with someone, you exit the chat
software, start your game program, and then start the game. In some of
the software, you play against the other person. In others, you play
as a team. Some games you can play one on one, others, as many as 8
players. The features are as diversified as the software titles.

Since all this is done in DOS, you can make a batch file that will
simplify the connection process. Also, all the network software is
small in size, and is not as intricate as it might seem. The software
was setup on a Windows 3.1 PC. It shouldn't be a problem with Window
95 users. Mac users should look through the Newsgroups and find the
Mac equivalent to this. Also, there might be a problem with
compatibility of game software playing between the two platforms.
Hope this helps out.

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Jeffrey C. Fox (jeff...@shadow.net)
Mid-Florida Internet Group
http://www.gate.net/~jeffcfox/