VOGONS


First post, by exofreeze

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Good evening.

I've been going through getting network multiplayer working on nearly 300 DOS games. While I've gotten most to work, and documented the settings required for the host\client, Birthright has been a thorn for me.

The basics:
I have tried 0.74 and SVN 4230. The conf file has IPX=true. The host machine uses
IPXNET STARTSERVER

These settings have worked for the 80+ IPX games I have already gotten working, however in Birthright the "Multiplayer" option on the main menu remains grayed out.

I began to wonder if it was Windows only. The games manual doesn't mention much about mutliplayer at all, save for a single mention of it in regards to options in the Main Menu. Google searches however reveal people claiming they got the multiplayer working within DOSBox. One thread mentioned the game used NetBIOS. I have set up a few NetBIOS games as well (such as Magic Carpet Plus), so I went and grabbed netbios.exe, placed it in my mounted C:, and then called it after the STARTSERVER command line (as I did with Magic Carpet plus). However the Multiplayer option remains unselectable.

I have also tried the 1.0.0.3 patch files (DOS) listed at Sierra Help.

I would love to get this working and I would appreciate any assistance that can be provided.

The following settings are the only conf settings I have set that vary from the default settings:
memsize=63
cycles=50000
ipx=true

the autoexec portion mounts my game folder and the games image. Single player runs fine.
when "host" is selected it runs:
ipxnet startserver
netbios
cd sierra
call BIRTHRT

edit: It is worth noting I also tried disabling IPX and setting up a nullmodem connection. This was not successful either.

Reply 1 of 5, by zirkoni

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I think the multiplayer game option is Windows only:

BRTHRTTS.WRI wrote:

Requirements: DOS: MS-DOS 5.0+, Pentium 75, 8MB RAM VLB Video, Soundcard w/DAC, CDROM, Mouse WIN95: P75+, 8MB RAM, VLB or PCI Video CDROM, Soundcard w/DAC, Mouse Multiplay: WIN95, Modem or Network Recommended For Best Performance: Pentium 100+, 16MB RAM, 6X CDROM, VLB or PCI Video Multiplay: WIN95, 28.8 Modem or Network

https://youtube.com/@zirkoni42

Reply 2 of 5, by exofreeze

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I think you may be right. I had similar suspicions about it last night, but was thrown off by people in two different threads claiming they got it working in dosbox. But this is the internet afterall, where their uncle probably "works for Nintendo" too. 😉

another site I found this morning, PCWiki stats it is windows only as well.

Thanks.

Reply 3 of 5, by collector

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This is common with games published by Sierra of the era. Lords II has multiplayer, but only with the Windows interpreter. It is unavailable to the DOS version.

The Sierra Help Pages -- New Sierra Game Installers -- Sierra Game Patches -- New Non-Sierra Game Installers

Reply 4 of 5, by ismail

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Been experimenting with multiplayer with Birthright, got DOS version installed and working but no MP using the ISO mount method in DOSBOX but MP is not available in DOS version, I copied the CD contents and mounted with Daemon tools to run Birthright win version on Windows 10, seems to work OK but the 'LAN' option in MP does nothing at all doesn't even open a windows with options, any ideas folks? I assume there's a protocol missing but wanted to ask here before pulling my windows network settings to bits, p.s. have already tried Win95 compatibility mode and run as administrator. I'm guessing becuase normal install in Win doesn't work I am missing LAN config during that process, ie the MP config file is kinda empty just a few characters, theres no MP settings in the install config either.

Reply 5 of 5, by collector

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The original Windows setup works with WineVDM. I get a multiplayer option on the intro screen. Clicking on that button gives three options:

Internet (Sierra Waiting Room)
Local Area Network or Modem
Go to Birthright Web Page

Option one and three obviously won't work as the Sierra servers no longer exist. Option two does not work either, but I am not sure if the game allowed LAN play without those servers.

The Sierra Help Pages -- New Sierra Game Installers -- Sierra Game Patches -- New Non-Sierra Game Installers