For DOS I'd stick to the null modem cables...

I'm a big fan of DOS networking using mTCP. But not for gaming.

Why not? Conventional memory and lack of standardization.

Even the really lightweight packet drivers used for mTCP use non-trivial amounts of RAM. Of course, you can load them high, but that reduces the amount of high memory available for other things (like CD drivers), so one way or another it will cost you memory. If you need a full NDIS/ODI stack, it will cost a lot more. Then there's the question what the games will use. Some might use a packet driver. Some NDIS/ODI. Some something different again.

Possibly it might make sense with very specific games (and possibly network cards), but tbh, I'd leave real networking to OSs that aren't memory-constrained.

About any Ethernet card with RJ45 port...
Those Pentium 75 boxes have free PCI slots, right?
For PCI, cards like RTL8139 are ubiquitous, and cost pennies.
DOS LAN gaming usually means IPX protocol, also used by Novell Netware - back then this was the most popular networking software, so all NICs had appropriate drivers.

dionb wrote on 2022-10-13, 10:52:

For DOS I'd stick to the null modem cables... […]
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For DOS I'd stick to the null modem cables...

I'm a big fan of DOS networking using mTCP. But not for gaming.

Why not? Conventional memory and lack of standardization.

Even the really lightweight packet drivers used for mTCP use non-trivial amounts of RAM. Of course, you can load them high, but that reduces the amount of high memory available for other things (like CD drivers), so one way or another it will cost you memory. If you need a full NDIS/ODI stack, it will cost a lot more. Then there's the question what the games will use. Some might use a packet driver. Some NDIS/ODI. Some something different again.

Possibly it might make sense with very specific games (and possibly network cards), but tbh, I'd leave real networking to OSs that aren't memory-constrained.

Yeah that's why I asked for advice - I've used a network card for mTCP as well but never for network gaming. I know many games support it but wasn't sure what problems could arise. Null-modem is good but then I'll have to find a way to get the two PCs close together which is easier said than done - they're across the room from eachother now.

For IPX the same applies IMHO: messy and eats scarce conventional memory. As for the null modem cable - get a longer cable 😉

But if you want, here's a good overview.
IPX network on MS-DOS

DOS games with LAN multiplayer usually use extenders, so memory isn't scarce.
I used to play Doom 1/2 and Warcraft 2 via LAN, and don't recall any problems.

BTW: pure DOS may not be necessary - in Windows 9x, if IPX protocol is installed, it's also available in VDMs.