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Can
you tell me what the multiplayer network options are?
Steel Beasts plays well over LAN, direct modem connection, and Internet
(TCP/IP). There is no inherent limit to the number of players per
session that we are aware of. Provided the right hardware is
available (fast host computer and DSL/cable modem), up to 16 players in
a single game have been reported to us without problems (the clients may
be connected via 33.6K modem to the host in such an environment).
Depending on scenario size and host computer speed, a conventional 64K
ISDN connection is enough to host a game of about six players plus
additional voice over IP traffic hassle free. Yes, we're proud of such a
robust multiplayer engine! :)
Multiplayer games allow cooperative mode (two human players as gunner
and tank commander in a single tank, up to eight players in the same
platoon, or many players occupying various positions in different
platoons). You can also play "force on force" (one team versus
another one), deathmatch, etc. There is no limitation to play special
multiplayer missions; single-player missions can also be played. On top
of this, the powerful but easy-to-use scenario editor will allow you to
modify any scenario to your special needs, or to create scenarios from
scratch.
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Can
you tell me, from the first step to the last, how I can play Steel
Beasts online via the Internet?
1) Basic Info:
In Steel Beasts, you can either host a game (others will connect to your
computer), or you can be the client, in which case you join somebody
else's game.
2) Meet Other Players
First, you must meet other players. This obviously requires being
connected to the internet (I presume you know how to connect to the
internet, so I'll skip all details relating to the dial-up network). See
the next FAQ to see
where you can find a game and other players.
3) IP-Numbers
When connecting to the internet, every computer needs a network address
so that a communication between computers can take place (it's like
sending letters: You write the address of the recipient on the envelope,
and add your own address so that the other one can send you a reply).
Internet addresses consist of a series of numbers divided by dots, e.g.
62.192.215.10 They are called IP-Numbers (IP is an abbreviation of
"Internet Protocol," part of the "TCP/IP-network"
protocol). Normally, you get a new number every time you connect to the
internet (at least if you use the dial-up network).
3a) Hosting the Game
If you are the host of the game, you must tell your friends your IP
number. Here are two methods to find out what your IP number is.
i. Click "Start -> Run", then enter "winipcfg". A
window will pop up which lists your IP number; the number is 0.0.0.0 as
long as you are neither connected to the internet nor to a different
TCP/IP-based local area net. If you are connected to the internet, it
will show you your current IP address.
ii. Run Steel Beasts. In the main menu, select "Multiplayer",
and use the default setting to be the host of the game. At the bottom of
that screen Steel Beasts shows your IP address. You will need to change
back to your internet browser, and type that number into the chat screen
of your internet browser so your friends will know where to look for the
game.
3b) Connecting to a Host
If you are the client of a game, you need to know the IP-address of your
friend who is hosting the game. Run Steel Beasts. In the main menu,
select "Multiplayer", and in the next screen
"client" (as opposed to the default setting of being the
host). In the right corner, you can now enter the IP-address of your
friend, then click "search". After a short time, the session
of your friend will appear (usually labeled with his call sign. If you
connected to my computer, you'd read "Ssnake's session").
Basically, you're done now. (Well, you actually play the game from this
point out.) Check the manual for more information.
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Where
can I find a multiplayer game?
There's no one central location on the web. Here are some options
that are available at the time of this writing.
1) You can try the tanksim.com steel beasts chat room here.
This requires a Java enabled browser; which is the default setting for
most browsers. However, your system administrator may have disabled it.
Contact him if the browser doesn't show the login screen after a while
(it takes some time to download and activate the Java applet). The chat
room is not always busy. You may want to enter it, and hang out there
for a while. You could surf the web in another window of your browser in
the meantime.
2) You can see who is online in another fan site here.
3) There's a location for German SB players here.
4) Some people buy Kali and hook up at the SimHQ's
Kali Server #61.
5) Many people who play SB online circulate their ICQ
numbers to each other and start up a game that way. To post your ICQ
number at SteelBeasts.com and also to find other ICQ numbers to add to
your list go here.
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I need IPX installed to play on Kali, but I don't see IPX listed as a
service in SB multiplayer. How do I install IPX on my Windows
system?
- Right click on Network Neighborhood and select "Properties."
- Click on "Add"
- Select "Protocol" and click on "Add"
- On the left pane, select "Microsoft." On the right pane
select "IPX..." then click OK
After that, it should install it and ask you to reboot your system.
You might need the Windows CD ROM, but probably not
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I'm
having problems joining multiplayer game. I have multiple computers
connected to the Internet using only one connection. Is that the
problem?
It very likely is! If you are running Microsoft's Internet Connection
Sharing (ICS) on your PCs -- or any other Network Address
Translation-based (NAT) solution -- you will most likely have problems
with multiplayer games. Check out Microsoft's document # Q236429 (Problems
Joining Games Using Internet Connection Sharing)
in their knowledge base. To resolve this issue, disable ICS, and then
connect each computer to the Internet
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I
connect to the Internet through a router, but I can't player multiplayer
games in SB. What can I do to make it work?
The following solution was provided by Larry Hookins:
If you have a Linksys router there are certain things
you have to do to get Steel Beasts to work in multiplayer.
Otherwise the firewall built into the router will block the Internet
messages you need to run the multiplayer session.
The easiest thing to do is to put your game computer in the router's
"DMZ." The demilitarized zone allows all incoming Internet
messages to be forwarded to one computer. To put a computer into
the DMZ, open your router's admin screen (see the router documentation
to find out how to do this), and select the Advanced tab. On the
Advanced screen, select the DMZ tab. Enter the IP address of your
game computer, and click on Apply. Don't forget to set the IP
address for the DMZ computer back to Zero after you're done gaming.
A little harder to set up, but much more secure, is to
forward the ports that Steel Beasts uses. This means that all
incoming Internet traffic that wants to go to Steel Beasts will be
forwarded to your gaming computer, and all other unauthorized traffic
will still be blocked.
To forward the necessary ports, Open the router's
admin screen, select the Advanced tab, then on the Advanced page select
the Forwarding tab. If you don't specify a port number in SB, then
in the Service Port Range, on the first line put 47624 in both boxes,
and your gaming computer's IP address in the box provided. On the
second line, put 2300 in the first box, 2400 in the second, and your
computer's IP address in the box provided. Just leave both lines
Protocol box at "Both". Then click on Apply. What
you have done is forwarded all incoming messages for DirectPlay to your
gaming computer. The ports used by the DirectPlay version used in
Steel Beasts (DirectX7) are 47624 and the range from 2300 to 2400, if
you choose to leave the port number blank in SB.
If you do specify a single port in SB (available
in v1.17 and greater), then only one port needs to be forwarded,
and that's the one you intend to use. For example, if you are
going to be using port 2350 (coordinate this with your opponent first),
then set both port numbers to 2350 and the IP address to that of your
computer on the forwarding screen. After changing the port
forwarding, I'd recommend rebooting before you start the game.
When you are finished playing, always turn off port
forwarding by setting the computer number to zero rather than your
gaming computer's IP address for both sets of ports.
I originally thought that you had to select Disable on Block WAN
Requests, but you may ignore this -- leave it at the default Enabled for
safety.
I have found no way to get Steel Beasts working with the ZoneAlarm
firewall. You will probably have to shut ZoneAlarm down for the duration
of your gaming session. Even setting the Security to Low did not
help. Don't forget to run ZoneAlarm after you are finished gaming
if you shut it down.
If you leave ZoneAlarm running, your screen may mess up when you click
on Multiplayer in Steel Beasts. What's happening is that ZoneAlarm
is trying to display a dialog box asking if it's ok for SB to access the
Internet. If the box does not show up, click around the lower part
of your screen until you hit the invisible "OK" button.
Otherwise you will probably have to hit reset on your computer.
If you still cannot connect, you might have better luck if both machines
reboot before you try again.
This works for Linksys routers. Netgear routers probably have
similar settings that you can try. If anyone has a Netgear router,
let us know the steps to get Steel Beasts to work.
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