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Multiplayer FAQ
Contents
What type of multiplayer games are there?
How to host a modem based server
How to host a LAN based server
How to connect to a multiplayer game through LAN
How to connect to a multiplayer game through the Internet
How to connect to a multiplayer game through Gamespy Arcade
I am behind a firewall, what ports do I need to open to play the game?
How do I find out the IP address of the host machine?
I am an advanced user. How do I set the port for my client/server?
What type of multiplayer games are there?
Red Ace Squadron supports two types of multiplayer game. First there is the LAN game or Local Area Network. This type of game is usually played when all the participants are connected over the same computer network.
Then there is the Internet game, this is played when you wish to connect to games that are not within your own network. Internet games may suffer from reduced performance if connection speeds are poor.
How to host a modem based server
The modem-based server differs from the LAN based server in one way. The modem-based server will only support 4 players where as the LAN server will support 8 players. This is because generally modems cannot handle the amount of traffic that the game generates for 8 players.
You should run this server if your Internet connection is through a 56k modem.
To start modem-based servers please follow these instructions.
- Go to Start Menu/Programs/SmallRockets/Red Ace Squadron.
- Select 'Run Modem Red Ace Server'.
- A window will open and this means that the server program is running.
- Now all you need to do is provide the IP address of the host machine to those people you wish to have join your server.
How to host a LAN based server
The LAN-based server differs from the modem-based server in one way. The LAN-based server will support 8 players.
You should run this server if your Internet connection is through a broadband connection.
To start LAN-based servers please follow these instructions.
- Go to Start Menu/Programs/SmallRockets/Red Ace Squadron.
- Select 'Run LAN Red Ace Server'.
- A window will open and this means that the server program is running.
- Now all you need to do is provide the IP address of the host machine to those people you wish to have join your server if they are connecting over the Internet. If they are connecting from within the LAN itself they only need to select LAN Connect from the games Multiplayer menu.
How to connect to a multiplayer game through LAN
First of all one machine on the LAN must be running the LAN server of the game. You can find detail on how to start a LAN server here.
- When the LAN server is running all people wishing to play the game should run the Red Ace Squadron software and go to the multiplayer menu.
- To join the game select LAN Connect and the game should automatically connect the player to the server.
- If the player cannot connect to the LAN server, then provide them with the IP address of the host machine and enter it into the CHANGE SERVER IP section of the Multiplayer menu.
- Then try connecting using the INTERNET CONNECT option.
How to connect to a multiplayer game through the Internet
In order to connect to a multiplayer game through the Internet you will need to know the IP Address of the machine that is running the server you are trying to connect to.
In order to find out the IP Address of a machine please read the instructions detailed here.
- Once you have the IP Address of the host machine start up the Red Ace Squadron software and go to the Multiplayer menu.
- Select CHANGE SERVER IP and enter the host's IP Address and hit RETURN
- Now select INTERNET CONNECT and the game should connect to the server.
How to connect to a multiplayer game through Gamespy Arcade
You can easily connect to multiplayer servers by using some software called Gamespy Arcade. To find out more information about Gamespy Arcade please go to the following website - http://www.gamespyarcade.com
In order to use Gamespy Arcade with Red Ace Squadron you will need to have it installed on your system. You can download a trial version of the game from here http://www.gamespyarcade.com/download/
Once this software is installed on your system start it up and log into it. When it has loaded completely go to the File menu at he top of the screen and select scan for games. This will scan your system and find where you have Red Ace Squadron installed.
Once the scan has finished close down the software and restart it. Now when it loads you should see an icon for Red Ace Squadron on the menu bar to the left. Click on this and it will take you to a lobby area for the game. This lobby area will display all the current available servers to play on, it will also allow you to chat with other players and set up games.
To join a game just highlight it in the list of servers and click join. The Gamespy software will automatically launch the Red Ace Squadron software and you will be flying and shooting down bad guys in no time.
I am behind a firewall - what ports do I need to open to play the game?
Multiplayer requires certain network ports are open (to access from the outside world).
In most cases, if you are playing at home, you will not need to worry about this information. Unless you are running personal firewall software.
The ports that you need to open are the following:
- If you are running a server you need to ensure port 6114 is open both ways for TCP and UDP.
- If you are just running the client you need to ensure port 6113 is open both ways for TCP and UDP.
- If you are unsure how to do this, please contact your network administrator / Internet service provider.
How do I find out the IP address of the host machine?
If you do not know the IP Address of the machine you are trying to run the server on here are some instructions on how to obtain the IP Address
- Go to Start Menu/Run
- Type COMMAND into the box and hit RETURN
- A DOS prompt will open up. At the command line type IPCONFIG
- Some numbers will be displayed on the screen. What you are looking for is a line name IP ADDRESS, the number on this line is the IP address of the machine.
I am an advanced user. How do I set the port for my client/server?
The server port can be specified on the command line like so:
ACENET_SERVER_RELEASE.EXE LAN_ModemGame PortID GameSpyNotification
- LAN_ModemGame is TRUE or FALSE and specifies whether the game is LAN or modem based, this changes some internal settings for a better mutliplayer update over modem.
- PortID is a user defined port id
- GameSpyNotification , if this TRUE will startup up the server and notify GameSpy services of its presence to allow users to connect through GameSpy.
i.e.
ACENET_SERVER_RELEASE.EXE TRUE 6000 TRUE
The client can also have the specific port it should attach to defined like so
ACENET_CLIENT_RELEASE.EXE -CLIENT IpAddress PortID
If the game starts up with no command line parameters then if the player wishes to connect to a multiplayer game it will select the first session it finds at the given ip address. This allowsmultiple instances of a server to run on a single machine.
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