<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<html>
<head>
<meta name="generator"
content="HTML Tidy for Linux/x86 (vers 1st July 2002), see www.w3.org" />
<!-- $Id: network.html 2703 2007-07-13 16:58:57Z cleka $ -->
<title>Colossus network play</title>
</head>
<body>
<h2>Networked Colossus</h2>
<p>Colossus is now playable over a TCP/IP network. However, the network
functionality is still not perfectly stable (it has improved a lot
recently, i.e. since beginning of 2007), and the setup of a networked
game is not overly easy-to-use or user-friendly. And turn-based games
are inherently brittle -- if one player stops moving or drops his
connection, then the game is ruined for everybody. (For now --
we'll add the ability to reconnect or have an AI take over later.)
So I recommend starting with 2-player games rather than 6-player
games.</p>
<p>One person needs to run the server; his computer has to be
reachable for the clients (see below). Currently, Colossus servers
are short-lived, staying up only for the length of one game.</p>
<p>The server operator simply starts the game as usual, using Java Web
Start or the <b>run</b> script for a local copy. The startup dialog
should appear, allowing you to set the variant, optional rules,
and how many players of which types you want. Human players are local
to the server machine. Network players are remote. Press the
"New game" button. The game will wait for *exactly* the number
of network players you specify, before the actual game starts and the
masterboard(s) appear.
If you have a local copy of the game you can use command-line options
instead. Use
<b>run -h</b> to see them.
</p>
<p>A server progress startup dialog (recently added, 2007) shows the
progress which clients (their IP and player name) have already
successfully connected. For practicing purposes, I recommend to start
with a server and one "remote" player, but running that network client
on the same machine.
<p>Each client needs to wait for the server to be started, then run
the <b>runclient</b> script or start the game from Java Web Start and
select "Run network client" from the startup dialog.
This will pop up a
small dialog that lets you enter a player name, hostname, and port. The
player name will default to your OS user name. The server host will
default to the local machine, which probably isn't what you want
unless you're doing loopback testing. You can use the IP address
instead of the hostname if you prefer. Most servers will use the
default port. Again, you can use command-line options instead.
<b>runclient -h</b> to see them.</p>
<P>If server is started, startup progress log appeared, and all remote
players claim "I have started the client!", but still nothing happens
(= MasterBoard window does not appear), check from the startup progress log which clients have successfully connected. The one(s)
missing there should restart his client.
<P>If really nothing helps, you can press the "Abort" button
in the bottom of the progress startup dialog to cleanup
everything. (Otherwise, it might happen that some threads stay
running, and perhaps keep the Port occupied; then it's
laborous to kill the Java process manually.)
<p>Once all the clients have connected, then the game should start up
like a normal Colossus game. When the game ends you can use the
<B>File</B> - <B>New Game</B> menu option to start another one,
but all the clients will be quit and they have to start connecting
using the same procedure as initially.
</p>
<h2>FAQ</h2>
<ul>
<li>How do I find opponents?
<p>There used to be an IRC channel, but it's dead. Sorry. We
should update this document if someone starts a new one.</p></li>
<li>What about firewalls?
<p>The server accepts connections from clients on port 26567 (used
for game traffic) and 26568 (used to serve files
[[is that still true??]]). Return traffic
is piggybacked on the same sockets rather than opening more. So
client machines only need the ability to connect out on those
ports, while server machines need a publicly visible IP address
with those ports visible through the firewall.</p></li>
<li>If a network game crashes, can I reload it?
<p>Yes, but the procedure is complicated. The server operator needs
to load the game, then the other players need to rejoin in the
exact same order as before. This is much easier to coordinate if
you use an external chat application, like IRC or an instant
messenger client.</p></li>
</ul>
</body>
</html>
distrib
>
Fedora
>
14
>
x86_64
>
media
>
updates
>
by-pkgid
>
c2689b4ec379fa0c27c46f80bcedfcf3
>
files
>
34
