Rage of Mages II: Necromancer ============================== Dedicated Internet Server Pack ============================== Contents: I. Overview II. Installation III. Playing on a Server A. Logging in 1. Connect to web page 2. Connect to Hat a. Enter URL b. Cooperative game or arena c. Login and Password d. character selection e. server selection B. Cooperative Play 1. Leaving the Game 2. Quest Maps C. Arena Play IV. Running a Server A. Requirements 1. Running a Stable Server a. hardware b. software c. "restart after crash" mode d. running multiple servers 2. Signing up with the Hat Master Server B. Setup 1. Editing the server1.cfg a. filenames b. IP addresses c. game parameters d. banning players e. creating a map rotation 2. Using the Server Interface a. server display b. server options ----------------------------------------------------------- I. Overview This Rage of Mages II (ROM2) dedicated server pack significantly enhances ROM2 Internet performance, stability and security while vastly increasing the play variety by introducing new game play types and a large selection of specially designed multiplayer maps. With the dedicated server pack you will be able to create ROM2 multiplayer characters and store them on a master server, called "Hat." Logging on to Hat will give you access to your characters and the list of currently available dedicated game servers, allowing you to find and join multiplayer games easily. This text file covers the changes made by the server pack to the standard ROM2 multiplayer game. Players who wish to play on the new dedicated servers should read up through section III, "Playing on a Server." Those interested in hosting their own server should also read section IV, "Running a Server." II. Installation You will need a utility capable of extracting ".zip" archives in order to install the dedicated server pack. Installation is simply a matter of extracting the dedicated server .zip to your Rage of Mages 2 directory. Click "Yes" when asked if you want to overwrite files. The server pack is fully installed once all the files in the archive had successfully copied into your Rage of Mages 2 game directory. III. Playing on a Server A. Logging In Open the login screen by clicking the globe icon named "SERVER" on the right side of the ROM2 main menu. Here you can select to download a list of hosted (non-dedicated) servers via the "Connect to web page" option or to log in to the dedicated "Hat" master server via the "Connect to Hat" option. 1. Connect to web page Selecting this option will allow you to download a list of active, non-dedicated servers just as you could before you installed the dedicated server pack. Consult your ROM2 manual for information on playing this type of multiplayer game. 2. Connect to Hat This option allows you to log in to a dedicated master server, or "Hat." Hat keeps track of all ROM2 multiplayer characters and dedicated servers. You must log in to Hat in order to play on a ROM2 dedicated server. a. Enter URL Once you click the "Connect to Hat" button you must enter in a Hat Internet IP address in the "Enter URL" field. Go to http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp to find the IP address (a number in the form of xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) of the Monolith Hat server. b. Cooperative game or Arena Select the game type you wish to play. "Cooperative" and "Arena" modes are discussed in detail in sections B and C below. c. Login and Password Access to a Hat master server requires a valid user login and password. These will be given to you after you sign up for a new player account on the ROM2 site at http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp - you must sign up on this web page before you can log in to Hat. Be sure to keep track of the Player ID and password you choose when you sign up, and enter them in the Login and Password fields on the Connect to Hat screen. Check the "Save last login and password" box if you don't want to have to enter your login and password each time you log in. Click the "Ok" button at the bottom to log in to Hat. d. character selection If you have entered a valid login and password you will see ROM2 connect to Hat and download any multiplayer characters you have made on that Hat server. You can have up to 16 characters stored at once on a Hat server. The character generation and selection process is otherwise identical to the pre-dedicated server version of ROM2. e. server selection After you choose your character, Hat will show you a list of active servers of the type you selected on the login screen, Cooperative or Arena. Highlight the server you wish to join and click the "Ok" button. If you do not see a server you wish to join you can hit the "Refresh" button periodically to download an updated server list from Hat. If the server you selected is hosting a level that you do not have, the level will download automatically. B. Cooperative Play Cooperative mode on a dedicated server has several new functions but is otherwise identical to previous versions of ROM2 multiplayer, where characters gain skills and treasure by slaying monsters and completing quests. The two additions with the dedicated server pack are new ways of exiting a game session and special "Quest" maps. 1. Leaving the Game If you exit to Windows or the ROM2 main menu directly from within a ROM2 dedicated server session your character will remain standing in the map for thirty seconds, during which time they can be attacked and killed. If you rejoin the server during this period you will regain control of your character where you left them. If you do not rejoin within thirty seconds the server will remove your character and upload your updated character file to the Hat master server, ready for you to use in your next dedicated server session. There are several ways to have the server remove and save your character immediately if you do not want to leave your character in the map for thirty seconds after you disconnect: a. the Church Most towns in ROM2 multiplayer maps have a Church, a large wooden structure with a steeple and smoke coming from the chimney. Clicking on a Church will return you to the Hat login screen as the server immediately removes your character from the map and saves the data to Hat. b. Make Camp If you would like to exit the map safely but do not have easy access to a Church you can tell your character to "Make Camp." Hit your ESC key to open the options menu, select "End Quest" and then "Make Camp" on the new menu that appears. A 30-second countdown will appear in the upper left corner of the screen, during which time you retain control of your character. If your character takes action or gets attacked the countdown will abort and you will have to "Make Camp" again. When the countdown reaches zero the game returns to the Hat login screen as the server removes your character from the map and saves the updated character data to Hat. 2. Quest Maps Some of the new maps that come with the dedicated server pack are special "Quest" maps. Quest maps have no inn, one shop selling only scrolls and potions, and a limited number of pre-defined quest items that can only be gotten by defeating specific, high level monsters. Once defeated, the enemies in Quest maps will not re-spawn for several hours. The shop will only pay one coin for quest items as these rare, powerful artifacts are meant to be used rather than sold. C. Arena Play Arena mode gives you the chance to test the character you built up through Cooperative play in battle against other player's characters without having to worry about them losing experience or possessions. There are no quests available in Arena mode and your character does not gain experience for slaying monsters, nor do they lose experience or drop their items when killed as would happen in a Cooperative game. The object of Arena matches is to have the highest score of all the players by the end of the game. You receive one point each time you kill, or "frag," another player's character. You lose a point each time the computer-controlled monsters kill you. The final score for all players will be shown at the end of each match when the time or frag limit specified by the server has been reached. You can view the current scoreboard or "frag table" at any time during the match by pressing the [F2] key. You may still collect treasure and buy or sell items in shops in Arena mode. Although any healing potions your character had in cooperative mode will not carry over to Arena mode, you can buy new healing potions in the shops. Keep an eye out for large treasure bags scattered at random about the landscape, these contain powerful items that can be used or sold. Because Arena mode does not save your character you will not have any of the items or money you acquire during Arena mode the next time you join the server, so use them to your best advantage while you can. Since the server won't save your character to Hat you can quit the game safely at any time by simply exiting to Windows or returning to the ROM2 main menu, though you can still leave by clicking on a Church if you like. There is no "Make Camp" function in Arena mode. IV. Running a Server This section discusses the details of running your own ROM2 Internet server. If you do not intend to run a server there is no need to read this section though as a player on these servers you may find it informative. A. Requirements 1. Running a Stable Server Players will not want to use your server unless it offers a fun, reliable place to play. Before hosting a server, make sure that your system can meet the following specifications. a. hardware You will need a static IP address to run a ROM2 server. Your server machine should meet the minimum ROM2 system requirements. It is recommended that you have an ISDN or faster Internet connection; the faster your connection, the more players will be able to enjoy good Internet performance while playing on your server. b. software The ROM2 server requires Windows 95 or 98 with Winsock 2 and DirectX 6.1 or above and a standard TCP/IP Internet connection. You should not run other applications while running the dedicated server program as this will degrade the performance of your server. c. "restart after crash" mode Do not launch the server by running the rom2server.exe. The server requires a script file for launch which is included in the dedicated server pack as "server.bat." It is recommended that you use this script to launch the server, though you can make your own .bat script file as long as it conforms to the following format :label start /w a2server.exe -cfg"server1.cfg" if errorlevel -1 goto label where "server1.cfg" is the name of the configuration file with your server settings. These settings will be explained in the "Setup" section below. The script opens a MS-DOS window behind the ROM2 server window. Leave this DOS window open while your server runs--it will restart the server automatically in the event of a crash, saving the character data of any players using the server at the time of the crash. d. running multiple servers A standard Pentium II computer can run up to four servers simultaneously at optimum levels of performance provided that it is supplied with an adequate Internet connection. Each server will need its own .bat and .cfg files, with the .bat script including the name of the .cfg file. See the next section for more information on editing the ROM2 dedicated server .cfg files. 2. Signing up with the Hat Master Server To run a server you must first register it with the Hat Master Server. You can do this on Monolith's ROM2 multiplayer page at http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp through a simple web interface. When you sign up you will need to know your IP address. See part 1.b. of the "B. Setup" section below for details on finding and using your computer's IP address. B. Setup 1. Editing the server1.cfg You must edit the server1.cfg file to configure your server for Internet play. This is a short ASCII file which you can edit in any text editor such as Windows' Notepad. If you are running multiple servers you will need a unique .cfg file for each server. a. filenames You must set paths for a log file and a character storage directory in the .cfg file. It is suggested that you leave these set to the default values. The defaults are: LogFile=server1.log The server logs activity notices to this ASCII file. If you are running multiple servers on the same machine each one must use a unique LogFile. ChrBase=chr1\ Server stores character data to this directory temporarily during game play, before uploading it to Hat. The server will create this directory if it is not present when you launch the server. If you are running multiple servers on the same machine each one must use a unique ChrBase directory. b. IP addresses You will have to enter in the IP addresses of your server and the Hat master server that you wish to use. The default IP values are: HatAddress=192.168.0.104 You will find the current Hat IP address listed at http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp - you must enter this exact address here. IPAddress=192.168.0.104:8001 This is the IP address used by clients to find your server. This is actually handled through Hat, so players will not have to enter in the IP address manually. Your computer is assigned an IP address each time it connects to the Internet. You can find your IP address by going to the Windows Start Menu, selecting Run... and entering "winipcfg" (without the quotes) in the Open field. The ":8001" at the end of the default value specifies the port number the server will use to communicate; this is an arbitrary number but it is suggested that you leave it at the default value to avoid conflicts with other applications. If you are running more than one server on the same system, add 2 for each additional server: server number two should use port 8003, server number three should use 8005, and so on. IPAddress2=192.168.0.104:8002 This is the IP address that you must enter when you register your server in the ROM2 multiplayer page ( http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp ). It should be the same as what you entered for "IPAddress1" except for the port number, 8002. If you are running multiple servers add 2 for each additional server: server number two would use port 8004, server number three would use port 8006, and so on. c. game parameters The following variables affect various aspects of play on your server. It is suggested that you keep the default settings until you become thoroughly acquainted with the game play as certain values can easily make your server unpleasant for players. RepopDelay=100 RepopDelay sets how long it takes monsters to re- spawn after they die. This value can range from 20 to 500; settings below 100 cause monsters to re- spawn more quickly, settings higher than 100 cause the monsters to re-spawn more slowly. Since the dedicated server maps have been balanced for RepopDelay=100 it is recommended that you leave this setting at the default value for cooperative play. GameSpeed=4 Sets the default speed of the game. "4" corresponds to the single-player default speed, while "0" is the slowest and "8" is the fastest. Because increasing the speed will also increase the amount of data the game has to exchange, it is recommended that you leave the setting at 4 for normal Internet Cooperative play and no higher than 6 for Arena mode. LAN-based network games should be able to handle the maximum speed of 8 without any noticeable lag. SayRange=256 Controls how far apart characters can stand, in map tiles, and still receive each other's text messages. Set this lower if you want players to encourage players to stick together but be aware that this can make player communication difficult, though they can still communicate at greater distances by "shouting." Because the largest maps are 256 tiles per side, raising this number above 256 will have no effect. ShoutDelay=20 This is the time, in seconds, that players will have to wait before they can "shout" again. MaxPlayers=16 This sets the maximum number of players that the server will allow in the game at any one time. This can range from 1 to 16, more players require more processing time and network bandwidth. GameType=COOPERATIVE This determines the play mode; enter either "cooperative" or "arena" here. FragLimit=20 An Arena mode game will reset when any player matches this score. This setting has no effect in cooperative mode. ArenaTimeLimit=20 An Arena mode game will reset after the specified number of minutes. This setting has no effect in cooperative mode. TreasureProbability=100 This represents the percentage chance that a monster will drop one or more items when killed. Values of 20 to 50 are recommended for cooperative "Quest" maps. d. banning characters You can prevent specific characters from joining the server by entering their Name (but not their Clan) in a single-column list underneath the "[BannedPlayers]" heading. e. creating a map rotation List the filenames of the maps you want your server to host, complete with the ".alm" suffix, in a single column underneath the "[Maps]" heading. While you can use the regular ROM2 multiplayer maps, the 23 new maps that come with this dedicated server pack have been specifically designed for dedicated server Internet play. There are 16 standard maps in four groups, each group having one map per skill level, in addition to 7 maps designed specifically for "Quest" cooperative play: Group 1 raptors.alm - EASY monsters.alm - MEDIUM dsand.alm - HARD forbland.alm - HORROR Group 2 wsdesert.alm - EASY wsenigma.alm - MEDIUM wsordeal.alm - HARD wsruined.alm - HORROR Group 3 nival.alm - EASY judas.alm - MEDIUM middle.alm - HARD heaven.alm - HORROR Group 4 road.alm - EASY valley2.alm - MEDIUM tmortis.alm - HARD life.alm - HORROR Quest Maps inter.alm - MEDIUM rodion.alm - HORROR havec.alm - HORROR astral.alm - HORROR tod.alm - HORROR formicat.alm - HARD raraavis.alm - HORROR If you list more than one map you must add "=X" after each map filename where "X" equals the number of hours that map will be hosted before the server switches to the next map down in the list. The server will go through the list from top to bottom, starting over at the top when the time limit for the last map expires. For instance [Maps] raptors.alm=1 road.alm=3 nival.alm=2 would cause the server to host raptors.alm for one hour followed by road.alm for three hours and nival.alm for two hours, after which the server would begin again with raptors.alm. Although the server gives extensive warning time before switching the map it is still possible that a player could have some items laying on the ground when the map switches, in which case the player will lost the items permanently. For this reason it is recommended that you only rotate maps when running in Arena mode. 2. Using the Server Interface a. server display The dedicated server runs in a window on your desktop. The list of connected players appears on the left side. Clicking on a player name will display details about that player and their activity in the panel to the right. The lower panel displays a log of server activity, and the single-row panel at the very bottom is a chat interface; text entered here will be visible to all players. b. server options Open the server control panel by clicking on the "Options" listing on the top menu bar. A small window appears with several buttons: Game speed This changes the GameSpeed from the default setting specified in the server1.cfg. You can change the game speed at any time by clicking the "-" and "+" buttons to raise or lower the setting. Kick player Highlight a player name in the server display and click this button to remove them from your server. They will be able to rejoin until you add their name to the [BannedPlayers] section of the server1.cfg and restart the server. Shutdown Use the Shutdown controls to close down the dedicated server, rather than the [X] close window button or ALT-F4, to assure that Hat will properly receive all updated player character data. The "Now!" button will shut the server down immediately without warning the players. If you want to give players a warning of impending shutdown, enter a countdown number in the "minutes" field and click the "In" button--the server will automatically shut down after the number of minutes specified, sending increasingly frequent warnings to any connected players as shutdown approaches. Use the "Cancel" button to cancel the countdown. In the event that your server becomes unexpectedly disconnected from the Hat master server, clicking the "Reconnect to Hat" button will attempt to reconnect you instantly though the server will also attempt to reconnect on its own at regular intervals. Copyright ©1999 Monolith Productions. All rights reserved.