Copyright © 1995 InfoMedia. All rights reserved worldwide
My personal collection consists of approximately 50 such games. Many of these were played for a week or two and banished never to be seen again. However, some games have been able to stand the test of time. I always enjoy firing up Falcon 3.0, Airwarrior and Descent. Why do these games hold my interest? Many times they have random elements that keep the game fresh, other times they are so innovative they always seem new, but more likely than not, I am able to play against a human opponent(s). Unfortunately, though, it's sometimes difficult to find someone to play... not any more!
Over a year ago I met, Jim Knutson through an ad in Game Bytes magazine. I was looking for a Falcon 3.0 opponent and we were able to connect and shoot each other down a few times (we both live in the same city). What I didn't know at the time (but would shortly find out) is that Jim is the author of IHHD (Internet Head to Head Daemon).
IHHD is freeware that allows you to connect 2 computers across the Internet (through a virtual Null Modem link). IHHD caught my interest and I even joined the Air Warrior ladder. The ladder uses IHHD to play matches and so far, my most remote duel was against a guy in Australia.
During this time frame I spent a lot of time on the Internet. My explorations revealed a vast source of human opponents and new multiplayer games. This did not only include IHHD users. I found out that multiplayer gaming on the Internet has been around for quite a while.
Many of you have heard of Empire, Netrek, Xtank and others. These are the precursors to many of today's games and are still played. I enjoy firing up Netrek at lunch and average at least one game a week. I also regularly play Descent using a packet driver interface and a program called Kali. Kali allows you to play multiplayer games that support IPX (A communications protocol that most network cards support) over the Internet. This software, written by Jay Cotton, not only lets you play Descent, but has also been used with Warcraft, Doom, Terminal Velocity, and others.
As I become increasingly familiar with the Internet, I continue to find more multiplayer gaming opportunities. However, this is at a fairly high cost in time. I spend many hours browsing through gopher, wais, ftp, www, and other Internet resources. Then, after finally locating new information, the learning curve to get up and playing is quite often large. With this column, I plan on changing that.
In the following months, I will take different multiplayer gaming topics and explore them in depth. This will include Kali, IHHD, Netrek, Airwarrior, MUD's, Descent, GO, Play By Mail (PBM) and so on ... I may not cover them in this order and I may cover other multiplayer games/tools in between, but at the end of each article, you will have enough detail to link-up and play a game over the Internet.
So prepare for a long and varied trip. Gaming technology and communication technology are changing so rapidly that games supporting 2+ players are becoming very common. Now, you no longer have to go to the arcade or wait for your friend to finish dinner to fire up a rousing h2h (head to head) game. Just login to your local Internet service provider and make use of the ultimate gaming tool.
Next month, I will kick things off with a review of Kali. In following months, I will start chipping away at the backlog of topics and as new topics arise, I will attempt to cover them too. I would also like to hear from you! Please contact me with any ideas or comments. Thanks, and I look forward to jousting with you across the net!
Copyright copy; 1995 Trey Murff for InfoMedia. All rights reserved worldwide.