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Kali: IPX across the net
Welcome back to the next installation of Multiplayer Mayhem.
This month we explore a new tool that allows you to play
multiplayer games supporting IPX across the Internet. Kali,
the brain child of Jay Cotten, works with games like
Descent, Doom, and Terminal Velocity through a SLIP or PPP
Internet connection. Now... if you just read this last
sentence and went HUH?... don’t worry, these are just
different types of Internet connections. The fact that you
are reading this column means there is a 99% chance Kali
will work for you, so continue and I will start you on you
way to the wonderful world of Internet gaming with Kali.
Kali (no, not the large long haired dog) is a TSR (terminate
and stay resident) program that lets computers link together
across the Internet as if they were connected via ethernet
cables. Speed-wise, Kali can be slow because most people
connect to the Net with 14,400 bps modems. However, this is
changing. With high speed 28,800 bps modems and ISDN
(equivalent to a 64,000 bps modem), I have played 6 player
Descent games with people around the US that were as good as
if the person was sitting next to me. The dawn of a new
multiplayer gaming age is upon us and I am excited!
Jay, Mr. Kali himself, was originally infected with the
multiplayer gaming bug when he discovered Doom. Like most
people, he had a hard time locating opponents. Then he
discovered tcpsetup. This allowed him to linkup with players
across the Internet but was still very awkward. So a new
project was started and the iSERIES was born. iDOOM and
iFrag made connecting with other DOOM players across the
Internet a breeze. The poor addicted DOOMers finally had
some relief.
Then Descent hit the Internet. It was originally released as
shareware and played incredibly well across the Net using
the IHHD (Internet Head to Head Daemon which I will cover in
a future article). Descent not only supports H2H play but
also supports eight player games via a local area network
(LAN) and IPX. Unfortunately, there was nothing out there
that would support this sort of set up across the Internet,
at least not yet.
Jay began work on iDescent which was to become Kali. He
expanded the focus so Kali would support any game
(theoretically) that could be played via a LAN and IPX. Kali
has been used successfully with DOOM, DOOM II, Descent,
Virtual Pool, Rise of the Triad, Terminal Velocity,
Warcraft, PC BOLO, Superkarts and more. I have even tried
two player games of Interactive Magic’s Apache that worked
very well and now that Command and Conquer is out, I can’t
wait to try it over Kali.
Enough background, let’s get to the meat of using Kali.
First, you will need an Internet connection that supports
SLIP or PPP. If you are not sure what type of connection you
have, chances are it is one of these. If you are in doubt,
call your Internet service provider and ask them what kind
of connection you have. You will also need the dialup phone
number since many providers set it in their software and
don’t tell you. Netcrusier users are lucky since someone
was nice enough to document his experiences with Kali. You
can grab this at ftp://ftp.axxis.com/pub/kali/cruiser.faq .
One way or the other, you should start by checking out the
Kali home page at http://www.axxis.com/kali . This has links
to the required files and documentation to get Kali up and
going. Begin by viewing the documentation on the web site
and then downloading kali11g.zip from
ftp://ftp.axxis.com/pub/kali/kali11g.zip.
There are also other support files in the Kali directory
that may be required. Of these, a packet driver is the most
important. I use slipper.com which is in the slippr15.zip
archive. Check these out after reading the documentation
included in the archive. Finally, if you are still
experiencing problems setting up Kali, send a message to
JAY@calc.vet.uga.edu. Jay is extremely responsive to
problems and usually returns the message same day. You can
also send me a message at Tmurff@cris.com if you like.
Ok, now that you have the Kali archive, create a directory
like c:\kali and place the downloaded zip file(s) in it. You
can also retrieve the file(s) via ftp. Uncompress the
archives using something like PKZIP 2.04g. Now, read
kali.doc. It answers most setup questions that might arise.
This will get you started, but read on and I will describe
the steps I go through to get Kali up and running.
First, there are two files kali.cfg and wattcp.cfg that may
need editing. Since you are probably doing this for the
first time, wattcp.cfg is the only file that must be edited.
Once you register Kali, you will need to set the serial
number and key in kali.cfg. The documentation takes you
through this.
For the wattcp.cfg file, I set three things. The line with
my_ip is what I will fill in after connecting to my host, my
mask is the default 255.255.0.0, and my gateway is set
according to my host. You will need to get the correct
setting for your gateway from your Internet service
provider. This is very important and Kali will not run if
the gateway is set wrong. Just ask your Internet provider
What is the IP address of the gateway machine ?". If you
happen to use Trumpet Winsock, you can also get the gateway
from TRUMPWSK.INI . Just edit the file and look for the
line with the gateway IP address (it says something like
gateway=123.456.789.012). Once again, realize that you will
have to do all of this from DOS. Kali will not run from
Windows and I am not sure if it will run under Windows 95.
I have it pretty easy since I have a simple Slip connection.
I use a terminal emulation program like Procomm Plus Test
Drive (shareware) to dial the phone number and login with a
user id and password (from DOS, not Windows). It doesn’t
have to be PC Plus TD, any program that will let you dial
and connect to your Internet provider will work. Then at the
prompt I type ‘slip default’ followed by a carriage term. It
spits a bunch of text back at me including a number that
looks like 123.456.789.012 (different numbers of course)
which I write down so I can use it in my wattcp.cfg file
I then exit the terminal program and leave the phone line
connected. With PC Plus TD, I just exit as normal and when
it asks me to ‘Hang up the Modem’, I answer no. Now I edit
wattcp.cfg and enter the number I wrote down on the line
my_ip = the.number.you.wrote. The last thing I do is load a
packet driver for Kali. I just type ‘slipper com2
baud=57600’ remembering that the baud rate must be the same
as it was when I dialed my Internet provider. I am now ready
to connect with one of the Kali servers. I just type ‘kali
the.server.you.want’ and I am ready to enter kchat and find
a opponent.
Once Kali is up and working, you find opponents at one of
several Kali servers. These servers (documented in the Kali
archive) are free and you will not incur an additional
charge to connect with them. They are also busy. This can
slow down games if you actually play on the server. I
suggest locating an opponent (If you see me, I go by Mantis,
say HI and I will give you a lesson at Descent!) and then
setup an individual game. This is actually quite easy, but
many of the players you meet will not know how to do it.
While you are on the server and in kchat, note your IP
address and the IP address of your opponent. This will make
sense after you read kali.doc. After you write these down,
one of you agrees to host and the other will call (using
Kali, not the telephone ). The host, after leaving
kchat (explained in kali.doc), unloads Kali by typing ‘kali
/u’. The host then just runs Kali (without calling Kali
Central) by typing ‘kali’.
The person calling the host will also have to unload Kali.
They will then ‘kali the.host.ip.address’ and presto,
they’re connected. Now they can fire up and run games like
usual but the additional load of all the players on Kali
Central does not affect the connection.
After trying Kali and liking it, notice that Kali is
shareware. This means you can play a game using Kali for 15
minutes at a time before Kali goes inactive. Once you pay
the $20 registration fee (very reasonable IMHO) you will be
given a serial number and key that allows you to play
uninterrupted games. Until then, you will have to unload
Kali and reload it after the 15 minute time limit. However,
you will not have to reconnect to your Internet Service
Provider.
Also keep in mind that Kali is evolving. Not all games work
perfectly and you may experience problems. However, if you
are into Descent, Kali is very stable. Register your copy of
Kali and hopefully we will see more and more games
supported. This should be enough to get you started. If you
experience problems please feel free to drop me a line and
I’ll do what I can to help. Until next month, have fun!
Copyright © 1995 Trey Murff for InfoMedia. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1995 InfoMedia.
All rights reserved worldwide