NetKeen help

[loop4ever]

I really like NetKeen and would really like to play it with my siblings in the same local network. Sadly, I've tried following all the instructions, yet I still feel completely lost. Could someone help me, and show me how you set up a NetKeen game on a local network?? Pleas! It's actually pretty difficult to find instructions on doing this within your local network.

Here are 3 things I should note:
1. I'm planning on doing this with my two Windows 10 laptops, they both have DOSBox and Netkeen installed.
2. Since I'm planning on doing this with laptops, I will be using a wireless network.
3. I've already read these instructions, but I still need help. None of this has worked for me http://www.shikadi.net/keenwiki/NetKeen ... ng_Netkeen

That's all, let me know if you guys have any questions.

I've tried watching a video tutorial on this and reading the instructions, but for some reason something always goes wrong. I would greatly appreciate anyone's help.

[keenmaster486]

Do you have NKLAUNCH or are you starting it manually? If manually, you need to run IPX commands in DOSBox to connect the two together before trying to run Netkeen.

1. Is ipx set to “true” in DOSBox.conf on both machines?

2. Do you know what the IP address of each machine is and are you using that in NKLAUNCH?

[troublesomekeen]

It's been a while! I have to relearn this myself. Remind me to make the Ultimate Video Guide (Gold Edition) on this because I have the computers and cameras to do it.

I think after the ipx connection is setup in DosBox, the rest goes something like this:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2597&start=30

[Nisaba]

[...] Remind me to make the Ultimate Video Guide [...]
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2597&start=30

please allow me to remind you to make the Ultimate Video Guide.

[loop4ever]

2. Do you know what the IP address of each machine is and are you using that in NKLAUNCH?

Yes, I've got both of the machines IP addresses. I tried doing it with NKLAUNCH, didn't work. I'm not 100% sure I'm using it correctly though. I'm not exactly sure how you use it, but I think I did it correctly. I also tried to do it without NKLAUNCH, but again, I'm not 100% sure I'm doing that correctly either.

1. Is ipx set to “true” in DOSBox.conf on both machines?

Yes, I set it on "true" on both of my machines.

It's been a while! I have to relearn this myself. Remind me to make the Ultimate Video Guide (Gold Edition) on this because I have the computers and cameras to do it.

I think after the ipx connection is setup in DosBox, the rest goes something like this:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2597&start=30

Thanks a lot! Unfortunately, I haven't even gone past all the ipx stuff. Also, please make the Ultimate Video Guide (Gold Edition)!!!!

[proYorp]

Personally, I recommend using commands to start the game instead of NKlaunch. I’ve had problems with NKlaunch in the past, plus it does not use the correct game switches for Keen Dreams meaning you won’t be able to run Dreams NetKeen with it.

Unfortunately, I haven't even gone past all the ipx stuff.

A few tips from my experience off the top of my head:
1) Edit: The following paragraph is actually false, should've tested first to make sure my memory was accurate. When using the STARTSERVER command on the host computer, you must supply your local IP address and a port (even if it’s only over LAN, in my experience it won’t work without giving it a port to use). The most frequently used port number for NetKeen is 3140. (Then, use the same IP and port to connect from the other computer.)
What the italicized paragraph should have said: It is possible for the host to use a specific port even over LAN. If you do this, make sure the client(s) also specify this port when connecting.

2) One computer has to be the host for both IPXNET and NetKeen. If one computer is hosting IPXNET and the other tries to host a game, the NetKeen connection doesn’t go through.

3) Have all computers connect to IPXNET and confirm they are connected before trying to start NetKeen.



Could you post the commands you’ve been using? It’s always possible there could be a small syntax error that may be hard to notice if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

[loop4ever]

Thanks for all the tips!!

I've already got it working though! I have no idea what I had been doing wrong, I must've not been typing something correctly or something. I still wanna post the commands I'm using to get it to work; it might be helpful for anyone else that runs into trouble.

1) When using the STARTSERVER command on the host computer, you must supply your local IP address and a port (even if it’s only over LAN, in my experience it won’t work without giving it a port to use). The most frequently used port number for NetKeen is 3140. (Then, use the same IP and port to connect from the other computer.)

Hmm... interesting. I did it but without using any port, or my IP address.

[proYorp]

1) When using the STARTSERVER command on the host computer, you must supply your local IP address and a port (even if it’s only over LAN, in my experience it won’t work without giving it a port to use). The most frequently used port number for NetKeen is 3140. (Then, use the same IP and port to connect from the other computer.)

Hmm... interesting. I did it but without using any port, or my IP address.

Okay, it seems I remembered wrong, should've tested beforehand lol.

The command "IPXNET STARTSERVER" actually doesn't accept an IP address, only a port. For instance:

Code: Select all

IPXNET STARTSERVER 3140

If you don't supply a port number, it will just use the default port of 213.

However, the command "IPXNET CONNECT" requires an IP address, or it will simply give the error "IPX Server address not specified." Additionally, if the server is using a port other than the default of 213, it will hang for a second before giving the error "IPX Tunneling Client failed to connect to server at [specified IP]." In which case, the appropriate command would be "IPXNET CONNECT [IP Address of Host] [Port of Host]".
For example, if we were to try to connect a client to our example server above (pretending it has the local IP address of 192.168.0.157) then the command would look like this:

Code: Select all

IPXNET CONNECT 192.168.0.157 3140

I just did some tests using two instances of DOSBox on a single computer (don't have a second computer to test with currently) and it was able to connect without supplying a port number in either command. Not sure how many things are affected by the fact that it was on the one computer (aside from the fact that using two computers would require using the actual network IP of the host rather than the default 127.0.0.1).

After my experiments I think the problem I'd had before which I was referencing must have actually been caused by the host using a non-default port which caused my client to not be able to connect without also using said port. Sounds obvious in hindsight.

[...] Remind me to make the Ultimate Video Guide [...]
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2597&start=30

please allow me to remind you to make the Ultimate Video Guide.

An ultimate guide would be a great thing, especially if it could cover all the little quirks that are unintuitive / hard to figure out. Of course some research would probably be necessary to gather all of the information on them. We need to conduct an experiment observing new players attempting to set up NetKeen for the first time to see where the problems arise. Any volunteers?