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This topic has moved here: Subject: How to Play Marathon MP.
  • Subject: How to Play Marathon MP.
Subject: How to Play Marathon MP.
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Okay, I've sorta seen it occasionally asked and skirted around in a few of the marathon threads, but i figured i'd try and consolidate all the info as well as prospective players looking to experience Marathon in a way never thought possible. You just haven't played Marathon until you've SPNK'ed your friends and Totz'ed them to charred and burned peices!

First, some information:

Marathon, in its original incarnation, was a LAN only MP game. This required(s) hooking up computers physically (in the modern days we'd use a hub and our ethernet ports, but back then, this could be through <gasp> serial ports!), turning on appletalk, and then going at it! Marathon featured replays so you can relive your and your opponents demise!

Today, that LAN feature hasn't much changed, except that Aleph One will also allow you to cross platform b/n other Aleph One users, no matter the OS. (see their network read me for details).

But Aleph One, after many, many years of hoping and praying eventually added in TCP/IP. This requires the host personally handing out his IP address to all the potential players(joiners) who all have to enter in the address into the IP field under the "Join Game" menu.

I myself have enjoyed a number of games with very little to no lag (check those damn firewalls!). I enjoy the fact that the host gives the map to all the players at the start of a game. This means you don't necessarily have to have the maps the host has.

The Catch is organizing a game; you have to find a willing host who can give all the joiners his IP address and the joiners must know when to join up. This can be accomplished by Phone, instant messengers, email, and Chapter websites.

My personal method comes from the Aleph One networking FAQ. In AIMS, go to File--> "Go to chat . . . " and type in "aleph one." You should find a hand ful of people who will be willing to let you join in.

If anyone has more information or questions, feel free to add to this thread. And if anyone is interested in playing Marathon MP, also feel free to add to this thread (i apoligize if this is more appropriate in the Classifieds), share your chapter that may have DB's devoted to Marathon MP, and in generally, throw yourself out there to be PM'ed and IM'ed for some matches.

You won't regret it!

[Edited on 7/23/2004 10:35:46 PM by Shishka]

  • 07.06.2004 1:09 PM PDT

Dude, it would be so cool if we had these pregnant sentinels that were, like, all flaming and shot out baby flaming sentinels that would be all "YARRRGH!" then they'd be like, "WHAAAAR" when they shoot.

That'd be sweet.

I'll try and get my MP working, but I was told I could play the Mac Action Sac using Aleph One on PC, I cant! Help Me please!!!

  • 07.06.2004 2:05 PM PDT
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Straight from the install.windows.txt file that comes with windows Aleph One on how to transfer files from the Mac Acdtion Sack for your winbox.

"if you have a MacOS Marathon 2, Marathon Infinity or Marathon
Trilogy Box Set CD, you can also get the data files from there. This is a
bit complicated, however, due to some ideosyncracies of the Mac HFS file
system (every Mac file is really two files, one "data fork" and one
"resource fork"). Aleph One/SDL needs these files:

"Images" (resource fork)
"Map" (combined data and resource fork of "Map" file in AppleSingle or
MacBinary II format; or just the data fork, in which case the resource
fork must be in a file "Map.resources")
"Music" (data fork, optional, not included in Demo)
"Shapes" (data fork)
"Sounds" (data fork)

Here's how to copy these files from a Mac Marathon CD under Windows:

Get HFVexplorer from:

http://homepages.compuserve.de/axelfindling/mirror/HFVExplore r/hdexp131setup.exe

Install it, and put your M2/Infinity CD in the CDROM drive. Run HFVexplorer.

In the left panel, you should see all available drives, with your
M2/Infinity CD at the top. Click on the Infinity CD and you should see a
Finder view in the right panel. Navigate through this view until you find
the Images, Map, Music, Shapes and Sounds files. Each file needs to be
copied separately, so take your time.

You need to copy the following files:

"Images" (Raw copy, resource fork)
"Map" (MacBinary 2)
"Music" (Raw copy, data fork)
"Shapes" (Raw copy, data fork)
"Sounds" (Raw copy, data fork)

For each file in this list:

1. Select the file in the Infinity folder to highlight it

2. Choose "Copy" from the edit menu, or type Control-C to copy

3. Navigate in the left panel to the destination folder, where Aleph One is
installed

4. Choose "Paste" from the edit menu, or type Control-V to paste

5. When the dialog box appears, select the appropriate type designated in
parenthesis for each filename from the dropdown menu. Click "OK" and
continue on to the next file.

6. HFVexplorer will name "Map" to "Map.bin" when you save it. Rename it to
"Map" in in your Aleph One folder. You may have to do this from a DOS
prompt if the ".bin" filetype is registered."

  • 07.06.2004 6:19 PM PDT
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Escape will make me God.

There has got to be a better way of hooking up for games than using AIM. Like somebody setting up a website with a flash chat client, or something. It should be relatively painless and would not require anyone to download and install that crappy AIM client.

  • 07.07.2004 2:25 PM PDT
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Agreed. However, what you mention sounds an awful lot like work. ;) I'd love to see someone step up with a great and relatively painless way of getting marathoners together for some fun carnage. esp. something that automates IP handling (like www.gameranger.com, a free mac connect service). But until that option comes up, back to the AIM chats . . . .

Have you gotten your 7/7 marathon MP fix yet? I know I have!

  • 07.07.2004 4:24 PM PDT
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I thought I'd put my answer to a PM asking how to enter the chat up here as well, since I didn't realize how unitiutive aol AIMS can be (i use iChat).

"Using AIMS 4.7 off of www.aim.com i went to "Poeple" Menu, down to "Chat. . . "

It asks for screennames of ppl to invite. Invite yourself. Then name the chat "aleph one" and it'll send you to the correct room. Enjoy!"

  • 07.07.2004 4:27 PM PDT
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It would be nice if some people posted their I.P addresses so I could try Marathon's multiplayer for once.

  • 07.08.2004 6:33 PM PDT
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err, i did , scroll down a bit in the forum theres a topic called "nayone interestied in matarhon mp, but no one came :(......

[Edited on 7/8/2004 6:46:27 PM]

  • 07.08.2004 6:45 PM PDT
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The only problem with posting I.P.'s is that the joiners must know when to join! Plus, aleph one has hiccups with routers and firewalls and the like, so it can take a bit of trouble shooting to get things working. In short, some method of real-time communication generally needs to take place. (not to mention that IP's change from time to time). Again, chapters that want to consolidate such information may work well. If you have any ideas let us know! This is the place!

(if you want to list your IP and times you'll be gathering, feel free to do so. I just find AIMS chat room "aleph one" a fairly successful method of gathering games).


edit: eek, sorry, just noticed other thread about IP's.
-Jäger

[Edited on 7/8/2004 11:25:57 PM]

  • 07.08.2004 11:23 PM PDT