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Tutorials for DOS based networking?

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1 comment, last by Ut 23 years, 5 months ago
I''ve written the heart of a wolfenstein style graphics engine and want to add multiplayer. Are there any good tutorials or books that discuss either a Null modem or more preferably how to access and control netcards under DOS? I''m not using any API, so DirectX is out of the question. Thanks for the help. Ut
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ASFAIR, Carmack posted the network-code for Doom at ftp.idsoftware.com a long time ago (of course the source to the whole Doom is also available). But Doom used IPX, and you''ll need an IPX-driver, which exists if you run your game from Windows or you''ll have to find a Dos one.

Actually networking and sound was probably the main reason I started writing my games in Windows using DirectX and Winsock instead of holding on to Dos. After I had written my first (and last :-)) Soundblaster 16 driver for Dos and realized that maybe only half of all people had a 100% (bah) compatible Soundblaster card and I''d have to write more drivers for other cards I embraced DirectX :-). So my advice is to move on to Windows as well. Of course I agree that there''s nothing like Dos when it comes to a quick 320x200x256 (or even VESA) gfx-hack, but network is SO much simpler in Windows (or in any other OS that supports sockets).
Ut, I would agree with amag on this issue. Dos was fun (well, I was an Amigan) but it had some really rotten hoops that game programmers had to code through... hence DirectX and HAL/HEL.

Move you code over to Windows if not for the support of DirectX maybe for the number of people who will actually ''try'' your game. Dos games are notorious for not working period. I have yet to see a game written for Windows w/ DirectX that I couldn''t get working on any machine that had DirectX installed.

Have fun,


Dave "Dak Lozar" Loeser
Dave Dak Lozar Loeser
"Software Engineering is a race between the programmers, trying to make bigger and better fool-proof software, and the universe trying to make bigger fools. So far the Universe in winning."--anonymous

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