Network Multiplayer Atari Games

[Subby]

Has anyone ever attempted this?

 

For example, playing a two player game of SSI's Atari version of Kampfgruppe (or whatever) over the network/internet?

 

The only way I can come up with off the top of my head is running the game on a PC under emulation, and having the second player connect via TeamViewer or something.

[jfalcon]

The only one I recall was MidiWars for the ST that was a true "network" multiplayer game. It was rad at the Star Trek convention I saw it at...

 

Well, to do what you suggest, one could just "stream" your composite into a PC capture card and out to a uStream feed and your opponent do the same so you can both see each other's screen. Remote control would only matter if you were playing a game where you had to take turns.

 

But games like Archon, you could do it chess style and call your moves. The streaming of each other's feeds would keep it honest and interesting.

Edited December 24, 2013 by jfalcon

[krupkaj]

There are games for multilink adapter. Adapter was described in Flop number 45 (it is in Czech, but there is a circuit schema which does not need translation). http://flop.atariportal.cz/all.htm#45

 

Games are available at Fandal: http://a8.fandal.cz/search.php?search=multilink&butt_details_x=x

Edited December 24, 2013 by krupkaj

[Subby]

Couple of those Multilink games look interesting, I may have to look into this as a future project.

 

The Ustream idea is great. Either on original hardware through a capture card, which I don't have, yet, or through emulation, and then use a chat program to handle moves. I like it.

[+davidcalgary29]

Why not just play MIDIMaze? You can even link up with ST users.

[Mathy]

Hello guys

 

You can find more information about MultiLink and Multijoy interfaces and games on my special stuff page.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

[+CharlieChaplin]

There are games for multilink adapter. Adapter was described in Flop number 45 (it is in Czech, but there is a circuit schema which does not need translation). http://flop.atariportal.cz/all.htm#45

 

Games are available at Fandal: http://a8.fandal.cz/search.php?search=multilink&butt_details_x=x

 

Well,

 

one should know that gamelink-2 and multilink are actually the same thing. Dataque invented this network hardware, the first version (gamelink-1) used the joystick ports, so only two computers could be networked. The second version (gamelink-2) used the SIO port so up to 8 computers can be networked.

 

Afaik, Dataque only sold the gamelink-1 and gamelink-2 hardware (with some software, e.g. for gamelink-1 there is Tic Tac Two and a patched version of Battleships; for the gamelink-2 there is Maze of Agdagon as a demo-version for 1 player and a full version for up to 8 players). Alas, they never made full schematics for this hardware available. But Jiri Bernasek analyzed the Dataque software and the hardware description and then created his own multilink hardware and made a schematic of it available (originally one Gr.8 picture white on black, but at one point I inverted it, so now we also have it black on white). Next, he created the game Multi-Dash and wrote several texts about his multilink network and multidash. In the following years Jiri also created Multi-Race and Multi-Worms and wrote a kind of tutorial how network games could be created. Some years later Radek Sterba programmed Speed Up and then Speed Up Gold for the multilink network.

 

So, to make a long story short, programs for gamelink-2 (Maze of Agdagon) can also be used with multilink (Multi-Dash, Multi-Race, Multi-Worms, Speed Up, Speed Up Gold) and vice versa. Would be really cool if someone could patch the two games for gamelink-1 (Tic Tac Two, Battleships) to work with gamelink-2 / multilink instead, so we would have two more games for the multilink-network. All multilink programs can be played with up to 8 players (Multi-Race even up to 16 players) and up to 8 computers, alas if you only have two players / two computers in the network most of the games are really boring.

 

@Fandal: For Maze of Agdagon add "multilink" to the details (not only gamelink-2), so it will also be displayed in the list of multilink network programs...

 

personal/subjective experience:

Many years ago I tested Maze of Agdagon (a simplified clone of Midi-Maze), Multi-Dash and Multi-Race with a friend of mine and only two computers in the network. In MoA we walked around for 10-15 minutes without finding/killing each other, so we made heavy use of the map then. Still the game was quite boring, since there are only very few things one can do: a) walking around, trying to find/kill the other player, b) collect bombs (up to three bombs can be collected, you lose them after a certain amount of time) and c) blow up the other player. With up to eight players/computers this might be funny, but with only two players its really boring. In Multi-Dash there are also computer controlled enemies (green or red men), the more players the less enemies and vice versa. Since we only played a two-player game we had lots of computer enemies and it were always the computer enemies that killed us, so even this game became boring very soon. Multi-Race looked good at first, alas, it has terrible controls, we were most of the time unable to keep the car(s) on the road and fighted with the controls, so we gave up on that game after a few minutes.

 

We have not tested Multi-Worms, Speed Up and Speed Up Gold yet (they were not available then), but I would not be too surprised if these games are also quite boring with only two players. Thats the dis-advantage of all multilink and multijoy games, I guess, while most games can be played with 4-8 (or even 4-16) players, most of the programs are very boring with only two players. Thats why I have not built nor ordered a multijoy-8 right now. I mostly play alone or with one friend, only at Atari meetings we have more players around (and they often take a multijoy-8 or multilink hardware to these meetings). I also do not have (multiple) multilink hardware for up to four or up to eight players right now, I merely "created" a patched SIO-cable (by changing wires 3 and 5 with each other) that can be used for a two-player/two-computer network, since this one is easy to do and also easy to re-do. But maybe one day, I will test all multilink programs again with two players or even more than two players. It would be super-cool if someone would program a F1 racing game like Pitstop / Pole Position or an action game like Battlezone for the multilink network...

 

-Andreas Koch.

Edited December 25, 2013 by CharlieChaplin

[Mathy]

Hello guys

 

The schematics Andreas mentions, can be found on my special stuff page, as well as the games he mentions and the texts by Jiri Bernasek. See the link above (message #6 in this thread).

 

HARdwareDOC is working on the UltraJoyPro interface, which is an upgraded version of the multijoy interface. One of best feature of the UltraJoyPro is that you can connect UltraJoyPro's together so you can use more joysticks.

 

And I know since last year, that somebody is working on a very nice multi game.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy