Rage of Mages II: Necromancer

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Dedicated Internet Server Pack
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Contents:

I.   Overview

II.  Installation

III. Playing on a Server
        A. Logging in
            1. Connect to web page
            2. Connect to Hat
                a. Enter URL
                b. Cooperative game or arena
                c. Login and Password
                d. character selection
                e. server selection
        B. Cooperative Play
            1. Leaving the Game
            2. Quest Maps
        C. Arena Play

IV.  Running a Server
        A. Requirements
            1. Running a Stable Server
                a. hardware
                b. software
                c. "restart after crash" mode
                d. running multiple servers
            2. Signing up with the Hat Master Server
        B. Setup
            1. Editing the server1.cfg
                a. filenames
                b. IP addresses
                c. game parameters
                d. banning players
                e. creating a map rotation
            2. Using the Server Interface
                a. server display
                b. server options

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I. Overview

This Rage of Mages II (ROM2) dedicated server pack
significantly enhances ROM2 Internet performance, stability and
security while vastly increasing the play variety by introducing new
game play types and a large selection of specially designed
multiplayer maps. With the dedicated server pack you will be able to
create ROM2 multiplayer characters and store them on a master
server, called "Hat." Logging on to Hat will give you access to your
characters and the list of currently available dedicated game
servers, allowing you to find and join multiplayer games easily.

This text file covers the changes made by the server pack to the
standard ROM2 multiplayer game. Players who wish to play on the new
dedicated servers should read up through section III, "Playing on a
Server." Those interested in hosting their own server should also
read section IV, "Running a Server."



II. Installation

You will need a utility capable of extracting ".zip" archives in
order to install the dedicated server pack. Installation is simply a
matter of extracting the dedicated server .zip to your Rage of Mages 2
directory. Click "Yes" when asked if you want to overwrite files.
The server pack is fully installed once all the files in the archive
had successfully copied into your Rage of Mages 2 game directory.



III. Playing on a Server

    A. Logging In

    Open the login screen by clicking the globe icon named "SERVER"
    on the right side of the ROM2 main menu. Here you can select to
    download a list of hosted (non-dedicated) servers via the
    "Connect to web page" option or to log in to the dedicated "Hat"
    master server via the "Connect to Hat" option.

        1. Connect to web page

        Selecting this option will allow you to download a list of
        active, non-dedicated servers just as you could before you
        installed the dedicated server pack. Consult your ROM2
        manual for information on playing this type of multiplayer
        game.

        2. Connect to Hat

        This option allows you to log in to a dedicated master
        server, or "Hat." Hat keeps track of all ROM2 multiplayer
        characters and dedicated servers. You must log in to Hat
        in order to play on a ROM2 dedicated server.

            a. Enter URL

            Once you click the "Connect to Hat" button you must
            enter in a Hat Internet IP address in the "Enter URL"
            field. Go to http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp
            to find the IP address (a number in the form of
            xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) of the Monolith Hat server.

            b. Cooperative game or Arena

            Select the game type you wish to play. "Cooperative" and
            "Arena" modes are discussed in detail in sections B and
            C below.

            c. Login and Password

            Access to a Hat master server requires a valid user
            login and password. These will be given to you after you
            sign up for a new player account on the ROM2 site at
            http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp - you must
            sign up on this web page before you can log in to Hat.
            Be sure to keep track of the Player ID and password
            you choose when you sign up, and enter them in the
            Login and Password fields on the Connect to Hat screen.
            Check the "Save last login and password" box if you
            don't want to have to enter your login and password each
            time you log in. Click the "Ok" button at the
            bottom to log in to Hat.

            d. character selection

            If you have entered a valid login and password you will
            see ROM2 connect to Hat and download any multiplayer
            characters you have made on that Hat server. You can
            have up to 16 characters stored at once on a Hat server.
            The character generation and selection process is
            otherwise identical to the pre-dedicated server version
            of ROM2.

            e. server selection

            After you choose your character, Hat will show you a
            list of active servers of the type you selected on the
            login screen, Cooperative or Arena. Highlight the server
            you wish to join and click the "Ok" button. If you do
            not see a server you wish to join you can hit the
            "Refresh" button periodically to download an updated
            server list from Hat. If the server you selected is
            hosting a level that you do not have, the level will
            download automatically.

    B. Cooperative Play

    Cooperative mode on a dedicated server has several new functions
    but is otherwise identical to previous versions of ROM2
    multiplayer, where characters gain skills and treasure by
    slaying monsters and completing quests. The two additions with
    the dedicated server pack are new ways of exiting a game session
    and special "Quest" maps.

        1. Leaving the Game

        If you exit to Windows or the ROM2 main menu directly from
        within a ROM2 dedicated server session your character will
        remain standing in the map for thirty seconds, during which
        time they can be attacked and killed. If you rejoin the
        server during this period you will regain control of your
        character where you left them. If you do not rejoin within
        thirty seconds the server will remove your character and
        upload your updated character file to the Hat master server,
        ready for you to use in your next dedicated server session.

        There are several ways to have the server remove and save
        your character immediately if you do not want to leave your
        character in the map for thirty seconds after you
        disconnect:

            a. the Church

            Most towns in ROM2 multiplayer maps have a Church, a
            large wooden structure with a steeple and smoke coming
            from the chimney. Clicking on a Church will return you
            to the Hat login screen as the server immediately
            removes your character from the map and saves the data
            to Hat.

            b. Make Camp

            If you would like to exit the map safely but do not have
            easy access to a Church you can tell your character to
            "Make Camp." Hit your ESC key to open the options menu,
            select "End Quest" and then "Make Camp" on the new menu
            that appears. A 30-second countdown will appear in the
            upper left corner of the screen, during which time you
            retain control of your character. If your character
            takes action or gets attacked the countdown will abort
            and you will have to "Make Camp" again. When the
            countdown reaches zero the game returns to the Hat login
            screen as the server removes your character from the map
            and saves the updated character data to Hat.

        2. Quest Maps

        Some of the new maps that come with the dedicated server
        pack are special "Quest" maps. Quest maps have no inn, one
        shop selling only scrolls and potions, and a limited number
        of pre-defined quest items that can only be gotten by
        defeating specific, high level monsters. Once defeated, the
        enemies in Quest maps will not re-spawn for several hours.
        The shop will only pay one coin for quest items as these
        rare, powerful artifacts are meant to be used rather than
        sold.

    C. Arena Play

    Arena mode gives you the chance to test the character you built
    up through Cooperative play in battle against other player's
    characters without having to worry about them losing experience
    or possessions. There are no quests available in Arena mode and
    your character does not gain experience for slaying monsters,
    nor do they lose experience or drop their items when killed as
    would happen in a Cooperative game. The object of Arena matches
    is to have the highest score of all the players by the end of
    the game. You receive one point each time you kill, or "frag,"
    another player's character. You lose a point each time the
    computer-controlled monsters kill you. The final score for all
    players will be shown at the end of each match when the time or
    frag limit specified by the server has been reached. You can
    view the current scoreboard or "frag table" at any time during
    the match by pressing the [F2] key.

    You may still collect treasure and buy or sell items in shops in
    Arena mode. Although any healing potions your character had in
    cooperative mode will not carry over to Arena mode, you can buy
    new healing potions in the shops. Keep an eye out for large
    treasure bags scattered at random about the landscape, these
    contain powerful items that can be used or sold. Because Arena
    mode does not save your character you will not have any of the
    items or money you acquire during Arena mode the next time you
    join the server, so use them to your best advantage while you
    can. Since the server won't save your character to Hat you can
    quit the game safely at any time by simply exiting to Windows or
    returning to the ROM2 main menu, though you can still leave by
    clicking on a Church if you like. There is no "Make Camp"
    function in Arena mode.



IV. Running a Server

This section discusses the details of running your own ROM2 Internet
server. If you do not intend to run a server there is no need to
read this section though as a player on these servers you may find
it informative.

    A. Requirements

        1. Running a Stable Server

        Players will not want to use your server unless it offers a
        fun, reliable place to play. Before hosting a server, make
        sure that your system can meet the following specifications.

            a. hardware

            You will need a static IP address to run a ROM2 server.
            Your server machine should meet the minimum ROM2 system
            requirements. It is recommended that you have an ISDN or
            faster Internet connection; the faster your connection,
            the more players will be able to enjoy good Internet
            performance while playing on your server.

            b. software

            The ROM2 server requires Windows 95 or 98 with Winsock 2
            and DirectX 6.1 or above and a standard TCP/IP Internet
            connection. You should not run other applications while
            running the dedicated server program as this will
            degrade the performance of your server.

            c. "restart after crash" mode

            Do not launch the server by running the rom2server.exe.
            The server requires a script file for launch which is
            included in the dedicated server pack as "server.bat."
            It is recommended that you use this script to launch the
            server, though you can make your own .bat script file as
            long as it conforms to the following format

                :label
                start /w a2server.exe -cfg"server1.cfg"
                if errorlevel -1 goto label

            where "server1.cfg" is the name of the configuration
            file with your server settings. These settings will be
            explained in the "Setup" section below.

            The script opens a MS-DOS window behind the ROM2 server
            window. Leave this DOS window open while your server
            runs--it will restart the server automatically in the
            event of a crash, saving the character data of any
            players using the server at the time of the crash.

            d. running multiple servers

            A standard Pentium II computer can run up to four
            servers simultaneously at optimum levels of performance
            provided that it is supplied with an adequate Internet
            connection. Each server will need its own .bat and .cfg
            files, with the .bat script including the name of the
            .cfg file. See the next section for more information on
            editing the ROM2 dedicated server .cfg files.

        2. Signing up with the Hat Master Server

        To run a server you must first register it with the Hat
        Master Server. You can do this on Monolith's ROM2
        multiplayer page at http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp
        through a simple web interface.

        When you sign up you will need to know your IP address. See
        part 1.b. of the "B. Setup" section below for details on
        finding and using your computer's IP address.

    B. Setup

        1. Editing the server1.cfg

        You must edit the server1.cfg file to configure your server
        for Internet play. This is a short ASCII file which you can
        edit in any text editor such as Windows' Notepad. If you are
        running multiple servers you will need a unique .cfg file
        for each server.

            a. filenames

            You must set paths for a log file and a character
            storage directory in the .cfg file. It is suggested that
            you leave these set to the default values. The defaults
            are:

            LogFile=server1.log
                The server logs activity notices to this ASCII file.
                If you are running multiple servers on the same
                machine each one must use a unique LogFile.
            ChrBase=chr1\
                Server stores character data to this directory
                temporarily during game play, before uploading it to
                Hat. The server will create this directory if it is
                not present when you launch the server. If you are
                running multiple servers on the same machine each
                one must use a unique ChrBase directory.

            b. IP addresses

            You will have to enter in the IP addresses of your
            server and the Hat master server that you wish to use.
            The default IP values are:

            HatAddress=192.168.0.104
                You will find the current Hat IP address listed at
                http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp - you must
                enter this exact address here.

            IPAddress=192.168.0.104:8001
                This is the IP address used by clients to find your
                server. This is actually handled through Hat, so
                players will not have to enter in the IP address
                manually. Your computer is assigned an IP address
                each time it connects to the Internet. You can find
                your IP address by going to the Windows Start Menu,
                selecting Run... and entering "winipcfg" (without
                the quotes) in the Open field. The ":8001" at the
                end of the default value specifies the port number
                the server will use to communicate; this is an
                arbitrary number but it is suggested that you leave
                it at the default value to avoid conflicts with
                other applications. If you are running more than one
                server on the same system, add 2 for each additional
                server: server number two should use port 8003,
                server number three should use 8005, and so on.

            IPAddress2=192.168.0.104:8002
                This is the IP address that you must enter when you
                register your server in the ROM2 multiplayer page
                ( http://www.lith.com/rom2/multiplayer.asp ). It
                should be the same as what you entered for
                "IPAddress1" except for the port number, 8002. If
                you are running multiple servers add 2 for each
                additional server: server number two would use port
                8004, server number three would use port 8006, and
                so on.

            c. game parameters

            The following variables affect various aspects of play
            on your server. It is suggested that you keep the
            default settings until you become thoroughly acquainted
            with the game play as certain values can easily make
            your server unpleasant for players.

            RepopDelay=100
                RepopDelay sets how long it takes monsters to re-
                spawn after they die. This value can range from 20
                to 500; settings below 100 cause monsters to re-
                spawn more quickly, settings higher than 100 cause
                the monsters to re-spawn more slowly. Since the
                dedicated server maps have been balanced for
                RepopDelay=100 it is recommended that you leave this
                setting at the default value for cooperative play.

            GameSpeed=4
                Sets the default speed of the game. "4" corresponds
                to the single-player default speed, while "0" is the
                slowest and "8" is the fastest. Because increasing
                the speed will also increase the amount of data the
                game has to exchange, it is recommended that you
                leave the setting at 4 for normal Internet
                Cooperative play and no higher than 6 for Arena
                mode. LAN-based network games should be able to
                handle the maximum speed of 8 without any noticeable
                lag.

            SayRange=256
                Controls how far apart characters can stand, in map
                tiles, and still receive each other's text messages.
                Set this lower if you want players to encourage
                players to stick together but be aware that this can
                make player communication difficult, though they can
                still communicate at greater distances by
                "shouting." Because the largest maps are 256 tiles
                per side, raising this number above 256 will have no
                effect.

            ShoutDelay=20
                This is the time, in seconds, that players will have
                to wait before they can "shout" again.

            MaxPlayers=16
                This sets the maximum number of players that the
                server will allow in the game at any one time. This
                can range from 1 to 16, more players require more
                processing time and network bandwidth.

            GameType=COOPERATIVE
                This determines the play mode; enter either
                "cooperative" or "arena" here.

            FragLimit=20
                An Arena mode game will reset when any player
                matches this score. This setting has no effect in
                cooperative mode.

            ArenaTimeLimit=20
                An Arena mode game will reset after the specified
                number of minutes. This setting has no effect in
                cooperative mode.

            TreasureProbability=100
                This represents the percentage chance that a monster
                will drop one or more items when killed. Values of
                20 to 50 are recommended for cooperative "Quest"
                maps.

            d. banning characters

            You can prevent specific characters from joining the
            server by entering their Name (but not their Clan) in a
            single-column list underneath the "[BannedPlayers]"
            heading.

            e. creating a map rotation

            List the filenames of the maps you want your server to
            host, complete with the ".alm" suffix, in a single
            column underneath the "[Maps]" heading. While you can
            use the regular ROM2 multiplayer maps, the 23 new maps
            that come with this dedicated server pack have been
            specifically designed for dedicated server Internet
            play. There are 16 standard maps in four groups, each
            group having one map per skill level, in addition to 7
            maps designed specifically for "Quest" cooperative play:

                Group 1
                    raptors.alm - EASY
                    monsters.alm - MEDIUM
                    dsand.alm - HARD
                    forbland.alm - HORROR

                Group 2
                    wsdesert.alm - EASY
                    wsenigma.alm - MEDIUM
                    wsordeal.alm - HARD
                    wsruined.alm - HORROR

                Group 3
                    nival.alm - EASY
                    judas.alm - MEDIUM
                    middle.alm - HARD
                    heaven.alm - HORROR

                Group 4
                    road.alm - EASY
                    valley2.alm - MEDIUM
                    tmortis.alm - HARD
                    life.alm - HORROR

                Quest Maps
                    inter.alm - MEDIUM
                    rodion.alm - HORROR
                    havec.alm - HORROR
                    astral.alm - HORROR
                    tod.alm - HORROR
                    formicat.alm - HARD
                    raraavis.alm - HORROR

            If you list more than one map you must add "=X" after
            each map filename where "X" equals the number of hours
            that map will be hosted before the server switches to
            the next map down in the list. The server will go
            through the list from top to bottom, starting over at
            the top when the time limit for the last map expires.
            For instance

                [Maps]
                raptors.alm=1
                road.alm=3
                nival.alm=2

            would cause the server to host raptors.alm for one hour
            followed by road.alm for three hours and nival.alm for
            two hours, after which the server would begin again with
            raptors.alm.

            Although the server gives extensive warning time before
            switching the map it is still possible that a player
            could have some items laying on the ground when the map
            switches, in which case the player will lost the items
            permanently. For this reason it is recommended that you
            only rotate maps when running in Arena mode.

        2. Using the Server Interface

            a. server display

            The dedicated server runs in a window on your desktop.
            The list of connected players appears on the left side.
            Clicking on a player name will display details about
            that player and their activity in the panel to the
            right. The lower panel displays a log of server
            activity, and the single-row panel at the very bottom is
            a chat interface; text entered here will be visible to
            all players.

            b. server options

            Open the server control panel by clicking on the
            "Options" listing on the top menu bar. A small window
            appears with several buttons:

                Game speed
                    This changes the GameSpeed from the default
                    setting specified in the server1.cfg. You can
                    change the game speed at any time by clicking
                    the "-" and "+" buttons to raise or lower the
                    setting.

                Kick player
                    Highlight a player name in the server display
                    and click this button to remove them from your
                    server. They will be able to rejoin until you
                    add their name to the [BannedPlayers] section of
                    the server1.cfg and restart the server.

                Shutdown
                    Use the Shutdown controls to close down the
                    dedicated server, rather than the [X] close
                    window button or ALT-F4, to assure that Hat will
                    properly receive all updated player character
                    data. The "Now!" button will shut the server
                    down immediately without warning the players. If
                    you want to give players a warning of impending
                    shutdown, enter a countdown number in the
                    "minutes" field and click the "In" button--the
                    server will automatically shut down after the
                    number of minutes specified, sending
                    increasingly frequent warnings to any connected
                    players as shutdown approaches. Use the "Cancel"
                    button to cancel the countdown. In the event
                    that your server becomes unexpectedly
                    disconnected from the Hat master server,
                    clicking the "Reconnect to Hat" button will
                    attempt to reconnect you instantly though the
                    server will also attempt to reconnect on its own
                    at regular intervals.


Copyright ©1999 Monolith Productions. All rights reserved.