An excellent work, very usefull for Comanche Gold fans. I wish to you let your idea about Comanhe Gold FAN CLUB come true in future for all who cares of this game.
Unfortunatelly, this community disbanded because of the sudden Novalogic's decision to close the one and only online server where you could play this game, without explanation. The Lobby html still exists, but to use it you have to make a success update for the game. Unfortunatelly the wizsetup.exe updater cant find the sources so the update is failing. As you can see, Novalogic redirects the problem to your ISP instead of fix a single html page.
This is not entirely correct.
You don't need to update to play via the Lobby. It works just fine.
Updating can and should be disabled and ignored, or else redirected to a custom server for custom updates. (The former is preferable for now.)
There are alternatives to the Lobby.
As already known, Kali does IPX for us.
A tool of mine allows the game to do join-by-IP for TCP/IP sessions.
Quote:
A request to programmers: Custom Multiplayer Utillity for Comanche Gold. Specifications : Ability to connect each player’s IPX local LAN via IP for Host and Join purpoces. Simple Text Chat, Stable 56 or 128 Kbytes Maximum Transfer Data Rate.
As a programmer, I will state it's not likely to happen.
Connecting via IPX over the Internet is simply asking for an IPX tunnel over TCP/IP. This already exists in the form of Kali and other such programs.
LAN via IP? If you want a VPN, there is Hamachi.
Join-by-IP, but lack of a LAN option, is already completely possible and has been done.
Capping a connection is probably not going to be a popular idea.
TCP/IP problems thus far are user-related:
Players here have trouble when it comes to opening and forwarding traffic on, if necessary, the proper ports.
If players understood their own network better, we'd be able to have TCP/IP sessions all of the time after meeting elsewhere, such as on TS3 or some other waypoint.
Switching to using TCP/IP would allow Windows 7 users to play multiplayer online natively, without the need for any go-between software.
It's not likely a programmer will put this much work into it given the above, but I'm certainly not saying it's impossible. I'm just trying to make some suggestions given the reality of our situation.
This is not entirely correct. You don't need to update to play via the Lobby. It works just fine.
So many times i tried, and only as a CLIENT (from in game multiplayer menu) i could see my server. But, exactly after 1 minute it just dissappear's. Who can see, click and join an invissible server of mine? Maybe in your continent there are "other rules" than mine. And thats a fact. f.e. I watch CNN, but not your local CNN. And the oppossite.
Originally Posted By: DavidC99
There are alternatives to the Lobby. As already known, Kali does IPX for us.
Read the last page (What's next, An example) of the Multiplayer Guide.
Originally Posted By: DavidC99
A tool of mine allows the game to do join-by-IP for TCP/IP sessions.
If i knew in which tool you are refering to and if i had test it, it will be included allready in this guide.
Originally Posted By: DavidC99
LAN via IP? If you want a VPN, there is Hamachi.
"Ability to connect each player’s IPX local LAN via IP for Host and Join purpoces." Not just "LAN" in general. Only the IPX activity that game uses. As for Hamachi read again the last page (What's next) of the Multiplayer Guide. As for VPN, i dont like to make my local LAN an Air Traffic Control Tower. Small tools can help to play just an old IPX game.
Originally Posted By: DavidC99
Join-by-IP, but lack of a LAN option, is already completely possible and has been done.
"..and has been done". There are many people that they will be interesting about this.
Originally Posted By: DavidC99
Players here have trouble when it comes to opening and forwarding traffic on, if necessary, the proper ports. If players understood their own network better, we'd be able to have TCP/IP sessions all of the time after meeting elsewhere, such as on TS3 or some other waypoint.
I agree as for the TS3, it will be usefull even as a small club (at first). As for the 1st line, maybe you can write and offer a step-by-step guide to help others to understand better.
By the way, whatever i knew, or whatever new i have learned, i gave it to the others by this guide. Hope others do the same. If they do, our overall situation will be improve.
So many times i tried, and only as a CLIENT (from in game multiplayer menu) i could see my server. But, exactly after 1 minute it just dissappear's. Who can see, click and join an invissible server of mine? Maybe in your continent there are "other rules" than mine. And thats a fact. f.e. I watch CNN, but not your local CNN. And the oppossite.
I have a hard time believing Novalogic went to great lengths to break lobbies in Greece only.
Nevertheless, games do disappear from the list. It appears only to allow you to host and join for prearranged games. It doesn't operate as a full-fledged, modern service with live games being shown. You still need a waypoint to meet up with other players.
Originally Posted By: ADHS
If i knew in which tool you are refering to and if i had test it, it will be included allready in this guide.
Having the tool wouldn't have made a difference. The tool simply allows a player either to host or else to attempt to join a session at a specified IP address. We failed to connect our games via TCP/IP when you and I tried it earlier. The tool won't make the connection work; it just lets us bypass the Lobby. Once Flyboy and I both guaranteed we had the correct settings, we managed to play just fine, and if I recall correctly, he was on Windows 7 -- not on Windows XP.
See this topic for some more details, but be sure to read all of my posts, since my first one appeared to have some inaccuracies.
Originally Posted By: ADHS
I agree as for the TS3, it will be usefull even as a small club (at first). As for the 1st line, maybe you can write and offer a step-by-step guide to help others to understand better.
I'm not about to write a guide to open ports on -- and forward traffic through -- every single router and firewall known to man. There are just too many possibilities. You have to remember, this is complicated by people running multiple layers of protection. First they may have a router, and then secondly that router may have a firewall. To top it off, if they are using Windows 7, they probably have the firewall on it running, too, which requires granting permissions to applications.
In short, it's a mess.
Now with that said, if someone wants instructions for their particular router or firewall, I might be able to offer limited assistance with the understanding that it's their responsibility to configure their own devices.
Originally Posted By: ADHS
By the way, whatever i knew, or whatever new i have learned, i gave it to the others by this guide. Hope others do the same. If they do, our overall situation will be improve.
I'll probably be releasing some items later on after I get things a little more finalized.
Originally Posted By: DavidC99 A tool of mine allows the game to do join-by-IP for TCP/IP sessions.
Originally Posted By: ADHS If i knew in which tool you are refering to and if i had test it, it will be included allready in this guide.
Originally Posted By: DavidC99 Having the tool wouldn't have made a difference. The tool simply allows a player either to host or else to attempt to join a session at a specified IP address. We failed to connect our games via TCP/IP when you and I tried it earlier. The tool won't make the connection work; it just lets us bypass the Lobby. Once Flyboy and I both guaranteed we had the correct settings, we managed to play just fine, and if I recall correctly, he was on Windows 7 -- not on Windows XP. See this topic for some more details, but be sure to read all of my posts, since my first one appeared to have some inaccuracies. So you are refering to a tool that works only in Windows 7. No matter the OS i think it is a must the community to have it. Is it free or have to pay ?
(In our test you didnt tell me to use any tool. We just tried to connect.)
Originally Posted By: DavidC99 This is not entirely correct. You don't need to update to play via the Lobby. It works just fine.
Originally Posted By: ADHS So many times i tried, and only as a CLIENT (from in game multiplayer menu) i could see my server. But, exactly after 1 minute it just dissappear's. Who can see, click and join an invissible server of mine? Maybe in your continent there are "other rules" than mine. And thats a fact. f.e. I watch CNN, but not your local CNN. And the oppossite.
Originally Posted By: DavidC99 I have a hard time believing Novalogic went to great lengths to break lobbies in Greece only. rolleyes Nevertheless, games do disappear from the list. It appears only to allow you to host and join for prearranged games. It doesn't operate as a full-fledged, modern service with live games being shown. You still need a waypoint to meet up with other players.
In this guide, i have set in details what i get in Lobby. Also, the official support anouncement for this issue from Novalogic. For your comment about the guide, (point = if someone can or not play through Novaworld's Lobby) and as a conclusion to our previus dialogos for someone who read all this what will be ? and how ?
So you are refering to a tool that works only in Windows 7.
No, it works for XP, too.
Originally Posted By: ADHS
No matter the OS i think it is a must the community to have it. Is it free or have to pay ?
Free. I wrote it.
Originally Posted By: ADHS
(In our test you didnt tell me to use any tool. We just tried to connect.)
Of course. Having the tool wouldn't have made a difference, so I didn't offer it to you. The game doesn't care whether you use the Lobby or my tool, as it probably doesn't even distinguish a difference. Most of the time, if you can't connect via the Lobby, you can't connect via my tool. There is at least one or two exceptions to this rule, hence why I wrote it.
Had we connected via the Lobby, then you might have had a reason to test the tool.
Originally Posted By: ADHS
In this guide, i have set in details what i get in Lobby. Also, the official support anouncement for this issue from Novalogic. For your comment about the guide, (point = if someone can or not play through Novaworld's Lobby) and as a conclusion to our previus dialogos for someone who read all this what will be ? and how ?
If I understand your questions, here are some important points:
Using the Lobby is one way to see if you can connect to someone via TCP/IP. (ie. Open ports for both players.)
Updating for the game should be disabled, or else a new server should be provided which supplies the game with custom updates.
The tool simply replaces the need for using the Lobby for both hosting a game and joining one.
The tool doesn't detect games or place itself on a list. It either hosts without announcing itself, or else it tries to join a session at the supplied IP address.
Technically, I might be able to have the tool maintain a list of game sessions going on live, like the Lobby does but hopefully without sessions disappearing, at a later time if someone has a server for the community to use.
The tool may be released shortly.
Your desire to find IPX tunnel software in order to solve any overhead added by Kali could possibly be beat in performance simply by using TCP/IP natively.
Using TCP/IP allows Windows 7 players to play multiplayer, as long as one Windows XP player with the CD is playing (that is, until we fix the Windows 7 issue in singleplayer, which I would like to correct and patch soon).
I have only tested TCP/IP with only two players maximum at a time, though. I would like to try more than a two player game to see if this works.
In order to test this, players must ensure they open the specified ports and grant the necessary permissions.
So far, only Flyboy and myself have opened the correct ports and guaranteed that we can play together.
Once the community figures out TCP/IP, we can ditch Kali, if we choose, and operate with a new waypoint, such as at SimHQ TS3 server or whatever else.
I am one of the many and main flyers that put together comanche fest in Arizona. We are currently meeting in Kali lobby every evening . We are currently trying to put together a group of flyers and maybe try to revive the game since it has always been the greatest game ever for us. If you guys are up to it and would like a challenge meet us in Kali to enjoy what comanche gold has to offer, You will not be disappointed. Roster (alpha , rattlesnake, m@ko , bong ) and waiting for a few old flyers, We will be happy for any one that would like to join us. if you like more information email me at gportal.ath.cx@gmail.com
I am one of the many and main flyers that put together comanche fest in Arizona. We are currently meeting in Kali lobby every evening . We are currently trying to put together a group of flyers and maybe try to revive the game since it has always been the greatest game ever for us. If you guys are up to it and would like a challenge meet us in Kali to enjoy what comanche gold has to offer, You will not be disappointed. Roster (alpha , rattlesnake, m@ko , bong ) and waiting for a few old flyers, We will be happy for any one that would like to join us. if you like more information email me at gportal.ath.cx@gmail.com
What do you call 'evening'? What is your time zone difference (GMT+/-)?
One of your buddies, 'rattlesnake', e-mailed me asking about what router settings he need to alter to be able to join CG in Kali. He hasn't replied yet so what's the latest there?
Great info. ADHS and thx for sharing it with us. Your right about everyone being in sync as far as using the same setting in Kali AND CG. If one or two fliers in the group is using the res. mod and running 1024 or one of the other settings and also the details which might be running good for them where the others maybe running CG in standard mod like 800x600 there is going to be a conflict in the game. I'm experiencing terrible freeze framing that I never had before with CG. As you said the resolution mod is great for maybe single play mission action but H2H with more than 2 player just doesn't run well on my side of the world. H2H with 2 players runs smooth as glass. Even me getting a new router DLINK DGL 4100 with the gamefuel doesn't cut it in group play still getting terrible freeze framing. As for as Rattlesnakes problem with Kali... I was having the same issue with my other machine " XP " and found that when I right clicked on the CG icon in the game list and unchecked show only game servers... it worked and now I'm able to see the hosted games on the list which before I couldn't see jack. Well atleast that worked for me. Does anybody know if there will be a mod for CG to run with win7? don't want to use the visual thing because thatz just another thing running in the background which can cause some confusion to CG... itz very sensative. Finally... the CGIXP mod works great ! way better connection but haven't tried it with more than 2 players tho.
Hi Mako, myself and DavidC99 did look at getting CG to run natively on Windows 7 but we got stuck. I think we also gave up on it as it was only going to end up to the benefit of a handful of people. I don't know if DC has worked anymore on that, last I knew is that he hadn't. The CG demo runs on Windows 7 if that's any help!
New routers aren't going to make the gameplay any smoother as it's not exactly a bandwidth issue. It is sloppy net code in the game itself and I'm thinking that the game must have some sort of bandwidth limiter built-in anyhow, so whether you've got a 56Kbps modem or a 20Mbps router - the results will be the same... if anything, the modem will be better as that's closer to hardware of the CG era. The slowdown problem may also be made worse by the fact we are doing all this through virtual machines. I'm not entirely sure how well virtual machine connections work and indeed if they can even really handle game workload. However, Grandpa has said that he's always experienced slowdown and from what I gather he has basically played CG multiplayer from day one, off-and-on, through all eras of hardware.
Hey Flyboy ... yeah I do and alwayz have expect lag with CG itz part of the game. But, freeze framing for 2 to 3 seconds every 20 seconds is something I never experienced through all the years I also have been playing CG. H2H I don't have those issues just in group play 3 to 4 peeps in there. My thinking is that your just gonna have to take what it gives you. Some dayz are better than others... kinda like my golf game.
Small update !  I tried some things, but no success so far. I know there are not so much players around the world right now but as far as I understand ufo and ADHS at least you played together on Kali. So I have some questions, and if you see something wrong, don’t hesitate to help me correct it so that I finally get it right
What I didn’t do (I think it comes after launching sucessfully a game)
there are not so much details about playing with Roger Wilco. Is it a way to play the game in multiplayer, or only a way to open a vocal chat ?
Seems like Turbo and Allocator are tools for game stability, I’ll explore that later.
What I tried and/or did not work :
I think the game is mostly supposed to work via IPX connection
I think the way to go is to use Lan network emulators such as Kali
Kali also seems to propose a way to create room and launch games, similarly to Voobly with Age Of Empires back in the days.
Is it true ?  should Kali launch the game ?. In my setup the option is greyed out and I don’t know why
I have an issue with Firewall (see attached picture). It shows this message even with firewall (Windows Defender) unactivated on every networks. Maybe is it just that Kali’s test user is down ?
I have a second issue when the two computers are on the same network. It says «set a different port» but I’m not sure I should trust that. It also forces me to set a specific local IP when I go to the indicated setting.
Should I do somethink with DCP, TCP, ... port 2213 seem to be important but I don’t know if it has something to do with the router (the internet box) or just the firewall
Thanks for reading !
I’ll trade these pieces of information for one more custom mission from me, Ufo
Tanks I'll test that at home with two computers and then I will try to resolve the TCP and port things by setting them on different networks (for instance via mobile data sharing from my phone)
I'm just trying to make some suggestions given the reality of our situation.
