8. How do you join a netgame?
To join a netgame, there are three methods.
Go to Multiplayer, and click on the "Join Game (Search)" option, set to "Internet". Any games hosted on the master server will be shown on a list. Select the one you want to join and hit enter, and it will attempt to join.
Go to Multiplayer, and click on the "Join Game (IP Address)" option. Type in the IP address of the player you want to join. To find out the IP address, go to the master server website, or type "LISTSERV" into the SRB2 console, or go on IRC and connect to irc.esper.net, and write "!gamelist" in #srb2fun. You can also get it from the person hosting, if they know it.
You can type "CONNECT <ip address>" into the console. You get the IP address in the same way.
9. How do you host your own netgame?
If you want to host a netgame, head into SRB2, and go to Options, and Server Options and set the "Internet Server" to yes. Next step, get out of the options, and head on over to "Multiplayer" and then "Host Server". If you would like to have random people join your netgame, turn "Advertise my server" on. When you set that to On, occasionally, if somebody types !gamelist on IRC, this will be displayed:
Code:
<SRB2MS> Running SRB2 Netgames (
http://srb2.servegame.org)
<SRB2MS> IP: IP ADDRESS | Port: 5029 | Name: NAME OF SERVER | Version: 1.09.XX
Note that if you have a firewall or a router, you may not be able to host. To host, you need to have the port number 5029 open, and to be listed on the master server, you need to have the port 28900 open. If you have a router, you need to forward the ports to the computer you are hosting from. This website will explain how to do so with your router.
Depending on your internet connection, the netgame might not be as fast as you would like it. There could be control lag, also known as C-lag, which causes your controls to delay, or even some spike lag, where the lag just slows down the game for a couple of seconds, and then starts back up. On the subject of internet connection, if you are trying to host on 56k, dont expect it to run super-fast with 15 people in the game. Ususally, dial-uppers can host 2-3 fine, DSL/cable can do 5-8, and high-end connections can host around 10-14 without much lag.
