Ares is a fusion of action and strategy games, and allows for head to head network play over a local network or the internet. Take a moment to read these brief instructions to get the most out of Ares. There are many details and features not explained in this document, but it should be enough to get you started.
During the game, you can press the F1 key to review all key settings and to find valuable shortcuts. To set your key preferences and to familiarize yourself with all of Ares’ commands, navigate to the Key Setup screen from the Main Menu screen by clicking on the Preferences button, and then the Key Setup button. In this document, the [DEFAULT KEY] is indicated after each control name, but you may reassign most controls to whatever you like.
Try watching the demo “movies” to get a feel for Ares’ gameplay.
System Requirements
• 25MhZ 68040 or better
• 640x480 Color Display
• System 7.1 (System 7.5.2 or better recommended)
Networking has additional requirements:
• PowerPC (see “Networking” section for info on 68K networking)
• Open Transport 1.1.2 or better
• NetSprocket (included)
The Display
In the first chapter, concentrate on destroying the relay dishes. Navigating and shooting works like many other top-view games with some exceptions:
The view will automatically scale to your nearest enemy. If your enemies are very far away, you will see them as red symbols:
When you get closer to an enemy object, the display will zoom in and you will be able to see the enemy itself. You can also use the scaling keys to change the zoom level.
Warp Speed
Press and hold down the WARP/AUTOPILOT key [TAB] to travel at faster-than-light speeds in certain ships. To autopilot to your selected target (see below for target selection) hold down the DESTINATION KEY [SHIFT] then press and release the WARP/AUTOPILOT key. You can turn off the autopilot with the same key combination.
Stopping Your Ship
You can bring your ship to a stop using the DECELERATE key [KEYPAD 5].
In the second chapter, you will need to know how to build and control other ships. This may take a little practice.
Building Ships
To build a ship, use the Computer keys to navigate to the build menu on the far left. If you have the resources (the green bar on the far right) you can select ships to build.
Selecting a Ship to Control
To select one of your ships to control (making it the “Control Object,” the ship or base to which you want to give an order), click on it using the mouse or point at it with your ship and press the SELECT FRIEND key [PAGE DOWN].
Selecting a Destination or Target
To select a destination (a “Target Object”), click on it using the mouse while holding down the TARGET key [SHIFT], or point your ship at the target and use one of the three select keys (SELECT BASE, SELECT FOE, SELECT FRIEND) while holding down the TARGET key.
Sending a Ship to a Target
Once you have a Control Object (one of your ships) and a Target Object (say, a planet), press the ORDER TO GO key [CONTROL] to send the Control Object to the Target Object. You will need to know how to do this to send a transport in the second chapter of the demo. Note that by this method, you can have cruisers escort transports, or send them to attack a specific target.
Selecting Yourself as a Target
To select yourself as a Target, click on yourself while holding down the TARGET key [SHIFT] or hold down the TARGET key for about one second, then release it without pressing any other keys.
Clearing an Incoming Message
To get rid of a message on the screen, navigate to the Message Menu on the computer on the far left and select Dismiss/Next, or hit the DELETE key.
Ares relies on Apple Computer, Inc’s NetSprocket library for networked games. Currently, the NetSprocket library requires a PowerPC computer and thus Ares requires a PowerPC computer for networked games. However, the 680x0 version of Ares is NetSprocket-ready, and when Apple releases NetSprocket for 680x0 computers, you should be able to install it and network this version of the Ares Demo on 680x0 Macintoshes.
System Requirements for Networked Games
• PowerPC computer
• Open Transport 1.1.2 or later
• NetSprocket (included, see below)
If you meet the above requirements, you can play Ares head-to-head over a LocalTalk network, or with a good connection, over the internet. This demo includes one networkable demo level with a ten minute time limit. After ten minutes, the game will automatically end.
Installing NetSprocket
Drag the NetSprocketLib extension onto your closed System Folder icon. When prompted, confirm that you want the NetSprocketLib extension placed in your extensions folder. You do not need to restart your computer. If you have previously installed a differently named version of NetSprocket (for instance, a version of the NetSprocketDebugLib), make sure you remove it.
Hosting a Network Game
To begin a networked game of Ares, one player must be the host, and the other player must be the client . The host should Select “Start Network Game” from the main menu, then select “Host.”
Once the Host Dialog appears, check the AppleTalk protocol option for games on your local network, or TCP/IP for internet games. For TCP/IP connections, leave the port setting at 32130.
Leave the “Play on this machine” option checked. If you’ve arranged with your client to have password protection for the game, make sure you enter it correctly, or the client won’t be able to join your game, and you won’t be notified of his failure to join.
Enter a unique game name if you’re playing on an AppleTalk network that may have other games of Ares in progress. Once you have entered your player name, click OK to allow a client to join.
When a client tries to join with you, the client’s name will appear in the “Client Name” box. Click the “Accept” button to advance to the Network Setup screen.
Joining a Network Game
The client should select “Start Network Game” from the main menu, and then select “Join.” Use the pop-up menu at the top of the Join Dialog to select the type of network game you want to join: AppleTalk for games on your local network, or TCP/IP for internet games.
When joining an AppleTalk game, choose a zone (if any) from the AppleTalk Zones list, and a game from the list of available games.
When joining a TCP/IP game, leave the Host Port field at 32130 and enter the host name or I.P. address in the Host Name field. WARNING: BE CERTAIN THAT YOU ENTER THE HOST’S I.P. ADDRESS CORRECTLY, AND THAT THE HOST IS CONNECTED --TRYING TO CONNECT TO A NON-EXISTENT HOST CAN TAKE SEVERAL MINUTES TO TIME-OUT. Force-quitting from this procedure may interfere with any further networking, and is strongly discouraged.
If you have arranged with your host for a password for the game, make sure you enter it correctly. Otherwise, the host will not be notified of your request to join his game.
Once you enter a player name for yourself, click OK to request to join with the host. If you’re connecting via TCP/IP and you’ve entered an invalid I.P. address, it may take several minutes for the attempt to fail, and you won’t be able to cancel the attempt (or to do anything else). Once the host accepts you, you will advance to the Network Setup screen.
The Network Setup Screen
Once a host and a client have successfully connected to each other, you can configure the network game settings. You can communicate with the other player by entering text in the “Enter Text” field and pressing RETURN or clicking the “Send Text” button.
In the Ares Demo, you cannot choose a level (under the “Level” tab) or a species (under the “Player” tab).
Under the “Net Settings” tab, you can configure Ares’ behavior for the best network performance. The settings you make under the “Net Settings” tab always effect both players.
Lag Setting
The single most important setting is the Lag, and an incorrectly set lag can make for an unplayable game. The Lag setting determines how long it takes for Ares to respond to your actions, and is necessary to compensate for a network’s natural latency. It allows two remote computers to remain synchronized, even when it takes time for them to communicate each player’s action to the other.
The Lag value represents 1/10th seconds. For instance, a Lag setting of 5 represents 5/10ths of a second, or one half of a second. In this case, if you pressed the fire button during the game it would take 1/2 second for your ship to actually fire.
For LocalTalk games, you can usually set the Lag very low, at either 0 or 1.
For games with high latency, especially internet games, you’ll need to observe the Lag graph.
Typically, you’ll want your Lag setting to be at or above most of the highest points in the graph. A Lag setting of 5 or 6 is pretty low (good) for normal 28.8 dial-up internet connections. Settings of 10 (a full second lag) or above are high and make controlling your ship very difficult.
If the lag graph is punctuated with several high peaks, your connection may not be good enough for a game; very high peaks typically mean that data between the machines is being lost, which will result in “Waiting For Other Player” pauses during the game.
For important details on improving the performance of internet games, see the “Internet Play” section below.
Lower Bandwidth
To generate less network traffic, check the “Low Bandwidth” option. This forces Ares to send one-half as much information over the network, losing some redundancy. This may result in “lost” data between the players’ computers, causing more “Waiting for Other Player” delays. In most cases, leave the Lower Bandwidth setting OFF. You may wish to turn on the Lower Bandwidth setting if you’re trying to play Ares over a dial-up internet connection with a 14.4 modem.
Resend Delay
When data sent by one player on the network doesn’t reach the other player, you will experience delays characterized by a flashing “Waiting for Other Player” message. In these cases, the missing data will be resent. The Resend Delay setting allows you to choose how long each computer will wait before requesting that the missing data be resent. Normally you’ll want to keep this set at “1 Second.”
Secure Protocol
This setting allows you to specify how Ares will use the slower but more reliable protocols for communicating over a network. Normally, you’ll want to keep this set at “Resend Only.”
Networking Tips
• To send messages to your opponent during the net setup screen, simply start typing. Pressing RETURN will dim the previously typed text.
• To customize your portrait, paste an icon onto the “Your Ares Net Portrait” file. You can double click on the file for more information.
• To send a message during a net game, press RETURN, type your message, then press RETURN again to send it. To clear your message, type COMMAND-RETURN.
• To capture a bunker station, first knock out its defenses by attacking it, then send an Assault Transport to it. When the Assault Transport arrives, it will release a squad of EVATs (Extra-Vehicular Assault Troopers). At least five of the EVATs must reach the station alive to capture the station. Stations earn you additional money.
• Assault Transports can not land on planets -- they can only take over stations. Regular transports cannot take over stations, and can only take over planets.
The quality of Ares games played over the internet will depend on the quality of your internet connection. For dial-up connections, a 28.8 modem is recommended, but you may find success even with a 14.4 modem. In any case, make sure you set the net lag as described above, or your game will be unplayable.
• Use Apple’s OT/PPP and the latest version of Open Transport.
• TURN OFF MODEM COMPRESSION & ERROR CORRECTION. Doing this may greatly improve the quality of your internet games. Using OT/PPP, open the PPP Control Panel. Click on the “Options” button. Click on the “Protocol” tab. Make sure “Allow Compression and Error Correction in Modem” is NOT checked. “TCP Header Compression” should be checked. Click “OK,” close the PPP Control Panel and confirm that you want to save your settings.
For other internet activities, such as web browsing or email, you should leave the “Allow Compression and Error Correction in Modem” on for best results.
• TURN OFF VIRTUAL MEMORY/RAMDOUBLER. This can improve network performance.
• Make sure you leave memory for the System, at least a few hundred kilobytes. If the memory you give Ares is greater than the memory available, networking may work poorly or not at all.
- To speed up the game time, press and hold down the F8 key.
