Currently, there are two ways to find opponents for internet games of Ares. We are investigating additional options.
Dawnrazor
<http://www.dawnrazor.com>
Dawnrazor is a free web-based solution, and allows you to "post" games from your web browser. It's easy to access and easy to use.
The #ares Channel
The IRC channel #ares on EFNet, is another option (made possible by "The_O" and "Yoghourt"). It's a versatile means of "chatting" through text messages in real-time over the internet.
On the #ares channel you can set up net games, give other players your I.P. address, and talk about tactics.
What's IRC?
IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, and requires an IRC client, special software which allows you to connect to an IRC server, which in turn is part of an IRC network. An IRC network is home to IRCchannels, which operate much like "chat rooms."
In a nutshell, you connect to a server by entering its address or choosing it from a menu in the IRC client. You then "join" the #ares channel by selecting Join from a menu and entering "#ares" or by typing "/join #ares" in a command line.
For more information about IRC, go to
<http://www.irchelp.org>
Getting the IRC Client Software
For the Macintosh, we recommend ircle.
<http://www.ircle.com>
It's a very stable and capable IRC client, and as shareware you can try it for free before deciding whether or not to keep it for $15.
Finding an IRC Server
It's important to note that not all IRC servers are connected to each other; there are several IRC networks. The #ares channel is on the EFNet network.
Recommended servers on EFNet are:
irc.mcs.net
irc.phoenix.net
irc.primenet.com
irc.cs.rpi.edu
irc.cris.com
irc.cerf.net
If you're on a server that's not connected to EFNet, and you join the #ares channel, you will actually be creating a new channel. If you find the #ares channel empty, you're probably not actually on EFNet.
