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ARCHON ULTRA: Last-Minute Notes Demo Mode: ARCHON ULTRA is not only exciting to play but also engrossing to watch. If you ignore the Main Menu for more than a minute or so, ARCHON ULTRA's computer AI will automatically play a game against itself. (If the previous game of the current session involved a human being, there is a longer wait between games.) You can, of course, start such a demo immediately by selecting Computer for both sides and then choosing Start. Conversely, you can interrupt a computer demo by selecting New Game from the pull-down Game menu. ---------- Saving a Game: If you must interrupt a game to perform some other task on your computer, you can save the game and finish it later. In the pull-down Game menu, choose Save Game; then you can Quit normally, but your unfinished game will be preserved. To go back to your unfinished game, run ARCHON ULTRA, select your input device, and start a game. Then choose Load Game from the pull-down Game menu, and you can resume play where you left off during your earlier session. Alternatively, you can select Load Game while you are still in the Main Menu, but the restored game will not be visible until you click on Start. Only one saved game can be stored at a time; saving a game overwrites any previously saved game. You can neither load nor save a game during modem play. ---------- Swapping Keys: The default keyboard configuration is shown on page 5 of the rule book. If you prefer, however, you can play the Dark Side with the "Light Side" keys, or vice versa. To do so, just select Swap Keys from the pull-down Keyboard menu. ---------- Windows: Do not try to run ARCHON ULTRA under Windows Enhanced Mode; your computer may crash. (Standard Mode is OK.) ---------- Modem Play: If you have a modem hooked up to your computer, you can play the game against any other ARCHON ULTRA owner who also has a modem-equipped computer. (Both modems must be 2400 baud or faster.) To play a game by modem, first TURN YOUR MODEM ON. (If you have an internal modem, it is already on.) Then choose the Modem option in the pull-down Game menu. Note that this option is available only while the Main Menu is displayed: that is, before a game has started, or immediately after you select New Game. Modem Window: The modem window uses a point-and-click interface similar to that of the Main Menu. You can move the special modem cursor with a mouse, joystick, or the cursor keys -- but not the Light Side's (alphabetic) keys. Make selections with the usual buttons or the Insert key. Select the side you want to play (Light or Dark) and the Com Port your modem is using. If you are not certain of the correct Com Port, try #1. If nothing happens, work your way through the buttons, in order, until you succeed in "pushing" one. (You cannot push a button that corresponds to a port your mouse is using, and buttons for ports that are not there "won't work," either.) Error Correction: To ensure the accuracy of their transmissions, many modems use a variety of error-correction procedures that, unfortunately, interfere with the operation of the game. ARCHON ULTRA has its own error-correction protocols, and the unnecessary duplication of effort will greatly slow action on the battlefield. To avoid this problem, the program will attempt to shut off your modem's error correction as soon as you choose a Com Port. Since the necessary command varies from modem to modem, the program uses a string of commands, one of which is usually effective. Testing: The only conclusive test for the absence of external error correction is to check the speed of combat during modem play. Before proceeding, however, to see if the program and your modem are at least on speaking terms, type ATE1 and press Enter. If all is well, an encouraging "OK" will appear in the dialog box in the center of the window. (You do not have to do this to play the game; it is only a test.) Coordination: At this point, an old-fashioned telephone call may be needed to be sure both you and your opponent are ready to go, and to decide who (or whose computer) is going to call, and who is going to answer. Obviously, you could discuss who gets which side and what handicap, but you could also settle such questions later, after your machines connect, by exchanging typed messages. (See Connecting, below.) Once you decide which of you will initiate the modem connection, you can hang up. Dialing: If you are the calling party, click on the large DIAL button. When "ATDT" appears, type in your opponent's telephone number. Include the area code and the initial number 1, if needed; hyphens are optional. (Thus, for example, 555-1212 or 1-408-555-1212 is OK; so is 5551212 or 14085551212.) Press Enter, and the modem will dial the number. Answering: If your opponent is doing the calling, wait for your telephone or modem to ring. When it does, click on ANSWER. Connecting: Once one machine has dialed and the other has answered, the two computers should be able to establish --and maintain-- an electronic connection. In most cases, as soon as this happens, CONNECT (or possibly CONNECT or CONNECT 2400/NONE) will appear in the dialog box. The presence of additional codes after CONNECT --e.g., MNP, ARQ, or LAPM-- usually means both modems, despite the program's efforts, have turned on error-correction procedures. Since this will make the game unplayably slow, you MUST deal with it before proceeding. See Problems and Technical Stuff, below. In some cases, if one modem tries --and fails-- to impose its error- correction protocols on the other, the CONNECT message will immediately be overwritten with a line of gibberish. This looks bad but is harmless. Once you are connected, as long as you are in the modem window, you and your opponent can "talk" to each other by typing messages in the dialog box. (Be sure to wait for the CONNECT confirmation before typing, or you will confuse your modem into hanging up.) When you are ready, press OK to return to the Main Menu to start the game. Starting the Game: Make any choices you need to, and select the appropriate Start. Once your opponent does the same, you can start playing. Note that you and your opponent must press Start within 30 seconds of each other. Be prepared for surprises if the two of you make conflicting selections (e.g., you both choose to play Dark). To permit the game to begin, the program will arbitrarily resolve such conflicts. Message Window: Any time the board (not the battlefield) is showing, you can pause the game to exchange messages with your opponent by pressing the function key F5. Type whatever message you wish in the dialog box, and click on CANCEL to return to play. Quirks of Modem Play: Playing the game by modem is not much different from playing in person. However, there are a few quirks to remember. 1. You cannot do anything while your opponent is using a menu. (This includes the Main Menu.) If your cursor suddenly stops moving, this is the reason. 2. During your opponent's turn, you cannot use your joystick to access pull-down menus. Use the keyboard or a mouse, instead. 3. You cannot use the Pause key during modem play. 4. Combat sometimes slows down, and the controls are a bit sluggish: that is, there is a small delay between a push of the joystick and the corresponding action. (In effect, your creatures have intertia and momentum.) The longer the connection and the noisier the line, the more noticeable will be the delays. 5. Avoid pounding on the keyboard, especially at inappropriate moments. Modem play is more fragile than a normal game, and you can confuse the program or freeze the game if you really work at it. Playing Another Game: At the end of a modem game, after the victory and end-game screens are shown, the modem window will return automatically. Since your machines should still be connected, you can use the dialog box to boast of your victory, vow revenge for your defeat, or challenge your opponent to another game. For a rematch, press OK. To play the computer or another player, or simply to end your session, press CANCEL. Disconnecting: Disconnecting is usually automatic if your opponent hangs up or the signal is lost. If the Main Menu suddenly reappears in the middle of a modem game, it is because your opponent has vanished. You can also disconnect and hang up "manually:" in the modem window, choose CANCEL (which puts you back into the Main Menu); on the board, press the Escape key and then, at the prompt, the function key F9. (During modem play, this combination disconnects the line without leaving ARCHON ULTRA.) Problems: If you haven't used your modem or com port before, you may have configuration problems that require the assistance of an experienced modem user --if you can find one. If you have call waiting on the line to which your modem is connected, your game will be ruined if someone else calls during play. If you can temporarily disable the feature, you should do so. (This works better if you are the one initiating the modem call.) Occasionally, the game may not realize a disconnect has occurred, or the two computers may get hopelessly out of synch. Some modems, for instance, do not tell your computer when the carrier signal is lost, and the menu protocol can conceal a surprise disconnection. In odd cases, the modem connection might remain even if your opponent's computer crashes. In any of these cases, if you realize your opponent has vanished before the program notices, formally disconnect with CANCEL (in the modem window) or Escape & F9 (on the board). If you are on the battlefield and are POSITIVE something is wrong, pressing the Escape (Esc) key three times will artificially end the battle and return you to the board, from which you can --and in this case must-- start a New Game or Quit. In extreme cases, you may have to Quit to make sure the modem hangs up, and restart the game to get things back to normal. If action on the battlefield is r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w, both modems evidently have error-correction turned on. At least one modem must have error- correction OFF. (To find out how to do this, you will have to look in your modem manual. See below for an example.) Technical Stuff: Standard com port and IRQ settings are shown below. (Unless you are having problems with modem play, just IGNORE ALL THIS.) Serial Port (COMPORT) I/O Base Address (COMADDR) IRQ (COMINT) 1 3f8 4 2 2f8 3 3 3e8 4 4 2e8 3 ARCHON ULTRA assumes the default IRQ settings but tries to get the actual addresses from the BIOS. If your com port settings are weird, or your IRQs do not match those in the table above, you may need to override the settings in the game. (If you are not having any problems starting a modem game, you do not need to worry about this.) To correct the game settings, create a batch file that includes something equivalent to the following lines, and run it before running ARCHON ULTRA. (Alternatively, you could include the lines in your autoexec.bat, but always save a backup copy of autoexec.bat --autoexec.bak, say, or autoexec.arc-- before modifying the real thing.) set ARCHON_MODEM_COMPORT=4 set ARCHON_MODEM_COMADDR=3f8 set ARCHON_MODEM_COMINT=4 set ARCHON_MODEM_INIT=AT&F &C1 &D2 &M0 &Q0 \N0 set ARCHON_MODEM_DIAL=ATDT555-1212 set ARCHON_MODEM_ANSWER=ATS0≈1 set ARCHON_MODEM_EQUAL=# Note that the numbers shown are just examples; the numbers and (in the fourth line) modem commands you actually put in your file need to match your particular setup. Line 1 specifies a com port; the overrides in lines 2 and 3 apply only when, in the modem window, you push the button matching that com port. If either line 2 or line 3 is omitted, the program will assume the default setting for the missing line. The fourth line, which is independent of the others, turns off error correction. The series of commands shown in the example is the program's default attempt to influence ALL modems. (For reference, the commands contain zeros, not the letter O.) It will not be used if you supply a simpler initialization string appropriate to your particular modem (e.g., set ARCHON_MODEM_INIT=AT&M0). If you are experiencing glacial slowness in combat, you MUST use such a command to correct the problem. Since lines 5-7 are tricky to use and somewhat difficult to understand, we suggest you ignore them --and the explanations that follow-- if possible. Line 5, a labor-saving device, should be used ONLY if you play modem games against a single opponent. If you replace the example number (after ATDT) with your opponent's telephone number, clicking on DIAL in the modem window will cause your modem to dial that number automatically, without your having to type it in the dialog box. Line 6 allows you to click on the ANSWER button before the phone (modem) rings, and have your modem answer automatically when your opponent calls. (The number 1 tells the modem to answer on the 1st ring.) Here is the complication: the normal modem command to do this is ATS0=1, but DOS does not allow two equal signs in the same line. Thus, we are using the squiggly equivalent ≈, which is produced by holding down the Alt key, typing 247 on the numeric keypad (only), and releasing the Alt key. If this is too awkward, you can use line 7 to redefine any character (preferably the pound sign, as in the example) to be read as an equals sign. In the latter case, in your batch file line 7 should PRECEDE line 6, which would be altered accordingly (i.e., set ARCHON_MODEM_ANSWER=ATS0#1). In a few unusual cases, you might have to use this gimmick to shut off your modem's error correction (line 4, above). --------- If you have trouble running archon. Reboot your machine and instead of typing Archon to start, type Archon1. --------- Have fun! --Jon Freeman (1/10/94)