Gamers and fantasy fans are often maligned as freaks and geeks, but they also foster close- knit communities that support each other and are wary of outsiders. Writer Ethan Gilsdorf left the gaming community years ago, but returned to it as an adult, e…

To summarize what is needed to make Adam’s suggestion work with the newest DOSBOX version (.73 as of this writing):

1. Before Adam’s Step 1 above, you must locate (hunt around on C drive, it’s somewhere under the documents and settings\local\ … … path) the DOSBOX.CONF file. Use F3 to search for IPXNET. Change =FALSE to =TRUE. Close and restart DOSBOX (if it was open).

2. On an XP machine, you must install the IPX protocol. It wasn’t installed on either machine that we were using)

(Below is from http://www.computing.net/answers/networking/warcraft-2-windows-xp-ipx-network/13723.html ):

1. Open Local Area Connection properties.

2. Ensure NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol is checked.
If it’s not listed (and you therefore can’t “check”) it — Install it as a new protocol by right clicking on My Network Places & choosing properties. Right click on Local Area Connection and again select properties. Choose install. Add the NWLINK/IPX/SPX… protocol.
THEN make sure it’s checked.

3. Uncheck NWLink NetBIOS & select [OK]

Getting this to finally run took over a month of playing around with it in my spare time. Still don’t have it running on my home systems (and we bought two older “junk” computers for $40-50 each just to play WC2). We just got it working in the network at the office (but, hey, so I have to hang out at the office to play for now… could be worse and I’ll eventually get it going at home).

6) Start WAR2 on the server, Select Multiplayer, select the IPX Network connection method and
click CONNECT then CREATE GAME.

When the user (server) starts WarCraft and goes to Multiplayer and selects IPX Network and enters a name and hits OK, you get:

IPXNET NET NOT FOUND

:-(

Damn. Well it’s almost 2:00 a.m., which is my quit time for crap like this Arrrgghh!

Anyone who beats this, PLEASE POST THE SOLUTION!

The file that the user needs to modify to make Adam’s suggestion work (at least I hope that’s the end result of this, I’m still chugging through to changing the default IPXNET=FALSE to the needed IPXNET=TRUE) is located under documents and settings \ local \ [your user name] \ etc… In other words, it’s buried good.

And, since Microsoft makes the LOCAL directory invisible (you see what I’m saying about Bill Gates being evil?), you have to locate it through command prompt / DOS search thus:

CD\DOCUME~1 [ENTER]
DIR DOSBOX*.* /S [ENTER]
(Note that path it gives)
then:
DIR C:\DOCUM~1\[FIRST FEW CHARS OF PATH NAME]\ /X /AD
note the short form of the path it gives – you then need to type it -

cd [short form of path name] [enter]
utnil you eventually get to the director with DOSBOX…CONF file

Then EDIT the file – use F3 to find IPXNET
Change FALSE to TRUE
Exit from DOSBOX and restart….

I’ll keep you posted.

Only a dedicated Warcraft 2 addict would go through all this bullshit, btw….

Now, I just need to locate this DOSBOX.CONF file. A command prompt search (DIR ?DOSBOX.CONF /S and DIR DOSBOX*.* /S /P) hasn’t given me the location of it.

I’m sure there is actually a good reason that the DOSBOX folks changed this setting and that it’s not a case of Bill Gates possessing them in their sleep and screwing up something that worked fine.

Anyway, assuming I find it (I’ll update here when / if I do), readers of this page need to know that if they’re using the latest DOSBOX verios, ADAM’S SUGGESTION WILL NOT WORK UNTIL YOU CHANGE THIS CONFIG SETTING FROM THE DEFAULT.

If anyone knows…. please please email me? Address is Dave (at sign) dpdlaw.com (hopefully setting out address like that will avoid spambots out there trolling for addresses)

Thanks in advance…….!

Been trying for over a month now to get WarCraft II to connect so we can play games at home. We have two computers, back to back … would love to get all four computers in the household connected so the whole group of us could play, but would be happy with getting at least two of them to connect.

The computers “see” each other (successful ping), and we can create a game in WC2, but it hangs at the “waiting for response” (or “waiting for other player to join”? Not at that system right now)

You can use the eenie-meenie-minee-moe method to pick one of the machines and on THAT machine you would run the ‘ipxnet startserver’ command.

You might want to pick the fastest computer and choose to run the ‘ipxnet startserver’ command there.

The key is, whoever will be hosting the game and picking the options for the multiplayer game…. THAT is the computer on which the ‘ipxnet startserver’ command needs to be run.

Any clearer??