*********************************************************
**                Sid Meier's CivNet                   **
**                                                     **
**    Release notes and hints for running CivNet       **
**                                                     **
**  Copyright (c)1995, by MicroProse Software, Inc.    **
*********************************************************

Version 1.0

Last minute additions/Changes--

- Setting Different IPX/SPX or TCP socket
	We added the ability to change the default IPX/SPX or TCP socket on the off
	chance one of your applications was using the same socket.  To make use of this
	feature, copy the SNET.INI file into your WINDOWS directory.  The file has
	been commented and explains how to make changes to it.

- "U"nload key
	After pressing "U" to unload units from a ship you should then press "W", this
	will switch to the units in the ship so you can unload them.
	
- Quitting from a Hotseat Game
	To quit from a hotseat game do not select retire from the game menu, this will
	end the game for all players.  Select quit Hotseat from the Multi-player menu.

- Playing your own CD with Civnet.
	Before you start CivNet you can place an AUDIO CD into the CD-ROM and Civnet
	will use it for playing music.  Civnet looks for tracks 02 - 18, if there is no
	track or no CD CivNet will not play music.  Please note:  Because WIN 95 uses
	auto play you will not be able to do this on Win 95 machines.

- Problems with the Win 95 Auto Launcher.
	If you are running Win 95 and are experiencing a GPF message when you insert
	the Civnet CD, you will need to do the following.  Close the GPF message and then
	click START, Select Run and type D:\install.exe (where D: is the letter of your
	CD-ROM drive) click OK.  Civnet will then install.  After you have installed the 
	auto launcher will now work.  This problem is caused by WinG not being installed
	on the machine.  Windows 95 by default should install WinG on the system, but
	for whatever reason it was not there.


General Notes--
- If, for some reason, you decide to remove CivNet from your system, 
	there is an initialization file which is created in the Windows
	sub-directory.  The file is called CIVNET.INI and can safely be deleted after
	you have removed CivNet from your computer.  This file will be recreated when
	you reinstall CivNet from the CD.

- Saves from the DOS and WINDOWS versions of Civilization will NOT work with CivNet.
	You can however use the saves from the windows version in the map editor to get 
	the maps from your saves and use them with Civnet.


Notes for running single player--

- Show only TrueType fonts:
	If this option is set for your fonts in either Windows 3.1 or
	Windows 95, CivNet will not run.  The default is off.

Notes for running multi-player games--

- Who are we waiting for?
	CivNet's turns have a few phases as outlined in the manual.  In a multi-
	player game, all players must complete one phase before continuing to
	the next.  The movement phase (certainly the most time consuming) can
	have a time limit imposed.  However, the upkeep phase has no time limit.
	It is simply over when everyone has read their reports and done their
	maintenance tasks.  If you notice the game is frozen in the upkeep phase,
	make sure you have read all your reports and hit the Done button on the
	report window.  (Hitting F5 will bring up your reports again so you
	can double check).  Try to stay aware of the turn phase as you chat with
	other leaders as well.  You may be holding the game up for everyone else
	while trading technology with someone.

- Blue lights:
	Occasionally, the network status light bulbs in the lower portion of
	the Status Window will turn blue.  This indicates a "hold" on the game
	usually because a machine in the game cannot keep pace with the other
	machines.  This should not last more than a few seconds and the game
	should resume normally.  Pulling down a menu item and leaving the popup
	menu up will also produce this condition.  It will not clear until
	the menu is released.  This is important to remember.  As the game
	appears to be locked, check to make sure no menu items are selected.
	You could be holding up the game for others.

- Modem and Game Connection:
	Because of the design and implementation of Windows 3.1, serial
	communication can sometimes be hindered by hardware overruns.
	These occur when the system cannot attend to the serial port as
	frequently as is necessary to keep data flowing.  There are other
	and more sinister conditions that can cause overruns, and they are
	usually hardware or configuration related.
	CivNet does its best to recover from overruns, but they will affect
	speed.  If you notice "HARDWARE OVERRUN" in the modem status window,
	try switching to a slower baud rate.
	There are known conflicts with the serial port when Windows is driving
	sound   devices.  If you notice frequent hardware overruns, try turning
	off sounds and music.

- IPX/SPX LAN games:
	You will need the line
		Network.drv=netware.drv
	in the [Boot] section of system.ini in order to correctly begin an
	IPX/SPX game.  This is necessary only for Windows 3.1 games and
	Windows 95 games that load the DOS netware drivers.  Windows 95 machines
	that use the default IPX support provided by Microsoft should be
	correctly detected by CivNet without the use of the system.ini line.
	The IPX/SPX support is system resource intensive and thus care should
	be taken to insure that large games (5-7) players are being played on
	fast machines with lots of memory(16MB).  Also, try loading DOS drivers
	only up to the IPXODI level.  Not loading VLM and logging into the server
	has helped the speed and stability of net games on some machines.

- TCP/IP LAN games:
	Windows 95 comes with a TCP/IP protocol that runs over most typical
	networks.  This is an excellent protocol to use for LAN games.  There
	are also TCP/IP emulator that can be purchased from network vendors
	that perform the same feature on Windows 3.1 and DOS machines.  The
	drawback is that you will have to know the IP address for the computer
	you wish to connect to.

- TCP/IP "live" Internet games:
	Games running on the Internet using a SLIP/PPP connection will vary
	greatly in speed of play.  Depending on the Internet provider, utilization
	of the provider's server, and geographical proximity of the players,
	the game could be unusually slow and unresponsive.  This is a condition
	beyond our control.  Try to keep "live" Internet games to two or three
	players (preferably two) using the same service provider.  Ideally, the
	players should dial into the same server as well.
	( Special note:  The ability to receive and send Internet E-mail through
	an on-line service like CompuServe or America On-line does not necessarily
	mean you can play CivNet.  Your on-line service needs to provide a SLIP or
	a PPP connection that provides you with a unique IP address.  If you can
	telnet, ftp, or browse the WorldWideWeb, you can probably play CivNet. )
	Also, if you are logged in over a modem, please read the above section on
	modem games, some of the same issues may apply to TCP/IP games over a
	modem.

-  The Importance of knowing your IP address for TCP/IP games:
	It is extremely important that you, as well as others,  know
	your correct IP address when starting CivNet.  CivNet will attempt
	to resolve your IP address for you, however, depending on the type
	of TCP/IP connection you have, this may report an incorrect address.
	It is your responsibility to verify that CivNet is using the correct
	address. This is extremely important for services which provide you
	a dynamic IP address, where an IP address is assigned to you when you
	log in.  CivNet will not work properly if your IP address is different
	then what it is reported as. If CivNet reports your IP address as
	"0.0.0.0", this can mean one of two things, either you are not connected
	to your provider or have access to a host file.  There are some
	services which hide your IP address from the user on purpose ( internetMCI
	is known for this ).  It is impossible for CivNet to know what your
	IP address is in this case and is your responsibility to find out what it
	is.  There are several apps available via the Internet which will help
	you find out what it is.

-       Connecting to a Game Connection Protocol game via the Internet
	If you know of a game being played on a BBS with Game Connection Protocol
	and that BBS has a connection to the Internet, you can attach to that
	game via an Internet host.  Using rlogin, issue the command:
		rlogin -8 address.net
	Where address.net is the Internet address for the bulletin board.  You
	must be using an eight bit connection for this to work.  rlogin should be used
	we have had some problems playing CivNet with telnet sessions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Multi-Player Connectivity Overviews:
	CivNet allows a multitude of connectivity options.  Currently, players may
	cooperate/compete through IPX/SPX, NetBIOS, Direct Connect (serial connect or
	modem),TCP/IP (Protocol or The Internet), Hot Seat, and Game Connection
	Protocol (on Bulletin Board Systems which support the GCP packet exchange).


IPX/SPX:

	Recommended Max:        7 players
	Performance:    typically fast, depending upon size of IPX/SPX network
	Overview:               IPX/SPX is simply the protocol used to communicate with
				over a network.  The most common of these is NOVELL
				Netware.
	Startup Process:        Users must be on the same network and must have already
				connected and logged in before running CivNet.  Once
				CivNet has been started, by selecting the multiplayer
				game choice "Network Game", CivNet will detect the
				presence of IPX/SPX and use this protocol for
				connectivity.


NetBIOS:
	Recommended Max:        7 players
	Performance:    ranges according to network size
	Overview:               NetBIOS is another type of network protocol and works in
				similar regards to IPX/SPX.
	Startup Process:        Users must be on the same network and must have already
				connected and logged in before running CivNet.  Game
				startup is the same as in IPX/SPX setup.


Direct Connect - Serial:

	Recommended Max:        2 players
	Performance:    Faster than modem (providing both machines use 16550 UART), slower
			than Network (IPX/SPX)
	Overview:               Serial connections allow two players to serially link
				their computers through the use of a Null Modem cable.
				This cable is plugged into a free serial connection on
				both computers.
	Startup Process:        After physical setup of the serial line, players choose
				the "Head to Head" option under multiplayer game.  There
				is some setup involved in telling CivNet which serial
				port is being used as a direct connection.  This setup
				is done from the Head to Head menu.
	SPECIAL NOTE:   Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 does not respond well to
				attempting to write to an invalid serial port.
				Therefore, it is critical that the users know which
				serial port is valid for the Null Modem connection. This
				problem is not restricted to CivNet, as it is an
				operating system problem and a fundamental design aspect
				of Windows.


Direct Connect - Modem:
	
	Recommended Max:        2 players
	Performance:    High speed modems, 14400 baud and above, tend to perform
				well.  Slower modems, 9600 BAUD, will display a noticeable wait
				time between all aspects of gameplay.
	Overview:               Modem connections allow two players to connect through
				the use of a modem and phone line.  After modem setup,
				the two players decide who will call and who will
				answer.
	Startup Process:        As in Direct Connect - Serial, the modem must be setup
				under the Head to Head menu.  Setup involves configuring
				CivNet to recognize the unique modem in the machine.

	
	
TCP/IP - On the Internet:
	
	Recommended Max:        2 players.
	Performance:    Extremely variable, depending upon type of Internet
				connection and rate of traffic elsewhere on the
				Internet.
	Requirements:   See TCP/IP - Protocol requirements above.
	Overview:               "The Internet" is today's buzzword for world-wide
				connectivity. All that is needed is a direct connection
				to the Internet or access through a service provider
				and the assigned TCP/IP address to your machine.
	Startup Process:        Access to the Internet must be established before
				starting CivNet.  This process varies, depending upon
				the means of connection.  For access through a service
				provider, this means logging on to the actual provider
				and beginning a SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) or
				PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) session.  The setup
				process for these types of sessions will depend upon the
				service provider.
	SPECIAL NOTE:   TCP/IP addresses are typically assigned dynamically from
				service providers, and will vary from one on-line
				session to another (between disconnecting from the
				service and then reconnecting).


TCP/IP - Protocol:
	
	Recommended Max:        7 players
	Performance:    Comparable to IPX/SPX
	Overview:               The TCP/IP protocol is similar in nature to IPX/SPX in
				that it is merely the language computers use to
				communicate.  Any network which utilizes TCP/IP can be
				used to run multiplayer CivNet games.
	Requirements:   WinSock, version 1.1 or greater, must exist on the
				machine and in the Windows sub-directory.  This is a
				Microsoft DLL used for socket   communications.  Many
				different versions of this file is available, and some
				"hybrid" copies will not work properly with CivNet.
				Windows 3.11 and Windows 95 already have the WinSock DLLs
				installed.
	Startup Process:        A TCP/IP protocol must be installed and operational the
				computer (see Special Note).  The unique TCP/IP address
				must be provided to CivNet, and usually this number can
				be obtained without user intervention.  A TCP/IP address
				is of the form ###.###.###.### and each "###" ranges
				from 0 - 255. The host system may simply start the game
				without knowing other TCP/IP addresses.  The players who
				wish to join a game, however, must know the TCP/IP
				address of the server machine in order to connect.
	SPECIAL NOTE:   During testing of CivNet, it was found that Windows 95
				supports the binding of the TCP/IP protocol to the
				machine's adapter, allowing TCP/IP gameplay. This has
				proven to be a very stable and fast mode of
				communication between computers, and the setup process
                                is relatively easy.  A group of computers could be setup
				with Windows 95 and TCP/IP, and after giving all machines
				unique TCP/IP addresses, CivNet could be played as if
				running on any other network, such as Netware.


HotSeat:
	
	Recommended Max:        7 players
	Performance:    Fastest possible
	Overview:               HotSeat is the only way to play a multiplayer game on a 
				single machine.  It allows numerous players
				to operate the game from the same computer by taking
				turns.  Obviously, simultaneous movement is not possible
				in HotSeat games.
	Startup Process:        Users take turns choosing armies, and once the game has
				begun, gameplay takes place in a "round-robin" fashion.


Game Connection Protocol:
	
	Recommended Max:        7 players
	Performance:    There are a number of variables which affect
				performance:  speed of modems used to connect, speed of
				host BBS, and number of players.
	Overview:               Players who wish to play under the GCP mode must find a
				BBS which supports the GCP protocol (meaning that the
				BBS has GCP up and running on-line).
	Startup Process:        After selecting a GCP site and connecting through the
				modem (accomplished within CivNet in the GCP menus)
				users must find the "Game Connection" section on the BBS
				by using the CivNet terminal.  Users must then start a
				new "Game Channel" or join an existing one. Please NOTE:
				you must select either GCP or Civnet as the Channel's Protocol
				Once in 	this "Game Channel", users are in a mini-conference from
				where they may chat or start the game (done by typing
				"/start").  /Start should take everyone in the "channel"
				to the join/start game screen, if not you will need to 
				click begin.
	Joining Game Process:   After selecting a GCP site and connecting through the
				modem (accomplished within CivNet in the GCP menus)
				users must find the "Game Connection" section on the BBS
				by using the CivNet terminal.  Users must then enter a game
				"channel" that has a game of Civnet in progress.  Type /enter
				to enter the game in progress then click begin.  This will take you
				the Join/Start screen, select join and your on your way.

Quality Assurance would like to thank the following additional people for their help
testing Civnet.

James King
Vaughn "Guru" Thomas
Jeff Dinger
Bob "Tank" Abe
Chrispy Bowling
Darren Brown
Mike Richardson
Mike Prendergast
Don "Postal" Emmel
Todd Cioni
Brian Wilson
Brian Hellesen
Dwight Tice
Mike Davidson


Special Thanks to:

Dr. Jeffrey Briggs
411 West
Hampton Inn (Chapel Hill)
Peter English (Lord Bawlmer's BeBs (410) 532-0100)
Monty Python
Caffeine
The Machine
Schmee-Ah
