OK, I decided to make a new thread since this is a separate issue.

I got the game to work and installed the patch. Understorm is no longer up and running so I downloaded from a mirror. Evidently the patch is just a wsock32.dll. I copied it both to my RA2 directory and to the Internet folder inside RA2 folder.

When I go to network options I can only see IPX settings. I did add an exception to the libraries with wsock32.dll.

Any suggestions? i'm wanting to play on an LAN.

Hi,

Regarding network play with this title, there is some more info
over at WineHQ in these regards...see the following thread ;

http://www.winehq.org/pipermail/wine-users/2009-January/047813.html

Also see the following WineHQ_AppDB entry for this title...;

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=252

Hope this helps....

Cheers!

Thanks Don, I have read through those.
Hard to tell what will work in OS X COG and what's Linux specific.
I will keep reading. It was weird because all the patches I have downloaded just have the wsock32.dll in the folder. I don't understand how the game is patched to look for it.

Yeah...it's a bit of a minefield when you've got both linux and Mac
viewpoints using the same software - obviously, reading through all
the information gives one the impression that the IPX networking
stack can be made to work with linux after a bit of mucking about...
..but it's equally obvious nobody says that's the outcome with Mac..

Whether or not the Mac networking layer (wrt IPX) is as compliant as
it's linux counterpart is probably something worth trying to ascertain.
I would probably email info@codeweavers.com with that question ; one
of the codeweaver's crew will probably know if there's any great disparity
between the Mac/linux situation wrt IPX networking...

Regarding the patched wsock32.dll -- the game probably doesn't need
patching to work with that...ie; the dll is likely patched to suit
whatever the game software is looking for, not the other way around
as it were. You would still need a registry ovverride for this dll
though I suspect for it to work (last time I mucked about with wsock32.dll
this was the case in linux)...

Cheers!

I think that made sense, lol. I'm new to the world of Mac and Linux. I wasn't sure if Mac OS X had IPX capability. All the computers are connected to a single 24-port switch, so it might be possible to just use IPX.

By registry do you mean in the library override or do you mean a regedit entry in the bottle where multiplayer RA2 is installed?

I have also noticed some MISSING:GUI stuff on the NEtwork settings page. From my understanding this is just some graphics that tell you what you should be entering. Any suggestions as to what to enter under the Network IPX settings to see if as-is will work would be appreciated.

I will email codeweavers.
Thanks again for the help.

Steve Hollis wrote:

I think that made sense, lol. I'm new to the world of Mac and
Linux. I wasn't sure if Mac OS X had IPX capability. All the
computers are connected to a single 24-port switch, so it might be
possible to just use IPX.

By registry do you mean in the library override or do you mean a
regedit entry in the bottle where multiplayer RA2 is installed?

I have also noticed some MISSING:GUI stuff on the NEtwork settings
page. From my understanding this is just some graphics that tell
you what you should be entering. Any suggestions as to what to
enter under the Network IPX settings to see if as-is will work would
be appreciated.

I will email codeweavers.
Thanks again for the help.

Yes, by library override I mean a winecfg=>Libraries override for wsock32.dll with load order (native, builtin)

Also, I found this -- linux-centric but may hold some clues;

http://www.paintbrush-records.de/2008/08/06/cc-im-lan-mit-ipx-unter-wine

Cheers!

My German is a little rusty, but I think I made out most of it and it seems to be what I've read elsewhere.

I have emailed codeweavers. I have all the computers in question hooked up to one 24-port switch, so IPX might not be out of the question if it can be used by OS X. The question is how to set it up?

I'm also confused on what's supposed to happen when I patch it. I thought it added an LAN setting.

As promised i will come to that later, will first look in the register issue. So hold on! ;)

Thanks for all your help, Paul.

In reading up, I did find an unofficial patch for C&CTFD that seems to address the LAN issue. I installed it on a copy of a bottle, but I didn't notice a difference.
When LAN is working properly is there supposed to be a menu option to choose LAN over IPX?

Patch can be found here
http://www.cncsector.net/cnp/tfd

yeah the network issue is a tricky one, but i think i have the flue or something so i am not very fit to test it right now, will be over the weekend when i feel better that i look into it. Sorry for that...:( geting a headache when staring to the screen and when i am thinking hard ;)

Steve Hollis wrote:

Thanks for all your help, Paul.

In reading up, I did find an unofficial patch for C&CTFD that seems
to address the LAN issue. I installed it on a copy of a bottle, but
I didn't notice a difference.
When LAN is working properly is there supposed to be a menu option
to choose LAN over IPX?

Patch can be found here
http://www.cncsector.net/cnp/tfd

Hi Steve,

As I don't have the game itself (nor a local IPX lan setup to test with),
I can't really comment on this patch at all. However, I've read through all
the linux based stuff and it seems to me the game is only going to 'see'
any networking stuffs, if the IPX networking is already present/setup on
all the client machines at least 2 of them anyhow ;). If I'm right here,
you should be able to google for Apple resources regarding how to install
& configure the IPX networking stack on MacOSX - I'm pretty sure this is a
pre-requisite step here (it certainly is in linux)...

Cheers!

Paul, I certainly hope you feel better soon. I'm sorry you're sick. That's no fun.

Don, forgive my ignorance, but I have an IPX question.

I understand I need to get it installed on my Macs. I've read some about something called Hamachi. I will look into that.

If all my Macs are hardwired into one switch, based on what you know about IPX, is this something I will have to configure within the switch itself? Or is it like LAN where if I know the computer's IP address I can enter it into the joining computers and connect to the host?

Did that make sense?

Hi Steve,

It's seriously been so long since I've played with IPX (over a decade)
so we're pushing the grey matter limits a bit...but as best I recall
(and using the link in german posted above);

These must be the same on every machine in the network;

The IPX frame type to use

IPX_FRAME=802.3

Network number

IPX_NETNUM=00000 (<= don't use this number, use 00001 instead)

Each host (client) machine must have a unique network node;

Node number

IPX_NODENUM=1 (and for each machine a different node number)

I don't know where the configuration files in MacOSX are for this, but
it'll be in networking somewhere. Sorry, I have no idea about the switch,
but as long as it's transparent to the IPX protocol it shouldn't matter.

Cheers!

Hi Steve, i am starting to feel some fitter (rest is the remedy). Yeah....hamachi...i was one of the first testers in the betafase nice program....its only a decade ago that i used it. It helped me playing then days
with playing age of empires 2 behind the firewalls, but the thing is it installs an networkdevice/protocol in your system and i don't know how that works out in Crossover games. I should test it. I will this afternoon or tonight its here 9:10 at the moment in the morning. I don't know in what country you (me Netherlands) are (time differences) so you will see the post sooner or later.

Ok, i have to tell you that i have only one macbook, so i cant test LAN for you physically for you, i have only red alert 2 and my unit body macbook.
But i have some knowledge so maybe i can help.

First try this out:

From the main menu, select “Options” then “Network”. Under the “Internet Firewall Settings” section you’ll see a “port number” option, which can be used to instruct Red Alert 2TMto always use the port specified here. You should use a port number between 1024 and 65535. Every computer that you want to play the game on should be given a different port number if they are all behind the same firewall.
To return to the automatic mode, remove the port number from the “port number” edit box.

If you specify a port for Red Alert 2TM to use then you will have to manually configure your firewall with static IP and port forwarding to route packets to the correct computer. Each firewalls configuration method is different so consult your firewalls documentation for instructions on how to do this. You will probably have to assign a static IP to each computer connecting to the firewall otherwise the static forwarding rules may not work after restarting a computer or firewall.

Let me know how this works out.

OK, thanks. Let me ask a couple of questions.

If all computers are on the same physical switch, do I have to configure the firewall, or can I go within the switch and configure it that way?
In other words, since this lab is in a school I would have to contact the IT guy to do that, correct?

I'm going to try to go in tomorrow when no one's around and give this a try (holiday here, so no school)

Thanks again.

Edit: I had a thought after I posted. So, I am thinking that I can go into each computer I plan on using and seeing what IP it currently has and then just assigning that IP manually. That way I know it's free and it won't conflict with other IPs on our network.

Well thats tricky question. Normally you set your ip adres in the tcp/ip manually, but because you have no xp environment thats not the case. Maybe you can set the ipadres manually with a register setting, but i don't know how. Maybe the devs can say something about it. And of course you should set the same thing in the router/switch.

In the firewall i think you don't have to anything yet. First the above settings should be in place.

In OS X Under the control panel settings you can manually set your IP address. That's what I'll try tomorrow. I am not sure how to get into the switch. I'll do some Googling once I find the make/model.

Steve Hollis wrote:

In OS X Under the control panel settings you can manually set your
IP address. That's what I'll try tomorrow. I am not sure how to
get into the switch. I'll do some Googling once I find the
make/model.

I know, but the question is, does crossover games, takes over that address or does it has its own value from itself....

Steve Hollis wrote:

In OS X Under the control panel settings you can manually set your
IP address. That's what I'll try tomorrow. I am not sure how to
get into the switch. I'll do some Googling once I find the
make/model.

Steve,

If you're behind a firewall at the school and need the admin to allow the game ports
for connections, the following page should be of help...

http://www.d-silence.com/feature.php?id=244

Cheers!

edit: although it's wrt another C&C title, apparently the ports used are the same

also see => http://www.vanachteren.net/2006/08/13/how-to-get-red-alert-2-working-on-a-lan/

OK, After rereading this thread, I'm not ready to give up on the LAN thing yet. I don't think I realized that the networking screen didn't change, it still said IXP on the GUI (some of which is missing. That just means the font's not there, right?) but uses TCP/IP. I'm going to give this another go.

One thing I did notice was that the RA2 setup only liked 2 digit IP numbers in the last position. I had a computer with a 3-digit last number. I will try to change and experiment.

Steve Hollis wrote:

OK, After rereading this thread, I'm not ready to give up on the LAN
thing yet. I don't think I realized that the networking screen
didn't change, it still said IXP on the GUI (some of which is
missing. That just means the font's not there, right?) but uses
TCP/IP. I'm going to give this another go.

One thing I did notice was that the RA2 setup only liked 2 digit IP
numbers in the last position. I had a computer with a 3-digit last
number. I will try to change and experiment.

dont give up yet, i will also look into it tonight. I will test some another ways how to fix it. to be continued....

OK, maybe a breakthrough?

EDIT: Never mind 😀

Thought I had something, but I didn't.

Instead i jumped in the red alert 2 issue i had to recover completely my mac from scratch...so before i have everything installed and such, it will be 2 days later. sorry for the delay 😭

Ouch! That's not fun.
Sorry, Paul.

I'm going to be bull in a China shop and see what I can mess up in regards to plugging in IP addresses and such into the networking menu 😊
Talk to you soon.

IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!

OK, maybe it was my limited understanding if networking, maybe I just got lucky, but I got a 2 player game to work, and it worked flawlessly!!!!

Before I had RA2 installed on my teacher computer and the other copy installed on a MacLab computer. I couldn't see the games. On a whim I tried installing RA2 on another MacLab computer and they could see one another! The onlythought I have is that my teacher mac was on wireless while the MacLab computer was wired. I played a brief game. I got too excited and exited out before I could see if the 30 second sefl-destruct thing happened, but I know they have different serial numbers!

The next glitch (:D) is that the host computer locks up after the MP game is over and you have to reboot it. Minor annoyance compared to where I was. Next I'm going to try a 3 person mp and work my way up to 8!

I'm still open to improvements and suggestions. I really appreciate everyone's help!

Update: Played a quick 5 minute game with someone else on the two computers and it worked flawlessly. Both computers locked up at the stats screen (pressing 'continue' made the button change color, but did not do anything else) and had to undergo a hard reset to fix.

Instead of a hard reset, can you press 'command' 'q' to force CrossOver Games to exit? If you still don't recover the Mac, can you set up both systems in windowed mode to see if you can use your activity monitor to kill and processes?

First, start your Activity Monitor (or at least set it to stay in the dock). Then, go to 'Configure' and choose 'Manage Bottles'; select the Red Alert 2 bottle and launch 'winecfg' from the 'Control Panel'. Choose the 'Graphics' tab and select 'Emulate a virtual desktop' and set the 'Desktop size' for something smaller than you screen size (basically, so you can see your dock while Red Alert 2 is running).

Now, when you exit out and get the crash, try to quit CrossOver Games with 'command' 'q'. If that does not help, try accessing the 'Activity Monitor' to see what is 'not responding'. Then, try to highlight and quit the process(es) in question.

If you are able to find a specific process that is not cleanly exiting it could be that CrossOver Games is not listening in the right place. You should consider opening a support ticket or sending an email to info@codeweavers.com with this information. While C&C: Red Alert 2 is not supported, it would be an interesting bit of information for our developers.

Congrats on getting it to work and many thanks to those that helped!

Caron,

I did try Command-Q and that did not work. I believe even spaces quits working (I was thinking I could go to a different space and do a force quit.

I did try windowed mode. The problem is that whatever the windowed mode, when I start RA2 it always shrinks the window down to it's default size. Due to my graphics card, I cannot get it larger than 800 x 600. I have not tried setting up my mac screen to that environment. That is next.

I was unaware of the activity monitor, and I will try that. It is interesting in that if I ESC out of the multiplayer game on both computers and abort, the game will go back to the menu just fine. It seems to be the stats menu.

And yes, a huge thank you to all those that helped. My students are excited, and that's a huge thing.