                              NETSPACE
                             Version 1.3
                            User's Manual

            Copyright (c) Dragon Palace Software  Oct.1992
                         All Rights Reserved


Dragon Palace Software
509 W. Park Ave
Champaign, IL 61820
email: cwilson@uiuc.edu
       jonm@uiuc.edu

Contents

	Introduction:
                Introduction ........................................  2
                System Requirements..................................  2
                Features.............................................  2

	Getting Started:
                Installing Netspace..................................  3
                Running Netspace.....................................  4

	Commands
                Keyboard Commands....................................  5
                Dashboard Display....................................  6
                Command Line Options.................................  7

	Appendices
                Appendix A - Network information.....................  8
                Appendix B - Ship types..............................  9
                Appendix C - Software License / Disclaimer........... 10
                Appendix D - Order Form.............................. 11
                Appendix E - Release Notes........................... 12
                Appendix F - Acknowledgements........................ 13


Introduction:

        Netspace is designed to represent what we feel is the next era of
computer gaming - networking.  The game uses the TCP/IP network protocol to
allow up to eight seperate players to join together and interact within the
same gaming universe.  Netspace is an arcade style game.  It uses real-time
graphics to simulate a three-dimensional space dogfight.  However, instead
of fighting computer-controlled ships whose creativity is limited by the
programmed algorithms, you are battling against your friends.  Space consists
of a cube that is a 3-D cubic torus (fly out one side and you come back
through the opposite side.)  With you in the universe are a number of moving
asteroids and 9 ships. All ships which are not controlled by other players on
the network are drone ships,  which move around randomly and do not fire.

System Requirements:

   *  Intel 80386 or higher MS-DOS based machine
   *  Register compatible VGA card

Optional:
   *  Supported network card (see Appendix A) - for networking
   *  Roland MPU-401 compatible MIDI  interface and Roland CM-32L synthesizer
      for sound effects and music soundtrack

Features:

   *  256 color graphics
   *  Smooth, 2-page buffered animations
   *  TCP/IP networking of up to eight separate computers
   *  Roland CM-32L midi sound effects support
   *  Multiple ship types
   *  Many game options
   
Installing Netspace:

   1) The first step of installing Netspace is to unzip the archive containing
      the distribution files.  Since you are reading this, you have probably
      already accomplished this step.  If you used the "-d" option when you
      unzipped the archive, the documentation will be in a seperate
      subdirectory, otherwise the files will all be in the same directory.
      The following files should be present:

        netspace.exe  - The actual executable program
        config.tel    - A sample network configuartion file
        manual.wri    - This manual in Microsoft Windows Write format
        manual.txt    - This manual in plain ascii text format
        manual.ps     - This manual in Postscript printer format

   No distribution of Netspace is allowed without at least one version of
   the manual including the registration form.
	
   2) The next step is the complicated one.  You need to set the program up so
      that it can operate on your network.  This involves two major steps.
        - Modifying the "config.tel" network configuration file
        - Setting the "config.tel" environment variable to point to the file

      Note:  If you use NCSA Telnet for the PC, you probably already have an
      appropriate configuration file.  You can simply delete the supplied
      example file and proceed to the second step of the procedure.

      a) The config.tel file is the configuration file which contains your PC's
         IP address, the kind of Ethernet hardware that you are using, and other
         information about your network.  To set up a new configuration file,
         you will need a standard text editor.  The template provided with the
         distribution is set up to reflect commonly used default values.  The
         following fields must be correctly set to ensure proper operation of
         Netspace:
	
         myip=192.17.20.10
            You must provide a unique IP address for each machine on your
            network.  IP addressesmust be installed in the configuration
            file of each computer.

         netmask=255.255.255.0
            This field is the subnet mask, (in decimal) and is only required
            if you are using subnets on your network.

         hardware=<hardware type:  ex. 3c501>
            The NCSA Telnet TCP/IP routines which we utilize can support
            several different brands of ethernet adapters,  Each brand has
            its own unique identifier which you must set for the hardware
            parameter. Most brands also require address,ioaddr, and interrupt
            to be set.  See Appendix A for a list of supported cards and the
            included config.tel example file for more information.

         The additional fields should probably be left as defaulted unless you
         know what you are doing.  In addition, at the bottom of the
         configuration file, you can list as many name/ipnum pairs as you wish.
         These are simply to allow the use of machine names instead of IP
         addresses when starting up the game.  Follow the format of the
         examples and you shouldn't have any difficulties.

      b) You must also let Netspace know where to find your configuration file
         using an environmental variable.  The easiest way to do this is to
         include a line similar to the following in your autoexec.bat file:

           "set CONFIG.TEL=c:\games\netspace\config.tel"

         This tells the program where to look for the configuration file.
         Users of NCSA Telnet may already have this line present.  Users of
         Clarkson University's version of NCSA Telnet will have a similar line
         but will probably need to add the above line (Clarkson uses CONFIGTEL
         instead of CONFIG.TEL).

Running Netspace:

   1) Single Player/ Practice Mode
      To run the game in single-player/practice mode, simply type "netspace" at
      the MS-DOS prompt.  All the ships you will see are computer controlled
      drone ships.  These ships do not fire back, but simply move around
      unintelligently.  This mode is good for getting used to the controls
      and using the drones for target practice, but it doesn't offer much
      of a real challenge.

   2) Multiple Player Mode
      Netspace is a server-based game.  This means that you need to select
      the fastest machine which will be involved in the game, and make this
      machine the server.  The server needs to start first.  The only
      necessary option to supply the server is the number of players who are
      going to play.

The server should type:
  "netspace -#n"  (where n is the total number of players including the server)

After being prompted for the player name, the server will state that it is
waiting for players to join and will update every time a player joins in.
The client players may now enter one at a time.  For a client computer to
enter it simply needs to type:
  "netspace server-name" (where server-name is either a name listed in the
  config.tel file or an actual IP address of the server)

After entering the player name, the client will attempt to hook up to the server
and will inform you if it is succesful.  Unfortunately, if one client has
difficulty joining into the server, all computers must be reset.  It is,
therefore, very important to make sure to enter the clients one at a time.
It is also a good idea to have the clients which have caused difficulty to
enter before the more "stable" clients.  This difficulty with the initial
connection is the biggest problem with the game in it's present state.
This should be solved by the next release, but for now it may take some
experimentation to discover the best server and client ordering to achieve
reliable initaial hookups.   When every client has succesfully joined, each
player will be prompted to press a key and the game will begin.  See the next
two sections for the keyboard commands and a number of command line options
which will enhance your games.

Keyboard Commands:

Ship Controls (On the Key-pad):
|-------------------------------------------------------|
|             |             |             |             |
|  Down-Left  |    Down(*)  |  Down-Right |   (+ Key)   |
|             |             |             |             |
|-----------------------------------------|   Increase  |
|             |    Lock     |             |     Base    |
|    Left     |    Base     |   Right     |    Speed    |
|             |   Speed     |             |             |
|-----------------------------------------|-------------|
|             |             |             |             |
|   Up-Left   |     Up(*)   |  Up-Right   |   (ENTER    |
|             |             |             |     KEY)    |
|-----------------------------------------|             |
|                           |             |   Decrease  |
| (INS KEY) Afterburners    |             |     Base    |
|                           |             |    Speed    |
|---------------------------|-------------|-------------|
(*) By Pressing the "K" key you may reverse the up/down orientation of the
    key-pad.  The default is airplane style controls, but some players prefer
    absolute ones.

Non-Keypad Controls:
    Space   Fire Lasers
    <       Roll ship left
    >       Roll ship right
    [       Decrease # of background stars (speeds game up)
    ]       Increase # of background stars (slows game down)

  Note:  Caution should be used when adjusting the number of stars during a
         network game.  The network games automatically sync to the slowest
         computer.  Therefore, adding stars to your screen may slow the whole
         network.

Different ship views:
                    (W) Up View
                         |
                         |
(A) Left view ---- (S) Back View ---- (D) Right View
                         |
                         |
                   (X) Down View

  Note:  These views are intended to be informational only.  The ship guns are
         located forward and you may only fire when you are viewing forward.

Function Keys:
  F1 - Toggles the "3D" look of asteriods.  This will slow your game down
       considerably if it is on,  so be careful in network games.
  F2 - Toggles how human ships are displayed in radar:
         - full intensity regardless of distance (default)
         - intensity proportional to distance
  F3 - Toggles whether the asteriods show up in the radar

Dashboard Display:

    The dashboard display is a little spartan in this release,  so here is
an explanation of what the various dislays show:
    The first (and most obvious) component is the main view window.  This
is pretty self-explanatory, but note that the main view window is not always
the view out of your front window.  Using the display keys (asdwx) you could
be looking out your left window, for example.  Which direction you are currently
looking is shown in the directional display window,  which is right underneath
the main view window,  on the left side,  just to the right of the playerlist
window.  The playerlist window is the big box all the way on the left side at
the bottom.  During a network game,  this window shows a list of all the other
players and their current score.  During a single-player game it is left blank.
    The three vertical "meter" bars are very important during game play.  The
yellow bar to the left of the radar shows your current absolute speed.  The
red tick marks show what your throttle is set to (the speed your thrusters
will try to maintain).  Note that you can't set the throttle higher than
roughly halfway up this bar - the rest of the bar is for showing afterburner
speed.
    The orange meter bar, immediately to the right of the radar,  shows your
current laser heat.  You must keep your laser from overheating during dogfights,
or you lose the use of it until it cools down.  When your laser overheats,  you
will be unable to fire and your laser heat meter will turn red until it cools
off. (Roland CM-32L users will hear a whistle blowing repeatedly until it cools
off.)
    The green bar on the right shows your current shield strength.  When this
goes to zero, you die.  This regenerates (slowly) if your laser heat is zero
(i.e., if you are not firing.)
    And finally, the most important display component:  the radar.  This radar
is similar to the one in Wing Commander (tm) and several other space simulators.
Basically,  anything in the center of the radar is directly in front of you.
Anything on the outer ring of the radar is directly behind you.  Anything on
the inner ring of the display is directly to the side (or top or bottom) of you,
i.e. is not in front or behind you at all.  Basically,  if you're trying to
turn to face someone who is in your radar,  turn in the direction of their dot
relative to the center of the radar.  For example,  if their dot is near the
bottom center of your radar,  dive.  If they are to the upper left of your
radar,  turn up and to the left.  Simple,  huh?

Command Line Options:

Server Options:

   -#n      The number of players - mandatory for network games
            (defaults to single player game)
   -*n      Length of game = n frames.  Useful for speed comparisons.
            (i.e., set a 1000-frame game and don't touch any keys on
            two different machines,  and you can compare the speeds.)
   -a       Turns on "3D look" to asteroids.  (slows down) (default off)
   -Dn      Shield strength (drone ships) (default 4 hits)
   -F<file> read in option file.  The option file should consist of command-line
            format arguments, separated by whitespace.  (spaces or returns).
   -Ln [y]  Game Type n =
            0  Any player can abort (ESC key aborts) (default)
            1  Only server can abort (ESC key aborts)
            2  Play until one player has y number of kills
            3  Play until y total kills
            4  Timed game - play for y minutes
   -O       Turn laser-overheating off (default on)
   -Rn      The random seed to use (optional) (default seed is taken from
            the system timer)
   -Sn      Shield strength (human ships) (default 10 hits)

General Options:

   -M       Turn auto-detection of midi card off (not usually necessary)
   -Tn      Type of ship (types 1-7) (See Appendix B for desriptions of ship
            types)
   -X       Turn network debugging info on
   -?       This help screen

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix A - Network Cards Supported

   The NCSA  TCP/IP code which is being used to implement the networking has a
number of built in drivers for various Ethernet boards.  The table below lists
the drivers currently supported and the value necessary for the hardware= line
in the config.tel file.  Note that this value is case insensitive.  The other
required fields are listed as well.  The sample config.tel file has entries
for all of the following.   Simply uncomment the appropriate entry and confirm
that the values are correct.

        Value           Ethernet Board             Requires
        -----           --------------             --------
        3c501           3COM 3c501 Etherlink       interrupt, ioaddr

        3c505           3COM 3c505                 interrupt,address,ioaddr

        3c523           3COM 3c523 Etherlink/MC    address,ioaddr

        bicc            BICC 411x Ethernet Cards   interrupt,address,ioaddr
	
        decnet          DEC Decnet Protocol        interrupt,address,ioaddr

        NICps2          Ungermann-Bass NICps/2     address

        NI5210          MICOM NI5210               interrupt,address,ioaddr

        packet          Any packet driver (*)      Nothing

        PCNIC           Ungermann-Bass PC-NIC      address,ioaddr
                        or IBM Baseband Adapter

        starlan         AT&T Starlan IO card       address,ioaddr

        WD8003          Western Digital WD8003     address,ioaddr

        WD8003a         Western Digital WD8003a    address,ioaddr

        WD8003e         Western Digital WD8003e    address,ioaddr

	
 (*) Note:  The game is much slower using packet drivers and you may have
            more difficulty getting and maintaining network connections.
            If at all possible, use one of the internal drivers for the game.
	

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix B - Ship Descriptions


    Note that in this release,  ships all have the same characteristics in terms
    of armour, laser power, speed, maneuverability, etc.  This will not be the
    case in future releases.  The ship type selection in this release only
    affects how other network players see you.

  Ship type               Description
  ---------               -----------
      1               Standard "wedge" ship.
      2               Two pronged attack fighter.
      3               "TIE fighter" design.
      4               Attack craft with two prominent side-mounted lasers.
      5               Winged ship for atmospheric maneuvering.
      6               "X-wing" design.
      7               Arrowhead Stealth ship.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix C - Software License / Disclaimer

NETSPACE SOFTWARE LICENSE

    Netspace is not and never has been public domain software, nor is it free
software.

    Non-licensed users are granted a limited license to use Netspace on a
21-day trial basis for the purpose of determining whether Netspace is a
product which they will find continuing use for.  The use of Netspace, except
for the initial 21-day trial, requires registration.  The use of unlicensed
copies of Netspace by any person, business,  corporation, government agency
or any other entity is strictly  prohibited.

    A site license permits users to use Netspace only on a single local area
network.  Licensed users may use the program on different networks, but may
not use the program on more than one network at the same time.  In general, a
single licensed copy permits one and only one network game to be run at any
given time.  If you wish to be running multiple games at the same time,
multiple copies must be registered.

    No one may modify or patch the Netspace executable files in any way,
including but not limited to decompiling, disassembling, or otherwise reverse
engineering the program.

    A limited license is granted to copy and distribute Netspace only for the
trial use of others, subject to the above limitations, and also the following:

    1)  Netspace must be copied in unmodified form, complete with
        the file containing this license information.

    2)  The full machine-readable Netspace documentation must be
        included with each copy.

    3)  Netspace may not be distributed in conjunction with any
        other product without a specific license to do so from
        Dragon Palace Software.

    4)  No fee, charge, or other compensation may be requested or
        accepted, except as authorized below:

        A)  Operators of electronic bulletin board systems (sysops) may make
            Netspace available for downloading only as long as the above
            conditions are met.  An overall or time-dependent charge for the
            use of the bulletin board system is permitted as long as there
            is not a specific charge for the download of Netspace.

        B)  Vendors of user-supported or shareware software approved by the
            ASP may distribute Netspace, subject to the above conditions,
            without specific permission.  Non-approved vendors may distribute
            Netspace only after obtaining written permission from Dragon
            Palace Software. Such permission is usually granted. Please write
            for details (enclose your catalog).  Vendors may charge a disk
            duplication and handling fee, which, when pro-rated to the Dragon
            Palace Software product, may not exceed ten dollars.

NetSpace Limited Warranty/ Disclaimer:

    Dragon Palace Software warrants that all disks provided are free from
defects in material and workmanship, assuming normal use, for a period of
90 days from the date of purchase.

    Dragon Palace Software warrants that the program will perform in substantial
compliance with the documentation supplied with the software product.  If a
significant defect in the product is found, the Purchaser may return the
product for a refund.  In no event will such a refund exceed the purchase
price of the product.

    EXCEPT AS PROVIDED ABOVE, DRAGON PALACE SOFTWARE DISCLAIMS ALL
    WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
    LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
    FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT.  SHOULD
    THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, THE PURCHASER ASSUMES THE RISK OF
    PAYING THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR
    CORRECTION AND ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.  IN NO
    EVENT WILL DRAGON PALACE SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES
    WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF
    BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS
    INFORMATION AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR THE
    INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT EVEN IF DRAGON PALACE SOFTWARE HAS
    BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

    Use of this product for any period of time constitutes your acceptance
    of this agreement and subjects you to its contents.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix D - Order Form
Netspace v1.3 Order Form

 Name: ____________________________________________________________________

 E-mail address: __________________________________________________________

 Company: _________________________________________________________________

 Address: _________________________________________________________________

          _________________________________________________________________

 City: ______________________________  ST:______  Zip:_____________________



_____ $15 Basic Registration
	- Free Internet Email support for all NetSpace releases
	- E-mail or Postcard notification of next two major releases
	- Free and Automatic site license of next two major releases

_____ $50 Full Registration
	- All basic registration features
        - Disk versions of current release and next two major releases mailed
          to address listed above including bound version of manuals
	- Direct phone support

 Please enclose a check payable to Dragon Palace Software


 Where did you get your copy of Netspace?

 _____________________________________________________________

 What version of Netspace have you been evaluating?

 _____________________________________________________________



    Send to:      Dragon Palace Software
                  509 W. Park Ave
                  Champaign. IL 61820

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix E - Release Notes

Release 1.3: (first public release)
	Ships now drawn as polygons instead of lines
	Optimized indicator lights
	Changed scoring system
	Added back/side views
	Multiple discs for asteroids - 3D look
	Started using clock ticks to calculate frame rate
	Started using clock ticks for networking timeouts
Release 1.2: (beta release)
	Stabilized networking
	Added multiple ship types
Release 1.1: (internal)
	Multiple players
	Other players' lasers drawn on your screen
	First public demonstration (U of I Engineering Open House '92)
Release 1.0: (initial release - "Whoosh!" "Damn,  was that ME?!?")
	Project broken off from XSpace, 3D "Asteroids"-like game
	Network topology designed and implemented

Future Enhancements:
--------------------
Color scheming for your ship
Better explosions
Star mines
Soundtrack
Opening screen
More ships
Soundblaster support
Different characteristics for ships (speed, laser power&strength, shield strength)
Ship selection screen - preview of ships
Missiles
Status/messages text line
Bitmaps for asteroids
Chase plane view
Chase plane clients
Multi-directional damage - partial damage
Blown-away sections of ship - lose right wing = lose right thruster, etc.
Different dashboards for different ships
Space station for damage repairs
Texture Mapping on ships - team logos!
Players dropping out of game
Add in players during game
Gunner players
Multi-screen views

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix F - Acknowledgements

            NetSpace was written  by:
Chris Wilson    Steven Dollins    Jon Mittelhauser
       David Beckman   and  Quincey Koziol

Special thanks to:
------------------
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Michael Abrash
Dr.Dobbs Journal
The creators of Asteroids
David O'Brien
Jeff Wiedemeier
Patrick Aalto
Mike Stangel
Alex Bratton
Chris Houck
