16 January 2009

This is F-Zero VS v1.1.

The only change since v1.0 is that a ROM check now occurs when you first start. This ROM check basically warns you if you do not have the correct version of the ROM (just a checksum comparison).

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5 January 2009

Hello again,

Over the Christmas break I got to working on the code again after a long break and now finally, I have released v1.0 (alpha).

You probably need the .NET Framework installed on your PC to run the server (you should have it installed anyway).

How to use it:

1) First, load FZVS_Server.exe. Specify the UDP port number you want to listen on, and hit the 'listen' button. Then select the number of players for the race and the track name, and press 'new race'.

2) You need to have the F-Zero ROM, which I cannot include in the package (obviously). There are many versions and I'm assuming that they all work, but if you notice the game not working properly, use the GoodSNES ROM version, which is called 'F-Zero (U) [!].smc'. This file should be in the same directory as the .exe files.

3) Start FZVS_Client.exe. Specify the IP address and port number the server is listening on (see point 1 above) and press OK. The game should start. Choose a car.

4) Repeat step 3, but run the FZVS_client.exe on other computers across the network or even on the same PC (if you have two gamepads on the one PC for example).

5) Race!

6) When all racers have finished, stop the race on the server by pressing 'Stop Race'. The FZVS clients should return to the main menu automatically. Then you can press 'New Race' again and select cars etc... make sure you press the new race button BEFORE you select the cars.

I recommend you play through a local network to minimise latency.

Another option is to run multiple clients on the same PC. My Intel Quad Core Q6600 @ 2.40GHz PC can handle four clients running on it at once through localhost (127.0.0.1) with ease... with four game pads and a big screen this is a good option.

Another note: if you have a multiple players in one room you probably don't want each FZVS client playing the music as this will result in multiple versions of the same song being played (ever so slightly out of sync). I added an option under Sound->Toggle Music which will disable music but leave the race sound effects etc enabled.

Finally: once the race starts you should not access the menu bar or move/resize the window. In these cases the game will pause and lose sync with the other players. It's not that big of a deal but it will cause the race timers to be out of sync, which may matter to some people.