Netplay

This guide will help you figure out how to play video games with your fellow friends (or enemies) on the internet.

We're still figuring this out, we'll add more info as we do.

It's a good idea to keep open communication while trying to connect. This is a very finicky process and may not work the first few tries. The IRC Chat room is a good place to do this, and find players and people who can help you.

Opening a port

To host a Netplay game, you need to open up a port for your partner to connect to. You will probably have to do this in both your firewall and in your router. PortForward is a site that can help you configure your router to open a port. If you don't open a port properly, this probably won't work.

If someone has more info or advice on opening up ports, please add it.

NES using VirtuaNES

1. If you are hosting, make sure you have an open port through which to play. VirtuaNES by default uses TCP port 10000, but you can set any TCP port you wish. This part is very important, and if you don't do it, Netplay is likely to not work.
2. Get VirtuaNES. Here. Make sure you and the person you are playing with have the latest version.
3. Get the game. You both need the EXACT SAME ROM, and the ROMs need to have the EXACT SAME NAME. You may think all ROMs of a game are the same. They are not necessarily. Download it from the same place, or have one person send it to the other.
4. Choose one person to host. That person opens up VirtuaNES, then loads the ROM. Then, they select Netplay from the File menu. You should see a window. Under "Port", enter the port (the default is 10000, enter the port you opened).
5. Under Latency, select "4 frame buffer". This is VERY important, otherwise it will lag a lot. You may need to play with this number...set it too low, and you will lag, set it too high and your control inputs will lag. Enter whatever name you wish in "Nickname". Leave the button on "Server". Click connect.
6. The host sends their IP address and the port to the person they're playing with ((the easiest way to do this I know is to /whois yourself on IRC). Type it like this: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:10000 (or whatever port).
7. The second person opens the ROM, then goes to Netplay. They select the Client button. In Address, copy/paste the IP address and port given. Enter whatever you wish as a nickname. Click connect.
8. If all goes well, the game will reset, a chat window should pop up, and you should have Netplay! The server is Player 1, the client is Player 2. If it runs very slowly, you either have something like BitTorrent or YouTube up that's sucking up your resources (close it), or you didn't set a latency buffer. If you get no connection at all, then either you never opened a port, or something else screwed up.

Genesis/Master System using Kega Fusion

1. Fusion uses UDP Port 5394. Make sure you open a UDP port, not a TCP port, or it just won't work
2. Get the emulator here. Again, make sure you get the latest version. Also, get the exact same ROM files.
3. Choose a host. That person opens Fusion, then opens the ROM. They then go to File, Netplay, Start Netplay game. Enter a name, but don't mess with any settings yet. Click Create.
4. The host sends their IP address to the client.
5. The second person open the rom and goes to File, netplay, Join Netplay Game. Enter a name and the IP address of the host. Click connect. If it works, a screen showing all the players and what controller port they're controlling should pop up (you can do up to 4 players, apparently, but no idea how).
6. The host should see some numbers next to the client. The host should slide the latency bar to just about the same as that number (the number is the ping time). If either player is on a low speed connection, he should also click the "Low" button on the Bandwidth option. Click "Start" to play! Note that by pressing Tab, you can send chat messages to each other.