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.

NES

It's a good idea to keep open communication while trying to connect. The IRC Chat room is a good place to do this, and find players and people who can help you.

Step 1 - If you are hosting, make sure you have an open port through which to play. If you don't know how to open a port, you can try this site: PortForward. Or you can ask someone who does to help you. This part is very important, and if you don't do it, netplay is likely to not work.

Step 2 - Get VirtuaNES. Here. Make sure you and the person you are playing with have the latest version.

Step 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.

Step 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). Under Latency, select "5 frame buffer". This is VERY important, otherwise it will lag a lot. Enter whatever name you wish in "Nickname". Leave the button on "Server". Click connect.

Step 5 - Send your IP address and the port to the person you'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).

Step 6 - 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.

Step 7 - 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.

Note that several functions of VirtuaNES, such as pausing emulation, recording movies, and selecting different save states, will not work in Netplay.