INTRODUCTION
I know just enough about computers to be extremely
dangerous. Everything that I do know about computers
has been self-taught by asking a lot of different people
a lot of different questions along with a lot of trial
and error.
If this description reminds you of yourself, then this
primer is for you!
The instructions for MMP (i.e., "Massive Multi-Player")
in the original manual that came with the boxed copy of
Red Baron 3D (hereafter referred to as RB3D) are limited
at best. After reading this document, you'll see what I
mean!
Before you do anything else, go to Sierra's RB3D website, or look around
here at Wings of Honor. You'll find a number of different
game patches that fix a couple of leftover "bugs" in the
game. If you don't have KALI (see KALI under ODDS &
ENDS, below), the patch that you will need in order to
see all of the servers is Sierra's 1.0.7.8. patch.
Downloading this patch assumes you already have RB3D
installed on your computer. Some players will tell you
that the 1.0.7.8. is the source of the infamous "flamer
bug," but this isn't true. You will risk being ejected by
flamers whether you have the patch or not. More on the
"flamer bug" later.
After you've downloaded the 1.0.7.8. patch, the next
thing that I recommend is to create a shortcut on your
desktop for RB3D's MMP game. It's important to
understand that the SP (i.e., "Single Player") and MMP
versions of the game get launched from two entirely
different executable files (i.e., "exe files"). I'm going
to assume for now that you know how to create a desktop
shortcut depending upon which version of Windows you are
using; I personally am still on Windows 95. The
executable that you'll be looking for to create this
shortcut is called baronmmp.exe
You're now ready to dogfight on-line, quickly and easily.
Now, get on-line via your ISP (Internet Service
Provider). If you are using software provided by your
ISP, once connected, minimize your ISP to the desktop's
taskbar by hitting the little "minus" button in the upper
right-hand corner of your screen. Next, put your RB3D
disc into your computer. If your computer is set to
Autoplay, the first screen you'll see is the introductory
menu, where one of your options is to Dogfight On
WON.net. Left-clicking on this button sends you to
WON.net. "WON" stands for "World Opponents Network."
Once inside WON.net, it gets a little convoluted nowadays
trying to find the "launchpad" for RB3D, so let me
suggest a much simpler (and better) way to get hooked up
…
Instead of clicking on the Dogfight On WON.net button in
your introductory menu, click on Quit, which of course
will take you back to your desktop. Now, left-click on
the RB3D shortcut you just made specifically for MMP on
your desktop. MMP will fire up immediately and take you
to your Pilot Roster. This is where you can use an
existing pilot, create a new pilot to fly on-line, or
delete an old pilot that you don't want to use anymore.
This screen is also where you set your on-line flying
preferences similar to what you're already used to in
SP. More on this later.
RB3D MMP Pilot Roster Screen
On the Pilot Roster screen you'll see a Connect button.
By left-clicking on this button, you'll be taken to a
screen that lists all of the available RB3D servers that
are currently on-line. So many to choose from!!! Some
of the servers will have a small "padlock" icon next to
them. This means that the server is restricted to pilots
that have been issued a password to enter the server.
Passworded servers are usually set up by squads involved
in organized "wars" or training sessions for their
members. NOTE: This is another advantage to logging on
via your "shortcut" button. If you try to enter through
WON.net, their listing of available servers will not
indicate which ones are restricted.
Each line of server information will consist of the
following:
Server Name. Each server has been given its own name, at
the sole discretion of the server operator.
Ping Rate. This is the number that tells you how good of
a connection you can expect from that particular server
with your computer. Ping rates will depend upon your
ISP, your local telephone service, the type of connection
you have, the type of modem you have, etc. Ping rates of
under 200 are considered excellent. Ping rates of
200-300 are OK but not great. Over 300 pings and things
start to get a little "iffy"; the "lag" on these servers
makes it all but impossible to fly with any accuracy or
skill and you end up with a lot of "netting." "Netting"
is when you're on-line and you see a little black box
with the word NET inside of it appear in the upper
left-hand corner of your computer screen. This means
that your computer has temporarily lost contact with the
server and is trying to re-connect. When it does,
usually in just a couple of seconds, you'll see "lag
effects" i.e., targets that you thought were right in
front of you zoom off all of a sudden at warp speed! If
the NET message stays on for too long, you will lose your
connection entirely and you'll get a little pop-up
message telling you that your connection has timed out
(also known as a "mech"). When you click the "OK" button
on this pop-up screen, you'll be taken all the way back
to your Pilot Roster screen and have to re-connect with
the server all over again. This can be frustrating,
which is why it's so important to check ping rates before
logging onto any server.
If the word NET appears in the upper left-hand corner of
your screen for an unusually long-period of time (say,
over 30 seconds), chances are your computer has frozen up
on you, leaving you sit there wondering what to do. At
first, I was re-booting my computer by pressing my
CTRL+ALT+DEL keys until somebody informed me that, not
only was this unnecessary, it was also hard on my
computer. The best thing to do in this situation is to
hit ALT+F4. This will kick you out of RB3D and send you
back to your desktop to start all over again.
Here are a few tips that I learned to maximize the game's
performance on-line, particularly if you have a slower
computer (like me!). The first one is to go into your
preferences from the Pilot Roster and reduce some or all
of your graphics detail. The second one is to download a
nifty little piece of "freeware" called "End It All." You wouldn't believe
all of the junk your computer has running in the
background while you're trying to fly; this can only
deteriorate your FPS (Frames Per Second). "End It All"
enables you to shut down all of the unnecessary stuff
while keeping the necessary stuff in play. It's very
easy to download and use.
Finally, I recommend that you reduce your "chat buffer"
settings. Reducing the number of chat lines that appear
in the upper left-hand corner of your screen while
flying--and how long the chat stays on your screen--will
improve your connection and reduce nets. To adjust the
chat buffer, right-click anywhere on your on-line screen
with the mouse while in MMP; I recommend doing this on
the ground at your aerodrome! This will bring up a
pop-up menu by which you can make several different
preference adjustments without having to go back to your
Pilot Roster screen. Among the different buttons you can
choose from on this pop-up menu is one labeled "Chat."
By left-clicking on this button, you'll be able to adjust
the "chat buffer" to your liking. You'll need to play
with the settings a bit to find what works best for you.
If the chat buffer is set too low, you might end up
missing potentially important items. If you think you
missed something important, simply hit CTRL+PGUP to view
earlier chat lines.
Type Of Game. There are four different types of on-line
games that you can play:
Get The Baron is like a huge game of tag around a single
aerodrome. When you shoot down an enemy plane, your
plane will turn to a color selected by the computer, and
you'll see a computer-generated message in the "chat
scroll" announcing your new status (e.g., "LWulffe_Herr
Mac is now the blue baron"). If you shoot down the
Baron, you will in turn become the Red Baron and everyone
will be gunning for you!
Melee is similar to Get The Baron in that all of the
action takes place around a single aerodrome. The only
difference being that your plane doesn't turn color when
you shoot somebody down. In melee games anyone and
everyone are your enemies!
Team Melee and Team Target are the final two on-line
options and are, in my opinion, the most enjoyable of all
the games because they feel more like real air-to-air
and/or air-to-ground combat with a lot more strategy
involved. Get The Baron and Melee are more
"arcade-like." I will usually fly on a Team server when
I have the luxury of a couple of hours (literally!) to
spend on-line; I'll opt for a Melee server if my flying
time is limited or if I just feel like a quick game.
In Team Melee, you basically choose the side for whom you
want to fly (Allied or German), and then take to the
skies over the front in search of each other.
In Team Target, you do essentially the same thing;
however, the computer will select targets at timed
intervals on either side of the front for bombing
purposes. Your team scores points by taking out the
enemy targets. You will see red squares around these
targets on your kneeboard map. In organized servers and
wars, bombing will be restricted to certain aircraft,
typically the "monos" (e.g., Fokker Eindecker, Moraine
Bullet) or any other of the older, slower aircraft. On
"open" Target servers, however, I've found that you can
usually make bombing runs in any aircraft; still, the
polite thing to do is to ask on chat ahead of time if
bombing is allowed for any plane. You should also ask if
there is a rules website for the Target server. Many
servers, such as HiE's and the Lone Wulffe's, have rules
pages established for fair play and fun.
Game Difficulty. Ace, Veteran, or Novice.
Self-explanatory. These indicators will typically appear
before the game type—e.g., "Novice Melee," "Veteran
Team Target," etc.
Flight Mode: Advanced Flight Mode (AFM) or Normal Flight
Mode (NFM). Once you get into this game on-line, it
won't take you very long to start hearing pilots voice
their opinions in regards to the great "AFM v. NFM"
debate. Here's the gist of the argument: Sierra's FMs
are far from perfect and have certain quirks depending
upon which FM you choose to fly in. In AFM, many planes
(all planes, according to some) will "uber" with damage,
which means that their flight characteristics will
actually improve (i.e., climbing and/or turning). In
NFM, many of the planes actually seem quite a bit easier
to fly, but when you take damage, your aircraft's flight
characteristics will definitely worsen! In addition, as
you turn, especially near ground level, your plane will
slow down and may even stall, so you need to be much more
aware of you craft's "energy status." To learn more
about energy fighting, I highly recommend reading
WWSensei's "Energy Primer" found here on Wings of Honor.
Number Of Players. This will appear as two numbers
separated by a slash (/). The first number represents
the number of players currently in the game, while the
second number represents the total number of players that
the game can accommodate.
Once you've found a server that’s running a game
you'd like to join, highlight it with your cursor and
double-click on it. You'll soon find yourself inside
"the lobby" for that particular game.
