Here I post some of the informations I have collected over time, which a new player may find useful.

Important changes to the CD version
Since the gog team change certain parts of the game, it's no longer possible to play together with the cd version. But some quick tests showed a much more stable experience. Also you no longer need the DirectDraw wrapper to play the game. Only for widescreen you still need the 1.3 patch.

How to play online
Since the shutdown of all the WON servers, it's no longer possible to play the multiplayer mode without some help. Thankfully, Armada supports LAN mode, which you can play via a VPN-client like Radmin or Zerotier. Alternative you can also use Gameranger, which uses the DirectPlay function from Windows to make the connnect.

Discord
If you are looking for company or help you should try one of these Discord Servers:
Armada Discord: https://discord.gg/cMEAPCv
Unity One (Star Trek/Gaming Community): https://discord.gg/AzcJxBm

Useful Links
Armadafleetcommand (Mods): https://www.armadafleetcommand.com
Armadafiles (Mods): http://armadafiles.com/
DirectDraw wrapper: https://github.com/elishacloud/dxwrapper/wiki/Star-Trek-Armada-1
Patch 1.3: https://www.moddb.com/games/star-trek-armada-i/news/star-trek-armada-patch-13-project

If I missed some important information, just let me know and I will add it ;)

Dont forget to add "Battlestations". Great Mod.

I've been waiting for GOG to get this game forever.

For the record, Armada used WON, not Gamespy. Also offline, but entirely different.

The DirectDraw wrapper link is invaluable though. I've looked for years for ways to play it on modern systems, and this post was the first time I found something that actually works, and I wasn't even looking!

@Kekvin85: I never played Battlestations, but if you have a link you can add it to my other post about community content.

@ Gwindalmir: Oh, true Armada was WON and only Armada 2 used Gamespy. Thank you, I will change that :)

And yeah the wrapper makes it very easy to play. I'm really courios how the gog release of Armada will look. It's just sad that they decided to skip the multiplayer part of the game. We just can hope that the community can fix that ;)

Armada 1 is still crashing to me sometimes no matter the mod :(

Ignore the how to play online section and read my multiplayer post.

Thanks

Why should you ignore the how to play online section?

I just tested the gog version with a friend and radmin. It worked perfectly, much better as with orignal cd version. So, the guys from gog really improved it. Of cource you can also play over gameranger, but there isn't any benefit.

In all honesty, I think he should have worded it differently and said that you can play over GameRanger as well, instead of saying to ignore other means. I don't know why he would want people to not have options when playing in a virtual LAN.

Sure thats a valid argument, I will add it to the list.

I will do some more testing of the Armada games this weekend. If anyone is up for some testing or some casual matches let me know.

Sorry to point out the obvious but there will still be limited number of players on this game and its just obvious it would be better if those limited number of players were all in one place.

If you want to play with just your friends then that's fine but they might want to play with others or at least have the option to.

So far on this forum there have been 4 different suggestions of ways to play online. So if the players all take a different path thats not going to benefit anyone.

Its just makes sense to me.

There is a limited amount of players yet, your suggestion (game ranger) does not work for everyone as specific routers need complex port forwarding.

The FleetOps community provide a hamatchi server, that is working fine.

GameRanger is an alternative to discord server to find player though.

Besides having multiple tools ready to start on the desktop is always an option.

Just incase you're not aware but Gamereanger isn't a Virtual VPN its software that allows friends lists, inviting to games and hosting lobbies. There is no VPN required. Its basically the same as hosting a game within armada itself, which everyone can see and join if allowed.

I am a aware of what gameranger can do and what not. if someone has a specific router as I said, port forwarding is necessary. VPN is an alternative option to GR. Not everyone needs to do what you want, everyone is free to use what they seem appropriate, no reason to discuss/argue. I have multiple tools available, depending on what the other player uses.

I never said 'Virtual VPN,' I said virtual LAN. I am not here to argue, just pointing out that your notion that GameRanger should be used by the community as the only means to play online is asinine and I, as a GR user, appreciates that Capt.Sisko actually put out alternatives for people who may not want to use GR for legitimate reasons.

Edit: fixed up typos I made.