Posted June 23, 2023
Hey all, so this game is listed as single-player but the dev who worked on the rerelease explained that the removal of the multiplayer is not permanent and can be re-enabled by removing the DirectPlay dll stub in the game folder.
First you'll need these things if you want to play online:
LogMeIn Hamachi
IPXWrapper 0.6.1 from http://www.solemnwarning.net/ipxwrapper/
DirectPlay
Install Hamachi and DirectPlay (DP can be installed either by running the game or using Turn Windows Features on or off under Legacy Components in Windows 10, unsure if this is still in Windows 11)
1. Delete or rename dplayx.dll in the Take No Prisoners directory
2. Extract IPXWrapper to your Take No Prisoners directory
3. Install the Directplay registry file for 64 bit systems, assuming you run 64 bit Windows (if not run the 32 bit one)
4. Run ipxconfig.exe and tick the automatic firewall option
5. Under Hamachi, have all computers that want to play connected on the same network
6. When playing, the host should go Multiplayer -> IPX -> Strike Force -> Start Game, choose difficulty and host name and select Start
7. When playing, clients should go Multiplayer -> IPX -> Join Game, at which point the host name in Step 5 should appear as the only option, choose player name and handicap (unsure what this does currently)
8. If you want to resume a previous multiplayer session, ensure to save the game before closing down the session. To resume the session as host, just re-load the save file from the Load Game menu instead of choosing Multiplayer.
Few things noticed during co-op:
- All players will receive data files when one person collects
- Weapons and items are NOT shared, that includes medkit upgrades. So if one player gets a green medkit, the other players will still have a red one
- If a player dies, they respawn at the point in which they entered the level with their gear intact
- The game can be saved and reloaded, I assume the game stores the connection information into the save file
Things I currently do not know:
- I'm not sure if after loading a save that other players connecting will get their old gear back, or if it just clones the inventory of the host
Performance wise it seems to run great. I was pinging about 270 ms of latency from my dad on Hamachi but the game experience was very smooth, would definitely recommend.
First you'll need these things if you want to play online:
LogMeIn Hamachi
IPXWrapper 0.6.1 from http://www.solemnwarning.net/ipxwrapper/
DirectPlay
Install Hamachi and DirectPlay (DP can be installed either by running the game or using Turn Windows Features on or off under Legacy Components in Windows 10, unsure if this is still in Windows 11)
1. Delete or rename dplayx.dll in the Take No Prisoners directory
2. Extract IPXWrapper to your Take No Prisoners directory
3. Install the Directplay registry file for 64 bit systems, assuming you run 64 bit Windows (if not run the 32 bit one)
4. Run ipxconfig.exe and tick the automatic firewall option
5. Under Hamachi, have all computers that want to play connected on the same network
6. When playing, the host should go Multiplayer -> IPX -> Strike Force -> Start Game, choose difficulty and host name and select Start
7. When playing, clients should go Multiplayer -> IPX -> Join Game, at which point the host name in Step 5 should appear as the only option, choose player name and handicap (unsure what this does currently)
8. If you want to resume a previous multiplayer session, ensure to save the game before closing down the session. To resume the session as host, just re-load the save file from the Load Game menu instead of choosing Multiplayer.
Few things noticed during co-op:
- All players will receive data files when one person collects
- Weapons and items are NOT shared, that includes medkit upgrades. So if one player gets a green medkit, the other players will still have a red one
- If a player dies, they respawn at the point in which they entered the level with their gear intact
- The game can be saved and reloaded, I assume the game stores the connection information into the save file
Things I currently do not know:
- I'm not sure if after loading a save that other players connecting will get their old gear back, or if it just clones the inventory of the host
Performance wise it seems to run great. I was pinging about 270 ms of latency from my dad on Hamachi but the game experience was very smooth, would definitely recommend.
Post edited June 29, 2023 by PeterD23