Archon

Worm · Post by **Worm** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 11:35 am

Archon II had multiplayer options right? Who wants to challenge me in this?

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 11:38 am

It did?!!?

Where can *I* get a copy, Worm?

Worm · Post by **Worm** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 12:01 pm

I can't find Archon II on UD but Archon Ultra has modem connect. I could dig up an old modem but that'd be long distance too. I'm doubting there is a way we could emulate a modem connection through our NIC cards though. I could swear Archon II had something like that. EDIT: Upon looking up Archon II's release date it's probably unlikely that will have what we need.

bruce · Post by **bruce** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 12:20 pm

Worm wrote:I'm doubting there is a way we could emulate a modem connection through our NIC cards though..

I have a dim memory of something on OS/2...maybe SIO? that gave you Virtual Serial Ports over a TCP/IP connection.

Yeah, I know this is immensely interesting and helpful to everyone.

Bruce

Worm · Post by **Worm** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 12:39 pm

OS2 Archives wrote:Description: SIO is a replacement high-performance communications driver. It includes FOSSIL support, 16550 emulation, Internet virtual modem driver, and support for many popular modem enhancement cards.

Problem to overcome: I don't know what OS2 is really. Thought "virtual modem driver" sounds like what I need.

bruce · Post by **bruce** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 1:27 pm

Worm wrote:
OS2 Archives wrote:Description: SIO is a replacement high-performance communications driver. It includes FOSSIL support, 16550 emulation, Internet virtual modem driver, and support for many popular modem enhancement cards.
Problem to overcome: I don't know what OS2 is really. Thought "virtual modem driver" sounds like what I need.

OS/2 is the IBM Operating System for PCs that was so horribly marketted that W95 and WNT 3.5 wiped the floor with it, despite the fact that it was immensely technically superior to both.

32-bit preemptively multitasking system, with the WorkPlace Shell, which was an infinitely saner API for writing windowing apps than either the W16 or W32 APIs. Plus it had Rexx as the built-in system scripting language. Classy product, all the way around.

Bruce

Worm · Post by **Worm** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 1:49 pm

Once I'm done setting up my brothers computer I guess I'll try to swing that OS2 program.

bruce · Post by **bruce** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 4:38 pm

Worm wrote:Once I'm done setting up my brothers computer I guess I'll try to swing that OS2 program.

You really don't want to.

The current version is called ECS.

Although I have some nostalgia for it, I promise you don't want it. It doesn't run under VMWare but I think it does under VPC.

Adam

Worm · Post by **Worm** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 7:38 pm

Okay, wtf?

bruce · Post by **bruce** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 9:36 am

Worm wrote: wtf?

OS/2 is an operating system.

It lets you run OS/2, DOS, and Win16 programs, and some pretty useless subset of W32 programs. It *is* a better DOS than DOS, and it's about as good a Win 3.1 as WFW 3.11, which is basically what killed it: no one wrote OS/2 programs because it ran Windows programs just fine.

It basically stopped being developed about 1997.

There is a currently-marketed version, called ECS. It's still basically the same stuff as OS/2, but with drivers for slightly more modern video and network cards.

I run ECS on one of my test machines, and I run OS/2 on the machine that supports my P/390. The main thing I noticed last time I installed ECS was how much shit I was willing to put up with in 1997, in terms of getting drivers working, and knowing the IRQs of all my peripheral devices, and being willing to open up the box to manually set jumpers, and crap like that.

You really don't want to run it. I presume there's some equivalent device driver under Windows that will simulate either a modem or a serial connection over a TCP/IP socket, but I don't have any idea what it would be.

Bruce

Jethro Q. Walrustitty · Thu Jul 15, 2004 9:57 am

FWIW, Archon Ultra can be legally downloaded here.

Here is a commercial program that sets up a COM port to behave like a modem but actually go across the internet. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a free program to do the same, but I haven't found one yet.