Battlespire:Technical Info

Running from the Hard Drive

If you want to play without using the compact disc, follow the instructions below.

Have at least 450MB of hard drive space on a hard drive for file transfer.
Be sure that your Battlespire directory is named BATSPIRE and is in the root directory of the drive, such as C:\ or D:\.
Transfer the WAVES.BSA into the BATSPIRE directory from your CD.( 104MB File.)
Copy the VIDEOS directory from your Battlespire disc into your BATSPIRE folder.
Edit your SPIRE.CFG that is in your BATSPIRE directory and change the "pathcd" line that has your CD drive letter such as D:\ and change it to the videos directory such as C:\VIDEOS.

Playing Multiplayer

Battlespire was released featuring a multiplayer component, but it used software that no longer exists, namely Mplayer. There are, however, a number of programs that can potentially allow continued enjoyment of the multiplayer content.

DOSBox

If you haven't done so already, you'll need to download and install DOSBox. Instructions for running DosBox with Battlespire and other early Elder Scrolls games can be found here.

Enable IPX emulation within the 'dosbox.conf' file in your DosBox director (Default is: C:\Program Files\DOSBox 0.74\). Scroll down to the following location:

[ipx]
# ipx -- Enable ipx over UDP/IP emulation.

ipx=false

Change 'ipx=false' to 'ipx=true'. Save and close dosbox.conf.

Load DOSBox and use the following commands to set up a direct connection between the computers:

Host Only:

IPXNET STARTSERVER <port> – Starts the sever with instructions to accept connections to the entered port. If no port number is entered, it will use UDP port 213 by default.

Client Only:

IPXNET CONNECT [Address] <port> - Allows a client computer to connect to a host. [Address] can be an ip address, the name of a computer on the network, or a website (such as person.site.com). As stated above, the default port is 213, but if the host is using a different port, it should be entered here.

Mount the Battlespire disc using the following command:

mount [drive letter] [drive letter]:\ -t cdrom

For example, 'mount D D:\ -t cdrom'.

Load Battlespire, go to multi-player, and enjoy!

Additional host commands include:

IPXNET STOPSERVER – Stops the server and disconnects any clients that are connected to the host computer.

IPXNET PING – Sends a ping request to all connected clients.

IPXNET STATUS – Reports the state of the session.

Kali

You can download the Kali client from this website. You can either buy a $20 registration license for Kali, or you can do a free trial. (However, with the free trial you can only play games for 15 minutes before having to restart the client.) Instructions for setting up Kali and hosting/joining a game can be found here. Note that this will only work on computers that can run Battlespire without emulation.

Hamachi

LogMeIn Hamachi can be obtained here. It creates a virtual IPX network similar to the setup in DOSBox. However, it would also seem to require running Battlespire without emulation.

Classic Gaming Arena

Classic Gaming Arena can be found here. It allows you to host a "game room" from your computer so that you can host a battlespire multiplayer game to play with friends. It also supports a very nice "audio chat" feature within game rooms. Tutorials for how to set up this program and host a game can be found on the website.

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