STEEL PANTHERS III CAMPAIGN DISK/ ONLINE GAME:

Notes for Steel Panthers Online:
The online game is a complete game in itself,  installable only from Windows 95.  The install will require approximately 48 Meg on your hard drive. Scenarios: included in the online game are the 40 scenarios from the original Steel III disk [scenarios 1-40] the 35 new scenarios created for the Steel III campaign disk [scenarios 60-94], and plus eight scenarios converted from the first 40 to three and four player versions [scenarios 45-52]. To install the online game and these scenarios, place the CD into your drive, and follow the instructions for the Windows 95 install.

To Start the online game:

CONNECT TO THE INTERNET AND START STEEL PANTHERS  3 ONLINE (SP3O):
All players must connect to the internet. The player who will be the host then finds his IP address using Winipcfg.exe [this should be in your Windows 95 directory], and notifies the other players before they enter the SP3O game (it is not necessary to know your TCP/IP address for play on mplayer.com). After connecting to the internet double-click on the SP3Online.bat file in your Steel  Panthers Online directory,  use the Play Steel Panthers 3 Online in the Autorun (accessed when your CD-ROM tray closes with the SP3O cd in it), or use the Start Menu to start SP3O. 

Once a player starts SP3O, they will reach the Multiplayer Options Screen, and the player can select from either:
MPLAYER: Pressing on the Mplayer.com button after entering the game will take you to the Steel Panthers Online Mplayer lobby.  For more information on mplayer.com, read the mplayer.txt file on the Arsenal 3 CD.
TCP/IP: From the TCP/IP screen, the CREATE button allows the host to select the game, whether a random scenario or a pre-generated one, and choose the basic Preferences settings [non-host players will only be able to adjust Preference settings that affect their own displays, not gameplay in general.] Before other players are allowed to join the game, the HOST will then: 
SCENARIO EDITOR - See the section below on creating new scenarios.

SELECT GAME TYPE TO HOST, by clicking on one of the following buttons:
SCENARIO button: opens the Scenario directory, from which users can select not only from the supplied scenarios, but scenarios they have made themselves using the SCENARIO EDITOR [see below]. When selecting a scenario to host, it must be noted that ALL prospective players MUST have a copy of that scenario in their scenario [mscen] directory. 
BATTLE button: opens the BATTLE GENERATOR, which allows the user to create a random scenario from a wide range of options, the same as in STEEL PANTHERS III. 
LOAD GAME button: opens the Saved Game Directory, allowing the user to load any previously saved game in progress. Again, all prospective players must have a copy of a saved game to load and play it.

DIFFERENCES  IN SETUP FROM THE ORIGINAL GAME:
Number of Player settings - To start an Online game, at least two human players must be present. In pre-designed scenarios, the computer AI will take over all slots left open when the game begins. In generated battles, the game must include at least one player slot for each side.  There is a maximum total of  4 players, so the greatest range of  players  between sides is 3 players vs. 1.  Note that when player slots in a generated battle are left unselected by human players, the AI deletes those slots before play begins. In the case of all slots on one side being unselected, the AI deletes all but one slot, which it plays. 
User made maps can not be loaded into the online Battle Generator.  If the user wants to play using a self-made map, it must be created along with an accompanying scenario in the SCENARIO GENERATOR [see below], and then played from the SCENARIO menu [where the SCENARIO GENERATOR saves those games].
Preferences Menu: two new buttons appear in the Preferences Menu: Max Formations, and Time Per Turn. Max Formations allows the user to enter a number between 1 and 50 for each side. This is intended to allow online players to limit the number of formations which may be purchased within their point limits, to hold total unit numbers down to what they feel is a playable number. Players should remember that the A0 unit counts as one formation for each side when setting formation limits.
Time Per turn allows the user to enter any length of time [expressed in seconds] up to 45 minutes [2700 sec.] for each player to complete a single turn in. The same limit applies to each player in the game, on each side. The clock will not run during shot animations. 

JOINING AND STARTING AN ONLINE GAME:
Once the HOST has selected [or generated] the game, the CURRENT PLAYERS screen will appear. [click on "continue" from the BATTLE GENERATOR] At this point, the other players may join, using the path DIRECT TCP/IP - JOIN - YOUR NAME [type in player name, press Enter key] - SERVER'S IP ADDRESS [type in number, press Enter key] When all the players' names appear, the host clicks on the BEGIN GAME button. 
The SELECT YOUR SIDES screen will then appear. Users left-click on the appropriate button to select the side they want to play.  All players on a side will play in order before the other side begins, each turn. A Preferences button appears on the Host's screen, allowing last minute adjustments. When all players have selected sides and the preferences finalized, the Host clicks on "Begin Battle".
If the selected game was a Scenario or a Saved Game, after a short pause for the computer to set up the game, play begins with Player #1.
If the selected game was a generated battle the game will move to the purchase screens if  "Human Buy" was set, or to the deployment screen.  In the case of a generated battle created with "Human Buy" on, the first player shown on a side will purchase the units for that side, the second and third will select which player on that side controls them. A slight [1/3 second] delay per line will appear after a formation is purchased, to allow the AI time to properly set up unit rosters. Once units have been purchased and deployed, a short pause will occur while the computer sets up the game, then play begins. 

SCENARIO EDITOR button takes you to the Scenario Editor.  This functions very much like the scenario editor in Steel Panthers III. During deployment, selected units must be designated for player slot (1 - 4) by hitting the respective function key (F1 - F4); up to 4 players total can be included in a multiplayer scenario. Once units from one side have been set to a player slot, units from the other side cannot be set to that slot. F1 is always set to be a Side 1 slot while F2 is always set to be a Side 2 slot. Sides must be assigned in numerical order [F1-F4], or slots will not appear properly on the "Select Sides" screen.: Example; a scenario converted to 3-player using only F1, F3, and F4 will result in neither F2 or F4 slots appearing.


HOW TO CONNECT TO A LAN - All potential players must be on the same local area network and should not be connected to the internet, but all the other steps are exactly the same as in internet play. Note that the host must have a permanent address for his system (which will appear as any non-zero IP address when the host selects Winipcfg.exe without connecting the modem.


ESCAPE Button:  From most setup screens, using the Escape key aborts the current screen and sends the user to the last screen.

Notes to online play
Always try and have the player with the fastest machine and modem connection host the game.
During the game, if a player aborts the game or loses connection, the AI takes over that player slot.
Time clocks on a player's screen may appear at a slight [1- 3 second] variance with actual time allotment except during that player's own turn.
The only Preferences that can be adjusted once the game has begun are from the General Preferences. Preferences that cannot be adjusted appear with grayed-out buttons.
Bombardment target preset hexes may only be set or moved by one player per side. 
When cycling through units in the deploy screen, using the "G" hot key will allow access only to those units assigned to that player. Use of the "N" hot key will allow access to all units on that side, not just those assigned to the player. Players on the same team should take care to deploy only their own assigned units.
CHAT FEATURE: from any screen, using the Enter key brings up a chat message box, into which the user can then type a message. To send the message, the user must hit the Enter key again (Escape key aborts the message). The user must already be connected to the proper IP address in order to chat with host or others connected. Messages created while the main screen is displaying animations may occasionally drop letters while being typed.
Users may change the color their chat text appears in by first pressing Enter, then with the empty chat box open, repeatedly pressing the F2 key to cycle through color options. 
When using the chat feature, players can limit the display of their messages in the following manner: Players can send messages only to other players on their side by pressing shift / enter. The chat message line will begin "team", signifying that the ensuing message will only be displayed on other members of that team's monitors.
Players can send messages to only one specific player by prefacing their messages with that player's name followed by a colon and a space (i.e.  bob: this is a sample message). The ensuing message will only appear on that player's screen.


Troubleshooting notes: 
-Do not exit the game using Ctrl+Alt+Del.  Instead, use Atl+F4.
-Do not try and run 2 games at once.  It will crash. 

Producer:  Joel Billings
Associate Producer: Richard Wagenet
Campaign Scripter: Michael Simpson, Bill Wilder
Scenario Scripters:  Dave Wallick, Bobby Budde
Beta Test Coordinator: Mark Schmidt


Special kudos to inside testers: Ben Fuller, Jessica Jones, Kelly Calabro and Chris Smith. 

Outside Beta Testers:  Trey Marshall, John Waters, Dale Hight, Gary Morgan, Bill Wilder, Brenda Micka, Darwin Barnes, Gordon Fox, Noel Raely, Michael Wood, Jim Bello, Chuck Woodfield, Delwin Hinkle, Michael Politi, Mario Kroll and Vincent Taijeron.



