Command HQ – Internet play
How to play Microprose’s
Command HQ over the Internet
Intro
This is one of the games I can’t stop playing –
despite it’s age (1990), it’s 16 color
EGA mode and PC Speaker sound. And since these days we use LCD screens, not
even the eye-blinding 60Hz display is a problem anymore…
But – how to play the game over the internet against
worthy human opponents?
The trick is to emulate a Null-Modem connection over
the internet (Serial to TCP/IP). There are several tools out there doing this.
Unfortunately, the only one I could put to work with HQ is around $100 (one
client) – not exactly the budget to play an old DOS game. That’s why I point to
a crack – you decide to either pay the license or go illegal.
Setup
1. Get the
files
·
Serial to Ethernet Connector Shareware
2. Install
Serial Ethernet Connector
3. Setup a
virtual Null-Modem connection over Internet
Start Serial to Ethernet Connector, then
configure a connection using the Wizard:
Connection > Wizards > Connect Computers
After creating the connection, you should see
something like this:
(where the remote PC can be a
host name or an IP address of your opponent’s computer)
Hints:
·
The program uses the ports 8888 and
8889, make sure those are not blocked by your firewall / router.
·
If you see Status:
Error and don’t know why – reboot your system. After a
reboot it worked for me.
4. Play
Command HQ
Start a game vs. a human opponent over a serial
connection, on both computers. Enjoy hours and hours of sweat and happiness J
5. ... and
if you wish – on your own risk:
Install the
crack for Serial to Ethernet (for educational purposes only)
Overwrite Sec.exe and sec_service.exe in the program
folder (e.g. C:\Programme\Eltima Software\SEC) with the ones from the crack zip
file
Hint: if sec_service.exe is in use: Terminate it first
using the task manager.
6. Find
other HQ players
Hello – anybody out there? Looking for other players?
For now, write me an email (hq ‘at’ bachi.ch) or meet me in ICQ: 586963 to schedule a battle or
two… (If there’s some demand, I’ll add a forum here)
Enjoy – Bachi
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Also have a look at my social network and moblog platform: