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SETTING INIT STRINGS FOR SIRDOOM

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I now have had a little more experience with setting up to run the terminal
program SIRDOOM. Now, SIRDOOM can be really picky and with the newer versions
coming out, it seems that the game play for it is gettin easier to use, but
it still can be finicky about the settings and init strings

You should be able to connect and play a great game as long as everyone 
playing has correctly set their modem init strings for SIRDOOM. You can 
expect playspeed to be about 90-95% of network play!

This can sound like a daunting task, particulary when terms like "init" 
string are tossed around, but actually it's not too difficult if you RTFM!!

The first thing you should do is check to see if "SHARE" is loaded in your
own computers config files (autoexec.bat) If it is, edit it by typing "REM" 
at the beginning of that line, this will deactivate the command.

Next you'll need to dig out your modem manual and read through the command
list. These are individual commands which when strung together form the modem
init (initialization) string. Commands are always single letters followed by
a number that defines the specific setting, often this command is preceded by
the & (ampersand) symbol. A typical init string might look like AT&F &H1 &K0
&M0 &B6 (usually run together to look like: AT&F&H1&K0&M0&B6)

You will want to turn Hardware Flow (RTS/CTS) Control ON. There will be a 
command to do this, probably something like H1, where H stands for Hardware 
Flow Control and 1 indicates it is to be turned ON. 

There may also be a reference in your manual to Software Flow Control...
(XON XOFF)ignore it. Likewise ignore Received Data Flow Control.

Next you want to turn Compression OFF. Again there will be a command for this
like K0, where K stands for compression and 0 indicates it is to be turned
OFF

You will also need to turn Error Correction OFF. The command for this might
be something like M0, where M stands for Error Correction and 0 indicates it
is to be turned OFF.

You may also want to try Locking the Serial Port Rate. This is also
accomplished by a command like B1, where B stands for Serial Port Rate and 1
indicates you wish the port to be locked. This will keep the modem from 
spending time constantly trying to verify the connect speed.

When you configure SIRDOOM you will need to set the BAUD to 57600. Even though
your connect speed may only be 14.4, setting your port to 57600 causes the CPU 
to query the serial port more often an results in a much faster game and 
smoother game.

Finally you can FIX the Modem Connection Rate. My modem operates at 14400
peak speed so I Fixed it at that rate using the command &N8, where N stands
for Connection Rate and 8 indicates I selected 14400 as the modem speed.

Your actual commands will likely be different that mine, ie yours might use
J1 instead of H1. Just paw through your manual and you will find the answers.
Don't worry if it reads like Greek, just look for the specific things I told
you to look for and you'll be fine.

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One final note, DOOM is only going to ultimately run as fast as the
equipment you and the other players have. 

A 486Dx2-66 should be considered minimum for FAST game. A fast graphics 
card will also affect the game speed greatly. The VL bus cards are the 
fastest, but many are optimized only for Windows and so don't perform 
well under DOS. Make sure your Video card has good DOS performance.

If you have a fast machine but your other player has a slow machine, you will
end up playing a slow game.

You really need more than 4 megs of RAM. Having more will allow you to run
Smartdrive which will speed up your game by reducing the number of disk
access.

If your game is still choppy, try reducing the graphics detail in DOOM from
HIGH to LOW. If you need more, shrink the window size. Both of these settings
are availiable under DOOM's option menu.


