Hexen: Beyond Heretic DEMO - Macintosh Version Released May 10, 1996 -------------------------------------- Created by Raven Software (C) 1995 Published by id Software Distributed by GT Interactive Software Macintosh port by Presage -------------------------------------- Please direct all bug reports to support@gtinteractive.com. Do NOT email id Software or Raven Software or Presage with bug reports. This is a 4-level demo of the new action-adventure Hexen: Beyond Heretic, the sequel to the original Heretic first-person action-adventure. Besides the storyline, the major differences between Heretic and Hexen are numerous. * Three character classes: Fighter, Cleric and Mage. At the start of your adventure, you choose which class you want to play through the entire game of Hexen. In multiplayer mode, you can choose which character you want to use to either inflict punishment (Deathmatch) or to help your comrades through the adventure (Cooperative). The Fighter's weapons are mostly close-combat weapons, but he does the most damage with his attacks. The Cleric has two close-combat weapons and two long-range weapons since he is a hybrid of the Fighter and Mage classes. The Mage has four long-range magical attacks. This is the best character for you if you are better at attacking from a distance. * No sequential level-to-level game progression. For instance, the second level (Seven Portals) contain the gateways to the other three levels in the first "hub" of the game. You will revisit Seven Portals many times before you complete Hexen's first hub area. When you are on one level, you can pull a switch and open doors or raise stairs on a different level to unlock the continuation of your quest. * Rich audio environment. Hexen has a dark, brooding background soundtrack to create a subtly disquieting mood while you listen to animals scrabbling around on rocks, birds screeching or the ambient soundscape of a swamp. All this combined with the enemy's audio cues create a rich aural experience while you journey through the dark, dangerous world of Hexen. * Large range of artifacts. Many of Heretic's artifacts are here along with many new ones that prove to be quite interesting in a Deathmatch situation! Sure, Heretic was great fun with the Morph Ovum, but have you ever seen a flying pig? You Will. And we will be the ones to bring it to you with the Porkelator! * Awesome visual effects. Slog your way through a real swamp, complete with a haze of white fog and swamp gas clouds cruising over the ooze. Twin parallaxing cloud sky backdrops. A crowd of bats blasting into your face as you prepare to descend into a network of caves. These and many other effects will surprise and awe you with their brilliance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This demo is multiplayer capable. Requirements for Multi-Player games: Everyone who wants to play must have a computer running HEXEN. Macintosh HEXEN players and PC HEXEN players can, subject to certain restrictions, run Multi-Player sessions, as long as both are using the same version of HEXEN. (PC users must follow slighly different instructions for establishing Multi-Player connections, but everything else is identical.) Players must agree from the beginning how they will connect to each other, what mode they want to use (Deathmatch or Cooperative), what difficulty level they want to play in, whether it will be a timed game, what level they will start on, and so on. If they wish to play a special external WAD file, all must have this WAD installed on their computer and specify that they wish to play it. If any settings (besides character class, since anyone can play any class) do not match, the machines will not connect and a game will be impossible. Players must be able to connect using AppleTalk, a serial cable connection, the Macintosh Communications Toolbox (modem), or IPX (over an Ethernet LAN). Serial cable and Communications Toolbox conections only allow two players. AppleTalk and IPX LAN connections allow for up to 8 players, but the computers must all be connected to the same local area network and running the same protocol (that is, you can't have some of the computers using AppleTalk and some using IPX). If any of the computers are PCs you will need to make sure the MacIPX control panel is installed and configured on your machine. While HEXEN supports up to eight simultaneous players, the levels that come with the game are designed for a maximum of four players. (This is because the original PC version of HEXEN supported only four players.) You will need to find add-on WADs to play HEXEN with more than four players. Such WADs are beginning to become available on the Internet, online services, computer bulletin boards, and user groups. NOTE! You cannot save or load Multi-Player games. Playing Over Appletalk The simplest and least troublesome way for two or more players to play HEXEN is over an AppleTalk connection. This, of course, requires that all players use Macintosh computers with AppleTalk, since the PC version of HEXEN does not support this Apple network protocol. If the machines are connected to the same zone of an AppleTalk local area network (LocalTalk, Ethernet, or Token Ring wiring is acceptable, as long as no special software is required to use the network), simply make sure AppleTalk is active on all machines-open the Chooser from the Apple menu if you aren't sure. Then choose "MultiPlayer Start" from the File menu on all machines, and make sure the "Connect Via:" popup menu is set to "AppleTalk" on each. Then choose your class, or specify that you want HEXEN to choose one for you. Make sure all players are using the same settings for everything else (difficulty, level of play, Deathmatch or Cooperative, and so forth) and click "Start Game." HEXEN will search the network for other players, and, assuming the network is in working order, the game will begin. Keep in mind that game play may be affected if others are using the network for exchanging files, printing, and so on. This will probably be annoying, but similarly, your HEXEN game may annoy the other people on the network trying to get work done! Of course, this won't be an issue if you have the network to yourselves, which is one reason HEXEN is so popular after-hours at some companies. HEXEN should also work with Apple Remote Access, which will allow remote users of an AppleTalk LAN to play against local users (as well as other remote users of the same LAN) but we have not tested this configuration, and it is not officially supported at the time of this writing. Playing Over a Modem (Communications Toolbox) NOTE! Setting up modem connections is notoriously difficult in some situations. It's not a problem with HEXEN, but with the occasionally trouble-prone nature of modem connections in general. For some people they'll work right the first time, and for others a great deal of experimenting with different settings will be required. If you're trying to connect your Macintosh to a PC, the problems can multiply. We generally don't recommend trying to play HEXEN over a modem connection unless you're already familiar with basic modem operations or are willing to experiment a bit. Two people across the street-or across the continent-from each other can play HEXEN over ordinary phone lines. To set up a Multi-Player session over the modem, first make sure both machines have 9600 baud (or faster) modems connected and in working order. (If you can use your modem to call an online service, a BBS, or the Internet, it's working fine.) To begin a modem HEXEN session, start Mac HEXEN and choose "MultiPlayer Start" from the File menu. Set the "Connect Via" popup menu at the top of the screen to "Comm Toolbox." Then decide which of the two players will initiate the phone call (one must dial to initiate the call, and the other must answer the phone and connect); if you're to initiate the connection, check the "Initiate Connection" box; if the other player will call you, make sure this box is unchecked. Now, decide which character class you want to play, or choose "Random" if you don't care what class you will be for this session. Then make sure all other settings (difficulty, Deathmatch vs. Cooperative, etc.) are the same on both machines, and click Start Game. Apple's Communications Toolbox settings dialog will appear. If you're to initiate the call, you'll have to enter the other player's phone number. Regardless of whether you make the call or answer it, you'll also need to make sure you've selected a speed of at least 9600 bps (the faster the better) and that you have Flow Control set to either RTS & DTS (preferred if you have an internal modem or a hardware handshaking serial cable connected to your external modem) or Xon/Xoff. Make sure the settings for your modem are all otherwise correct. Then make sure the other player is also using the same settings and is ready to begin. Once you're sure of everything, click OK. (If you and the second player are already on the phone talking, and you will be using the same phone line for the modem connection, you should hang up first.) The first computer will call the second and connect. From there, it may take a minute for the game to start, so be patient. Playing over a Serial Connection Two players can play HEXEN simultaneously over a serial connection, even if the other player has a PC. You will need a null-modem cable to connect the two machines. (A null modem cable has the transmit and receive lines swapped.) A standard modem cable won't work, although a serial printer cable often will, since printer cables also require these same lines to be swapped. If you are connecting two Macs, you can generally use the same cable you'd use to connect your Mac to a printer. If you're connecting a Mac to a PC which has a DB-25 serial connector, try to find the same type of cable you'd need to connect the Mac to an old-style serial printer like the original ImageWriter (not the ImageWriter II). If you can't find a pre-wired null-modem or printer cable with the connectors you need, you can easily build your own using off-the-shelf cables and adapters. First obtain cables to connect each of the computers to standard RS-232 modems using DB-25 connectors. (It is not necessary to actually have the modems, just the cables that would work with such modems.) Then, using a "gender changer" adapter with two female connectors and a null-modem adapter as the "glue," connect the modem ends of these two cables to each other and the other ends to the computers. Run a terminal program on both computers (set to the same communications parameters, of course) and verify that what you type on one computer's keyboard appears on the other's monitor, and vice versa. If it doesn't work the first time, try it without the null-modem adapter s that one of the cables is actually a printer cable). Once the two computers are communicating, start a Multi-Player game as described above, making sure to set the Serial communications method (using the apprropriate port), selecting the appropriate port on both machines, and ensuring that all options other than the character class are set the same on both copies. Playing with MacIPX To use your Mac version of HEXEN to play against players using the PC version on a network, or to play multiple Multi-Player games on a network (even if all players are using Macs), you will need to use the IPX connection method. Make sure the MacIPX control panel is installed. If you do not have MacIPX, contact Novell for information on obtaining a copy. Begin your Multi-Player game as usual, selecting IPX as the connection type. All players in the same game must use the same port number (the default, zero, is fine if only one Multi-Player game will be played on the network). PC users should follow the instructions that came with their version of HEXEN to prepare the game. Make sure all parameters (with the possible exception of character class) are the same on all computers, then start the game. HEXEN will find the other players, and the game will begin. Keep in mind that game play may be affected if others are using the network for exchanging files, printing, and so on. This will probably be annoying, but similarly, your HEXEN game may annoy the other people on the network trying to get work done! Of course, this won't be an issue if you have the network to yourselves, which is one reason HEXEN is so popular after-hours at some companies. For best performance, make sure all players are on the same network segment. NOTE! If you encounter difficulties with MacIPX, contact your network administrator for assistance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoy the demo. Then rush out and get the game when it hits the stores! You won't be sorry. But your friends will be when they think they can take you on in a Deathmatch and they find a Maulotaur you just summoned bashing their brains into the dirt with you laughing at them behind its back. id Software, inc.