LocalTalk PhoneNet networking of SE/30 & Mac 512k

[JDW]

I've had several PhoneNet adapters in my collection for many years but never used them since my SE/30 has an Ethernet card.  But today I was thinking about multiplayer games like MazeWars which might be fun for myself and my two kids.  I have a Mac 512k (64k ROMs) and a PhoneNet adapter for it (including terminating resistor), and I also have two Farallon PhoneNet adapters with round connectors for use with more modern Compact Macs like the SE/30 shown here:



I am running System 6.0.8 and System 7.1 and 7.5.5 on my two SE/30's, and I have pre-System6 operating systems on floppies for my Mac512 (again, which has the original 64k ROMs, not the newer 128k ROMs of the Mac 512kE or Plus).  Since I've never used PhoneNet before, I have the following questions:

1. Can one even play games like MazeWars across different Macs and operating systems?  (A Mac 512k is quite different from an SE/30 in terms of floppy disk drive capacity, ROM, RAM and OS compatibility.)

2. What specific software must I have installed on System 6.0.8, System 7.1 and pre-System6 Macs?  And, is there a minimum System version for this to work?  (Is use of a 400k boot floppy out of the question?)

3. Can I use regular telephone wire?  (The kind of wire you'd use to connect a wired phone to a wall socket?)

4. Say I have my Mac512 and both SE/30's all connected via the PhoneNet adapters, and say I have all the required software installed.  Now let's say I sit down at the Mac512.  I assume I will see both SE/30's in the Chooser?  And do I select both SE/30's in the Chooser to start networking with them?

5. Will this LocalTalk setup work with pretty much any multi-player networked Mac game?

Thanks.

P.S. Yes, I am aware of the Definitive Guide to Networking, but it doesn't answer my questions specifically.  Indeed, answers to my questions above may become the new definitive guide since they don't seem to be answered briefly and specifically elsewhere.

 

[Dog Cow]

1. Can one even play games like MazeWars across different Macs and operating systems?  (A Mac 512k is quite different from an SE/30 in terms of floppy disk drive capacity, ROM, RAM and OS compatibility.)

2. What specific software must I have installed on System 6.0.8, System 7.1 and pre-System6 Macs?  And, is there a minimum System version for this to work?  (Is use of a 400k boot floppy out of the question?)

3. Can I use regular telephone wire?  (The kind of wire you'd use to connect a wired phone to a wall socket?)

4. Say I have my Mac512 and both SE/30's all connected via the PhoneNet adapters, and say I have all the required software installed.  Now let's say I sit down at the Mac512.  I assume I will see both SE/30's in the Chooser?  And do I select both SE/30's in the Chooser to start networking with them?

5. Will this LocalTalk setup work with pretty much any multi-player networked Mac game?

1.) As long the application itself will run on those different Macs, it should work. MazeWars writes directly to the screen. Meaning that it's A-OK on an original 128K and 512K, but it has compatibility problems with some later machines, particularly those with more than 512K of RAM. There are patches, and newer versions available which correct some of these problems.

2.) MazeWars requires the .MPP and .ATP drivers to be in the System file on the boot disk when using an original Mac 128K or 512K. Beginning with the Mac 512Ke and Mac Plus, these drivers are in ROM.

3.) Yes, but be sure that it has all 4 conductors in it. Cheaper modular line cords will only have 2 conductors.

4.) That depends on what software you're using, and whether or not it was designed to use the Chooser to facilitate networking operations. MazeWars, for example, does not use the Chooser. But AppleShare, as we probably all know, does use the Chooser, as do the LaserWriter printer and the AppleTalk ImageWriter II. There was also an electronic mail system which used the Chooser. I use an application called NetCheck to ensure that all my Macs are reachable on the network.

5.) Probably so. By the way, if you only need to connect two Macs, you can use a serial cable. I used to use the Apple Stylewriter cable back in the day. For Mac 128K or 512K to any newer machine, you're going to need a cable with DB-9 at one end and mini DIN 8 at the other. It looks like this.

 

[olePigeon]

Don't forget Bolo and Armor Alley.  2 more excellent AppleTalk games.

 

[trag]

Spaceward Ho!

 

[JDW]

@Dog Cow Can you please provide download links to the ".MPP & .ATP drivers" you mentioned along with a link to "netcheck"? (My searches on Macintoshgarden yield nothing.)

@olePigeon & @trag, since you mentioned specific games (which I have, BTW), I assume you have played these across two Macs via PhoneNet, right?  If so, did you need to select anything in the Chooser to get networking started, or is it like Dog Cow explained with MazeWars in that you need not select anything in the Chooser?

 

[olePigeon]

Nothing to select in Chooser. You just run the game.  So long as AppleTalk is turned on and the computers are all on the same network, it should see them.

 

[JDW]

@olePigeon Thank you for that useful information!

Would you happen to have links to the ".MPP & .ATP drivers" & "netcheck" mentioned earlier by @Dog Cow?

 

[olePigeon]

@JDW I don't have early system AppleTalk stuff.  Just System 7 or later.

 

[Dog Cow]

Would you happen to have links to the ".MPP & .ATP drivers" & "netcheck" mentioned earlier by @Dog Cow?

The drivers should be in your System file already. Use ResEdit to check which DRVR resources are installed. System file 3.0 should have both .MPP and .ATP.

I looked around, and I don't remember where I got NetCheck from. It probably came from some compilation.