MythosConsortium

**sharamun** · 25th November 2004, 04:29 PM

I am posting this note to determine the potential interest in a PC version of Mythos which I have written (currently an alpha version), and could make available to those interested, in the near future.

This version differs from the cardgame in a number of ways, but the primary change is that the players are all on the same side vs. the Cthulhu Mythos (this is a cooperative game). As such, this version can also be played solitaire.

Please let me know if you are interested in the development of this game by posting replies to this message. If there is enough interest, I can make the alpha version available to those who are serious about working with me to test and develop the game and we can take it as far as people would like.

Happy Thanksgiving every one!

**sharamun** · 25th December 2004, 08:36 PM

For those looking for a different Mythos experience, I am making available a working PC version of an altered version of the Mythos CCG and am looking for play testers.

It is still in development, so not all card features work, but the game is stable and playable.

If you are interested and you have a Windows PC, follow the instructions below. If you are using a Mac, let me know and I will see what I can do.

Windows instructions:
Download and install the MythosAgent from my web site at the following URL:

http://204.210.81.236/Software/index.html

To run it, after you download the MythosAgent.exe and install it to C:\ (this is the default), from Windows Explorer, double click on the C:\MythosAgent\MythosAgent shortcut and it will load and start the game.

You can then connect in to the keeper server using the following:
keeper IP address 204.210.81.236
keeper port 13100
keeper password yog-sothoth

You don't really need to know how to play as the rules are included as part of the game; using the F1 key after you connect to the keeper will bring up the rules.

Also, if you are using a firewall, you will have to assign port mapping to the PC you run the agent on. The port the agent runs on is defined on the screen before you connect. You can leave it as the default (13111), or if you want to run multiplayer, choose the next one from the dropdown list (13112) on the second PC, and then do the port mapping on your firewall accordingly.

The keeper is usually up and running, but I typically shut down my web server nightly at midnight eastern time.

**Zarris** · 26th December 2004, 01:16 AM

It's a hefty download, after signing up I found it would take quite awhile even on my connection, which is broadband. I'd like to help you test this program out; but I'm just wondering if the initial size is necessary. Have you scanned in images of the cards and put them into the program? Or is the size of the executable that size because of other reasons?

Could you provide screenshots and post them here? I think you may have a good contribution to the community going here but the massive size of the download may scare away most people that have slower connections.

**sharamun** · 26th December 2004, 03:25 AM

Thanks for the feedback Zarris. Actually, 138MB is pretty small for a downloadable demo these days, consider the Diablo II demo is about that size, and others like Prince of Persia (262MB) and Half-Life 2 (770MB) are quite larger.

However, the speed at which the download could take will likely be slow because I am running my server on a broadband connection and upload speeds are generally slower than download speeds.

For your info the agent does include both image and audio, which makes it so large. I'm curious to find out, what estimated download time you got on your PC. An alternative is for me to send you a CD with the client on it. If this is of interest, send me an e-mail with your address and I will send you a copy. This goes for anyone else who would like to playtest the game and has trouble with download times.

I'll post some screenshots in the near future. It won't be pretty and glitzy, but what do you want for free?

**sharamun** · 26th December 2004, 05:57 PM

Here are some screenshots:

http://204.210.81.236/Mythos/mythos_screenshots.html

To help speed up the download time for the MythosAgent, I am in the process of putting it on my higher-speed web site. I'll post the URL when it is available.

**Badger** · 28th December 2004, 09:54 PM

Hey Sharamun,

I'd be interested in checking it out too, but i have a Mac. If you can build a version that runs on OS X, i can test it for you.

FYI, have you thought about taking out the audio for the demo? Audio files always take up chunks of space, no matter how compressed they are. That might reduce the demo's size, and make it easier to download.

-=Badger

**sharamun** · 29th December 2004, 03:25 AM

Badger,

Thanks for suggesting a version for Mac OS X. This is definitely doable, as soon as I get my hands on a box, which hopefully should be in the near future. You aren't the first to request it for the Mac, so I have been looking into it for a while. I'll keep you posted.

It is possible to take out the audio from this version to make it 87MB smaller, and I may do that if I can't put the larger version on a higher bandwidth server. I am still working on that.

I did run a test download from a T1 and it took only 52 minutes and averaged 43.4KB/sec. I wouldn't think this was so bad, but maybe others are using 56K modems?

For those interested, I have built a working version for Linux ix86 and will post it on the software page on my web site as soon as I can.

sharamun

**sharamun** · 30th December 2004, 01:53 AM

A version for Linux has been made available at the following URL:

http://204.210.81.236/Software/index.html

A version for Mac OS X is in the works. I will post this when it is available.

**sharamun** · 30th December 2004, 01:16 PM

For those experiencing long download times, I have posted smaller (mini) versions of the agent at the following URL:

http://204.210.81.236/Software/index.html

A separate audio expansion has also been included if those with mini versions would like it later.

Thanks to Zarris and Badger for the suggestions!

**sharamun** · 31st December 2004, 03:55 AM

A version for SunOS/Solaris has been made available at the following URL:

http://204.210.81.236/Software/index.html

**Badger** · 31st December 2004, 06:35 PM

Just out of curiosity, what are you programming this in? I'm getting the impression that it's in a pretty OS-agnostic language...

-=Badger

**sharamun** · 1st January 2005, 12:37 AM

Hi Badger,

The answer to your question is the only language I know of matching the description you gave: Java. In this case Java 1.4.2. The JRE is bundled with all current versions. However, it will not need to be bundled with the Mac version (making it smaller), as it is already provided with Mac OS X (correct me if I am wrong).

sharamun

Happy New Year!

**sharamun** · 1st January 2005, 08:44 PM

The Windows and Linux mini versions are now available from my higher speed web site at the following URL:

http://www.bogatir.com/Software/

There is also a link there to my other web site to download the other versions and the audio expansion.