Well, I believe, I have to go through with my threats.
Just to get some people really keen on the game again...
Currently, you should find an ufo2000 matchmaking server running at the address mobile-infanterie.gamersunitonline.net:2000. The corresponding activity-site is also
https://mobile-infanterie.gamersunitonline.net:2000/. There you can see, if someone is online, atm. Don't let yourselves be stopped by an empty server. Otherwise, nobody ever will play a game, as nobody ever connects to be the first player.
So in general, it is more usefull, to
simply connect to the server via ufo2000 client, and wait for other players. Klicking on a player, first, means you're challenging him, and starting in the first round. If you have been challenged, the challenger turns green and you can accept by klicking on his name. For further information, you may also look
here.
If in doubt about the server being online, just look
here. If the server isn't listed as online there, please
PM me! I'll see to it, that it is online, again. In case the whole server doesn't seem to respond any more, feel free to do the same!
And something I coded quick and dirty: A
stats-page. Not pretty, not to informative compared to the original one, but it does get the basic job done. There you will find any match results and the elo-score of every player, that was connected.
About how to get ufo2000: Look
here for the ufo2000 win32 installer. There are
also the sources, but I failed to get them to run on my Ubuntu 14.04 x64. If anyone has some ideas regarding
that, I'd love to hear them.
You will need the xcom- and tftd-files, like with openxcom, to run ufo2000 with original graphics, but the game also runs without them. You then have no option to use the original interface, units and maps, then. Also the sounds will be limited without the original files. For additional maps, look in the above mentioned
archive-snapshot. Besides that, it's very helpful, to look into the config-file »ufo2000.ini«. It's especially useful for resolution-settings and such things.
About some small differences to (open)xcom:
- The path searching algorithm does not give you ways through doors! You will have to place the soldier next to the door you want to send him through and then right-klicking behind the door to open it.
- If you try to throw a grenade when being inside a house, you will not be warned, if this won't work. If it will hit the ceiling, the grenade simply bounces of the ceiling, and in turn falling in front of you, with no warning. Very bad experience...
- In original xcom/tftd, one never was limited by, how strong a weapon is or how good an armour is. The only interesting part was, how many items, how many space for units in your craft and maybe how strong the soldier is, for carrying stuff. The latter also applies for ufo2000, but there is no item- or unit-limit in the conventional xcom way. You arrange a points-limit with your opponent. Every item, armour or unit costs points, and you can not start a match when exceeding the agreed points limit. That can make matches very interesting, e. g. with 7k points limit.
- There are also different game modi, as like an assassination match, where the primary goal is not to kill the entire platoon of your opponent, but only one specific soldier.
There are a lot of other things, as varying map-sizes and so on. Just have a look at everything in a hotseat game against yourself.
As for the »temporary«-aspect: This server is running at my home, consuming energy on my bill, so in consequence costing my money. That's ok, for the time beeing. But I intend to not have it running longer, as for the next 4 weeks. I'll try to be online one it, some times, but for the following week, I won't, as I won't have the time. So knock yourselves up with it!
I seriously wanna get the game running, again, so I'll try to give it some initial sponsoring.
@Mods: Can somebody make this thread sticky, for the next few weeks? It would also be nice, to somehow promote the server/this thread.