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batevo:netplay_guide

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Battle Evolution Netplay Guide

This page will guide you through setting up mednafen netplay, as well as serve as a handy mednafen/netplay reference. The netplay pack is download and play, and very straight forward, but if you are having issues with set up, or just need to reference netplay commands or the list of servers, just check back with this guide. If you would like to set up the training mode lua script, check out the training mode guide.

Download & Install

Our netplay pack includes:

→ Mednafen 1.26.1 for Windows 64 bit

→ JP, US, & PAL PS1 BIOS

→ JP & US versions of DRA/BatEvo

→ US version of Gameshark "V4" disc

→ JP, US, & PAL complete save files (+ netplay gameshark codes save file)

→ Automatically loaded 2P VS Character Select Screen save states for US & JP versions, with netplay gameshark codes already loaded

Everything is already configured and ready to play. Once you have the pack downloaded and installed, all you will have to do is launch the game, and set up your controls. The PAL version was not included to reduce download size, as no one is likely to play it. If you are interested in playing the PAL version, you can find a copy at the BatEvo downloads page.

Windows

Download the netplay pack, and extract the zip archive anywhere you like. You can extract the zip archive by right clicking on it, and clicking Extract Here…. To open the game, simply double click on Play Digimon Tamers - Battle Evolution (Japan) or Play Digimon Rumble Arena (US).

Mac

Note: Mac OS 10.12 Sierra or later is required to install mednafen. If you do not have Mac OS 10.12 Sierra or later, check on Apple's website to see if your Mac OS can be upgraded to at least Mac OS 10.12 Sierra. If you can't install Mac OS 10.12 Sierra or later, you won't be able to install mednafen under Mac OS, but you might have luck using Boot Camp to install Windows on your Mac and following the Windows instructions above, but there is a good possibility that your computer can't run mednafen at full speed if you have to resort to using Boot Camp.

To install mednafen and DRA/BatEvo, simply run the following command in Terminal (you can copy it, and paste it into terminal by right clicking):

You will see a pop up window appear saying that command line developer tools are required. Click "Install", and the entire rest of the script should finish on its own without any input. The install should take 20-30 minutes, as mednafen will have to be compiled from source, so feel free to do something else while you wait. When the script finishes, you will be able to start the game by simply double clicking Play Digimon Tamers - Battle Evolution (Japan).command or Play Digimon Rumble Arena (US).command, which will now be on your desktop. Feel free to rename these files to something shorter, so you can more easily tell these two apart.

Linux

Installing mednafen

Download the netplay pack, but before you begin extracting files into place, you will need to install mednafen on your system, as the netplay pack only includes a Windows executable. First, check to see if mednafen 1.26.1 is in your distro's repos. If it is and it is the correct version, you can move on to extracting the netplay pack. If your repos don't have mednafen, or the correct version, then you will need to build from source. If you are on Ubuntu, you can build mednafen with the following commands.

wget https://mednafen.github.io/releases/files/mednafen-1.26.1.tar.xz
tar xf mednafen-1.26.1.tar.xz
cd mednafen
sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config libasound2-dev libcdio-dev libsdl1.2-dev libsdl-net1.2-dev libsndfile1-dev zlib1g-dev libsdl2-dev
./configure && make && sudo make install

For other distros, check with the mednafen releases page for which dependencies you need installed. If you have mednafen installed, you should be able to run mednafen on the command line, and it should return Starting Mednafen 1.26.1 on the first line of output. It shouldn't be strictly necessary to run sudo make install, so long as you can execute ./mednafen, but I have not personally tested this.

Copying Game Files

Mednafen stores all of its configuration, firmware, and save files at ~/.mednafen. Download the netplay pack, if you have not already. Extract the zip archive, and find the mednafen configuration directory. Inside this directory, you will need to copy the following files and directories into the mednafen configuration directory:

cheats
firmware/
mcs/
sav/
mednafen.cfg
Gamesharkc.cue & .bin
Digimon Rumble Arena (US).cue & .bin & .m3u
Digimon Tamers - Battle Evolution (Japan).cue & .bin & .m3u

You can store the game files any where you'd like, but if you don't plan to use mednafen for anything else, moving them into the mednafen configuration directory is a tidy location to store them. Once you have everything in place, you should be able to open the game by running mednafen <path to m3u file>. Ex: mednafen ~/.mednafen/Digimon\ Tamers\ -\ Battle\ Evolution\ \(Japan\).m3u.

Binding Controls (One Time Setup)

Make sure you have your controller plugged in (if you are going to use one) before opening the game, then open the game up. Once mednafen opens, press T. A chat box should appear. Enter in the command /nick name, and replace name with the name you would like to use during netplay and hit enter. Nothing will seem to happen, but you will confirm this worked later.

Next, press and hold Alt + Shift + 1 for 3 seconds to configure your controls. A prompt will show up at the bottom saying Digital Gamepad 1 UP ↑ (1). Press which button on your keyboard or controller you want to map up on the dpad to, and it should change to Digital Gamepad 1 UP ↑ (2). Press that button again to confirm. Rinse and repeat for all of the button on the PS1 controller. When prompted about turbo buttons, you can map them all to a single button or keyboard key that is out of your way. Here is a list of buttons and their actions to know when mapping your buttons:

Button Action
Dpad (↑↓←→) Movement
:bx: Cross Jump
:bs: Square Attack
:bc: Circle Special 1
:bt: Triangle Special 2
:bl1: L1 Guard
:br1: R1 Digivolve / Super
Start Pause
Select Hold on Character Select to play mirror matches
L2 Used for some netplay cheats, see netplay cheats section
R2 Used for some netplay cheats, see netplay cheats section

You can use VS CPU to test your controls.

Finally, press T and type the command /connect ny.yuribacon.com. You should connect to the netplay server. If you are able to connect, and your nickname appears correctly, then you can press T and run /quit to disconnect.

Playing Netplay

Playing netplay is simple:

First, you can set a gamekey so that you only can connect with other people playing the same game and using the same gamekey as you. Just press T, and enter /gamekey gamekey and press enter. Replace gamekey with what ever you want (Ex: stream, password01, coolname, tacos). For an easy suggestion, use your name and the name of the person your playing with. For example: /gamekey yuritoto. If you use just /gamekey, you will clear your gamekey and join netplay without one. You can think of gamekeys as temporary "secret passwords", and both players need to know the password to play together.

Once you have a gamekey set (or cleared), press T again and use /connect server. Replace server with the URL of any netplay server. You can find a list of public netplay server in the netplay server list at the bottom of this page. If one or both of you have a bad connection to the server, try a different one.

Gameshark Cheats

cheats_reference.png

As of [not out yet, sorry! This is an early placeholder :P]], the netplay pack now includes support for gameshark codes for added quality of life features and gameplay enhancements. Here is a list of the included codes (for a complete list of gameshark codes, and how to use them, see Quality of Life and Gameplay Altering Cheat Codes):

Offline Only:

→ Netplay Codes

  • Press L2 on Stage Select for Alt Skin Digimon
  • Character Select Screen Toggles for Game Settings:
Option Selections Default
Items On, Off, Item"less" Off
Stage Hazards On, Off, Intro Interruption Off
Stage Friction & Acceleration Original, No Slip & Slide, Oops All Ice! No Slip & Slide
Rounds FT2, FT3, FT4, FT5 FT2
Timer 00, 30, 99, 150 Default: 99
2P VS Music 1P Arcade Mode, 2P VS 1P Arcade Mode
Items (R2)
Up Items On
Down Items Off
Left Item"less" - Item Limit reduced from 3 to 1. Fight for the only item!
Hazards (R1)
Up Hazards On
Down Hazards Off
Left Intro Interruption - Start fighting sooner, and even sooner by digivolving!
Stage Friction & Acceleration (:bs:)
Up No Slip & Slide - Glacier and Reapermon's Den adjusted to match Wilderness & Volcano
Down Original - No adjustments!
Left Oops All Ice! - Every stage adjusted to match Glacier
Rounds (L1)
Down First to 2 round wins to win the game
Up First to 3 round wins to win the game
Left First to 4 round wins to win the game
Right First to 5 round wins to win the game
Timer (L2)
Up 100 seconds (99)
Down Infinite time (00)
Left 30 seconds (30)
Right 150 seconds - Timer shows 99 until the timer drops below 99 seconds
Music (Select)
Up 1P Arcade Mode Music - Per Stage
Down 2P VS Music - Character Matchup Dependent

→ Offline Only

  • Random Character Selection - Press Square
  • Random Stage Selection - Press Triangle
  • Disable Game Music (Disabled by default)
  • Disable Stage Ambience (Disabled by default)
  • Force Player 1/2 to be CPU (Disabled by default)

Quick Reference

  • Press Alt + Shift + 1 for 3 seconds to configure your controls (make sure you plug your controller in before starting mednafen!)
  • Press Alt + Enter to enter or exit full screen mode
  • Use ` for speed up (doesn't work in netplay)
  • Press Esc for 3 seconds to close mednafen
  • Press T to chat with other players, and run netplay commands.
  • Use /gamekey gamekey to pick a choose a "secret password" before joining netplay to avoid joining other players games. You must set your gamekey before joining netplay, or it won't take effect until you quit netplay first.
  • Use connect server URL to connect to netplay. You can find a list of servers below.
  • To disconnect from netplay without closing the game, use /quit
  • Use /nick name to change your nickname during a netplay session.
  • Use /swap port# port# to swap ports with other players. Ex: /swap 1 2 will swap players 1 and 2.
  • Use /drop port# to "unplug" your controller and start spectating.
  • Use /take port# to "plug in" you controller to resume playing.
    • Note: While DRA/BatEvo only uses ports 1 and 2, you can take or swap ports 3, 4, 5, and so on. Good to know for playing casuals in a big group!

Netplay Server List

East Asia
Server Location Administrator
jp.yuribacon.com Tokyo, Japan Yuri Bacon
Europe
Server Location Administrator
mednafen-nl.emuparadise.org Halfweg, Netherlands Host Unknown
s1.mednafen-it.org Roma, Italy Host Unknown
s2.mednafen-it.org Milano, Italy Host Unknown
s3.mednafen-it.org Ponte San Pietro, Italy Host Unknown
Speedvicio.ddns.net Milano, Italy Speedvicio
node.asnitech.co.uk Manchester, United Kingdom Host Unknown
uk.yuribacon.com London, United Kingdom Yuri Bacon
de.yuribacon.com Frankfurt, Germany Yuri Bacon
North America
Server Location Administrator Notes
netplay.fobby.net Califonia, US (?) Run by the mednafen devs (probably) NOTE: Tends to stutter a lot. The servers bandwidth or CPU usage may be bottlenecking? ca.yuribacon.com is recommended over this one.
mednafen-us.emuparadise.org North Carolina, US Host Unknown
tx.yuribacon.com Texas, US Yuri Bacon
ny.yuribacon.com New York, US Yuri Bacon
ca.yuribacon.com Fremont, CA, US Yuri Bacon
North Asia
Server Location Administrator
gs.emu-land.net Moscow, Russia Host Unknown
emu-russia.net ?, Russia Host Unknown
Oceania
Server Location Administrator
aus.yuribacon.com Sydney, Australia Yuri Bacon
South America
Server Location Administrator
repog.ddns.net São Paulo, Brazil Host Unknown

Misc.

Ping Tests

You can find premade script files for ping testing mednafen netplay servers here. To run a ping test, just download a script for your OS and region, and then run it. The lower your ping is to a netplay server, the less input delay you will have and the better the game will feel to play for you. But watch out! You may not want to always play on the server you have the lowest ping to, because your opponent could have a very high ping to that server! You want to play on a server you both have as close to equal ping on as possible, while still picking a server you both have as low of a ping to as possible.

Basic Training

If you want to do some basic training, but either can't or don't want to set up the training mode lua script, then here are a few pointers:

  • Press F2, and you can remap none controller functions like saving and loading states, emulator speedrun, and other stuff to where ever you would like them, including on the controller.
  • By default, you can use 0-9 keys at the top of the keyboard to select save state slots, and use F5 to save state, and F7 to load state.
  • By default, you can use Alt + A to pause the emulator, and then advance the game one "frame" at a time. "Frame" is in quotes, as mednafen will advance 1/60th of a second (60Hz), when the game runs at a frame rate of 30fps (30Hz), so you will have to press Alt + A twice to advance one in game frame.
  • You can use Alt + Shift + 2 to map the P2 controls to test opponent actions. Mapping to the keyboard is always a good choice if you don't have a second controller (or find that awkward).
Editing Mednafen's Config File

If you've been wondering where all of mednafen's settings are, or just want to turn off the scanlines, this section is for you. All of mednafen's options are stored in the file mednafen.cfg. On Windows, you can find this in the mednafen folder. On Mac OS and Linux, you can find this in ~/.mednafen. It is simply a text file you can open up in Notepad or nano, or any other text editor. The config file is pretty well commented, and you can find more thorough documentation on the mednafen documentation page, so I won't go into detail here, but every option can be found as core.setting. If you want to turn of the scanlines, you will find it under option psx.scanlines, and if you want to remove the 3 second dangerous action delay, you can find that under input.ckdelay.

batevo/netplay_guide.1612229632.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021/02/02 01:33 by yuri