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<!-- ============= Network games ===============================================
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This doc is common to gnome-games. The file is pulled in from gnibbles directory
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as a SVN symlink, and included here. Therefore translators only have to translate
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the network stuff once, instead of one time for each game.
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================================ -->
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<!-- ============= Network Games Documentation =============================
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This documentation is written so that is can be reused for all the
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gnome-games which have network multiplayer support. Therefore no direct
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references to a specific game should be made. Further, this file is currently
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included in the various games as a SVN symlink. The figures can also
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be included as SVN symlinks to avoid duplication of the same images.
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<sect1 id="network-games">
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<title>Network Games</title>
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Four-in-a-Row support networked multiplayer games which is provided by <ulink type="http" url="http://www.ggzgamingzone.org">GGZ Gaming Zone</ulink>. By connecting to a Four-in-a-Row server
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on the Internet, you can challenge other players in multiplayer games.
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For news, updates and a list of servers to connect to, see the <ulink type="http" url="http://www.gnome.org/projects/gnome-games/">gnome-games website</ulink>.
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To start the multiplayer game of Four-in-a-Row, select <menuchoice><guimenu>Game</guimenu>
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<guimenuitem>Network Game</guimenuitem></menuchoice> on the Four-in-a-Row menu.
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<sect2 id="connecting">
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<title>Connecting to a Four-in-a-Row network server</title>
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The Four-in-a-Row connection dialog is shown initially when starting a new
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network game. This dialog allows you to select a server to connect to,
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and the username that you will have while connected to that server.
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It is possible to connect to a server with either a guest account or a normal
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registered account. Guest accounts allows you to anonymously login, while
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a normal login account allows you to reserve your own username which
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is protected by the password that you choose.
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<para> The <guimenuitem>Guest Login</guimenuitem> option should be selected
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if you want an anonymous guest account. If you want to create a new
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login account, then select the <guimenuitem>First-time Login</guimenuitem>
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option, with the username, password and email of your choice.
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If you have already created your account, you can connect by selecting
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the <guimenuitem>Normal Login</guimenuitem> option, and enter the
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username and password that you have chosen.
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To connect to a server, click on the <guimenuitem>Connect</guimenuitem> button.
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<figure id="connect">
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<title>The Four-in-a-Row network connection dialog.</title>
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<imagedata fileref="figures/connect.png" format="PNG" srccredit="Andreas Røsdal"/>
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<phrase>The Four-in-a-Row network connection dialog.</phrase>
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<title>Joining a game room</title>
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Once you have successfully connected to a server, you can choose which game room to join. To play a multiplayer game of Four-in-a-Row, select the Four-in-a-Row room. If you want to host your own game, then click on the Launch button. This creates a new table where other players can participate in a game against you.
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If there are any other games already started, then you can double-click on an existing game table to join it.
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The list of game tables on the right shows you the number of available seats, which means the
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number of players that can join the game table.
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<title>This Four-in-a-Row network dialog allows you to join a game room to find other players.</title>
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<imagedata fileref="figures/tables.png" format="PNG" srccredit="Andreas Røsdal"/>
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<phrase>This Four-in-a-Row network dialog allows you to join a game room to find other players.</phrase>
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When creating a new table for Four-in-a-Row games, a preference dialog is displayed which allows you to
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customize the game, such as set the minimum number of players for the game. Once the total
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number of seats have been taken, then no more players are allowed to join that game table.
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It is possible to chat with other players in network games. Ask for advice or help playing the games,
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but please be polite against other players.
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<title>Waiting for other players to join the game</title>
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Once you have successfully joined a game table, then you have to wait until enough
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players have joined the table. The <guimenuitem>Players List</guimenuitem> menu item
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allows you to see a list of the players who have joined the game.
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The game will begin immediately when the total number of players in the the game have been reached.
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<sect2 id="playing-multiplayer">
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<title>Playing multiplayer Four-in-a-Row games</title>
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Multiplayer Four-in-a-Row games have pretty much the same rules as normal Four-in-a-Row games,
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except that you are now playing against human players. This means that other
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strategies might possibly be better than when playing against AI players.
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Once a player has won, the game ends and you can return to the initial network game screen.
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Then you can play yet another game of addictive Four-in-a-Row multiplayer!
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<!-- ===== Bugs ============================================== -->
added
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gnect/help/oc/gnect.xml
