NFG Games + GameSX

This article is a kind contribution by our forum member Neko68k. Thank you for shedding light on this rather grey area !

This article will cover configuring your X68000 for internet access using either a null-modem cable or an ethernet card. Neptune-X, Nereid, and RaSCSI should all work with the proper driver. You will first need to download the required software listed below. In addition to these you may also want to install TwentyOne (long file name support) if you haven't already.

• Unlzh TCPPACKA.LZH and merge the folders it contains with your existing \BIN \ETC and \MAN
• Likewise, extract xipb5.lzh and place xip.x in \BIN
• Edit \ETC\hosts and \ETC\networks to reflect your actual network, for example:

#
# /etc/hosts
#
127.0.0.1	localhost		localhost
192.168.0.11	x68k			x68k

#
# - /etc/networks
#
127		loopback
192.168.0	private-net

Optionally add this line to \ETC\services, CLAT(IRC) asks for it:

irc			6667/tcp

• Unlzh PPPXR5.lzh
• Put the contents of this LZH into the same directory.
• Be sure to modify the first line of PPPX.BAT to point to that directory.
• Add 'inetdconf +dns 8.8.8.8' to the end of PPPX.BAT. This is Google DNS.
• Change 'inetd' to 'xip -t -1'. This is faster than inetd and allows auto-trap assignment to prevent conflicts.
• unlzh TMSIO031.LZH and put TMSIO.X in \BIN

Add to your config.sys the following (RSDRV.SYS comes with Human):

PROCESS 16 10 50
DEVICE = \SYS\RSDRV.SYS
DEVICE = \SYS\PPP.SYS

Once this is complete plug in your null modem cable and reboot the x68. A wiring diagram for making a null modem cable can be found here:

RS232 null modem cable with partial handshaking

I followed the steps here to set up a PPP server using Debian Stretch. Do not put 'local' in the file '/etc/ppp/options.ttyUSB0' and also add 'noproxyarp' to that file. I also used 38400 since this is the max for a non-overclocked SCC. In addition I changed ttyUSB0 to ttyS0 in the necessary places since that's how my serial port exists.

• On your x68k run PPPX.BAT.
• Once at the ppp> prompt type 'set debug 0' and push enter
• Then type 'term' and push enter
• Press enter again to get a login prompt
• Login as usual
• If everything is correct PPP will automatically negotiate the connection and drop you back to the command line.
• You should see a line that reads OsLinkup followed by 'PPP process kept.'

Thanks to GIMONS for pointing me in the right direction.

Add your ethernet driver to 'config.sys'. For example 'DEVICE=\SYS\ETHERL12.SYS -t1' then reboot.

I recommend creating a BAT file with the following commands:

xip -t -1
ifconfig lp0 up
ifconfig en0 x68k netmask 255.255.255.0 up
inetdconf +dns 8.8.8.8 +domain x68k +router 192.168.0.1

In the above snippet '+router' should be _your_ actual router.

Run your BAT file and test with 'ping'.

• Use OpenVPN TAP driver.
• Install it and rename the interface to something reasonable in your Windows network interface options. I use 'tap-bridge'.
• You _must_ set a static IP to the TAP device before bridging. This IP should be in your local subnet and will be the IP address for the x68k. It should be specified in /etc/hosts as described above. (ex. 10.0.0.x, 162.168.0.x). The default router should be _your_ router (ex. 10.0.0.1, 192.168.0.1).
• Select the TAP interface and your LAN interface, right click and select 'bridge connections'.
• In XM6G put your TAP interface name in the Nereid tab.
• Close and re-open XM6G.
• Now follow the General instructions above if you haven't already.

To test it out try:

ping google.com

• Lynx text web browser
• WebXpression browser(very good)
• VWX browser(very bad)
• CLAT IRC Client

To configure CLAT, put clat.x somewhere handy and create a file called clatrc,if you have TwentyOne you can also call it .clatrc, in the same folder or in your home folder and fill it in as follows:

SERVER irc.efnet.org
NICK yournick
MAIL blah@whatever.com
NAME whatever
USERINFO blahblahblah
QUIT yourquitmessage

Keep the scene alive !