Related topics



Running a Jarfile

Running a Jarfile is generally the same thing across the different platforms supporting Java, but some platforms propose timesaving shortcuts.

For example if the Java plug-in is installed on your Windows or Linux operating system, it is possible to run a Java application by double-clicking on the Jarfile (e.g. Slimeclient.jar).

If this doesn't work, you still have the possibility of running it through the console:

On Windows platform: 'Start' menu -> 'Execute...' -> then type 'cmd' (or 'command') This makes a console window show up: Then change to Super Slime Volley Ball directory, e.g.:

C:\> cd C:\Program Files\Super Slime Volley Ball\

And type the command (be sure to have the Java Runtime Environment in your path):

C:\Program Files\Super Slime Volley Ball\> javaw -jar SlimeClient.jar

On Unix and likes: Start up a console (you should figure out how to!). Then change to Super Slime Volley Ball directory, e.g.:

$ cd ~/Super Slime Volley Ball/

And run the application:

$ java -jar SlimeClient.jar

Of course, you must have the java executable in your PATH environment variable.

Please let me know if you encounter problems making things work.














Super Slime Volley Ball Server

The first field visible on the Slime Server interface is the name of the machine it runs on : it is useful to tell the clients what to put as Hostname.

Below is the connection port, that is as useful as the hostname for the clients. You may want to change the connection port for some reason. The only way to do it is to restart the Slime Server, using the console parameters :

For example on Unix:

$ java -jar SlimeServer.jar 25677

starts a server on port 25677.

Below is a counter indicating how many clients are connected to the server. This number might differ from the number of actual players since clients can be connected and waiting during a set and standing by its end.

Below are 2 scrollbars useful to adjust the speed of the game, depending on the machine capabilities and the players taste...
You might wonder why 2 scrollbars to set only one parameter (speed)? Well it's actually because there are 2 different ways of modifying the game's experienced speed : - shifting the precision of the physics model (more CPU usage) - shifting the timing of a computing cycle (using wait states to have a regular speed ; less CPU usage). That's what the 2 scrollbar stand for.
To have an optimum gaming experience, you can put the timing to the max (200Hz) and then asjust the Speed to the value (%) that makes the ball fly at your preferred speed. If at 10%, the speed is still to high, then slowly decrease the frequency (Hz) until the value is good for you.
Doing this way guarantees that you use the maximum power out of the server to have the smoothest physics available. Note that in most cases, the default values are perfectly suitable.

Below are the buttons Apply, Reset All and Quit.
The speed changes are not effective until the Apply button is pressed.
Reset All is available when a game is pending. It must be used to reset the server if something goes wrong, without restarting completely the server.

On the following is the black area below, that is used to log the activity of the server.

DEPRECATED:
On version prior to 2.31, there is a last trick about the Slime Server : it had some kind of "stealth mode" that made it undetectable.
When you minimized the window, and then you tried to put it back to front, it asked for a password:

Without the password, one can't know what this program is about, nor how to stop it (except with kill -9 or Task manager). This little feature is especially designed for enterprises computers that should not be found running a game... ;-) Oh, and the password? Well now it is hardcoded and can't be modified, it is : "slime rules". Don't you agree with that? ;-)














Super Slime Volley Ball play instructions

If you properly started Super Slime Volley Ball and are ready to play, you should have something looking like the following screen:

Notice the ball bouncing on the Slime : we are in a stable state, the ball could endlessly move up and down there, but we are not going to leave things that way huh? Right. So, as you can see, the field is divided into 2 parts, 2 different zones that are exclusively owned by each team : just like in real life volley ball, you've got no right to enter the opponent's field, and here in Super Slime Volley Ball, it is just not possible.

Ok, the purpose here is to keep the ball above the ground, making it bounce on the Slimes, using the walls and the net to send the ball to the opponent's area...The first one who misses the ball and lets it hit the ground in its area, loses the point (more precisely, 1 point is attributed to the other team). The first team that reaches the score of 6 points wins the Set. There's a counter of how many Sets each team has won, but it is not limited : actually the players should just determine how many Sets they want to play (e.g:3, 5 or 10...) before declaring a final winner.

Every player has its own Slime on the ground : to know which one it is, locate the arrow not far beneath the Slime you control. There are 3 keys on the keyboard to control it : move left, move right, jump. Jumping is very useful throughout the game and it's the most powerful weapon to attack your opponent. It's mostly because when the ball hits a Slime while jumping, it is smashing and the ball takes more speed and an attack angle.

Unlike real volley ball, there is absolutely no limit in the number of contacts between the ball and slimes : every combination is allowed!


Sometimes there are little icons that fall from the sky : these are the bonuses. There are 5 type of bonuses, some are good to have, some other make things a little harder... :

: this one temporarily increases the horizontal speed

: this one enables to jump twice as high as normal

: this one temporarily slows the horizontal speed of the player

: this one temporarily removes the ability to jump!

: this messy one swaps the left and right commands!

All the bonuses are temporary and last only a couple of seconds...But it is possible to have many at once!


The monitor window attached to the main window shows the status of every player.
The icons next to their names have the following meaning :

: the player is connected and playing, or at least he's about to play

: the player has recently left the game

: the player has used the panic key to hide the game on his screen : it can not play temporarily

: the player did connect when the game was already started, he'll play the next set if other players accept him



You can also find some options in the menu of the window : to display it, just move the mouse cursor over the window, or click over it, and the menu should show at the top. You can change the theme (graphics) only when a set is over (the rest of the time, the option is disabled).

The Escape and Backspace keys hide the window and minimize it on the taskbar : another Enterprise feature! That's the come-back of the "Boss key" ;-) !

Have fun!



















Firewall concerns

As every client/server application, the game requires communication channels between the clients and server machines. Sometimes a firewall is enabled on the clients or server machines and make them not visible to each other.

That's actually almost always the case whenever you use the Internet to play. In order to make things work properly, you must have an access to the firewall configuration, and open the ports for the game's application (i.e. the client and the server). As the game uses a bi-directionnal communication, both the clients and the server should be visible.
Note that Super Slime Volley Ball uses one port to connect to the server, and then opens some other ports for the rest of the game's data. The ports are usually following the connection port. For example, if you connect to port 20478, the game may acquire ports 20479, 20480, 20482...

With some personal firewalls like Zone Alarm, you just have to specify that you allow Super Slime Volley Ball to act as a server and to receive connections from the remote machine. You may also put the other machines of the network into the so-called "secure area" so that you have no problem with the ports.
If you are not the administrator of the firewall, try to find out if there are allowed ranges of port that could be used by the game.

Please report if you have other problems concerning firewall setup.



















Installing themes

You can install a new theme in Slime very simply :

  1. Download the file (zip or tar.gz,...). (see the gallery)

  2. Extract files to the following path :

    $SLIME_PATH/themes/        (Unix flavor)

    or

    %SLIME_PATH%\themes\       (Win32 flavor)

    nb: unless you have explicitly defined a SLIME_PATH variable, this will only work if you replace it yourself with the actual value on your system.


  3. Run Slime : your new theme should appear in the list!














Conception: Flo 2003,
Instructions page