Kali is an amazing piece of software. It is designed to allow users to play network games that use the IPX protocol to play over low-speed networks such as modems and the internet. Unbelievably, Kali started as a hack, but has grown into full-fledged, professional piece of software supported by a full-time staff. Now, we Mac users can enjoy Kali with the efforts of Brad Kollmeyer (port began with Adam Miller). Kali is still considered "public-beta", but later versions have become increasingly stable.
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While thankful, many Mac users are curious how and why Kali was ported to the Mac, since ports of shareware programs are rather uncommon. Jay was kind enough to answer some burning questions we Mac users had:
Why did you create Kali in the first place? How was Kali born?
Kali was created in order to play Descent over the internet. The only way to get it working was to write a fake IPX driver so we could intercept the data and send it over the internet. So, we just looked up the IPX specs and wrote a driver for DOS. We were playing 8 player Descent across the internet within 2 weeks of starting the project.
Do you still keep a day job? Or are you fortunate enough to make Kali a full time job?
Kali is more than a full-time job now. I quit my university job about 9 months ago to work on Kali full-time. I now work about 60 hours a week, without any days off, and have 6 employees to help.
Do you still go online to play network games? If so, what games do you still enjoy playing?
I still enjoy playing games quite a lot, but no longer have the time. By the time my work on Kali is done and I've spent time with the family I barely have enough time for 6 hours of sleep before doing it all again. :)
What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Uhm... mint-chocolate chip I think...
What made you initially decide to port Kali to the Mac?
I was getting about 200 requests per week for a Mac version. Then we found out Warcraft2 was being ported to the Mac and decided we could easily justify the time and expense to port it. With Descent2, Warcraft2, and C&C all working on the Mac and compatable with the DOS versions we could recruit new Mac users and provide them with a huge userbase to play against from the start.
How did you originally find Adam Miller to do the port?
I was posting regular requests for help on the newgroups and mailing lists and after getting dozens of responses only Adam took the time to explain exactly how it could be done. Everyone else just said, "Give the job to us and we'll figure it out". I wanted someone who was enthusiastic about the project. Adam did a great job getting everything started.
How did you find Brad Kollmyer to take over for Adam?
Brad just kept begging and pleading until I finally couldn't take it anymore so I gave him the job. ;-)
I understand you live in Georgia. Tell us why anyone would want to live in Georgia? ;-)
Georgia is just plain home for me. My family is all here. My wife's family had been here for generations. The area around Athens and Atlanta is also one of the most progressive areas in the South. Now that we have air-conditioning in every car and every house we can survive the summers just fine. :-)
Is it true that Apple will be porting Kali into a NetSprocket?
Unfortunately the most recent news is that Apple has been forced to cut- back on a lot of it's NetSprocket development and along with it we're losing the offered help on Kali. :-(
If money was no object, what would be your car of choice? Why?
As soon as I know, I'll buy it and let you know. :-)
Do you plan to write any more software that will change the gaming industry at its very foundation, like Kali did?
I don't plan on it...but maybe I'll get lucky again like I did with Kali. You can't plan something like this. It just sorta happens.Jay
Downloading Kali for the Mac
The current version of Mac Kali is version 1.0b6:
KChat, the program that's used to chat with other players (much like IRC), was updated shortly after 1.0b6 was released:
What game play well over Kali?
This is also answered on the Games @ Glance page, but here they are again:
These games are popular on the Kali network because they work well:
- Warcraft I & II
- Descent I & II
- Command & Conquer
- Lode Runner Online
- NetMech
These games, while technically compatible (any game that supports MacIPX will work with Kali), are not very playable because of bandwidth constraints:
- Hexen
- Doom *
There are also plenty of other games that are playable over the internet, such as Avara, Havoc, etc. Just look for games that support TCP/IP.
* PC users are able to play Doom if they use a special "patched" version of the program. Attempts to play MacDoom over Kali usually causes Doom to 'hang' while trying to connect.
Dang! Games are slow, the lag is awful, and sometimes I even get dropped!
The short answer:
- Upgrade to System 7.6
- Buy or upgrade to SpeedDoubler 2.01
- Re-read the Game Performance Tuning page, pay attention to the modem section!
The long answer:
Well, relatively speaking, modems are slow! Some games simply work better over modems/internet than others. The good news is that there are a lot of things you can do to minimize the slow speed. After following my advice, you may even find that it plays with virtually no lag at all!
- Upgrade to System 7.6: All reports indicate that System 7.6 is simply faster than previous versions. Benchmarking tests report it's up to 20% faster on overall Processor scores (FPU and Disk Performance remain the same)! The improved modem performance is noticable.
- Buy SpeedDoubler 2.0! Kali is non-native on PowerMacs (1.0b6 has a tiny bit of native code). This is not Kali's fault; Kali is a driver which means that it talks to the non-native portion of your system software. If Kali were compiled into native code, it would actually run slower because your Mac would have to be constantly switching between native and emulation mode (and that's slower than just running in straight emulation). It is possible that someday Kali would be written in Open Transport-native code (thus being fully native itself), but that won't begin until at least after 1.0 goes final. Kali isn't the only software that is forced to live with this problem, your print drivers ar non-native too!
SpeedDoubler works its magic by providing a faster 680x0 emulator than what Apple has built-in. The speed improvement is noticable. With a street price of about $55, it one of the best investments you can make!
- The Game Performance Tuning page has in-depth coverage of all the tricks you can do to improve overall performance with your Macintosh. Pay particular attention to the 'Modem Tuning' section. Many, many users have told me that turning off modem compression was just the trick!
We have added 11 new servers, all owned and operated by Kali. You've been asking for this for years...so here you go! Please let all of your friends know! Try to get everyone to use these servers! 205.244.188.81 -> Mechs <- MechWarrior and Mercenaries 205.244.188.82 -> Descent <- Descent and Descent II 205.244.188.83 -> Red Alert <- Red Alert players only! 205.244.188.84 -> C&C <- Command & Conquer only! 205.244.188.85 -> Diablo <- Diablo is here! 205.244.188.86 -> Warcraft <- Warcraft and Warcraft2 205.244.188.87 -> Racing <- Big Red, Nascar, NFS-SE 205.244.188.88 -> Duke <- Duke Nukem: all versions 205.244.188.89 -> Flight <- A10-Cuba, NetDuel, Su-27 205.244.188.90 -> id games <- Doom, Heretic, Hexen, Quake 205.244.188.91 -> Mac Games <- Mac users only! All games! BTW, each server has it's own message of the day. If you have a url pointing to a ladder or other game-specific page that you would like listed on that server let us know (support@kali.net).
Are there any Kali bugs I should look out for?
Kchat Sucks.
Thank you, Rainman! Most of the emphasis to date has been put into the Kali control panel itself. KChat will (hopefully) continue to evolve once all the bugs are nailed down in Kali.
Does Kali enable all games (such as Marathon) to be played over the internet?
No. Kali only works with games that supports IPX. Kali takes IPX protocol packets and routes them over the internet, than adjusts tolerances to account for relatively slow modems and the unreliable internet.
Kali- and Kali related links:
Mac-Kali email digest
Mac users have their very own discussion list for discussing Kali-related issues.
A word of advice: I always prefer the digest-formatted option in mailing lists. Otherwise, you'll be bombarded with email to the point you'll feel like you're drowning! The digest takes all the days postings and puts it into one indexed email.
To subscribe, send the command SUBSCRIBE (in the body of the email, leave the subject line blank. Turn off your signature) to one of the following:
- Kali for Macintosh Digest: mac-digest-request@kali.net
- Kali for Macintosh: mac-list-request@kali.net
- General Kali: kali-request@kali.net
- General Kali digest: kali-digest-request@kali.net
If you want to UNSUBSCRIBE, DO NOT click reply to the list itself! You piss everyone else off, you look like an idiot, and it still doesn't unsubscribe you from the list! Simply send the UNSUBSCRIBE command to one of the above addresses you belong to.
© Copyright 1997 Rick VanDerveer