Port Forwarding
If you're having issues playing, type /testport in any Meltdown chat box and follow the advice given. Note that if you have multiple computers, you should set each one to use a different port in the Meltdown settings. Also, always install games in C:\Meltdown\<game>, where <game> is the name of the game. If you still need help, email Poda@duke3donline.com.
Login
This is the Meltdown login screen. In general, when you see this screen for the first time, create a nickname, game nickname, password, and register. Finally, you can log in. For more info, here is a description of the various parts.
Nickname - This is the nickname you want to use throughout Meltdown.
Game Nickname - This is the nickname you want to use inside of games played through Meltdown.
Password - This is your login password.
Save Password - If this is checked, your password will be saved so that you don't have to enter it every time you want to log in.
Auto-Login - If this is checked, you will automatically log in when Meltdown is opened.
Log In - This will log in to the Meltdown server. Note that you can't log in without registering an account first.
Play Ready Sound - If this is checked, a ready sound will be played each time you see this login screen.
Start With Windows - If this is checked, Meltdown will start automatically when Windows starts.
Register - This will register a new account. Note that you have to do this in order to play online.
Unregister - This will unregister an existing account. Note that the account will still be left in your settings if it was previously there.
Delete - This will delete an existing account from your settings. This basically just clears the account out of your PC. It doesn't unregister the account, however.
Profile - This will take you to a section of this site where you can edit your profile, delete your uploaded files, etc.
Help - This will take you to this help page.
Credits - This will show you a list of people who helped with Meltdown.
Chat & Games Room
This is the Meltdown chat & games room. This is the main area to chat with others and create / join game rooms. In general, here is how you start playing.
First, make sure you have downloaded the games you want to play (through the installer) or already have the games.
Second, if you didn't download the games through the installer, you'll have to click on to set your settings for the games. This is talked about later in this file, but set the EXE for each game as a minimum. If you did download the games through the installer, you can skip this step.
Third, see Port Forwarding for more info.
For more info, here is a description of the various parts.
- This will take you to this help page.
- This will clear the chat output.
- This will toggle your availability status (either away or available).
- This will let you upload or view / delete files.
- This will let you view main chat log files.
* Note: All the rooms have the above 5 icons in common, so they'll be excluded from further explanation.
- This will open the settings tab.
- This will let you adjust the layout of the tabs, chat components, and decide which public games to show.
- This will let you host a game room.
Below the toolbar, you see a few tabs. These are to decide which games you want to see. Below the tabs is the area you will see the various game rooms. Double-click on one to join it.
Finally, the lower part of the screen contains the chat input / output on the left and the list of players on the right. Double-click on a player to PM them. For more info on chat commands, go to https://duke3donline.com/meltdown.php#chatcommands.
Host Room
This is the Meltdown host room. This is the screen you will see when you host a game room. In general, you wait for people to join and click to play. For more info, here is a description of the various parts.
- This will open the ban list. Here you can ban / unban players from joining your game room.
- This will toggle your room public / private. If public, other players will see it in the list of game rooms. Otherwise, it will remain hidden.
- This will launch the game. Note that you can't launch until everyone is ready (indicated by a green arrow by their nickname).
Below the toolbar, you see the various game settings. Set them to your desire.
Below this, you see the list of players. Double-click on a player to PM them. You can also right-click and ban, kick, or set the player's team (for team mode only).
Finally, the chat input / output boxes are below. For more info on chat commands, go to https://duke3donline.com/meltdown.php#chatcommands.
Client Room
This is the Meltdown client room. This is the screen you will see when join a game room. In general, you click to let the host know you're ready for him to launch. For more info, here is a description of the various parts.
- This will toggle your ready status. You will a see green arrow by each nickname if the player is ready. The host will not be able to launch the game until all players are ready.
Below the toolbar, you see the various game settings. The host chooses these settings.
Below this, you see the list of players. Double-click on a player to PM them.
Finally, the chat input / output boxes are below. For more info on chat commands, go to https://duke3donline.com/meltdown.php#chatcommands.
PM Room
This is the Meltdown PM room. This is the screen you will see when you private chat with someone. For more info, here is a description of the various parts.
- This will open the block list. Here you can also block / unblock players from PMing you.
Below the toolbar, you see the list of players, just you and whoever you are PMing. Click on your avatar to view / edit your profile. Click on their avatar to view their profile.
Finally, the chat input / output boxes are below. For more info on chat commands, go to https://duke3donline.com/meltdown.php#chatcommands.
Game
& Chat Settings
This is the Meltdown game & chat settings screen. In order to play games on Meltdown, you have to, at the very least, set the location for each game's executable. However, if you install the games from the setup, you can skip that part, as it will be done for you. For more info, here is a description of the various parts.
hDuke EXE - This is the location of your hDuke game EXE. Normally, it is named hduke14.exe. You will need to set this if you plan on playing hDuke. If Record Demos is checked, all games you play will be recorded and stored in dated folders inside your hDuke directory. If Show Demos Online is checked, all deathmatch games you play that have a score >= 75% of the frag limit (or 7 if there is no frag limit) will automatically be shown on this website.
xDuke EXE - This is the location of your xDuke game EXE. Normally, it is named duke3d_w32.exe. You will need to set this if you plan on playing xDuke. If Record Demos is checked, all games you play will be recorded and stored in dated folders inside your xDuke directory. If Show Demos Online is checked, all deathmatch games you play that have a score >= 75% of the frag limit (or 7 if there is no frag limit) will automatically be shown on this website.
NetDuke32 EXE - This is the location of your NetDuke32 game EXE. Normally, it is named netduke32.exe. You will need to set this if you plan on playing NetDuke32.
DOS Duke 1.3D EXE - This is the location of your DOS Duke 1.3D game EXE. This can't be changed as it's included with Meltdown. If Record Demos is checked, all games you play will be recorded and stored in dated folders inside your DOS Duke 1.3D directory. Click Setup to set your game settings.
Duke Maps - This is the location of the directory that contains your Duke Nukem 3D maps.
Duke MODs - This is the location of the directory that contains your Duke Nukem 3D MODs.
NotBlood EXE - This is the location of your NotBlood game EXE. Normally, it is named notblood.exe. You will need to set this if you plan on playing NotBlood.
Blood Maps - This is the location of the directory that contains your Blood maps.
Blood MODs - This is the location of the directory that contains your Blood MODs.
VoidSW EXE - This is the location of your VoidSW game EXE. Normally, it is named voidsw.exe. You will need to set this if you plan on playing VoidSW.
SW Maps - This is the location of the directory that contains your Shadow Warrior maps.
SW MODs - This is the location of the directory that contains your Shadow Warrior MODs.
Rednukem EXE - This is the location of your Rednukwm game EXE. Normally, it is named rednukem.exe. You will need to set this if you plan on playing Rednukem.
RR Maps - This is the location of the directory that contains your Redneck Rampage maps.
RR MODs - This is the location of the directory that contains your Redneck Rampage MODs.
Port (23513 - 23522) - This is the port that you want to play games with. You can click the Test button to see if your port is open. See Port Forwarding for more info.
F1 Macro - This allows you to set a predefined sequence to the F1 key on your keyboard. Pressing F1 in a chat room will insert the predefined sequence.
F2 Macro - This allows you to set a predefined sequence to the F2 key on your keyboard. Pressing F2 in a chat room will insert the predefined sequence.
F3 Macro - This allows you to set a predefined sequence to the F3 key on your keyboard. Pressing F3 in a chat room will insert the predefined sequence.
F4 Macro - This allows you to set a predefined sequence to the F4 key on your keyboard. Pressing F4 in a chat room will insert the predefined sequence.
F5 Macro - This allows you to set a predefined sequence to the F5 key on your keyboard. Pressing F5 in a chat room will insert the predefined sequence.
Default Away Message - This is the default message that will be displayed when you set yourself to away without a message.
Chat Font - Changes the font of the messages you type in the various chat rooms.
Chat Font Color - Changes the text color of the messages you type in the various chat rooms.
Default Away Message - This is the default message that will be displayed when you set yourself to away without a message.
Show My Font / Color For Everyone - If this is checked, every message you receive in chat will use your font and color no matter what the intended font and color is. Otherwise, you will see the font and color of the player who sent the message.
Show Time Stamps - If this is checked, messages in chat will be preceded with the time the message was received (except pending PM messages, in which case it's the time they were sent). Otherwise, you will only see the time in the logged messages.
Show Date Stamps - If this is checked, messages in chat will be preceded with the date the message was received (except pending PM messages, in which case it's the date they were sent). Otherwise, you will only see the date in the logged messages.
Show Main Chat MOTD - If this is checked, you will see the message of the day (topic) when you first enter the main chat room. Otherwise, you won't.
Show Main Chat Joining / Leaving - If this is checked, you will see a message anytime someone joins or leaves the main chat room. Otherwise, you won't.
Join Game Rooms As Ready - If this is checked, you will automatically be set as ready when joining a game room. Otherwise, you will start off as not ready. The host cannot launch a game until all players are set to ready.
Apply - Saves your settings.
Help - Takes you to this help page.
Notification Settings
This is the Meltdown notification settings screen. These settings are useful if you want a sound or tray notification when various events happen. For all received messages, you can set a sound, tray popup, and tray flash to notify you. Click the Test button to test your settings. For more info, here is a description of the various parts.
Someone Signs On - This is the notification for someone signing on.
Someone Signs Off - This is the notification for someone signing off.
Someone Goes Away - This is the notification for someone setting their status to away (not available).
Someone Comes Back - This is the notification for someone setting their status to back (available).
Someone Hosts A Game Room - This is the notification for someone hosting a game room.
You Send A Main Chat Room Message - This is the sound for you sending a main chat message.
You Receive A Main Chat Room Message - This is the notification for receiving a main chat message.
Someone Joins Your Host Room - This is the notification for someone joining your hosted room.
Someone Leaves Your Host Room - This is the notification for someone leaving your hosted room.
You Send A Host Room Message - This is the sound for you sending a chat message in your hosted room.
You Receive A Host Room Message - This is the notification for receiving a chat message in your hosted room.
Someone Joins The Client Room - This is the notification for someone joining a client room.
Someone Leaves The Client Room - This is the notification for someone leaving a client room.
You Send A Client Room Message - This is the sound for you sending a chat message in a client room.
You Receive A Client Room Message - This is the notification for receiving a chat message in a client room.
You Send A Private Message - This is the sound for you sending a chat message in a PM room.
You Receive An Initial Private Message - This is the notification for receiving the first chat message in a PM room.
You Receive An Ongoing Private Message - This is the notification for receiving ongoing chat messages in the PM.
Disable Sounds Completely - If this is checked, none of the sounds above will be heard.
Disable Sounds While Playing - If this is checked, none of the sounds above will be heard when you are in the game. Otherwise, they will be heard.
Disable Tray Popups Completely - If this is checked, none of the tray popups above will be seen.
Disable Tray Popups While Playing - If this is checked, none of the tray popups above will be seen when you are in the game. Otherwise, they will be seen.
Disable Tray Flashes Completely - If this is checked, none of the tray flashes above will be seen.
Disable Tray Flashes While Playing - If this is checked, none of the tray flashes above will be seen when you are in the game. Otherwise, they will be seen.
Use Message Boxes - If this is checked, when you receive notifications that would normally appear in message boxes, they will instead appear in the status bar. Otherwise, you'll just continue to receive message boxes.
Minimize To Tray - If this is checked, Meltdown will minimize to the tray and disappear from the taskbar. Otherwise, Meltdown will continue to appear in the taskbar when you minimize.
Close Minimizes - If this is checked, Meltdown will minimize when you click the X button. Otherwise, Meltdown will close like usual. Note that you can still close Meltdown by right-clicking the tray icon in any case.
Single-Click Tray To Show - If this is checked, clicking the tray icon one time will show Meltdown. Otherwise, you have to double-click the tray icon to show Meltdown.
Tray Clicks Show / Minimize - If this is checked, alternating tray icon clicks will show / minimize Meltdown. Otherwise, tray icon clicks will always show Meltdown.
Apply - Saves your settings.
Help - Takes you to this help page.
Advanced
Settings
This is the Meltdown advanced settings screen. These settings are useful if you want to change the way Meltdown looks and other advanced settings. When in doubt, leave these settings at default except perhaps the Quick Theme Set. For more info, here is a description of the various parts.
Host Score Sending Frequency (1 - 5 Seconds) - This controls how often your hosted room sends score updates to the master server.
Tray Popup Duration (1+ Seconds) - This controls how long tray popup notifications stay on the screen.
Chat Scroll Increments (1+ Pixels) - This controls how much the chat output box will scroll per increment.
Disable Private Messages Completely- If this is checked, private messages from other users won't show. Otherwise, they will. Note that you will still receive offline/online/away/back messages if you have a PM box open for a user or have notifications set for these events.
Disable Private Messages While Playing- If this is checked, private messages and other master server messages won't show while you are in a game. Otherwise, they will, but they may cause annoyances or lag.
Disable Game List Updating While Playing- If this is checked, the list of games and certain player information won't be updated while you are in a game. Otherwise, they will, but this process may cause lag.
Disable Main Chat Messages While Playing- If this is checked, the main chat room will be disabled while you are in a game. Otherwise, it won't, but this may cause lag.
Server Messages - Changes the text color / font of the server messages you see in the various chat rooms (ex. someone joins a room).
Logged Messages - Changes the text color / font of the logged messages you see when revisit the various chat rooms and have it set to show logs.
Panels - Changes the background color of the panels (ex. the panels in the settings).
Buttons - Changes the text / background color / font of the buttons (ex. the Apply button).
Radio Buttons - Changes the text / background color / font of the radio buttons (ex. the host user map radio button).
Choice Boxes - Changes the text / background color / font of the choice (drop-down) boxes (ex. the host user map drop-down box).
Text Boxes - Changes the text / background color / font of the text boxes (ex. the hDuke EXE text box).
List Boxes - Changes the text / background color / font of the list boxes (ex. the ban list box).
List Controls - Changes the text / background color / font of the list controls (ex. the game room list control).
Static Text - Changes the text / background color / font of the static text (ex. the words you see on this screen).
Selected Tabs - Changes the text / background color / font of the selected tabs (ex. the Theme tab).
Unselected Tabs - Changes the text / background color / font of the unselected tabs (ex. the Chat & Games tab).
Tab X / X Hover Color - Changes the color / hover color of the tab close X's (ex. the Settings tab X).
Playing Arrow Color - Changes the playing arrow color to either blue (the usual) or orange (the classic).
Tab Gradient Strength (0 - 200) - Changes the gradient strength of the tabs.
PM Avatar Width (75+ Pixels) - Changes the width of the avatars in the PM room.
PM Avatar Height (75+ Pixels) - Changes the height of the avatars in the PM room.
Tray Popup Width (75+ Pixels) - Changes the width of the tray popup boxes (ex. someone signs on notification).
Tray Popup Height (75+ Pixels) - Changes the height of the tray popup boxes (ex. someone signs on notification).
Quick Theme Set - Changes the theme to a preset theme.
Save Theme As - Saves the current settings above to the given theme name.
Manage Themes - Manages your saved themes.
Apply - Saves your settings.
Help - Takes you to this help page.
Chat Commands
* Special thanks to Jay Cotton for his amazing Kali chat! The chat boxes have various commands that have different meaning from normal text. Here is a table to explain those.
/advertise Sets your game room public / private. /args [<arguments>] Sets / clears command-line arguments for whatever game is being played. /away [<message>] Shows that you're away / back. /back Shows that you're back. /clear Clears the chat output. /colorfix Sets / clears the Windows Explorer colorfix method. Use this if you get fruity colors in hDuke and xDuke. /comments [<comments>] Sets / clears your game room comments. /datestamps Shows / hides the date before each message. /exit Leaves a game room. /fraglimit [<fraglimit>] Sets / clears your game room frag limit. /help Shows this help page. /host Hosts a game room. /join [<nick>] Joins a game room, where <nick> = the nickname of the host. If a nickname isn't specified, hosts a game room instead. /launch Launches the game. The host can't launch the game until everyone is ready. /map [<map>] Selects a user map or gives suggestions if there isn't an exact match /me [<msg>] Sends a server message starting with your nickname. /motd Shows the chat topic to the main chat room. /password [<password>] Sets / clears your game room password. /pm [<nick>] Opens a private message room for <nick>. If a nickname isn't specified, opens a PM room for yourself. /quit Leaves a game room. /ready Sets / clears your ready status. The host can't launch the game until everyone is ready. /testport Shows information related to the status of your Meltdown port. /timestamps Shows / hides the time before each message. /wake If a client types this, it will attempt to wake the host up by bringing their game room into focus. If a host types this, it will enable / disable wake-up calls. Ctrl+H Global shortcut to host a game room. Ctrl+I Global shortcut to show / hide the main chat altogether. Ctrl+L Host shortcut to launch a game. Ctrl+N Global shortcut to show / hide the main chat nicknames. Ctrl+O Global shortcut to show / hide the main chat output. Ctrl+P Host shortcut to make your room public / private. Ctrl+R Client shortcut to set / clear your ready status. Page Up Cycles up through previously typed text. Page Down Cycles down through previously typed text. F1 Gets replaced by your designated F1 macro in the settings. By default, it's a link to your game room. F2 Gets replaced by your designated F2 macro in the settings. F3 Gets replaced by your designated F3 macro in the settings. F4 Gets replaced by your designated F4 macro in the settings. F5 Gets replaced by your designated F5 macro in the settings. %nick% Gets replaced with your Meltdown nickname. %blood% Each recipient can click this hyperlink to open their local Blood directory. %dosduke% Each recipient can click this hyperlink to open their local DOS Duke 1.3D directory. %hduke% Each recipient can click this hyperlink to open their local hDuke directory. %meltdata% Each recipient can click this hyperlink to open their local Meltdown AppData directory. %meltdown% Each recipient can click this hyperlink to open their local Meltdown directory. %netduke32% Each recipient can click this hyperlink to open their local NetDuke32 directory. %rr% Each recipient can click this hyperlink to open their local RR directory. %sw% Each recipient can click this hyperlink to open their local SW directory. %xduke% Each recipient can click this hyperlink to open their local xDuke directory. game:// A hyperlink to a game room. pm:// A hyperlink to a PM room. mailto:, http://, https://, ftp://, ftp., www. Standard hyperlinks that will open in your browser. {b} Shows blue text. {bk} Shows black text. {c} Shows cyan text. {g} Shows green text. {gy} Shows grey text. {m} Shows magenta text. {o} Shows orange text. {r} Shows red text. {w} Shows white text. {y} Shows yellow text. {rgb:<r>,<g>,<b>} Shows specific colored text, where <r>, <g>, and <b> are the red, green, and blue amounts, respectively, from 0 to 255. {bo} Shows bold text. {u} Shows underlined text. {i} Shows italic text. {sm} Shows small text and smileys / icons. Same as {8}. {med} Shows medium text and smileys / icons. Same as {12}. {big} Shows big text and smileys / icons. Same as {16}. {<#>} Shows specific sized text and smileys / icons (<#> = 8 to 16) . {chat} Shows text in your font and color. {serv} Shows text in the server font and color. {<image>} Shows an image from %APPDATA%\Meltdown\images. Don't give an extension (ex. {rep}). :) :( =f XD :d ;) :p :-/ :| =d >:) >:( :o b} =) ;d d= =/ :-) :-( ;-) :-p =-o :-* >:o 8-) :-$ :-! :-[ o:-) :-\ :'( :-x :-d