Due to the potential costs of hosting really large mod/shipset/image/etc. files, I have taken it upon myself to set up a Bit Torrent tracker for Space Empires Users. Bit Torrent is an advanced file transfer protocol that relies on Users uploading the file to others as they download it themselves. There are already a number of files available on the tracker, such as a Shipset Megapack with 257 shipsets in it and a compiled Version of all 5 packs of the Image Mod, both ready for immediate use in Space Empires IV Gold. Unfortunately, I do not have a very fast internet connection at my disposal. It would be great if some people would volunteer to download the various files and help host them.
BT is a great option for dialup users for downloading large files because files are downloaded in many small parts at a time. Resumable downloads are built into the very nature of BT. Thus, there is no possibility of losing a download if your connection cuts out.
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How do I download a file from the tracker?
You must install a Bit Torrent client, such as
Azureus. Note that you might need to forward a port in your firewall to allow a Bit Torrent client to make connections.
Read here for more information on port forwarding. Once it is installed and configured, you can start the download of a file by downloading the .torrent file hosted on the tracker and opening it in your Bit Torrent client. Please leave the file running after the download completes, so that it may be distributed to other Users as quickly as possible.
Can I upload files to the tracker?
Yes. An easy way to do this is to use
Azureus as your Bit Torrent client. It has a function in the File menu to create a .torrent file. Make sure to select the option to use an External Tracker, and place this in the Announce URL field:
http://kazharii.no-ip.com:6969/announce
Once your .torrent file is created, email it to me (NOT the actual files you wish to share, just the .torrent file!). My email address is available in my profile.
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Please leave the files you download running after the downloads complete, so that other Users will be able to download the files as quickly as possible. It is a good idea to leave torrents running until you get at least a Share Ratio (upload / download) of 1.0.
Tracker URL:
http://kazharii.no-ip.com:6969/
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On another note, there is an incredibly efficient new BT client (sadly win32 only) around, utorrent. It is only a 105 kb download and typically uses less than 6 MB of ram. It is a great option for dialup users that might not want to download a hugely sized client such as Azureus, or those that don't want to use 80+ MB of ram just to download a SE4 patch.
http://www.utorrent.com/ 
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