So, before I go propose something in the event forums and such (especially because I can't really offer to host something right now), I thought I'd put out feelers here. :P
How many of you guys (and gals) are into classic computer games? I'm talking the original Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, Unreal Tournament, etc. for shooters, maybe some old RTSes like Starcraft and Warcraft III, Command & Conquer, maybe Civ (though I suck at turn-based stuff).., and any other good multiplayer games, even co-op? (I love RTS comp-stomps, for example)
One thing I've tried to do a few times with some of my other friends is get a good little LAN party going once in a while - nowadays with laptops, it should be a ton easier than having to lug big desktop rigs around (though if you want to, feel free - I'd probably bring my Mac Pro. :P), especially if we stick to said older games.
I know enough about networking to be dangerous, and I have an 8-port Gigabit switch and another 5-port to start (though switches are getting super cheap these days), as well as a load of music, movies, and CD images on a fat RAID for sharing. My only lack right now is a good place to host, and of course other people. :D
I know we have a few hardcore techies in the crowd - what do you guys think? A good excuse to spend an afternoon/evening/entire weekend gaming, eating junk food (yay pizza!), and generally embracing our inner nerds? ;)
I'd probably be down, at least for an afternoon/evening type of thing.
I guess the classic games would be easier to run for everyone :P, I have all the cnc's and allot of the other games you mentioned too, maybe we could playing some css too, heh heh. Though the only 2 problems is that I only have a desktop, though I don't mind hauling it around (Still have the box and foam the case came with). The main problem is the monitor... I really don't want to be lugging around my old 19" CRT though I guess I could... but I really don't want to be lugging around my 24" LCD. So my only real issue is the monitor for me. I also have a 5 port gigabyte switch too if needed with plenty of lan cables.
: Tai June 01, 2009, 02:41:47 -06:00
I guess the classic games would be easier to run for everyone :P, I have all the cnc's and allot of the other games you mentioned too, maybe we could playing some css too, heh heh. Though the only 2 problems is that I only have a desktop, though I don't mind hauling it around (Still have the box and foam the case came with). The main problem is the monitor... I really don't want to be lugging around my old 19" CRT though I guess I could... but I really don't want to be lugging around my 24" LCD. So my only real issue is the monitor for me. I also have a 5 port gigabyte switch too if needed with plenty of lan cables.
I used to lug around a 17" CRT and a watercooled, steel cased rig - I can totally understand that. :x That said, depending on location and who else is coming, I'm sure we could arrange rides and give you a hand loading and unloading whatever equipment is necessary, or if someone else has a spare small LCD they could bring, too, etc.
I'm kind of conflicted on Steam based games like CS:S and TF2 - they're fun games, but having to authenticate and junk just for LAN games might get to be a pain in the butt and overwhelm the Internet connection if we have too many people. I like the older games that can do straight up LAN/IP networking (so when we talk about Starcraft and War3, I
don't mean Battle.net), but if there's enough interest in Steam-based games I'm sure they're an option.
Well I have a car so the transportation isn't the issue though I am all the way in Richmond, also you can do direct lan for css you just make the game and go in the console and turn lan on. Though I feel sorry for all the electricity bill for all the computers that would be connected. Mine stuff alone would be like 850watt plus.
Yeah, but you still have to authenticate with Steam just to load CS:S, right? It's not something where, say, one person brings in a copy of the game, we install it on all the machines, do our thing, and 'get rid of it' after (right.. <.<; >.>;;)? ;)
And despite having massively high wattage PSUs, most systems don't draw anywhere near that much power - they're fully switching supplies and will only take what's necessary. I think most gaming systems are actually closer to the 300W range when running. You need the big PSU for powerup, though, as things like HDs take a massive current draw to spin up.
lol the 3870x2 draws quite a bit, plus all the other stuff. heh heh. Also you have to think about the amps, that is what will trip the breakers, but yeah you have to authenticate. I am not sure you can do the offline mode and lan form that, though I never tried.
: Tai June 01, 2009, 03:50:34 -06:00
lol the 3870x2 draws quite a bit, plus all the other stuff. heh heh. Also you have to think about the amps, that is what will trip the breakers, but yeah you have to authenticate. I am not sure you can do the offline mode and lan form that, though I never tried.
Of course - HDs = massive current draw on startup, hence you having to oversize your powersupply quite a bit. But then, the line voltage is known (~120), and we know the max current on a standard household breaker (15A), so there's a theoretical max of about < 1800W of power (right?) you can shove down a line before the breaker trips. As long as everyone doesn't try to cold-start at the same time, you can probably fit ~3 machines per circuit.
I'm not an electrician, though my ex is just about done school to become one - I can ask her if need be. :P
Nah it should be okay, Just have to spread the load out evenly. Also yeah you would be right P = V x I so you get 1800w.
Worst comes to worst, we use multiple rooms throughout a house, right? ;)
Steam games don't require the internet except for the authentication portion... once that's done, then you just have a computer hosting a LAN server. Everybody's happy after that. ^^
Travelling wouldn't be a problem for me. My rig is my laptop. (I could also supply an old laptop to run a dedicated server if need be -- decently fast: Pent-M 2GHz, 1GB of RAM; has the dedicated servers files for all of Valve's games too)
As for times... (almost any) Saturday-Sunday ends up working out best for me.
I've hosted a video game night before. It was fun but my place is too small which is why I only did it once. After I find a bigger place, I would love to host these again.
I've hosted a couple, and been to several, including a professionaly run one.
If you use a server dedicated for running the server end of games, all on a gigabit switch, then there shouldn't be any problems. The dedicated server would run all the game server stuff. A decent box could probably run 2 at once with little problem, since it's all just number-crunching.
If memory serves, downloading and running all the STEAM based dedicated servers are free.
Most of the other games are host-based, so whoever has the fastet, most capible machine should host.
Based on my experiences, some of the better LAN games that I've played (including obscure ones, and ones that will un on pokey systems) include:
- Slave Zero Deathmatch (30-story robots shooting the crap out of each other.
- System Shock 2 Co-op (9 flavours of awesome)
- Master of Orion 2 (kind of buggy and tends to crash from time to time, but still fun)
- The Specialists (HL1 based John Woo style action game, free mod of HL1)
- Neverwinter Nights/Neverwinter Nights 2 (great RPG games)
- Diablo 1 (The first home-LAN game I ever played)
- Diablo 2 (because it's that fun)
- Counterstrike/CS:Source (with or without bots)
- TF1-Quake1 based (Way old, but hella fun, even still.)
- Red Alert 2 (Last game made by the original Westwood crew.)
- Painkiller (Because how can you not like a game with a weapon that shoots shirikens and lighting? A gun that awesome could only be better if it had tits and was on fire.)
- Quake 2 - SuperHeros mod (awesomeness)
- Freespace2 (space fighter combat sim)
- GTA Multitheft Auto (GTA-SA mod for multiplayer fun)
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- The Specialists (HL1 based John Woo style action game, free mod of HL1)
I would be so down for smokin' some people in Specialists.
I also use a (big honkin' 17-inch) laptop as my primary computer, so no problem dragging it to anything.
Halo 3 LAN x) , 16 player matches, Hope everyone has the Legendary Map Pack!
: Ravkamon [Rino] June 02, 2009, 12:32:08 -06:00
Halo 3 LAN x) , 16 player matches, Hope everyone has the Legendary Map Pack!
I don't even have Halo 3, despite having a 360. :p
Pff, too. Thumbsticks suck - it's all about mouse+keyboard control. ;)
I have an old Pentium-M based lappy (~1.4GHz I think) with 640MB RAM - it's slowly being set up as my mail/web server but I'm sure it could host dedicated stuff for the old games as long as the Linux-compat layer for FreeBSD doesn't eat it. ;)
It's a very lightweight server, being a 12" ultraportable and all.. I wish it were SATA so I could stick an SSD in it, but oh well.
It sounds like we have a fair bit of interest in something like this - of course the fun part then becomes finding a place and time that's good for everyone. Once I figure out my own living situation it might be a bit more clear, but I'll let you know if I find something. :)
Forget a 360 LAN. I'm down with the PC idea.
lol you mean like an MMO?
Well we defiantly have to play some Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 and Renegade. I loved playing Renegade, the funny things you can do in that game.
There will never be another game like Renegade...I still have the original CD!
When it came out everyone hated it because the single player sucked, but multiplayer was incredible.
Yeah, it was a pretty cool game, especially for it's time.
: Kithop June 02, 2009, 03:50:52 -06:00
I have an old Pentium-M based lappy (~1.4GHz I think) with 640MB RAM - it's slowly being set up as my mail/web server but I'm sure it could host dedicated stuff for the old games as long as the Linux-compat layer for FreeBSD doesn't eat it. ;)
640MB should be enough for anyone.
Dell inspiron 1525 for me here, works great, Intel Centrino, should be good with a 150 gig HDD
: Ravkamon [Rino] June 02, 2009, 10:16:24 -06:00
Dell inspiron 1525 for me here, works great, Intel Centrino, should be good with a 150 gig HDD
Yay, not the only Dell laptop. Mine's a 9400, AKA E1705.
Yeah, this was a throwaway from work - old Dell Latitude X300. Swapped the HD for a bigger one (20GB -> 80GB), though.
Well being a video games night I would hope for there to be console lanning as well for those of us who either don't have a good, up to date computer or prefer console gaming over PC. If I get to hosting another one with more space, I'll be open to both but will prefer the console gaming, as I don't own a good enough computer.
For a LAN party, I would have to bring my tower and LCD. Since my laptop is underpowered enough that it won't run anything that's even remotely new/demanding.
I'd be down for going to a furry lan.
Maybe get some oldschool quake 3 matches going? Maybe? Maybe? *puppyface*
: beherit June 03, 2009, 12:17:23 -06:00
Maybe get some oldschool quake 3 matches going? Maybe? Maybe? *puppyface*
Quake 3 is oldschool now? ;)
But yeah, I'd be down.
Quake III, I only have that for the Dream Cast. :P. Though you would have to play over the 56K modem. Lol. Most of the game suggested aren't that demanding of your computer, sure the steam ones are a bit demanding, but the quake III, Renegade, CnC, and a bunch of other games aren't that demanding. Well that is if you don't mind not playing the game on high everything and maxing out your resolution.
: Tai June 03, 2009, 12:31:21 -06:00
Quake III, I only have that for the Dream Cast. :P. Though you would have to play over the 56K modem. Lol. Most of the game suggested aren't that demanding of your computer, sure the steam ones are a bit demanding, but the quake III, Renegade, CnC, and a bunch of other games aren't that demanding. Well that is if you don't mind not playing the game on high everything and maxing out your resolution.
Quake 3 engine is open source, now, and has been updated a bit: http://ioquake3.org/get-it/ (http://ioquake3.org/get-it/). id's datafiles are still commercial, of course, but I don't think that'd be a problem at a LAN.. *cough* <.< >.>;
: Silvermink June 03, 2009, 12:24:01 -06:00
Quake 3 is oldschool now? ;)
But yeah, I'd be down.
For us young'ins, yeah. Though I'd love to go all the way back to the original Quake and get some co-op going, too. :D
Also see: http://dengine.net/dew/index.php?title=Doomsday_version_1.9.0-beta5.1 (http://dengine.net/dew/index.php?title=Doomsday_version_1.9.0-beta5.1) for Doomsday Engine stuffs (way updated source port of the Doom engine, with fun stuff like OpenGL support and true mouselook, etc... :D)
I actually managed to skip Quake I (despite a history with FPSes going back to Wolf3D), but I did a lot of Quake II.
Quake II's not bad (and its story ties with Quake 4). The original Quake is very... brown. XD Basically 4 episodes + a 'final boss', where you collect the runes from each episode's boss to unlock it. Very simple straight-up gameplay in Doom's style (fight your way to key #1, unlock door #1 with it, fight your way to key #2, go back and unlock door #2, fight way to end of level).
Yeah I played the quake and the doom series "idkfa and iddqd" I will never forget that.
: Tai June 03, 2009, 02:10:23 -06:00
Yeah I played the quake and the doom series "idkfa and iddqd" I will never forget that.
idspispopd. :) (damn, I even remember what that stands for...)
: Silvermink June 03, 2009, 02:21:32 -06:00
: Tai June 03, 2009, 02:10:23 -06:00
Yeah I played the quake and the doom series "idkfa and iddqd" I will never forget that.
idspispopd. :) (damn, I even remember what that stands for...)
Ahh, the hall of mirrors effect when you noclip'ed through a wall wrong... @.@;
: Kithop June 03, 2009, 02:26:23 -06:00Ahh, the hall of mirrors effect when you noclip'ed through a wall wrong... @.@;
Haha. I totally remember that. Man. Memories.
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- Slave Zero Deathmatch (30-story robots shooting the crap out of each other.
Haven't played this, but sounds intriguing. Kind of like MechWarrior 2? :)
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- System Shock 2 Co-op (9 flavours of awesome)
Have this one and played it a bit, never tried the co-op stuff, though. Yay underrated precursor to BioShock, with a lot heavier RPG elements. :p
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- Master of Orion 2 (kind of buggy and tends to crash from time to time, but still fun)
Actually never played this series, though I've heard a bit about it.
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- The Specialists (HL1 based John Woo style action game, free mod of HL1)
Is this like the old 'Action Half-Life' mod? Jumping off walls and diving and stuff? Because if so, that's awesome. :o
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- Neverwinter Nights/Neverwinter Nights 2 (great RPG games)
- Diablo 1 (The first home-LAN game I ever played)
- Diablo 2 (because it's that fun)
Played these and actually couldn't really get into them.. (*gasp!* :O Yeah, I know.) too much clicking. @.x I'd still try if there's enough interest.
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- Counterstrike/CS:Source (with or without bots)
I'll get my ass kicked, but okay.. XD
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- TF1-Quake1 based (Way old, but hella fun, even still.)
Started with TFC myself - used to be pretty good at that. n.n
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- Red Alert 2 (Last game made by the original Westwood crew.)
I have the original C&C, Red Alert, and the two expansions for Red Alert.. RA2 I played a bit, but yeah. Tesla Coils > all. :D
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- Painkiller (Because how can you not like a game with a weapon that shoots shirikens and lighting? A gun that awesome could only be better if it had tits and was on fire.)
I have not heard of, nor played this. o_o; Something tells me I'm missing out. :D
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- Quake 2 - SuperHeros mod (awesomeness)
Not tried that mod, but <3 Quake 2 in general. :D
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- Freespace2 (space fighter combat sim)
This is Descent, right? I <3 space-combat sims. Pretty much the whole Wing Commander series (Privateer FTW!)... there's a bunch of updated engines for this, isn't there? I keep wanting to say 'Vega Strike'.
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- GTA Multitheft Auto (GTA-SA mod for multiplayer fun)
Of course. :P This might be a console candidate, though, for those of us with 360s and GTAIV. *.*
: Kithop June 04, 2009, 12:30:27 -06:00
: Ravenwood June 02, 2009, 05:52:54 -06:00
- The Specialists (HL1 based John Woo style action game, free mod of HL1)
Is this like the old 'Action Half-Life' mod? Jumping off walls and diving and stuff? Because if so, that's awesome. :o
It's sort of a spiritual successor to AHL, yeah. The problem with Specialists nowadays is that too many people have figured out how to exploit the physics to move around at (relatively-)ridiculous speeds. It'd be fun to play with people who are newer to the game and aren't pulling that kind of silly crap.
- Painkiller (Because how can you not like a game with a weapon that shoots shirikens and lighting? A gun that awesome could only be better if it had tits and was on fire.)
I have not heard of, nor played this. o_o; Something tells me I'm missing out. :D
watch and be amused (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/57-Painkiller)
: Ravenwood June 05, 2009, 06:01:18 -06:00
- Painkiller (Because how can you not like a game with a weapon that shoots shirikens and lighting? A gun that awesome could only be better if it had tits and was on fire.)
I have not heard of, nor played this. o_o; Something tells me I'm missing out. :D
watch and be amused (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/57-Painkiller)
That's awesome. :O
Painkiller Video Review - PC (http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-3531887149361792547) too - that's actual gameplay. ;) It looks like Q3 or UT to me, but supposedly they wrote their own engine, and then plugged in Havok 2.0 for physics? :O Either way, pretty sweet.
: Ravenwood June 05, 2009, 06:01:18 -06:00
- Painkiller (Because how can you not like a game with a weapon that shoots shirikens and lighting? A gun that awesome could only be better if it had tits and was on fire.)
I have not heard of, nor played this. o_o; Something tells me I'm missing out. :D
watch and be amused (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/57-Painkiller)
Lmao that was nice, makes me want to play it now. Tree gun!!!
Somebody's goto set a date for this or something and volunteer their place. : D *talks out his ass*
I can't do it. But this would be so awesome. Just bumping this thread again.
Quake 1 was freaking UMPH. My first time getting seriously into an online game... and then tf and megatf... The original team fortress intro... grade 7 was epic.
Team Fortress 1 Opening Intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FVJ__rBFxk#lq-lq2-hq-vhq)
I never played the original Team Fortress, but I did play a lot of TFC back in the day.
: Silvermink July 19, 2009, 04:56:25 -06:00
I never played the original Team Fortress, but I did play a lot of TFC back in the day.
Original TF was Quake1. Hell, I could probably load that mod on MY DSQuake...
another good game for lans is the original Unreal Tournament. It is DRM free. And almost anyone's computer can handle it now and 90% of laptops after 2002 can handle it no problem. I basically made a DVD with a bunch of extras to select from. And basically hand the DVD around and say "Drag and rop, rename your dude, rearrange your controls if you choose and change mouse sensitivity. Then you are good to LAN" :3
I'd be up for a lanparty... so long as my Pentium M 2ghz 1gb ram ATi Radeon 7500 laptop can handle it.
You should see what it does to the Citadel Core in Halflife 2. Wireframe!
UT2k4 was pretty badass, too.