lan party (how?)

[opivykid]

Welp, school vacation's comming up, and me and a few friends were thinking about what to do, and someone brought up the idea of a lan party. Now, it sounded cool and all, but, the problem is, is that we dont really know how to go about doing it. Ive google-searched, yet i get more stuff about the enviroment that itd be in, then how to set everything up. If anybody has any knowledge, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

(I posted this in hardware world, because it has more to do with the hardware aspect than anything else. Please move if in the wrong part)

[tesco]

get a hub or router to hook all of the computers together.
Then network them (easy, just run network setup wizard [if xp]).

Install your games and click multiplayer>network and one creates a game then teh rest join.

[opivykid]

Ok, here come the noob questions :)

1) me have no router, so if you could recommend a decent one, it'd be cool.

2) im kinda confused to how everything hooks up... does internet connection speed have anything to do with this?

[orcutt989]

Just do what the instructions tell you, and then run Windows Network Wizard, or whatever.

[tesco]

you just plug each computer's network card into the hub or router.
hubs are much cheaper but if you want to share the internet with all of your computers then you will want a router...;)

[opivykid]

hmm

[opivykid]

So for just the lan party itself, would i be better off with a hub, or a router?

[Spicker]

drink some alchol and invite ur friends over and get drunk and then run around naked :lol:

Local
Alcohol
Nude

Party
=
LAN PARTY :wacko: :cool:

[4play]

you dont need a router that if you want to access the net, a hub or switch will do the trick. they are pretty cheap these days. find out how many people will be coming and buy one with that many or more ports. make sure everyone has a nic as well.

say £10 each for the nic and £40 for a 8 - 16 port switch.

edit : oh yeah your gonna need some rj45 cable as well.

[Formula1]

Ok, here come the noob questions :)

1) me have no router, so if you could recommend a decent one, it'd be cool.

2) im kinda confused to how everything hooks up... does internet connection speed have anything to do with this?


A good router is linksys , i use it and it works great. Alot of people have it and people like too, and one of the most commonly used routers, and considered one of the best, but just about any router will do i guess. (i dont work for linksys or etc. lol)

To set up a network , go to >Network Places>Create a Network .... Totally easy. i've never actually set up a lan network for playing games, but i was able to set up a home network and was able to share a folder from one pc to another...

As for internet connection, you want a good connection that will be able to allow more than one pc's to connect to the internet , a good one could be dsl or broadband , i'm not sure how 56k works....

[opivykid]

Hmm sounds good, thanks for all the help. I'll try and hunt down all the stuff soon, so if theres any little things, i'll have time to ask :)

-------------------------

Ok so i think ive got this.... first get the router or switch or whatever, then connect all the computers to it. Whats the "rj45 cable" used for though?

[Duffman]

for the connection, go buy CAT-5 Cable.

[TheDave]

according to this month's pcgamer uk.


do's:
install the games on all pcs before the party

burn a pre party cd with patches and mods and stuff on, pass it round before the party

stock up on fizzy drinks, tea and coffee (caffiene, and lots of it)

ensure your guests bring fold away seating and stuff like that

host the games on the fastest pc in the house

make sure weapons are set to "stay even after picked up" in fps games :huh:

this is my favourite coming from the best selling pc gaming magazine in britain: get no-cd cracks for all the games you're ging to play. check out megagames.com for an exhaustive listing.

get your network cables from ebuyer not a chain store, you'll get ripped off.


donts:
let guests turn up with unlabeled equiptment. in the post-party packing stuff can go astray

invite more players than you have space for. pcs and people take up more space than you'd think

use a wireless network. it's too slow for gaming and prone to interferance. stick to cables

dont bother sourcing a pc dedicated to hosting unless theres more than eight of you.

dont waste time cooking for your guests. the fast food industry is a significant employer and deserves your support (get pizza ;))



now this is the games they reccomend.

unreal tournament 2004
neverwinter nights
jdoom
warcraft 3
sven co-op (half-life mod, i think)


they also say try to stick with team games cos its not nice to be the guy who gets pwned all the time. in my experience a few hours against mates is really exhausting and you probably wont feel like playing through the night.



i would have scanned it but i dont know if its set up, i'm in bed and that was all something to do at 7:30am


:D

[Formula1]

Waht about Counter Strike 1.6/Source :| , anyways yeah UT2004 would be a fun multiplayer game :/

[GepperRankins]

i wish developers would put code in so many people could share one line, for clan parties and stuff