WarSpartan

It is not BS. Every game - every game type in a game - every genre of game - all have thier nuances that makes them different. There are therefore different strategies employed when you play the different types. Mods especially. I chose to play the game. Then the modded version was used as the game type. As I said Im not uber and I did what I knew how to do - run and frag. I didnt know if the mod changed the weapon types or damage (extremely common in mods), if it changed power-up locations, if it changed physics, etc. While you may not care or even consider those factors noteworthy I do. Calling my lack of knowledge of a game mod BS is BS in itself. 0 points for a weak attack. How long indeed when you take into account all the variables that affect any particular game map, map size, # of players, "sweet spots" on the map, what class your playing, etc. For someone new to BF2 this is a LOT to not know and a LOT to get ground up over. So someone who NEVER played bf2 jumps into a BF2 game - what do you think they are going to do ? Hmmm maybe run and gun ? Of course they are. It takes time to learn a game. Now throw a mod into the equation and any # of variables and things to learn can occur. And if you really want to use the run from flag to flag analogy, then someone could be standing right at the flag point on some maps and spots and never know where it was - especially if they are brand new. So how exactly does this analogy hold water again ? ---- I love just love how in your attempt to defend pursuilt in this matter - you COMPLETELY gloss over this part of the situation : Especially after Pursuit goes off and says: Please go ahead and comment. If this discussion is going to turn into the blind eyed ignore the facts about what happened and jump to a buddies defense irregardless of what really happened (and of course make weak attacks that dont really hold merit) - then I will bow out of the discussion as its not worth stating the truth when no one will listen to it. I think we've all read enough blind defense posts to know how that whole story goes down. ---- The LAN that I made an example of http://forums.wnygamersclub.com/index.php?...=1623&st=15 is one where the listed games were to be played & patches to have were then noted. As I remember it we played a heavy dose of quake 4, then some fear, then finally went into the far cry, which defaulted to flat out in 15 minutes. So it is at least an example of having a games listed for play at a basement lan. ---- Thats fine. As noted what I offered were suggestions and opinions on the matter. If this is the preferred format by everyone coming to the basement LAN's then okay. Im fine with that. ---- If you take my example then I only got "pissy" since the game was listed I expected at least a couple rounds of game time in it because of that. If you want to get technical I played through ~8 hours of the other 2 games throughout the lan day before the far cry slot came up. Then nada. Since I played the games that were up first and gave my full participation so everyone could have a more exciting and fulfilling lan time in those games, I had "assumed" that the same level of participation was to continue to be extended to the next game up. It simply wasnt and yes I was disappointed. So strike it against me for the assumption, I'll take that one. Nope. If people come to the lan with the game to be played installed, and patched to the quoted patch, then you are 80-90% in the same boat as the xboxer is. With 10-20% headroom for networking. Most of the time people spend trying to get connected involveds going through a full game install, cracking (if needed), & patching. After that most people are good to go and can usually play right away. Sure theres the usual networking concerns but those are noted and to be expected. If you read it - the overall example is not to say xbox & pc are the same - but to say the pc setup can be streamlined (and quite easily) to be very close if not identical to the xbox setup time. In other words people can be ready to jump in and play almost right away with that little bit of communcation & prep. And this was the EXACT point of my post. If its fine - then what exactly is the problem ? And why are you and pursuit giving such poop over it ?

I'll have to pop back in then. For a couple weeks I was getting on a few times a night and the server was dead empty. I had assumed it had gone belly up and was over. So havent been checking in this last month and didnt realize it had started back up.

Lets get one thing right and straight about that situation and that game. YOU wanted to play quake 4. I dont enjoy quake 4 BUT - i gave some of my gaming enjoyment to participate in a game YOU enjoyed, and to get a cohesive game going! I didnt just wander off and throw up a game server for someting else i would have been interested in - I agreed to play YOUR desired game with you. You know take your turns play the games others want to play and wait for your chance to play the games that really thrill you. The type of good willed mentality that lets everyone get a shot to play what they enjoy at the lans, and be able to play big thrilling games of it. That is doing the right thing at a LAN. Now heres the kicker. YOU decide you dont like how im playing a "modded" game match. I dont know the details or the nuances about your modded game type. So I try and do what i know how to do and what quake 4 is based on. Just run around and frag as best I can. I know im not good probably not even mediocore with quake 4 so i try and do what I know I can - to try make the game competitive. YOU get pissed off because I wont do what you want me to do in the game. You just up and quit and go upstairs to shoot the shit with people not even 1 full match into the game ? A game that YOU asked to get started. And YOU just walk away from the 2v2 game going and leave me sitting there trying to fight against 2 skilled players ?!? You know what I did ? I stuck it out for another 2 rounds of the game before I finally got tired of being sniped & melee'ed 2 vs 1. I participated. YOU up and quit the game. YOU asked me to play the game. YOU threw a tantrum when I wouldnt play it the way you wanted me to. So you are saying you can dictate to me how I should play the game at the lans ?!? You are all about "lets just throw down and see what people want to do that day" but then freak out and just up and quit a game that you talked people into playing because I wouldnt do exactly what you wanted me to do ?!? Talk about hippocritical. Seriously. Rukuss was there with us in game and he knows exactly how it went down. We were on oppsoing teams and even he was like - "so he just up and quit and walks away when you dont do what he wants you to do ?". ESPECIALLY when you went around and talked us into palying it !!! I think thats the general idea of going to a LAN to play games WITH other people. I am trying to offer insight and opinions on the various topics that I participate in. That is the purpose of a forums. I try and do it in a manner that demonstrates what Im trying to say. Im not trying to be confrontational but we ARE ALLOWED to have a different point of view than YOU. That is part of the point of a "forums" where you "discuss" topics. You seem unable to handle another persons point of view and feel immediately attacked by said opposing viewpoint or someones suggestions to help make the lans an overall better experience. We all have different experiences. I know some great elements that do in fact make LAN's run smoother, can optimize gaming time etc. I throw up that input in what I think is a constructive manner that is meant to further the lan parties. I dont come here to say "you suck", "the lans suck", or "get a clue". But it seems this how it seems you interpret my posts ? You are the one who starts off with the nasty and or derogatory comment or statement in a thread. Then you are suddenly surprised when someone responds to your deliberate or veiled attack ? Just take a little bit and read a couple of the threads and see how it plays out. ---- The example with the xbox players is to demonstrate to you how things can run. Yes we have comps. Yes there are more elements to consider when playing the same computer game with others. But you know what. If you really make an effort at addressing those elements then they arent nearly as much as an obstacle. That is the point of the example. I have been to computer lans where most people just jumped in and played. It can be done. It has been done. Ive expereinced it. I put it out there for you to consider. ---- I have never said we SHOULD NOT play a game. I have indeed suggested games that I thought would be worthwhile. I did NOT say we MUST play those games. However I did offer up a game suggestion - not unlike many others have done on these same forums when coming upon the various lans. So we cant even make a suggestion ? AND if you even took a moment to look at my posts it will clearly say something to the effect of "does anyone want to try this out ?" "it doesnt have to be this weekend, but im throwing up the idea for FUTURE lans" !!! Dude you are so out of line with your comments and are completely extrapolating what you "think" im saying or dont even bother reading past the first sentence. Both are strikes against you. I think it all comes down to you interpreting suggestions, comments, and a different opinion as an immediate attack against your person. Thats not benefitting anybody. Point in fact - no you dont always post the top 5 games a week ahead of time. For example - here we are 8 hours to go before todays LAN June 9th, 2007. There hasnt even been a hint of what games will be played in this thread (nor elsewhere unless I missed it). There have been a number of times before the lans when its just us tossing around ideas, and the rought list of games doesnt come about till a day or two before lan day. Its just the way it is. Pretending otherwise doesnt change this. And even when you do post the games of whats to be played. They arent played. One example that sticks out for me is one of the house lans many months ago now - it was advertised as 3 games to be played at the lan. One of them Far Cry a personal favorite. I was extremely excited about this lan as there was finally gonna be some focused play time in game that I really really enjoyed. Come lan day. I sit through a ton of quake 4 and a couple other games. Hey thats okay - Far Cry is coming up next. No problem I can play the games that everyone else is playing. PARTICIPATE with everyone else - play the games they are really into - make thier game time a ton of fun because everyones playing it. Then comes the Far Cry time slot - w00t. Bob even puts up a server. Awesomeness right ? Well we dont even play one full round of the game when everyone just up and quits. So a whole 15 minutes (not even) of Far Cry and everyone except 'Noy quits starts playing Flat Out. So essentially a full house that night - and nobody and can muster more than 15 minutes in a "listed & advertised" game for that weekends lan. So hmmmm. So much for being a "team player" and how does that go: So I participate and play the games that other people wanted to enjoy. I put in my participation etc. But it would seem that only applies to the games that YOU want to play. When its a game someone else might be interested in trying. Too bad ?!? I think it works both ways. This i can respect and its totally cool with me. In fact i consider it part of the lan. Structuring a touch more and most importantly actually following through on the games list (and having one to boot) does not null and void the social aspect of a lan party. The social part goes on the whole time. Its the background buzz of the lan. ---- Also you calling into account someones attendance records at the LAN's, without any respect to thier real life responsibilites is just MASSIVELY irresponsible, and quite hippocritical. ---- I guess I misunderstood this whole gaming club idea. I didnt realize it was an iron booted dictatorship of the lan world. I has assumed that it was based on the participation and good will of the members. That it was open to ideas, discussion, and suggestions. That it was okay to expect to play the games on the "to be played list". Yes that last comment was the "harsh" one. ---- Let me know if Im truly wrong about it all. If I am and theres no swaying your opinion, then so be it and let me know. You DONT have to implement or seriously consider anything I suggest or give an opinion on. I never expected you too. My suggestions and opinions are just that. Suggestions and opinions. Its all based on what happens, what has happened, and on the suggestion end what could happen. I had thought I was participating in this "club". Im sorry if I misinterpreted the whole thing.

OMG take me with you lan'ing !!! One of my all time favorite games but I can never find anyone to play with We are in the process of moving so its unknown if i'll be able to hit the lan later today but goodness i'd love some far cry. Let me know next time you and your crew play if i dont see you at the lan. w00t

Well it was fun while it lasted :yahoo: Was a pleasure to play and hang out with folks online for some BF2. Catch ya at the next lan hopefully.

You dont have to plan every minute. But having a good solid plan will maximize the gaming enjoyment and excitement had by all at the lan. Take the xbox Halo 2 players for example. They do thier lans and came to this lan with a plan. They were going to play Halo 2. They were going to compete against each other. They practiced ahead of the time, knew the game, and thier equipment was 100% ready to go come lan day. So when they started playing they started playing right away, with everyone ready to roll, and they had a blast doing it. They were psyched, excited, ready to throw down. They planned to dedicate at least "x" amount of time to playing each other in Halo 2. In other words it was extremely good quality gaming. They werent wasting any time deciding: "so uh like what do you guys want to TRY today ?" "does anyone have the patches?" "do more than a couple people even have the game today ?" "do we even know if the game has any bugs or quirks that would make it problematic at the lan ?" "whys there 2 people playing game A, 3 playing game B, 5 playing game C, 6 people trying to get thier computers working, 4 people who cant connect to a particular game, 6 playing game D ? - all at the same time... shouldnt we all be playing in the same game togther for some riotous large scale multiplayer action ?" "isnt that the point of everyone coming together to play ?" In the end no matter what you opinions are on what works and what doesnt I think we can all agree that 20 people all playing the same game at once is WAY WAY WAY more exciting and thrilling than 20 people spread over 4-5 different games at once (barring possible RTS game tournaments). Also i'd say 90% of the games usually played for the "multiplayer" value are made to be competitive. The goal is to let people compete / fight with each other. Whipping out a game at a lan that most havent even installed yet, and are essentially clueless really defeats the idea of trying to compete. Its extremely difficult to make a good showing when you dont have the faintest clue and others do. Thats why announcing whats played ahead of time gives people a chance to try it out or at the very least find out what the games about. Then come game day - if its on the list and you dont know how to play it was your choice to get whooped up vs. showing up and having one tossed at you out of the blue and getting whipped up by default. So no you dont have to play every minute. But it sure as heck is gonna be TONS more fun and exciting. Its a choice.

Actually I posted when I couldnt make the recent LAN You are a bunch of cool enough guys. I will say one thing about the LAN's and this is not meant to be an insult. One thing I cant get excited about is when I know everyones gonna be doing a lot of drinking and even worse conducting "other" habits. To each his own. But for me those and LAN's dont mix well. So though I get excited about coming out to game, the excitements tempered by knowing most there are gonna get boogered up. In the end when push comes to shove this particular lan ends up being the first I will consider bowing out of. I dont know if this has any effect on anyone else, but my experience is most lan goers are usually clean most of the lan with the occassional beers kicking out at the end of the lan if at all. I come to enjoy the games themselves. The other indugences I believe detract from enjoying the games by not just the indulger but everyone else. If one or a bunch of guys are fubarred then what kind of competition is that ? Wheres the excitement ? Multiplayer games are made to play against and be competitive with each other. When everyones boogered up then that competition is almost meaningless. Theres no big excitement cause with the mental facilities and reflexes all dulled it feels like no ones really trying. If no ones really trying then I might as well be at home playing against the computer AI. And of course a classic example is being the "sober" guy at a party where everyones lit up. It just aint fun Again this isnt an insult or even me dissapproving of anything you guys indulge in. We all like to have our fun :yahoo: However for me it seems that lans and those indulgences dont mix well, and tends to kill a lot of the excitement of the games. I offer up the idea that could this be a factor ? Thanks for the lans in the past Good luck if you guys fire it up again.

Hiya Buckett I do plan on attending the upcoming frag shack ! I'll check with your site for more details, but you can count me in and I believe a friend of mine is in as well. Thanks!

My 2 cents on the LAN thing -> * In an all day LAN you will only play 2-3 "good" games. By good games - a game that you get most people to play at once. Sure you guys let all kinds of games and cluster groups go on in the background, but they dont count towards everyone playing at the lan. Trying to cram more than that in is just a whirlwind of clusterfark. The amount of "good" gaming that gets done is minimal. * Each game requires the install & patch, and quickie troubleshoot for those situations that cant connect right away. Often takes and hour for everyone to get up to speed. * My experience with the LPE's vs Bob's house lans is they are identical. The LPE's are just bigger. The actual amount of games and the sub groups that play them are essentially the same. * Confusion / non-commitment / and "whatever" attitudes towards whats played on LAN day destroy cohesive and "good" gaming come LAN day. Period. My suggestions and you dont have to be mean if you dont like them -> * You have to set just 2-3 games to be played at each LAN. * You must announce the games to played at the LAN at least 1 week ahead of the actual LAN. Take a vote, take a stand, whatever -> Pick the games, pick the patches to be used. And thats what EVERYONE should expect to play that day. Ideally everyone comes installed and patched as well. Everyone knows about wnyg via friends pretty much. Getting the word out to people by word of mouth, IM's, PM's, etc is all part of it. You can designate the game and patch and you can expect MOST people to come prepared. Then for the few who are unable or didnt hear, just have the materials ready, and the designates (next) for each game can smooth out the rough edges. * You must disignate at least 1-2 guys (more ? depending on # of people) who are familiar with each game to help get everyone get going on thier designated game. I noted above that you guys dont think you should have to do this. In reality you do if you want large blocks of cohesive gaming. The designates can be others in the LAN (im happy to help folks with a game for example), its not gonna be a ton of work if you get the word out and most up to speed before hand. * Scheduling you should set aside a large block of time for each game -> 12pm - 4pm [Game1] 4pm-8pm [Game2] 8pm-12am [Game3] Or whatever blocks you decide upon ahead of time. * Overall my biggest suggestion which is essentially a combination of all of the above is have a strong leadership set for game day. Bob, James, and all involved do a good job having the LAN's - just step it up one notch and make everything more clear, precise, and planned for each LAN. Thats all. A strong schedule and direction come LAN day means there is a LOT more quality "games" that go down. Lots more memories, lots more excitement. I ran group LAN's for almost 3 years at my place at one point. And Ive been to just about every LAN in the area. The above suggestions are completely possible, and in all honesty, not that hard. And of course you guys have all the infrastructure in place as it is. Its just a matter of picking your games. Not trying to play too many games. And committing yourself to those games come LAN day.

Ha ha no kidding. No idea why folks dont like Far Cry. Looks so darn good and the multiplay rocks. You get to actually use the map terrain and features for cover and concealment if thats your thing - oh and of course some of the best weapons physics ever done. But oh well we gotta pick our battles and hope for the best. If anyone enjoys the game and ever wants to get a few rounds going to just holler. I'll keep the iso and necessary patch files handy. Fairly quick install, and loads fast so its one of those "easy" to get rolling games. I also thought CoD2 was a good pile of fun last lan. As for BF2 - dont I see enough of you guys online ?!? LOL just kidding.

Far Cry ...

The utility was Hamachi. Im sure some of you have heard of it. Works quite well for most games. Some are a little stubborn, but thats usually older games anyways. Basically its creates a VPN lan over the internet. So if everyone is on it you can play games almost as if you were sitting on the same lan. Simple to setup. Some games require a trick or two to get going - usually stuff like making sure the hamachi IP is the one you use when tring to connect and not the default lan IP's. I would definately suggest a quickie setup and dry run for any game you might considering doing this for before the lan just to make sure it wont muck up for some odd reason. Games I know that work just fine with it are: CoD2 Far Cry BF2 & SF, etc. Generals & Zero Hour Age of Empires 3 AvP2 LotR:BFME Really most games seem to play fine. Some games will give an oddball higher than lan ping but not all. For example Ive seen in CoD2 the lan ping is 30-40, but the hamachi ping online is around 80. AvP2 also has a high ping. Far Cry surprisingly has very low pings. Anywho any questions holler.

Ahhhh i gets ya

Coh ? Did you mean CoD 2 ? If so this is where im patched at right now: CoD 2 Patch v1.3 AvP2 Patch v1.0.9.6 (I dont have those mappacks installed but we can use them if we want) Far Cary Patch v1.33 (c'mon you know you want too BF2 Patch v1.41 (most recent) A few RTS's kicking about too, including supreme commander, aoe3, aoe2, yuri's, zero hour, and orignal TA. If anyone has the c&c demo I'd love to check it out.

Any official word on what games will be played ? My hard drive is dictacting that I have to pick and choose on some installs lately, so let me know what the interest is where, and I'll make room as necessary. Thanky.

Good info so far. Been looking at vid card material. Looks like the best deal for $ is probably the 8800 GTS w/640 MB on it. I might opt for the GTX version though its a big jump in $$ for im not sure how much really. Will be browsing benchmarks later. But it looks like the 8800's eat up even SLI 7950's in performance. Probably will go for the e6400 OC as it sounds relatively safe and stable. Plus paying mad $ on high qual memory seems a little weak but i didnt check the exact amount over normal yet. Lots to read on blah.

Gonna try and hit this one. A game was brought to my attention that im enjoying -> Call of Duty 2 multiplayer is a good time if anyone is up for some.

KK yea 2 gigs was the bare minimum, im considering 4 but thats a solid $ jump so maybe, though I'd love to have it. Intel PT-1000 ? Dedicated network then ? Lastly what about power ? I see antec cases arent selling with more than 500w, but I had thought we needed more than that for SLI. Tanks.

Basically I bought this monster LCD to play on and my current hardware cant smoothly push the native rez for a lot of games. Soooo.... What would you folks recommend if I were to build a new system right now. Im currently doing some reading and newegg searching getting my ideas set. However Im a bit out of the current tech news and info so catch up can take a bit What do you guys consider hot and worthwhile. Lastly, Im more of a semi-budget wont buy newest biggest tech as I think the price is simply ridiculous vs. performance gains. So while Im looking at core 2 duo CPU's I probably wont touch the "extreme" versions as they seem just totally out of whack for price. Thinking SLI is the way to go as well, but am open to any suggestions Thanks for the input !

Oooooo must peek at it. A demo round anyone ? BTW Im finally on XFire, I dropped my screenie in the XFire ID thread.

I set up my XFire and sent out the friend invites for most i saw listed. Im currently: chiefwarspartan Catch ya'll in games.

Red Alert series was my first and favorite RTS series of games. I'm hoping for the best on this one but dont know much for sure about it yet. Supreme Commander is already solid so thats why I havent propped Tib Wars yet. Though I'd love for it to be totally awesome !

The bomb ! This will be my RTS of choice for the forseeable future. This game should be just plain fantastic. Also the "demo" versions are available for download atm If its as good as it looks ill grab up the retail. Anyone wants to start playing some of this online let me know

BTW since you'all are the server setup kings, is it possible to have an AvP2 server up going into the weekend ? Ill also be happy to host games on my end - im just not familiar with setting up and managing dedicated servers. Also whats currently the preferred method for communicating with everyone here who plays online ? Vent, TS, IM's ?

Im in. Its a great game, a ranked server with local guys will be good fun. And I ALWAYS play way more than 1 map in a row. Put in a little more special forces if you will though. I consider some of the maps in special forces to be quite excellent, and the new weapons are a good time. Since parox is pretty much a twitch only quake junkie he might even enjoy the iron gator aircraft carrier map. All indoor. I actually find myself playing way more SF than regular BF2. I havent tried the 2 add-ons after that though.