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It has been described as the "next generation" of gaming. No more do we have to play games with sometimes dodgy computer players but play games with other real people. This thing I talk about calls itself "Online Gaming." I'm sure a lot of people reading this have experienced online gaming sometime in their gaming lives. You see, online gaming is becoming bigger and bigger with new games actually being designed just for online gaming, think Quake 3. It all sounds so good to be true that you can play Quake, Half-Life, Unreal and others against loads of human beings across the world. Well the fact of the matter is this, it is too good to be true.
You see I think all online gamers have experienced the problem I am just about to discuss. This problem is probably the biggest factor in why online gaming has yet to explode. It is of course that little blighter, LAG.
If you have played online games I am sure you have experienced this; you are playing, say Quake 3, you take someone out, run around the corner and then the game goes slow, the next thing you know you have been shot to your bloody death. LAG can make life frustrating and on some servers make games unplayable online. Now everyone is talking about ADSL, the internet connection that makes pages load in seconds and downloads finish before you have started. ADSL promises to speed up your internet speed. Great you may think, faster internet speed means little or no LAG. Well yes this may well be true but the fact of the matter is this, ADSL will grind to a halt if loads of people connect at the same time because there will still be a limited bandwidth. The ADSL connection is about half a meg and if say a million people log in then that is a million times half a meg and whoever carries the signal will have to have the capacity to do this. If they develop on ADSL the maybe it will become the future of online gaming but for now it may well be merely used for fast downloads.
Another problem with some online only games is the monthly fee. You buy the game and pay the internet connection costs and then on top of that you are expected to pay monthly fees for game time. Examples of games like this are Ultima and Everquest. The extra cost can put people off playing what are two very good game experiences as some people can not afford it, well I can't anyway. Once again it is another example of the gaming industry squeezing out more money out of the game playing public.
Let this not put you off online gaming because if you have a fast connection and a deep pocket you can get the best out of games. The thing is for most of us with snail speed connection online gaming is not the future. Maybe one day online gaming will make the big impact it has so far failed to do but there is a lot of work to be done yet.
You see I think all online gamers have experienced the problem I am just about to discuss. This problem is probably the biggest factor in why online gaming has yet to explode. It is of course that little blighter, LAG.
If you have played online games I am sure you have experienced this; you are playing, say Quake 3, you take someone out, run around the corner and then the game goes slow, the next thing you know you have been shot to your bloody death. LAG can make life frustrating and on some servers make games unplayable online. Now everyone is talking about ADSL, the internet connection that makes pages load in seconds and downloads finish before you have started. ADSL promises to speed up your internet speed. Great you may think, faster internet speed means little or no LAG. Well yes this may well be true but the fact of the matter is this, ADSL will grind to a halt if loads of people connect at the same time because there will still be a limited bandwidth. The ADSL connection is about half a meg and if say a million people log in then that is a million times half a meg and whoever carries the signal will have to have the capacity to do this. If they develop on ADSL the maybe it will become the future of online gaming but for now it may well be merely used for fast downloads.
Another problem with some online only games is the monthly fee. You buy the game and pay the internet connection costs and then on top of that you are expected to pay monthly fees for game time. Examples of games like this are Ultima and Everquest. The extra cost can put people off playing what are two very good game experiences as some people can not afford it, well I can't anyway. Once again it is another example of the gaming industry squeezing out more money out of the game playing public.
Let this not put you off online gaming because if you have a fast connection and a deep pocket you can get the best out of games. The thing is for most of us with snail speed connection online gaming is not the future. Maybe one day online gaming will make the big impact it has so far failed to do but there is a lot of work to be done yet.
Online gaming CAN be more challenging though, you can pit yourself against some of the best players in the world if they are online at the same time as you.
Unfortunately you can also find yourself battling it out with one of the best hackers in the world, which is just a waste of time, the hacker can always win.
Hackers should be shot, they do no good on the internet and just make everyone's life a misery.
(Except for me, I only hack for good causes...)
Unfortunately you can also find yourself battling it out with one of the best hackers in the world, which is just a waste of time, the hacker can always win.
Hackers should be shot, they do no good on the internet and just make everyone's life a misery.
(Except for me, I only hack for good causes...)
Personnally, i find it much more enjoyable to play multiplayer games like Mariokart, bomberman, Virtua tennis etc, where you are all around one TV.
One problem with ADSL, it works better the closer to a telephone exchange that you live. So those living in the middle of nowhere will miss out, and no doubt there won't be a cableservice out there anyway.
Online gaming is not the future of gaming, but is a part of it.
I enjoy single player games, and don't want these to be left behind as the broad-band-wagon gathers pace. As much fun as it can be to shoot best friends, or indeed complete strangers, in the back of the head when they thing they're standing somewhere safe, it's just not the same experience as going solo.
Look at games like Final Fantasy, or Legend of Zelda. 1player games only, yet highly addictive, and hugely playable. There's a great sense of achievement when you defeat a major boss that I don't think is mached by winning a few death matches.
I feel great when I've completed a game developed by some of the best in the world, finding all of their little secrets, and humiliating all of their enemies!
As I said, I hope this aspect of gaming isn't left behind a little as consoles go online. Online is sure to develop y'see, lets hope the single player games do too.
Online gaming is not the future of gaming, but is a part of it.
I enjoy single player games, and don't want these to be left behind as the broad-band-wagon gathers pace. As much fun as it can be to shoot best friends, or indeed complete strangers, in the back of the head when they thing they're standing somewhere safe, it's just not the same experience as going solo.
Look at games like Final Fantasy, or Legend of Zelda. 1player games only, yet highly addictive, and hugely playable. There's a great sense of achievement when you defeat a major boss that I don't think is mached by winning a few death matches.
I feel great when I've completed a game developed by some of the best in the world, finding all of their little secrets, and humiliating all of their enemies!
As I said, I hope this aspect of gaming isn't left behind a little as consoles go online. Online is sure to develop y'see, lets hope the single player games do too.
Is there anyone here who is looking forward to the Online Gaming for PS2?
If you are, could you fill me in as to what you know about it?
Thanks in advance.
If you are, could you fill me in as to what you know about it?
Thanks in advance.
I don't like online gaming.
I prefer to play 4 player with my friends in the same room on N64 (and in under a years time...Gamecube and in 3 months time....GBA!)
I prefer to play 4 player with my friends in the same room on N64 (and in under a years time...Gamecube and in 3 months time....GBA!)
In the US they've got free online gaming, over here you have to pay the price of your phone call if you connect a console up to your phone socket and use it online
(Dreamcast bills are not good....).
With a PC it's better, if you have a free ISP you can play games all day with no charge, like me :-).
As yet, there are plans to get an 0800 agreement with BT and the other service providers for online gaming, but it's a long way off because no one can decide who is going to pick up the tab from the original payer of the phonebill.
With the Dreamcast, you literally plug it into the phonesocket and you are online in less than a minute, at offpeak rates with my phone provider that's 1p a minute, but it soon adds up, especially if you play online RPGs as much as me, which is why I prefer the PC to Console for online gaming.
(Dreamcast bills are not good....).
With a PC it's better, if you have a free ISP you can play games all day with no charge, like me :-).
As yet, there are plans to get an 0800 agreement with BT and the other service providers for online gaming, but it's a long way off because no one can decide who is going to pick up the tab from the original payer of the phonebill.
With the Dreamcast, you literally plug it into the phonesocket and you are online in less than a minute, at offpeak rates with my phone provider that's 1p a minute, but it soon adds up, especially if you play online RPGs as much as me, which is why I prefer the PC to Console for online gaming.
I am ashamed to say this people but I have to say it; I have never played Online Gaming before!
I bet I’m missing out on something truly magical aren’t I? I have a PS2 and I’m praying that it will eventually have online gaming so I can witness the best thing ever, that is online gaming.
I don’t know how it all works though. When it will be out for the PS2, will you just buy a game and put it into your Ps2, click “online gaming” and you are there battling it out with a stranger or maybe one of your mates, is that how it works?
What about the cost? Do you have to pay or is it all free? If you have to pay for it when it first comes out is there a chance that it will eventually be free one day?
I bet I’m missing out on something truly magical aren’t I? I have a PS2 and I’m praying that it will eventually have online gaming so I can witness the best thing ever, that is online gaming.
I don’t know how it all works though. When it will be out for the PS2, will you just buy a game and put it into your Ps2, click “online gaming” and you are there battling it out with a stranger or maybe one of your mates, is that how it works?
What about the cost? Do you have to pay or is it all free? If you have to pay for it when it first comes out is there a chance that it will eventually be free one day?
ADSL is a good start though...
I blame BT and OFTEL for slowing the whole process down. BT are trying to stall it because they don't want to share their network with anyone, because if they don't share it they make more profit so they can pay their shareholders.
OFTEL are as about as effective as trying to chop a tree down with a toothpick.
Cable modems are expensive, and the line rental is quite prohibitive to pure gamers, but it's dead handy if you have cable because of the download speed. There is always that lag though I agree.
As for online gaming, it is a thrill to take down a human opponent, but until the lag problem is fully solved, you can make do with the AI of the ingame bots, most of them are more advanced than many of the human opponents that you come up against, except for the fact that the AI bots won't stand over your prone body and keep firing shots into you just for fun (unless the developers programmed them that way.)
Lets all start writing nasty letters to BT and OFTEL, give them something more to chew on that way and maybe encourage them to get shifting on it.
I blame BT and OFTEL for slowing the whole process down. BT are trying to stall it because they don't want to share their network with anyone, because if they don't share it they make more profit so they can pay their shareholders.
OFTEL are as about as effective as trying to chop a tree down with a toothpick.
Cable modems are expensive, and the line rental is quite prohibitive to pure gamers, but it's dead handy if you have cable because of the download speed. There is always that lag though I agree.
As for online gaming, it is a thrill to take down a human opponent, but until the lag problem is fully solved, you can make do with the AI of the ingame bots, most of them are more advanced than many of the human opponents that you come up against, except for the fact that the AI bots won't stand over your prone body and keep firing shots into you just for fun (unless the developers programmed them that way.)
Lets all start writing nasty letters to BT and OFTEL, give them something more to chew on that way and maybe encourage them to get shifting on it.
I couldn't read it all cos there were not paragraph spaces which meant I kept losing my place.
Try pressing "Enter" a lil bit more
Try pressing "Enter" a lil bit more
It has been described as the "next generation" of gaming. No more do we have to play games with sometimes dodgy computer players but play games with other real people. This thing I talk about calls itself "Online Gaming." I'm sure a lot of people reading this have experienced online gaming sometime in their gaming lives. You see, online gaming is becoming bigger and bigger with new games actually being designed just for online gaming, think Quake 3. It all sounds so good to be true that you can play Quake, Half-Life, Unreal and others against loads of human beings across the world. Well the fact of the matter is this, it is too good to be true.
You see I think all online gamers have experienced the problem I am just about to discuss. This problem is probably the biggest factor in why online gaming has yet to explode. It is of course that little blighter, LAG.
If you have played online games I am sure you have experienced this; you are playing, say Quake 3, you take someone out, run around the corner and then the game goes slow, the next thing you know you have been shot to your bloody death. LAG can make life frustrating and on some servers make games unplayable online. Now everyone is talking about ADSL, the internet connection that makes pages load in seconds and downloads finish before you have started. ADSL promises to speed up your internet speed. Great you may think, faster internet speed means little or no LAG. Well yes this may well be true but the fact of the matter is this, ADSL will grind to a halt if loads of people connect at the same time because there will still be a limited bandwidth. The ADSL connection is about half a meg and if say a million people log in then that is a million times half a meg and whoever carries the signal will have to have the capacity to do this. If they develop on ADSL the maybe it will become the future of online gaming but for now it may well be merely used for fast downloads.
Another problem with some online only games is the monthly fee. You buy the game and pay the internet connection costs and then on top of that you are expected to pay monthly fees for game time. Examples of games like this are Ultima and Everquest. The extra cost can put people off playing what are two very good game experiences as some people can not afford it, well I can't anyway. Once again it is another example of the gaming industry squeezing out more money out of the game playing public.
Let this not put you off online gaming because if you have a fast connection and a deep pocket you can get the best out of games. The thing is for most of us with snail speed connection online gaming is not the future. Maybe one day online gaming will make the big impact it has so far failed to do but there is a lot of work to be done yet.
You see I think all online gamers have experienced the problem I am just about to discuss. This problem is probably the biggest factor in why online gaming has yet to explode. It is of course that little blighter, LAG.
If you have played online games I am sure you have experienced this; you are playing, say Quake 3, you take someone out, run around the corner and then the game goes slow, the next thing you know you have been shot to your bloody death. LAG can make life frustrating and on some servers make games unplayable online. Now everyone is talking about ADSL, the internet connection that makes pages load in seconds and downloads finish before you have started. ADSL promises to speed up your internet speed. Great you may think, faster internet speed means little or no LAG. Well yes this may well be true but the fact of the matter is this, ADSL will grind to a halt if loads of people connect at the same time because there will still be a limited bandwidth. The ADSL connection is about half a meg and if say a million people log in then that is a million times half a meg and whoever carries the signal will have to have the capacity to do this. If they develop on ADSL the maybe it will become the future of online gaming but for now it may well be merely used for fast downloads.
Another problem with some online only games is the monthly fee. You buy the game and pay the internet connection costs and then on top of that you are expected to pay monthly fees for game time. Examples of games like this are Ultima and Everquest. The extra cost can put people off playing what are two very good game experiences as some people can not afford it, well I can't anyway. Once again it is another example of the gaming industry squeezing out more money out of the game playing public.
Let this not put you off online gaming because if you have a fast connection and a deep pocket you can get the best out of games. The thing is for most of us with snail speed connection online gaming is not the future. Maybe one day online gaming will make the big impact it has so far failed to do but there is a lot of work to be done yet.