Friday 29 July 2011

LAN Games

Games are one of the most important parts of a LAN party and im going to guide you through some of the best LAN games. There are three main types of games, Racing, Strategy and Shooting to start with im going to tell you about some good games from each of these genres and I will be posting an in depth game review once a week.


1. Racing
Track Mania
Racing games are lots of fun at LANs and usually don't require much head space.  The best free LAN racing game is by far trackmania which has lots (and lots) of tracks, low system requirements and doesn't lag it can be alot of fun and doesn't cost a cent.
http://trackmania-nations-forever.en.softonic.com/




2. Strategy

Age of empires 2.

Although strategy games usually take hours to play they are very fun. My favorite strategy games for LAN party's are Age of Empires 2 (http://www.microsoft.com/games/age2/) and Rise of nations (http://www.microsoft.com/games/riseofnations/). Both of these games can be played with 2-8 people. Strategy games require lots of decision making from which civilization to when to move up an age. Both of these game are very polished, easy to learn and are fun for hours.


3. Shooting

CS 1.6
During a LAN shooting games are easily the most played games and there are so many to chose from. I am going to recommend some great fps (first person shooters) for you to play at your LAN.

Counter Strike 1.6:  Counter strike is one of the all time greatest LAN games. Although the graphics aren't amazing the game play and its ability to make you want to play it for hours on end is something not many other games have. Because of the older graphics there is barely any lag (if it is played on a good network) and the game is highly mod-able. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-Strike)

Call of duty 4
Cod 1+4: The cod series is one of the most successful gaming series ever. This game has many modes, guns, maps and good graphics. Older games like COD 1 will also run on almost any computer and it is incredibly easy to create a dedicated server.Call of duty is a highly polished game that is well know by gamers and is alot of fun. (http://www.callofduty.com/)

Halo C
Halo Combat Evolved: Halo is different to other first person shooters because it includes vehicles (Fun), Is not based around human characters and doesn't have realistic weapons, istead focusing on plasma weapons instead. Halo is very fun and has many modes (including a very fun capture the flag) and has lots of maps and fun weapons like flame throwers, snipers and rocket launchers.
(http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/titles/halocombatevolved)


I hope you found this introduction into the world of LAN games fun and informative. This is just and introduction and i will be doing in depth reviews of these and many more games. If you enjoy my blog please subscribe.

Untill next time- John Mickniny

Thursday 28 July 2011

Planning and Setup

Setting up a LAN party can be a complicated and difficult processes i aim to guide you through this a provide a helpful guide for want to be LAN gamers.

Planning

The first things to decide when hosting a LAN is the location, time and date, number of gamers and games being played. When deciding a location consider that it will need adequate power supply and enough room for the amount of people you hope to accommodate. A good location can be a garage which can typically fit up to 15 people. Another thing to consider is the time and date of your LAN party, try to find a time when all of your guests will be free and decide whether it will be over night or during the day time. When deciding how many guests will be coming  consider the size of the area you plan to have your LAN and how much money you are willing to spend. Games are also important for a LAN party consider the genre (racing,  first person shooter, real time strategy) and suss out with your guests what kind of games they would like to play and ultimately the guests will decide anyway. 
 
 
Setting Up

When setting up a LAN there are three key things to think about, cater for and provide. Power, network connection and food. When setting up a LAN consider separating these three things (no one wants soft drink split on there computer) this could be achieved by having a separate food table and keeping power connections on the floor and network connections on the table- this is one simple step which is guaranteed to make your LAN much more organized. So you have decided you location, time, size and games no is time for the more detailed planing. A good way to do this is by roughly counting the number of power points, LAN connections. power boards, LAN cables, extension cables, tables and network switches that you will need. This can be achieved by taking the number of guests, working out how many ppts and LAN connections they will use ect. After this it is a good idea to draw a small plan of the room and map out your network. Remember to consider dedicated servers. After you have done this check and see if you have the necessary equipment and if you don't consider asking your guests to lend you some. Don't make a purchase unless it is absolutely necessary.

1. Power

A power board
Power is an important part of a LAN party, with out it no computers would run and it wouldn't be a LAN. When setting up the power system make sure you have enough inputs for all the equipment/ computers and setting it up. Remember not to daisy chain multiple power boards together as this may overload your circuit. Consider running power from other parts of your venue to avoid blowing the fuse and remember surge protectors! It is also a good idea to tape cables firmly to the floor (Using duct tape) to avoid people tripping over and pulling out important plugs.

2. The Network

An Ethernet Cable
This is possibly the most important part. Creating the network that the games will be played on. When creating a network remember that it will be based around a series of network switches which can be linked together by simply plugging a LAN cable from one to another. When buying a switch consider the speed 100mb/1000mb? and the number of ports 5/8/16/24? remember that if you by a switch with a large amount of ports it will be hard for it to be reached by everyone and long LAN cables will be needed. After choosing your switch or switches begin placing them on tables so that every computer will be able to plug in and make sure all the switches are connected (a good way to do this is to have one switch which specifically connects all the other switches and the servers together) once this is done you have created your network, consider adding dedicated and file servers. Remember that everyone will need a LAN cable to connect so suggest BYO. Once this is set up run a few test games and check that there is minimal lag and that it is all working well. Remember to only have ONE network adapter running on each computer or else they can get confused. It is also important to tape down crossover cables and set up and test well before the day of the LAN.
 
3. Food

What would a LAN party be with out food? Food is essential for LAN partys and always make sure there is plenty of it and it is served away from computers. Good foods for LAN partys include Pizza, Sausage rolls, party pies, pancakes, lollies, chips, soft drink, ice cream and Doritos. Consider asking guests to bring something to share and remember, keep food away from computers!

Conclusion

Setting up a LAN is not an easy job and can be quite costly so consider charging a small entry fee. The most important thing is to have fun!

Introduction - What is a LAN Party

Now before starting a full blown guide about LAN party's i think it would be best to inform you about what LAN party's are.

LAN (or local area network) Party is the term used to describe a bunch of people getting together linking there computers together using switches and routers and playing LAN games such as Age of Empires 2, Trackmania, CS 1.6 and Cod. LAN partys can range in size from 2 people to many Thousands of people. LAN partys are very fun when organized well and often occur overnight. Lots of fun, Laughing, Fragging (Killing each other in games), Eating of unhealthy food and Yelling can happen but it is all in good spirit :) If you havn been to a LAN before i suggest you check one out. Please continue to read my blog for more information about LAN partys including how to set up a lan party, what games to play, faq's, troubleshooting and how to make your LAN fun and low cost.

Until next time John Mickniny

An image from the worlds largest LAN party