What do i need to start a lan party

[joesphrobert]

I'm getting a computer soon and i want to start a lan party soon in my area. Can someone please tell me what i'm going to need to start one and also a good place to get the stuff?

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you:jawa

[WhiteChedda]

Originally posted by joesphrobert

I'm getting a computer soon and i want to start a lan party soon in my area. Can someone please tell me what i'm going to need to start one and also a good place to get the stuff?

 

 

 

Thank you:jawa

 

I am assuming you mean your going to have a bunch of friends come over, hook up your computers and play in a game OFFLINE, as in not on the internet. If you need to also be ONLine, then things change a little bit depending on your service provider and thier policy.

 

Just Local, not on-line. In this case, you have a choice.

 

RJ-45 connection needs a HUB with enough ports to cover everyone, everyone who is to be hooked to the hub will need a Network Interface Card [NIC] and a cable. the most common interface is RJ-45 [looks like an oversized telephone cord]

 

Coaxial - no hub needed, but need special coaxial cable, with enough free slots and a terminator. I suggest avoiding this, its not as good for gaming.

 

Once medium is taken card of, you need enough power sockets to hook everyone up and the HUB. You need to figure out which games you can play [read over liscence restrictions, some games require a CD for every computer [most do], some do not.....] make sure everyone brings them, has their machine up to spec, and has time to bring it over and hook it up.

 

Some helpful tips, assign everyone a static IP address similar to each other, since you have no server to use dynamic IP addresses.

 

If you have an extra computer, you may want to consider a dedicated server, otherwise whoever hosts games should have the fastest CPU and network connection as well as reduce thier game graphic quality to help reduce CPU load.

 

I suggest starting with just 2 or 3 machines for the LAN until you get the hang of it. I used to run 10 people in a 1 bedroom apartment, RTS cand FPS games are best, but Balder's gate 2 and diablo 2 were fun at smaller lans. However, make sure everyone knows the policies, we had some cheating issues with duping items that took the fun out of D2.