LAN party

[Sephroth57]

im sure some of you on here have been to or have thrown a LAN party. Me and my friend are organizing one at his house on friday, its only gonna be like 4-6 people prolly. and im wondering if anyone has any tips for things i might overlook. were going to network using a linksys router, just plug cat5 right in the back of it. for LAN games it doesnt matter if multiple people are using the same CDkey right? they only matter if you go on the actual games hosted servers

planned game list:

Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War
Unreal Tournament 2004
Warcraft 3: FT
Diablo 2 (hardcore)


you can kind of tell my preferred genres/themes from those games. any other suggestions?

[GGKoul]

For some games, you cannot have the same CD Key in use.

[Crazy Cooter]

The CDKey issue is based on the game server.  Some games don't allow it on a LAN either (Never Winter Nights for instance).  But you may be able to find a "patch" that will fix that bug.

When we LAN, the big games are:
Unreal
Quake 1 - always a laugh
Quake 2 - Rocket Arena - The funnest MOD ever.
Counter-Strike
Need for Speed Underground - (Needs LAN Client)
Age of Empires
MAME - once the beer starts flowing heavy

They're older games but everyone has them set correctly and we can just start playing.  We try newer ones but the are usually a flash in the pan compared to those on the list.

My advice is to allow plenty of setup time.  It's never as easy as plugging in and playing.  Somebody always has a setting messed up or has to reinstall something.  Having an internet connection is very very nice for getting updates (not everyone always is running the same versions).  Bring an extra set of headphones because somebody ALWAYS forgets theirs.

[Sephroth57]

ahh headphones.. yeah they would help. probably better then 6 sets of speakers all going off next to each other =p

[mcdo15]

where is the party and how come i wasnt invited?  

[GGKoul]

where is the party and how come i wasnt invited?  

YA!

[Darkstalker]

for LAN games it doesnt matter if multiple people are using the same CDkey right?

Most games require unique keys no matter what mode you play in.

ahh headphones.. yeah they would help. probably better then 6 sets of speakers all going off next to each other =p

And power strips/surge protectors.  My friends and I always end up one outlet short

Here's a couple more suggestions on games:

Re-volt: Star tag is always a blast.
Battlefield 1942 w/ expansions: Always a fav, nice co-op game since we have some poor losers in the group
Star Wars Battlegrounds: See BF1942
Quake III Team Arena: For when we all get the "pure FPS" itch
Metal Fatigue:  One of the best RTS games I've played.
Heroes of Might and Magic: For when we don't feel like sleeping for 3 days

Having an internet connection is very very nice for getting updates (not everyone always is running the same versions).

To help even more, I've got a spare computer (That will eventually end up in my MAME cabinet) that I use as our LAN party server to host all of our games.  I've got a BF1942 server manager, and a nice batch file for launching the UT2k4 server (which you can get a free host-only key from their site).  Before the net party, I grab all the latest patch installers (And any other..umm...needed files) and throw it on the server in a shared directory.  That way, you don't have to wait for people to download patches, they are all right there ready to go.  Trust me, you'll have your hands full just trying to get everyone up and running, anything you can do to streamline the process is a good idea even if that means setting up places to sit with power/LAN cables in advance.

My advice is to allow plenty of setup time.  It's never as easy as plugging in and playing.  Somebody always has a setting messed up or has to reinstall something.  Having an internet connection is very very nice for getting updates (not everyone always is running the same versions).  Bring an extra set of headphones because somebody ALWAYS forgets theirs.

Amen to that.  The first 40% of our time is just getting everyone running and connected.  Everyone should bring what they need to get their system re-installed should their OS take a nose dive and a re-install is required.

[Floyd10]

Well I threw one for my birthday, and I am gonna do it again this year. Always get way too much soda and pizza. Don't get much candy. Energy drinks are a must. and get a tribes game. good ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.


and yes, headphones are essential