Topic: Asteroid Belts?

[KBF-Butcher]

Bandwidth is overestimated!
In order to play multplayer games with no lag problems or crashes the ping u got with the others is what it really matters.
Bandwidth doesnt affect so much the ping as u may beleive.
The ping depends of the number of hops(routers) it has to travel to reach the others pc.
Number of hops depends mostly of the location and the provider.
For example europeans has lowest ping when play against europeans and highest pings when they play against poeple on the other side of the Atlantic.
Ping is actually a test between 2 nodes.
It sends icmp packets and waits to see the time response it has with the other node.
So if the ping is high then during the game the time response someone has is big and then his pc is buffering as it tries to synchronise with the other pc causing the lag.
Its better to have 128k leased line than 1M adsl.
64K or 128K is enough bandwidth to play multiplayer.
Dialups 56k - (no isdn ) ofcourse have several problems cause of the low bandwidth but mainly in 3v3 games and map terain with planets,asteroids etc.There r also very unstable internet connections
This is a result not only of the bandwidth but because  modems use the cpu and  in some cases cpu cant handle the processes and shut down the internet connection.
This can be happen (rarely) in adsl modems as well thats why adsl or isdn routers r better in multiplayer than modems(with the condition ofcourse u know to forward the right ports) cause the process for the internet connection is handled only by the router cpu and not the pc's.
Bags worms trojan backdoor can cause crashes as well thats why u must have your pc cleaned always,specially in dialup users.
If u cant have your pc cleaned by those sh*t then do a partition in your hardrive and back up your full new win setup(with all the programs games u use) in that partition  with ghost.exe.Then u can restore all your windows in no time .

btw speed 7 prevents dial up users from crashing or lagging a lot.

[KHH Jakle]

btw speed 7 prevents dial up users from crashing or lagging a lot.

...which also happens to be the default match speed.  Dial Up users should insist the default be used.

[Dfly]

Green, its been my experience that the game ping settles down even more once the game starts. In past years Ive never seen a game where there are more than one or two people with high pings.

Host
A. Lowest ping to all players
B. Most powerful PC
C. Biggest bandwidth (ie DSL over cable, over TT Modems.)

The idea that DSL is always better than cable is not always the case.   In my area, there are virtually no users of cable and my speeds most usually are better than DSL.  It depends on your areas, the use it is receiving(in the area), and many other factors.  It may be true that in most areas DSL is more stable due to unchanging speed(most times) whereas cable slows if many in your neighborhood is using it.  I do agree that it is a bit  more difficult to host 6 players on dialup, but there are a few areas that it can be done.  If at all possible though, a more stable faster connection would be best.  I do think that most of you guys here who play regularly know most of this already.

[Slider]

I presented 3 scenarios not.

Lowest Ping to each player.

The person with with lowest ping to each player ie the person with the best result of hops and internet congestion should host.

Biggest PC.

Barring connections the Host handles alot of the processing of game data. Usually any speed above 800 mgz is good however as a rule he with the biggest pc shoud host just to avoid problems. However I believe that lowest ping is a better if not the best barometer to play a game.

Bandwidth.

Barring Pings, I guess you have to go with who gives you the most stability as a host. Most games are within the 256k range but  not all bandwidth is equal. Most DSL is best effort which means that upload speed might be impacted by downloads or vice verca. Cable is shared. Modems are powered by hamsters. T-1s are perfect however they cost 1k a month.

[FPF-DieHard]

On my cable modem I can host a 40+ person D2 server, a web server for my stupid pictures, share bandwidth with my roomates, play many stable 2v2 and 3v3 fights on D2 (which is way worse than GSA/IP), and downloads streaming porn.

Can DSL do that?   

[KBF-Butcher]

On my cable modem I can host a 40+ person D2 server, a web server for my stupid pictures, share bandwidth with my roomates, play many stable 2v2 and 3v3 fights on D2 (which is way worse than GSA/IP), and downloads streaming porn.

Can DSL do that?

DSL has the capacity to transmit data at speeds as fast as cable.Some dsl technologies can transmit even faster.
Dsl is far better and more advance internet technology than cable.
Cable is a shared network, unlike DSL which offers a dedicated line for each user. When too many users in one neighborhood try to share the same cable, performance can suffer dramatically and even grind to a halt as users compete for the limited resources one cable can afford.
There are also certain security risks which can make users more vulnerable to data interception, unauthorized monitoring and hacking from other users along the same cable network.
 

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

My bandwidth during peak playing hours (1900-2300 EST) rivals T1 speeds.

I am quite happy with my Road Runner.

[FPF-DieHard]

DSL has the capacity to transmit data at speeds as fast as cable.Some dsl technologies can transmit even faster.
Dsl is far better and more advance internet technology than cable.

I get 20 MS ping times with people in England and California.  762 and I have the same ISP and usually get around 15 MS ping time to each other.

Cable is a shared network, unlike DSL which offers a dedicated line for each user. When too many users in one neighborhood try to share the same cable, performance can suffer dramatically and even grind to a halt as users compete for the limited resources one cable can afford.

Um, the WHOLE INTERNET is a shared network   

There are also certain security risks which can make users more vulnerable to data interception, unauthorized monitoring and hacking from other users along the same cable network.
 

Let them hack my streaming pr0n!!!