Chapter 13: Game Networks
Many computer games these days support head-to-head or multiplayer connectivity. This adds a whole new element to gameplay since single-player or stand-alone games (involving AI, or artificial intelligence), are often predictable and redundant. There is little else to compare to the thrill of competing against other real live human opponents, and their actions are as unexpected and spontaneous as your own. The majority of us computer gamers do not have the luxury of network connectivity, and computer-to-computer modem play is fine, but you'd have to find someone in your area to play against or the long-distance costs would be astronomical. So, we turn to the online world to satisfy our multiplayer and head-to-head gaming desires. With online commercial services and the Internet, we can now play against someone else (or a group of people) anywhere in the world as if they were in the same room. But you have to decide what type of service you want-that is-what games do these networks offer, do you need Internet access too, and how much are you prepared to pay.Commercial pay networks sprouted in the late 80s when online gaming meant a slow modem connection to bulletin boards or a no-frills Internet FTP site to read up on how to beat Infocom's Planetfall or Sierra's Leisure Suit Larry. Today, some services are still dedicated to gaming alone (ImagiNation Network, MPG-Net, DWANGO), while others offer exclusive games along with a milieu of other services such as news, e-mail, sports, chat groups, etc. (America Online, CompuServe, Genie, Prodigy). As the online population continues to increase, and as modem speeds climb, these commercial services can offer better games across many gaming genres. But the growth of the Internet, and especially the World Wide Web, has recently cast a shadow on some of these online pay networks. Most of these commercial companies will give you access to the Internet through their service, but it is becoming more common, and much cheaper, to simply pay a local Internet Service Provider for direct hook-up to the Net. Plus, generally speaking, they have much better games. These fast-growing Internet game networks allow the gamer to play games through a standard TCP/IP connection and they support the hottest 3D action and real-time strategy titles on the market today. With better sound and graphics (since the majority of the work is stored, and executed, on your computer), these networks allow you to play your CD-ROM games against others: TEN (The Entertainment Network), Kali, DWANGO, XBAND PC, and Mplayer GameWay.
Now that you know how they differ, read on for the specifics for each network. Both commercial services and Internet game networks vary in price, service, and games; and both are battling tooth-and-nail for your attention. So which will it be?
America Online
Phone: 800-827-6364
Price: 15 hours free upon registration. Then $9.95 U.S. for five hours a month, $2.95 U.S. for each additional hour.
On the Web: http://www.aol.com/
America Online (AOL) supports 15 or so titles ranging from the popular graphical Advanced Dungeons & Dragons NeverWinter Nights to other text-based RPGs such as Gemstones III, Federation, and Modus Operandi. Although text-based, these games look good with sleek colorful screens and clickable icons. In the adult space fantasy game Federation you have the opportunity to be whomever-or whatever-you want in this imaginary universe full of exciting and ever-changing worlds. If trivia's your thing, then leave the beer and chicken wings at the bar today and play NTN Trivia from home. Other trivia and game shows available include Strike-a-Match and ABC News Quiz.
Prodigy
Phone: 800-776-3449
Price: $9.95 U.S. a month for five hours; $2.95 for each additional hour. Cheaper packages are also available.
On the Web: http://www.prodigy.com/
Unfortunately, Prodigy doesn't have much to offer real-time head-to-head enthusiasts other than the game of Checkers (no joke!). Single-player games seem extremely out-of-date such as AJ Dakota & The Orb of Kings (a grid maze game reminiscent of Minesweeper for Windows), Match-it (Concentration-like game), MadMaze (a dungeon-crawler game), and Frantic Guts (a trivia game that costs you extra to play). The best game, I suppose, is Prodigy's Baseball Manager (an MLBPA licensed fantasy baseball league that will cost you $60.00 to $125.00 depending on your package and only runs from May to October). It is sad to say but Java and Shockwave variations of most of these games are available on the Net for free.
The ImagiNation Network
Phone: 800-462-4461
Price: $9.95 U.S. for five hours, $1.95 to $2.95 U.S. per additional hour (depending on your membership package)
On the Web: http://www.inngames.com/
The ImagiNation Network (INN) is the oldest games-only online commercial service. Game software giants Sierra Online debuted INN in 1990 and now house over 30 multiplayer games including Red Baron II (Dynamix's WWI air combat sim), Front Page Sports: Baseball Pro, the Incredible Machine 3, The Fate of Twinion (RPG), The Ruins of Cawdor (RPG), Trophy Bass 2 , 3D Golf, MissionForce: CyberStorm, and a host of interactive card and board games (Backgammon, Bridge, Checkers, Chess, Cribbage, Euchre, Gin Rummy, Hearts, Poker, Reversi, and Spades). Through INN's 3D online community, CyberPark, you choose an avatar (virtual representation of yourself) and "walk" around in and visit the entire gaming virtual community and try out the wide selection of games. One of the best of the commercial online services since games have always been their main focus.
GEnie
Phone: 800-638-9636
Price: $8.95 U.S a month for four hours, $2.95 for each additional hour.
On the Web: http://www.genie.com/
GEnie has many text-based games available on other online networks such as Gemstones III, Federation, Modus Operandi, NTN Trivia, and the Island of Kesmai but the majority of GEnie players indulge in head-to-head combat with the popular SVGA Warrior, CyberStrike, Multiplayer BattleTech (another an older EGA Mech game), and Harpoon. Other games include the strategic Stellar Emperor and Hundred Years War, a text-based RPG game Dragon's Gate, and a football coaching "call the next play" game called QBI. Overall, a fairly good selection of games (25 or so multiplayer titles) with rumors of Parallax/Interplay's Descent, Dragon's Tale, and Armored Assault also on the horizon.
CompuServe
Phone: 800-433-0389
Price: $9.95 U.S. for five hours per month, $2.95 U.S. for each additional hour, cheaper packages also offered.
On the Web: http://www.compuserve.com/
As with Prodigy, you wonder if games were a priority at all in the design of this commercial online network. CompuServe has a few games to select from but they are much older games (some are even seven or eight years old-in other words ancient in computer game years) such as Air Traffic Controller, MegaWars (strategic space sim), Sniper! (multiplayer WWII combat sim), Island of Kesmai, You Guessed It (more trivia!), British Legends, Classic Adventure, Black Dragon, CastleQuest (text-based adventure games). Only a few mentioned have graphical front ends and most are single-player as well. Not a strong contender as a gaming network against its online competitors.
Delphi
Phone: 800-695-4005
Price: 10 hours free upon registration.
10/4 Plan-$10.00 U.S. per month includes the first four hours of use each month. Additional use is $4.00 U.S. per hour. 20/20 Advantage Plan-$20.00 U.S. per month includes the first 20 hours of use each month. Additional use is $1.80 U.S. per hour.
On the Web: http://www.delphi.com/
A few different gaming genres to choose from including the multiplayer Air Warrior, Flight Simulator, or the Fantasy Sports leagues (baseball, hockey, football, and basketball). Single-player games include chess, poker, and trivia. As with AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy, this network, or online club, is designed to give the surfer more than just games: news, file libraries, business and finance happenings, and more. However, not a good representation of a solid gaming network by any stretch.
Interactive Creations, Inc.
Price: Five hours free upon sign-up, then $10.00 U.S. a month plus $1.75 U.S. or $2.00 U.S. per hour (depending on provider).
On the Web: http://www.icigames.com/
Interactive Creations Inc. (ICI) has developed one of the most popular multiplayer WWII flight combat sims online to date-Warbirds. Rivaling GEnie's SVGA Air Warrior and INN's Red Baron, Warbirds can be played (on DOS or Windows) with up to 100 opponents with little or no visible frame-rate depreciation. On a Pentium, you can run the game at 1024x768 and still achieve more than 20 frames per second. Log onto your Internet Service Provider first, then Telnet to their page (if you choose CRIS, or Concentric Research Corp., it'll be cheaper). The new Planetary Riders is also available now at ICI-a Windows 95 and Macintosh PPC space battle sim with 3D sound, 256-color graphics at 1024x768, and free tech support. For more on Warbirds, see Chapter 6 on Simulation Games.
DWANGO
Phone: 713-467-8865
Price: $7.95 U.S. for five hours a month, plus $19.00 U.S. for an extra 10 hour block, $34.00 U.S. for 20 hours and $59.00 U.S. for 40 hours (any unused hours will carry over from month to month).
On the Web: http://www.dwango.com/enter.html
DWANGO stands for Dial-up Wide-Area Network Gaming Operation. To log onto a DWANGO server you simply download the client software found on their Web page and make sure you have at least a 14.4 baud modem and one of the supported CD-ROM games (see below). They have set up 25+ servers in most of the larger North American cities so the gamer logs on and finds opponents on the same server to play against (although near future plans include linking all servers across the nation together). DWANGO also supports the BIG commercial releases but you may have to download the free patch available on their Web page. The game line-up is as follows (big breath here): Doom, Doom II, Ultimate Doom, Final Doom, Heretic, Hexen, Descent, Big red Racing, Warcraft II, Terminal Velocity, NetMech, with card and sports games to come in the near future. DWANGO has a fast response time and rates are even less than what you'd pay for a commercial online service. The only drawback is that you have to live in one of the major metropolitan centers of North America (and now in Tokyo, Japan!) if you don't want to spend long-distance charges. Current servers are listed below:
DWANGO Servers to Date
Austin, TX
Boston
Chicago (2)
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
Minneapolis
Montreal, Canada
New York
Oakland
Philadelphia
Phoenix
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose
Seattle
Shreveport, LA
St. Louis
Tokyo, Japan (new!)
Washington, DC
Western Massachusetts
[author's pick]
M Player GameWay
Price: TBA
On the Web: http://www.mplayer.com/
Enter the big bad World Wide Web. Mplayer GameWay is the fastest Web-based online gaming service with real-time voice conferencing and contains the hottest titles: Command and Conquer, Quake, Mechwarrior 2, Terminal Velocity, Warcraft, Chaos Overlords, Big Red Racing, Deadlock, Havoc, and SimCity 2000. To run Mplayer you must first download the free client software (or get their free CD-ROM sent to you), own a game from the list above, and have the following system requirements: Windows 95, Pentium processor, 8MB of RAM (16MB highly recommended), a 16-bit sound card supported by Windows 95, a 14.4Kbps or faster modem (or a direct Internet connection through a LAN), and an Internet service provider account. Go on a virtual tour to see how things work at Mplayer and point your browser to http://www.mplayer.com/about/about-virtual-tour.html.
By the time you read this, M Player may have already merged with another big Internet gaming network XBAND PC-go to http://www.xband.com for details.
[author's pick]
TEN-The Entertainment Network
Price: TBA
On the Web: http://www.ten.net/
One of the best Internet gaming networks designed specifically for fast and fierce multiplayer action. Game fanatics hang out and play for free against each other with the TEN software bundled with most gaming magazines and many game CD-ROMs these days. You may also download it here for immediate connectivity. TEN supports such popular titles as CivNet, Panzer General, Warcraft, Deadlock, Terminal Velocity, Dark Sun, and Duke Nukem 3D (exclusive rights!). Like many other gaming networks most of the games will be included for free on the disc. TEN can be reached through any ISP (Internet Service Provider) which provides a TCP/IP (PPP or SLIP account). If need be, TEN will also assist members in finding a fast enough service provider for high-speed play. Read the TEN FAQ for more information at http://www.ten.net/PublicTENFAQ.html. A hip and well designed service with a strong future.
XBAND PC
Price: Free, for now, but other options (tournaments, contests, voice chat, league play and celebrity opponents) which will cost from $.50 U.S. to $5.00 U.S. to participate.
On the Web: http://www.xband.com/
Catapult's XBAND is no stranger to TV console multiplayer gaming and they recently have dived into the PC and Internet market. Look for the "Play It on XBAND" logo on the packaging of your newer CD-ROMs which means set-up should be a snap (right now XBAND PC is available on copies of the Windows 95 versions of Doom 2, Ultimate Doom and Final Doom). Similar to how TEN works, you will need Windows 95, a 486 or Pentium processor, 9600 baud modem or higher, at least 8MB RAM, and an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Catapult has developed RAPID (Reduced-latency And Predictable Internet Delivery)-technology that significantly minimizes latency while improving overall gaming performance over a TCP/IP network. Games supported are Doom II, Final Doom, Ultimate Doom, Mechwarrior 2, Hexen, and Warcraft. Their exclusive rights line-up is equally as impressive: Locus, Marathon 2: Durandal (awesome game), Hardball 5 , Star Control 3, and Super Street Fighter II.
[author's pick]
Kali
Price: $20.00 U.S.(one-time fee after free 15 minutes is up)
On the Web: http://www.axxis.com/kali/
Kali is the largest multiplayer gaming network supporting over 25 games, 40,000+ users, and 100 servers in 23 countries. By downloading Kali's server software for either DOS, OS/2, Windows 95, or the Mac you can partake in deadly head-to-head games against anyone, anywhere in the world on the Net (with a TCP/IP network connection). Kali is shareware and is free for a limited time, then a nominal fee is required for continued use (only $20.00 U.S. and you are registered for life). Whether your specialty is Action, Strategy or Sports games get this software and take advantage of what Kali has to offer the modern gamer. Speed will depend on your modem's capabilities but I suggest having at least a 28.8Kpbs or higher. See the following list of current games available on Kali.
List of Kali-Supported Games
Apache
Big Red Racing
Command & Conquer
Descent
Descent 2
Doom
Doom II
Duke Nukem 3D
EF2000
Heretic
Hexen
Mortal Kombat 3
NetMech (Win95 & DOS)
Quake
Rise of the Triad
Super Karts
Terminal Velocity
Top Gun
VR Pool
Warcraft
Warcraft 2
MPG-Net
Phone: 305-296-6665
Price: $9.95 U.S. a month (first month $4.95 U.S.)
On the Web: http://www.mpgn.com/
The Florida-based Multi-Player Games Network (MPG-Net) is another good, but underrated, Internet-based network with cool, addictive games. Titles such as The Kingdom of Drakkar (graphical Tolkien-like fantasy RPG), Empire Builder (award-winning single-player or multiplayer strategy board game), and Operation Market Garden (gorgeous top-down war game), are available here along with many more. MPG-Net works through your regular PPP or SLIP account connection from your Internet Service Provider. Download the Windows 95 system access software with all the games first to your hard drive (25.8MB), read reviews, indulge on an online game tour, or visit their Resource Center-all from their Web page. They also house forums, e-mail, a library, links, and a virtual conference room.
