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View Full Version : Real Multiplayer game...


5nak3
January 15th, 2009, 11:52 AM
Ok so the title isn't great, I couldn't think of a better one, but let me explain what I'm after...one thing i don't really find on PC games is the multiplayer aspect of online games.

For instance on xbox live you have a friends list, you have a mic, you talk with each other, arrange games, play together or against each other etc... it actually creates a multiplayer feel, the sort of feeling you get at a lan party or with some mates round your place, drinking a few beers having a couple of games of pro evo etc...

I've been playing online games since around '96 -'97 back then I was busy playing a game called silent death online http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3BvgxDCbZxE&feature=related (playing this over 56k connections meant lag shooting was the order of the day). I would argue that this was and still is the best game I've ever played online, and what made it so good in my eyes was the community.

There were about 300 players, and people knew each others tags, you had rivals and friends and when you played you were sure to meet someone who you've played against before making for some great games.

In any case, since then I've gone through a number of online games, and none have managed to pass over a community feel like silent death.

Halo 2 over xlink kai was the closest I ever got to the feeling of an online community, but those days are long gone...mainly because the community has reduced in size as players have moved onto newer hardware.

So basically I would love to find another shooter / action game, but one that has an element of community. Where players talk, possible even trash talk each other, where they can have fun but the emphasis is also on interacting with the other players.

Open arena, WoP, urban terror etc...are great games, but there isn't a lot of communication between players. At the end of the game everyone throws out a quick gg, but nothing else.

I've also played tibia recently full of people going around asking br or pl (Brazilian or Polish), answer no and they walk off...

Runescape...well little kids running around

subspace/continnum...no real sense of community plus doesn't work under linux too well

teeworlds great little game, but for the most part one shot one kill games, not bad but it does get boring after a while

soldat, linux compatibility is lacking again

the mana world, really great community, excellent communication between players, nice friendly community but i got bored with it at level 40 because it is mostly run around and kill this, then go kill that, collect x amount of something take it to someone etc...not much depth basically

These are just some examples of games i've played recently, if someone has a decent online action game, where people communicate with each other that would be great, let me know....not too fussed on the game, willing to try most things.

Naegling23
January 15th, 2009, 01:34 PM
maybe quake wars?

A lot of the online games develop a community if you take the time to join a guild/clan/group/team. Then you get to know that specific group of people inside of the larger game.

Im sure that quake wars with a clan server would give you that same type of atmosphere.

sirjoebob
January 15th, 2009, 02:34 PM
I would recommend anything from Valve. I run Half-Life 2. Counterstrike, Team Fortress 2, Garry's Mod 10, and others in wine with no issues. Valve's Steam client has a friend list and allows you to instantly join a friend in any game they are playing as long as you have the game. Go to steampowered.com and take a look at their library. Remember to check for WINE compatibility. Hope that helps.

Bölvağur
January 15th, 2009, 03:19 PM
Good communities only awake in small games. I have played COD4 in a clan and there was a horrific community where almost no one knew each other.
2 years ago FEAR (combat) had good community where the clans knew each other and the top players on servers also, everyone there used to be friendly.
The only community I have found is Warsow and I bet it is even more friendly. I call it IRC chatroom with lazer guns (instagib). I havent played too much and I am very bad at this game but some people seem to remember me and it's all good.
I would not be surprised if you could start a conversation about yum vs apt-get or rolling release vs 6 moth release schedule.

5nak3
January 15th, 2009, 04:39 PM
Thank you all for your replies, I also tried Warsow actually, great game as you say, but i'm so bad at it that it's not funny...I have that still installed, might give it a little run and get my skill up a bit...

I am actually interested in team fortress but since coming to linux not having the best luck with wine leaves me questioning whether I should spend the money in the hope that I can play it. Does anyone know of a demo or 24-48 hour online play period, something to test the game before buying?

I had a look on the steam website, but didn't seem to find a link of that sort.

sirjoebob
January 15th, 2009, 06:55 PM
Does anyone know of a demo or 24-48 hour online play period, something to test the game before buying?


What is your steam id? I think I have a gift pass for this game which is like the trial you mentioned. If it will let you know if it works in WINE, I would be glad to give it to you. Additionally, what are your hardware specs on this machine?

Irritant
January 15th, 2009, 07:17 PM
Try Alien Arena - new version released today at http://red.planetarena.org

s|fr
January 15th, 2009, 09:14 PM
you can also try tremulous and/or wolfenstiene enemy territory.

lukeiscool
January 15th, 2009, 09:55 PM
try bzflag for a fun, enjoyable game. ok graphics but its still fun:P

Bölvağur
January 15th, 2009, 10:14 PM
I also tried Warsow actually, great game as you say, but i'm so bad at it that it's not funny...I have that still installed, might give it a little run and get my skill up a bit...

Send in personal message your jabber or xfire as Im trying to quit msn. We can go to a server together, try to teach you how to move (I know it is difficult) and hold hands and stuff...

5nak3
January 16th, 2009, 10:47 PM
//Off-topic

right just got home....long long day today, university, exam revision, soccer/football training, fell asleep on the train, ended up somewhere that wasn't home, managed to find another train to take me home...now at home.

Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow (i know it is saturday, but no rest for the wicked eh?)...

Off-topic//

@ sirjoebob

Anyhoo, I haven't set up a steam ID yet, but the machine I will usually be using day to day:

P4 3.2 ghz
2gb Ram
ATI mobility 9000 (this kills a number of my gaming hopes...I know)
erm, can't think of anything else that is important

@ Irritant and s|fr

Alien Arena was very laggy, it didn't matter how much I tweaked the settings the game would not run smoothly, I was barely getting 30fps, which is odd because other games e.g. open arena or urban terror and even enemy territory were giving me nicer 40-50fps at least on the same or higher settings, if i dropped some settings e.g. shadows or textures i could get 50-60fps.

In fact the only other game which wouldn't run despite tweaking was nexuiz

As for tremulous, i think i might give that another go, the game ran alright, i think if i opt for a smaller resolution as opposed to 1280 by 800 it could run very nicely. I didn't get into it to be fair since the started character was so bad. But if i played it a bit more i think it may have grown on me. It is probably one of the more interesting shooters i've tried.


@ lukeiscool

Yeah Bzflag is a really nice game, i play it as a time waster to be honest with you, jump in and jump out of arenas without loosing any of the action. My only problem is i can't quite get the movement right...it seems a bit foreign, but practice should cure this :)


and last but not least @ Bölvağur

That offer sounds tempting, although it may have to wait for a week or so as I have my exams due, as well as the end to my soccer tournament coming up so I won't be indoors most of the time. But I'll send you a PM at some point after the next week and if you are still up for it :)

sirjoebob
January 16th, 2009, 11:36 PM
I am not sure about ATI. If you want to try it, email me at sirjoebob@gmail.com and I will hook you up with the trial.

Irritant
January 17th, 2009, 03:04 AM
Regarding Alien Arena settings:

Try disabling GLSL in the video menu. Some drivers/cards don't perform well. Urban Terror, Open Arena, they use the IOQuake3 engine, which does not have GLSL or other per-pixel lighting effects, so I would fully expect both to run faster, especially if your having an issue with GLSL.

You can probably try the same with Nexuiz as well and it'll run for you.