Easy LANing

[Mikeavelli]

Hello!

I'm heading off to a week long academic conference in April.

Model United Nations, specifically.

A large part of these conferences involves sitting around, listening to people who care a whole lot more than I do verbally wank off in front of the committee. So, for the horribly boring parts, I'm getting prepared.

The idea is there are usually a whole bunch of people who feel like I do, and ideally we all conspire to entertain each other. This, combined with the ubiquity of laptops, and free wireless in the conference rooms, gives rise to LAN gaming.

So; I pose two questions to the playground?

1. What's the easiest\best software out there for creating a vlan of people interested in this sort of thing?

2. What video games do you recommend for this sort of thing? Ideally they should be runnable on any computer, able to be walked away from and come back to (boring parts of committee last maybe 15-20 minutes at a stretch), and appealing to political science nerds.

The winner for the last conference was The Faux-risk game over Facebook called 'world conquest'

[Triaxx]

Sins of a Solar Empire is supposed to be runnable any pretty much any computer and one game could take centuries, and be droppable at any point. More or less.

[toddex]

Sins does have a save and reload feature for multiplayer so you could keep picking it up. I'd recommend good old CS 1.6 that game will run on any god damn system.

[Crispy Dave]

Warcraft 3 it has a pause feature in multiplayer.

[Keris]

Warcraft 3 it has a pause feature in multiplayer.

Yes, because nothing's more fun than having your game paused by someone else.

[Om]

1. What's the easiest\best software out there for creating a vlan of people interested in this sort of thing?I've started messing around with a program called Hamachi which is supposed to be good for these sorts of things. I've yet to actually put it to use though so I can't give feedback

[Serpentine]

I think Civilisation, probably one of the earlier versions, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like you're after.

[Darth Mario]

Hamachi is exactly what you need for this. VPN software that runs on any OS, doesn't involve setting up your own server... As long as you have an outside internet connection, this will work. My gaming group has used it for over a year now with barely a hitch.

Warcraft 3 likewise runs on any OS (and almost any computer) and has a whole bunch of custom maps that might appeal to PoliSci geeks (empire building games, Risk maps, paranoia maps). Same goes for Starcraft.

Civilization (pick a version, doesn't actually matter) might also be good for this. It goes on literally for hours but it can be paused and picked back up, it appeals to most PoliSci-ers I know (like myself)...

If you want something more relaxed, set up an FPS server (Counterstrike, Team Fortress 2, Halo PC, whatever, it doesn't actually matter). People can come and go as they like, which is nice for a setting like this.

[Om]

Hamachi is exactly what you need for this. VPN software that runs on any OS, doesn't involve setting up your own server... As long as you have an outside internet connection, this will work. My gaming group has used it for over a year now with barely a hitchJust to clarify how this works - I create a network and a friend joins; he'll now be able to enter a LAN game that I set up. Simple as that?

I'm looking to do a game of AoE in the next day or so but I'm not sure on the details

[Darth Mario]

Just to clarify how this works - I create a network and a friend joins; he'll now be able to enter a LAN game that I set up. Simple as that?

I'm looking to do a game of AoE in the next day or so but I'm not sure on the details

Pretty much. There are a few things that might need to be tweaked (you have to make sure in your Windows control panel that Hamachi is the first LAN on some list, I dunno, I'm a mac guy), and the Mac/Linux versions are Command Line and take a bit of additional setup. But once that's done, it's just that simple.

[Bouregard]

TetriNET free and hours of fun easy playable Tetris for 4 players^^

Warcraft3 TFT you can save the game in multiplayergames and pause whenever you want + millions of maps out there from a sweet 4hour towerdefense to a short footman map for 10minutes.

Counterstrike 1.6 Yes I'm not really a fan of it but it always finds its way into lans...


Diablo II 'nuff said.