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Xbox Live leads charge among online gamers | |
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| Time: 09:10 EST/14:10 GMT | News Source: Seattle PI | Posted By: Robert Stein | ||
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There's a war being waged for that spot next to your TV, the area where most of us have a VCR or a DVD player. It's a place where companies like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo hope to one day make a home. Microsoft is leading this charge from back room to living room with an online service that already boasts more than a quarter-million Xbox players. | ||
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| #1 By 3653 (63.162.177.140) at 2/18/2003 12:13:01 PM |
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#1 - Unreal is a bit worse at lag than other XBL games I play. Its by no means a major hindrince, but it is noticeable from time to time. It occurs when new players enter the existing game... and occassionally when there are respawns.
Those hiccups will improve as devs get more accustomed to the technologies. |
| #2 By 2332 (65.221.182.3) at 2/18/2003 12:15:36 PM |
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I don' thave Unreal (never like the game for the PC)... but I do have Mech Assault, and I only very rarely see lag... and even then, it's only for a few seconds.
Overall, I've been very happy with the service. I just want more Live! games. |
| #3 By 37 (66.82.20.150) at 2/18/2003 12:34:39 PM |
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I have yet to experience any lag playing Unreal. But then again, I have only played a few hours a day. I have seen other messages boards and newsgroups that mentioned a small amount of lag with Unreal, but nothing dramatic.
Now the PS2 online gaming community has SERIOUS lags from what I have seen because all the dialups are bundled with the broadband users. It's a mess indeed. |
| #4 By 7826 (65.205.133.2) at 2/18/2003 12:47:33 PM |
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#2, it has nothing to do with processor speed.
There are a few things contribute to the lag: (1) There is no such thing as lag free over the internet. Any network segments from your home to others in the game can cause lag. For example, an ISP with over satuated bandwidth. (2) Most XBL games are peer to peer. That means anyone with bad connection will lag everybody else in game out. Also, the one who host games needs a lot of upload bandwidth to support multiple players. Most home broadband connections have very limited upload bandwidth (around 128 kbps to 256 kbps). UC allows you to set up a dedicated server to minimize the lag caused by other players. However, who's got a spare Xbox to setup as a dedicated server? Untill Microsoft or game developers host their own dedicated servers, you won't see true lag free game experience. Popular PC games like Quake, UT, CS etc, all benefit from gamers setup hundreds of dedicated game servers at places with high upload bandwidth. |
| #5 By 2459 (24.170.151.19) at 2/18/2003 3:12:03 PM |
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GameSpy Tunnel et al uses games that aren't optimized for internet play. The games use LAN code which takes up a lot more bandwidth than optimized net code. The throughput requirements are greater, and the service is more prone to lag, limited numbers of players.
PSO is a massive multiplayer game. It's PC equivalents also charge fees for playtime, game updates, and server space/bandwidth. This can't be covered by the current $50/yr charge, which comes out to roughly 14 cents a day. Online play on the PC is mainly due to the charity of others in donating server space and bandwidth. Yet, even in where there are people willing to donate servers/bandwidth, there are still companies that would rather charge for gameplay to compensate for regular updates, and to keep control over the servers as much as possible to help cut down on things like cheating, which can ruin the game for their customers. |
| #6 By 2459 (24.170.151.19) at 2/18/2003 4:54:28 PM |
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UT is free because it depends on the charity of people to donate servers for gameplay. UT doesn't have voice comms, ID and stats that transcend multiple games/servers, nor a guarantee that modem users won't join on. You aren't paying for UC other than the purchase price (same as UT). You are paying for the XBOX Live service.
PSO is categorized as an MMORPG. Offline you can play with 3 other people. Online, you can play with other people cooperatiively. You are still limited, AFAIK, to 4 people in a party. But you can get together with and fight alongside other parties/individuals you meet online. You are paying the base $50/yr for XBOX Live to handle universal ID/stats tracking, admin support, voice comms, standard downloads, the broadband-only environment, and a few other things. For games that support many people, and require regular development support for level updates/new content, etc., you are likely to have to pay for the content provider for this. It's the same as with PC equivalents. PSO still has an offline quest that you can play, and the monthly charge doesn't start for two months after you receive your hunter's license. Taken from IGN: http://xbox.ign.com/articles/385/385226p1.html Online, you can meet up with people around the world, but it won't come for free. The first two months of your PSO Hunter's License cost nothing, but after that you must pay $8.95 a month. |
| #7 By 37 (66.168.17.55) at 2/18/2003 6:05:50 PM |
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JWM,
My sentence was in sarcasm about laying that many hours a day. I am lucky if I play 3-4 hours a month. |
| #8 By 2332 (65.221.182.3) at 2/18/2003 7:42:16 PM |
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#8 - "Why does XBox live cost $50/yr. when PC online gaming is free?"
Because while PC gamers typically host their own games, XBox gamers play on Microsoft's servers. Microsoft hosts all XBox Live! games, so you pay a nominal fee to gain access to these servers. I too have broadband and a PC, and I enjoy playing games like Counterstrike on them... but I also enjoy playing games like MechAssault on XBox Live!. The voice communication on Xbox Live! easily surpasses that which I've seen in PC games and 3rd party comm software. In addition, when you play on XBox Live!, you're guarunteed to be playing with people that have broadband. This means that there will be far fewer people lagging out your game, and that you can always rely on this like having the bandwidth for voice comm. This adds a great deal to gaming. At any rate... they're not mutually exclusive. You can do both. PCs are fun! Xbox is fun! Wow! :-) |
| #9 By 7826 (68.100.63.48) at 2/18/2003 7:55:52 PM |
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RMD,
Microsoft's XboxLive does not host all the games. In fact, it host little to none. Most games you played is host by another XBoxLive user. Think XBL as an extension of Microsoft's Gaming Zone. |
| #10 By 2459 (24.170.151.19) at 2/18/2003 11:07:15 PM |
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So does Unreal Championship.
UC depends on the XBOX Live! service. This isn't the same as someone giving a dedicated server to the community for free. |
| #11 By 2332 (65.221.182.3) at 2/18/2003 11:16:52 PM |
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#16 - "Microsoft's XboxLive does not host all the games. In fact, it host little to none."
I don't think you're correct. All available games are hosted by Xbox Live!. It is true that many games that support system-link can be hosted on a user's Xbox via things like Gamespy Tunnel, but this is not XBox Live. The fact that all games are hosted by Microsoft was a big rally point used by Microsoft to advertise why Live! is better than other online gaming ventures like Sony's. If you have some support for your claim, please post it... but everything I've read / experienced suggests that all Live! games are hosted by Microsoft. |
| #12 By 2332 (65.221.182.3) at 2/18/2003 11:32:22 PM |
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After doing some more research, I'm no longer sure who hosts the games. I've read at least one article (which, granted, is almost a year old) that says that many games are hosted by the Xbox itself... while most I've read says Microsoft is currently hosting all Live! games.
What I want is a direct quote from an MS guy that settles this. Anybody got one? |
| #13 By 665 (64.126.91.172) at 2/19/2003 12:23:32 AM |
| RMD, it depends on the game, most are p2p... MS hosts user data, however (ie, rankings, etc) for nearly all games. |
| #14 By 2332 (65.221.182.3) at 2/19/2003 12:25:48 AM |
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Again... I want a quote from Microsoft that says they don't host the games.
"So MS is charging us to play online and we are the ones using are own servers to host the games." Well, if Microsoft doesn't host the games... then Microsof is charging you for all the other stuff you get from Xbox live. First off, for 50 bucks, you got a headset which would have cost you at least 20 anyway. Second, you got the software to connect to Live!. Third, you get stats, as well as a central meeting place so that players can find each other to game. "Why do you think they show the line quality of the different hosted games?" Maybe because connections will always differ, even if they're going to the same server. Sometimes you get a crappy route. Somtimes the server is really bogged down. Could be many reasons... but it doesn't prove that the games aren't hosted by Microsoft. As far as turning off the "computer" (by which I assume you mean Xbox)... that doesn't really mean anything. Often times a game will end when the person who starts it leaves regardless of where the hosting is taking place. This is because certain abilities are often delegated to the person who starts the game, and without them, the game cannot continue. "I think there are grounds for a class-action lawsuit." Um... I don't think so. Almost everybody I've talked to loves Xbox Live... and I have no complaints. If it works, it works. |
| #15 By 2332 (65.221.182.3) at 2/19/2003 9:05:31 AM |
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#23 - If you don't like Xbox Live!, then don't renew your subscription. You don't know how much it will cost to renew, so you can consider the 50 bucks a one-time cost that you never have to pay again.
Get over it. |
| #16 By 7826 (65.205.133.2) at 2/19/2003 12:33:35 PM |
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Microsoft never claimed XBL will host games. If you buy into XBL thought it will host games for you, shame on you didn't read the fine prints. Class-action lawsuit has no merrit here.
RMD, it has been widely discussed in other Xbox related forums about who hosting the games. My question for you is can you give me any direct quote from Microsoft that said XBL will host any games for you? |
| #17 By 7826 (65.205.133.2) at 2/19/2003 1:36:13 PM |
| That just mean if a game publisher want to use MS datacenter to hosting its game servers. There is no indication that Microsoft will actually host all the games. And notice it didn't mention hosting games specifically. Hosting can mean XBL will host game contents for download. |
| #18 By 7826 (65.205.133.2) at 2/19/2003 2:06:09 PM |
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I'm with you on this one that $50/yr for XBL does not worth it. That's why I didn't spend that $50 when I found out that MS does not host any thing for me. P2P games suck. Any games with only 8 players suck. This post was edited by Foxbat on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 14:06. |
| #19 By 7390 (198.246.16.251) at 2/20/2003 11:33:26 AM |
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#30 I guess that you never played Halo online based upon that statement.
"P2P games suck. Any games with only 8 players suck." (try it at xbconnect.com) Also if you guys don't like xbl then don't get it. There are many free alternatives out there (gamespy, xbconnect) . I think that the benefit of having 1 user ID is great and I personally think that $50 for what you get is a great deal. Would I pay more than that? probably not. I want to see what Halo2 does with xbl |
| #20 By 3653 (63.162.177.140) at 2/20/2003 12:48:34 PM |
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JWM/Foxbat, I would suggest you actually TRY it before you make such a rash decision. I just hate to see you toss aside the best console gaming experience available.
And JWM, Microsoft never said they would host all the games. You were "mislead" by nobody but JWM. |
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