In brief, a LAN Party is a gathering of people who all bring their computers, play video games together on a network, and eat nachos. The first thing people (usually parents or spouses) immediately ask is: Why would you want to do that? A computer is an expensive (and heavy) piece of precision electronics, one whose performance is negatively impacted by the accidental introduction of nacho cheese in the open CD-ROM drawer. But the fact is, a LAN Party is the most fun you can have with your machine.
No, really. Let's assume that you're a computer gamer and you're playing against somebody in a vicious game of deathmatch. You just lept out of a shadow, jumped down behind him, ducked an incoming rocket, and removed his head with a double-barreled shotgun.
savor the expression of anguish on his face
leap up and scream, "Suck it down, monkeyboy!"
high-five your teammates
sing a rousing chorus of, "Who's yo daddy?"
announce that he couldn't kill you if you were on life support
Turn up the stereo really loud
begin the smack talk for the inevitable rematch
Now let's assume you were at home alone playing on the Internet. You'd celebrate your amazing victory in the following ways:
It's like the difference between going to a hockey game or watching one on TV. Sure, you can see it all happen on the screen -- but there's nothing like being there in person and hoping to catch a tooth.
LAN: The Ultimate Defense Against LAG Another advantage of playing games at a LAN Party is the LAN itself, which stands for "Local Area Network." As opposed to the Internet, which stands for "Really really big area network slowed down by people actually trying to do productive things like research."
When you play games on a LAN, you're usually only a few feet from the server. When you and your friends shoot a really big gun, it fires instantly, preferably while it's still pointed at the stunned face of someone who deserves it. It's intense! Whereas when you play games over the Internet using a modem, you will often have time to catch a rerun of Seinfeld between the time when you fire your weapon and the time it eventually makes its way to the intended target, who by this time has had kids and moved to Jersey.
Anyone who can compare the two will agree that playing over the net can never compete with the adrenaline of playing on a local network.
So Where do I Find these LAN Parties?
Well, for starters, if your in Pennsylvania check out the Electronic Entertainment Society @ Lock Haven University or go to www.lanparty.com to find a LAN Party in your area.
How can get ready?
(Provided by ESS)
The first steps to having a good LAN experience start before you ever unplug your computer and toss it in the back seat of your car.
Before attending any LAN (and also good to do periodically) it's important to do some things that will keep your computer and other people at the party very happy. Remember, your computer is the windshield on the information superhighway, and every once in a while you have to pull over and wipe off the dead bugs.
Windows Update - http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
Make sure you're completely patched up. You don't want to be stuck getting Blaster from some other loser who forgot to patch. Microsoft has this thing where they come out with security fixes every week or so, so if it's been a while since you've patched up, you might have a big download ahead of you.
Of course, if you're running Linux or MacOS, Windows Update won't do you any good at all. Of course, if you're running Linux or MacOS, you're probably not going to be taking that computer to a LAN Party. :)
Virus Scan
You do not want to be the one with the dirty computer. Before you leave your house, make sure you do a full virus scan. McAfee and Norton have pretty good products, and they cost a pretty good chunk of change. A good free on is AVG, which is available here: http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
Clean up your hard drive
You can accumulate an awful amount of junk in day-to-day computer activities. Emptying your recycle bin, clearing out your browsers cache, removing temporary files (you probably have a temp directory somewhere under your windows dir eating up all sorts of HD space), and uninstalling unnecessary software can improve performance, and at the very least, give you room to install all the mods we're gonna be playing. :)
Running a disk defragmenter can also improve performance if your drive is significantly fragmented.
File sharing
You'll probably want to turn of your Windows File and Printer Sharing as well. Having someone leech all your mp3s away while you try to tag someone in the head with a rail gun is not pleasant.
Game Patches
Install any game you want to play, and make sure it's patched up. Check Neyhard's Network for updates.
Also, if you're going to bring along a game that you want to play, make sure you bring the patches, too. While we have all the popular ones, if you bust out something old sk00l or not-to-well-known, we may not have the patch available.
Make sure your computer is network ready
While we'll set you up with an ip address when you get here, coming in with your network card still in the shrink wrap is gonna ruin your day. Make sure that it's installed correctly and works.
What to Bring
Nothing sucks more than packing up your computer for the two hour drive to a LAN party, only to realize when you get there that you forgot your power cord. So, to prevent you from breaking down and crying when get here, here's a handy dandy checklist.
- Your complete computer system, sans speakers.
This includes
* Your case and everything inside it
* You monitor
* Power Strip (Don't forget your power cords!)
* Network cable
* Keyboard
* Mouse
* Joystick/Game pad/VR Gloves
* Headphones
We're experimenting with wireless, so if you have a wireless card, that's cool. We're not going to make any guarantees just yet, so you'll want to bring some CAT5 just in case. :)
- Games!
Bring all the games you want to play. Make sure you install them all before you arrive, and that they're all patched up. You also might want to bring the patches for your games, in case someone does not already have them.
- Operating System and Driver CDs
While this is probably not necessary, you may need a driver or something off of it and you don't want to be stuck without it.
- Your lucky [insert item here]
While most places endorse wholeheartedly the bringing of small objects to put you at peace with the world so you can nail Alex across the map with a rail gun, please don't bring anything alive. Lick your lucky cat before you leave your house and just hope it holds out for the whole day.
- Small lamp
The like it in the dark. However, sometimes it's hard to decipher your CD key under the glow of a monitor. A small desk lamp can alleviate this problem.
