Get into Gaming
Online gaming is by far the most fun and exciting aspects of playing computer games. Gone are the days of crouching alone in a dark room, an expressionless face lit by the photonic glow of a tiny television, whilst images of Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom dart about on the screen. This is gaming of yesteryear, today it is much different.
The main difference is that games are now a huge social pastime. Enjoying your games with other people is the most fun you can have with your games, but where do you start? We can give you a helping hand to take those first steps into the world of online games.
The Basics
Most online games work by having a server (a central computer) that hosts the game, then anyone who has that game can find that server and join in. The person joining is called the client and the host is called the server.
There are a few exceptions to this rule - some RTS games in particular (e.g. Warcraft III) will not have a client-server multiplayer but instead have some sort of chat facility which then connects players to each other's computer. This is called peer-to-peer but it is fairly rare these days.
Most of the time your game will have a server browser built in which is a list of all the servers hosting games, you can then choose which one you'd like to join from this list. This is often called the "master list", or the "master server list".
Usually a master server list will tell you certain information about all of the hosts. Most of the time this will be the name of the server, the "ping" time, number of players currently playing on that server, the maximum number of players allowed, the type of game being played (deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag - it's all dependant on which modes are available in your game) and the map/level/arena.
What Is A Ping? How Do I Choose A Server?
The "ping time" of a server is an indicator of how good your connection to the server is. It is displayed in milliseconds and is the time it takes for data to get from you, to the server and back again. The higher the number, the longer it is taking for data to be exchanged - in games, this is bad.
You are looking for a low ping time wherever possible. How low is low? For most first person shooter games anything below 80ms is probably acceptable but the closer to zero it is, the better. Often you'll find your ping varying between 20 and 50ms on most servers. Some games can get away with higher ping times - such as RTS games, where split-second reactions are not required.
When a high ping time causes your gameplay to suffer, the intermittent pauses are called "lag". The amount of lag you have on a server is all down to your ping time.
Ping time can be influenced by many factors - geographical location of the server relative to you, ISP quality - even hardware quality such as routers and modems have been known to cause problems with pings. For most of the time you will be able to find at least some servers with an acceptable ping time, without too much trouble.
Choosing a server is a compromise between which has the lowest ping time combined with number of players on a server (there's no point joining an empty server even though it has the lowest ping) and game modes/maps.
Common Attributes Of Games
Most FPS games will have similar features that have become standard over time.
There are server admins who have the ability to kick troublesome players from the server. If the server is privately owned (most are) this will usually be the server owner or anyone he's appointed to look after the server. Most of the time they're players too.
Often games will have a voting function - this can be used for various functions. Often it will allow players who are not admins to call a vote to kick a player, change a map or alter another setting of the game. If enough people vote for the change, it happens without an admin needing to do anything.
The "console" is another fairly standard feature of many multiplayer games. This is a command line that can be brought down to enter advanced commands.
Etiquette / Common Terms
The main thing to remember about multiplayer gaming is that at the end of the day it's supposed to be fun and taking things too far and getting in an argument with another player is pointless. You will sometimes find people who take it a little too seriously and begin harassing you or other players. If this happens, alert an admin if possible, call a vote to kick that player if that function exists or if worse comes to worse try ignoring them or finding a different server.
Most of the time you will not have any problems, but there's usually friendly banter between players - this adds to the fun and don't take it too seriously. It's okay to mock your opponents, so long as you take it in good grace when they mock you!
There are certain unwritten rules in gaming that you will pick up over time. Team killing (the act of slaughtering your own team mates) for example is often enough to get you kicked from a server - if it's deliberate or frequent. It's bound to happen every now and then but a quick apology in chat is usually all it takes to smooth things over after you accidently blow your comrade's arms off.
Often servers will have a "message of the day" upon joining which usually contains rules of the server - some may request that you refrain from swearing for example. You should always stick to these rules where possible.
You will most likely hear some terms you've not heard of before. Some of the more common terms are explained below:
- n00b / newb / newbie
A term for a new player or someone who has done something silly and made a "rookie mistake" - pwnd /p0wned / 0wned
A term meaning defeated, slain. - Gibbed
To gib someone is to blow them into hundreds of small, fleshy pieces. - Frag
A frag is a kill in practically all FPS games. - Spawn
When your player enters the map/arena either for the first time or after dying (re-spawn). - Telefrag
Telefragging is the act of killing a player by spawning on top of them, whether from a re-spawn or from a teleporter. Tends not to happen in newer games. - Camping
When a player picks a spot and stays there. Usually this is either because the player has found a good spot to snipe people from far away, using a long range weapon or they are waiting / hogging an item, powerup or other objective. If a player stands near the enemy spawn point and picks people off immediately after they spawn, this is called spawncamping. - Bunnyhopping
A technique that doesn't appear as frequently in today's games but can be used occasionally. It is essentially strafing and jumping at the same time which in certain engines - particularly the Quake engine - meant the player could reach extremely high speeds. - Punkbuster
A popular (almost standard) anti-cheating plug-in for games. Most games ship with punkbuster and some servers require you to have it enabled on your client before you can join.
Where To Go To Find More Gamers?
Multiplay is a huge online community, featuring players from all over the UK and Europe. Our community is vibrant and can often help you with any problems you're having.
Head over to our friendly forums and start becoming a part of our community - everyone is welcome!