The Scenario
A LAN Party is an arrangement of PC's on a LAN (Local Area Network) and all you do is play games, over the network, against other like-minded people usually in the same room or building. These events are available for any type of gamer, whether they be a novice or a seasoned player and the aim is to have fun, fun, fun whilst you are playing.
The types of games that are available vary quite a bit, but essentially they usually involve killing or hassling one or more of your opponents. There is no noticeable lag, such like you may experience playing on the Internet (unless you have cable modems, ADSL or similar) and you are in a group atmosphere such that you can vent your frustration and scream abuse at the other players very easily.
It is probably the most fun that a gamer can have with their clothes on, unless you are visiting one of those XXX sites, (we know who you are).
The Games
There are several game types out there, the most common ones being:
- First person shooters
- Flight Sim's
- Strategy games
- Racing games
First person shooters tend to be the favored game of the day, but can get a bit monotonous after being played constantly through out the whole event. There is more information on the individual games highlighted on the Games page closer the events.
PC Specifications
The minimum specification for a gaming PC should contain, at least, a P233mmx, 32mb RAM, 3d accelerator, a 10BASET network interface card, headphones, a Category 5 UTP patch cable (at least 10m in length and make sure it is not a cross wired cable), a 4-way power adapter, and an adequate hard disk (you know how much space the games take up) and at least a 14" SVGA monitor.
This will run most games to an adequate standard, but the bigger the better (who said size isn't everything). The input devices are obviously the preference of the user.
The Network
The network is a 10/100BASETX switched network, connected through a series of switches and hubs, supported by NT games servers and NT file servers. BNC (10BASE2) is not supported.
A switched network is where one or more switches/hubs uplink to a switch. In turn every computer plugs into a switch/hub via a Category 5 UTP patch cable. These have a RJ45 connection similar to a phone plug.
Courtesy of BadLAN Rising
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