GRIN_Wolfsong Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Whatever happened to LAN parties? From the sound of some of the problems here, clans don't get together and play anymore. That was the only part of PvP/TvT that was ever fun to me. Going to the small "training camps" with the team members over a weekend, or a dedicated "match weekend". Hanging out and playing games 24 hours a day until you had to drag your ass back home and try to get some sleep before the next school/work day. Then going to bigger LANs to fight others. I know we still have a 5000-6000 computer LAN 1-2 times a year in Sweden, which is great gaming fun, although I haven't been to them in a few years as I'm not that type of player anymore. My point is, half the fun of any MP gaming is getting to know people with the same interests and hanging out outside of gaming afterwards. What happened to that? Are gamers not socially these days? I just couldn't stand sitting alone at home playing some "clan" match very often. It would boor my head off in the long run and make me tired of the game in a week or two. I know people are different, but is the gaming culture so isolated these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brainman2k Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 we had a small 4-man-coop-lan last weekend and had a lot of fun. as im not the online-mp-player, i have to organise lan-parties from time to time. the best fun is to game with friends face to face, have a few beers, barbecue or just hang out in between the matches. on bigger lans theres no graw2 gaming..at least here in germany and that i know of. what you get is "command & conquer 3", "battlefield 2192" and several other ego-shooters à la "doom 3", "quake 4", a.s.o.. but thats ok with me. as long as i can play with my friends from time to time.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutlink Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 We used to have a LAN party once every 3 months or so. It would rotate from person to persons house and last from one weekend to the next. Eventually we just started renting out a warehouse that had internet access thanks to a company that rented out a small section for their business. The warehouse renting would go on for a month and we did it about once every six months. Considering the cost of renting the place was about $500ish we just had our core 14 people pay around $40 each. It was always a blast and allowed some of us to make good use of that built up vacation pay! Unfortunately that was 1200 miles away from where I've been the last year, so I've missed out on the last few Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huddex Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Whatever happened to LAN parties? From the sound of some of the problems here, clans don't get together and play anymore. That was the only part of PvP/TvT that was ever fun to me. Going to the small "training camps" with the team members over a weekend, or a dedicated "match weekend". Hanging out and playing games 24 hours a day until you had to drag your ass back home and try to get some sleep before the next school/work day. Then going to bigger LANs to fight others. I know we still have a 5000-6000 computer LAN 1-2 times a year in Sweden, which is great gaming fun, although I haven't been to them in a few years as I'm not that type of player anymore. My point is, half the fun of any MP gaming is getting to know people with the same interests and hanging out outside of gaming afterwards. What happened to that? Are gamers not socially these days? I just couldn't stand sitting alone at home playing some "clan" match very often. It would boor my head off in the long run and make me tired of the game in a week or two. I know people are different, but is the gaming culture so isolated these days? Why don't GRiN arrange a GRAW/GRAW2 lan in Stockholm then? Make it a LAN with tournaments and some prizes. i guess most of vU would make it anyway and propably a whole lot of other teams and players to. ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHOST_Sup Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Our members are spread all throughout the United States. While it would be fun, it would be rather expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRIN_Wolfsong Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 Our members are spread all throughout the United States. While it would be fun, it would be rather expensive. Suggestion, go on a lower scale. Red team LAN, Blue team LAN, Gold team LAN... at different locations at the same time. Could be cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepdoc-iBeta Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 (edited) You know, a decade or more ago, we used to have LAN parties at my house every weekend. Now with a wife at home and a kid on the way, the thought of a lan party is just a fleeting memory. One of the driving forces of LAN parties back then, besides the obvious desire to hang out with your buddies, was the lack of available Bandwidth and poor internet connectivity of windows 95. In todays world of directx9c, Cable modems at 10mb, the clarity (and ubiquitousness) of Teamspeak etc etc has greatly reduced the "Need" for it. I'm not discounting the social value, but the flexability of being able to come in and out of a large, low ping game at your leisure, and walk to your own refrigerator, is a powerfully attractive thing too. XBOX360 is starting at add video feeds to player faces while in game. this is no doubt coming for the rest of us too. This will further erode the need players feel to get together in person. The odds of todays world are greatly stacked against LAN parties where in the past, they were almost a necessity to get a large scale online experience. I'm not saying R.I.P or anything. But I rarely hear about them anymore. Edited August 12, 2007 by Sleepdoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARDelta Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Sleepdoc is spot on. The increased availability of bandwidth and the convenience of staying at home discount the need for LAN parties. Sup also pointed out a key factor - distance. My team, 30+, only has about 10 people playing GRAW2 and we're spreadout all across the USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRIN_Wolfsong Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 The increased availability of bandwidth and the convenience of staying at home discount the need for LAN parties. We never had the need for it. It was just more fun, and also more up close and personal which adds another layer. It also removed the possibilities of hacker and cheaters which was one of the biggest pluses when looking at the game play. Bandwitdh was never a problem where I lived. And convenience of staying at home? That's what I was on to about players maybe being less social these days. Convenience was never a factor, it was all about play the game and hanging out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brok21k Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I went to a LAN late last year. Lots of fun but I get way to much stick from my girl friend/ friends and family for me to be doing it again. My gaming is almost my second secret life. Shame, but that’s it is. I guess the GR community mostly consists of adult’s ages 25+, and convincing a girl friend or family that you’re only going away for a gaming weekend and not cheating can be a very difficult task indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepdoc-iBeta Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 (edited) The increased availability of bandwidth and the convenience of staying at home discount the need for LAN parties. We never had the need for it. It was just more fun, and also more up close and personal which adds another layer. It also removed the possibilities of hacker and cheaters which was one of the biggest pluses when looking at the game play. Bandwitdh was never a problem where I lived. And convenience of staying at home? That's what I was on to about players maybe being less social these days. Convenience was never a fact, it was all about play the game and hanging out. I don't think we missed your points Wolf. but i am relating the forces of real life in my life. are you married? do you ahve kids? as time moves forward, more dedicated players have these life realities. As my time used to be my own, it is no more. To suggest that we are less social now is to miss the point. we are not less social. We have simply changed what we do with our limited social time. Social time is limited. As a younger man, i spent it at lan parties quite a bit. If I did that today, I would be excluding my wife and that is a big no-no. and frankly, not something i really want to do. I married her becuase i love hanging out with her. So my social time has been moved to family get to gethers, parties with her and our mutual freinds etc. Last sunday, we went to an all day picnic. we played hackysac and batmidden outdoors all day while eating barbecue. 10 years ago, i would have been in someones basement all day in the dark, eating chips and shooting virtual guns. Times change as life moves forward. luckily, bandwidth, temspeak etc has meant i can still play online games. Just not in person like i used to. I just think your assumption that we are less social these days is to miss the fact being social can occur in many ways. Not just at LAN parties. I'm guessing your single. Finally, I will also add this. LAN parties are more common in certain cultures than others. I recently saw a 2 hour show on the discovery times channel called "Gamer nation". It was very enlightening to me as an american. apparently, the scandinavian counties (and other democracies in particularly northern hemisperic areas) seem to have a greater overall passion for LAN gaming. and for LAN parties that are almost national events. They even identified a cultural trend called gaming families (where both husband and wife are equally committed to the same game). this trend was significantly stronger in the colder, northern, smaller nations. it was so strong in the scandanavian nations, that they showed the per capita expenditures of these families in these areas were much much higher on MMOs and other monthly expenses than any other countries. For example, in a gaming family where the wife's child care work prevented her from playing as much as her husband (and therefore falling behind in terms of the "level" achieved in the game), it is becoming common place to pay as much as $175 per month to have companies in eastern europe to play your character for you all week while you take care of your children, so that you can play on the same level os your husband when the weekend clan events come along. I can tell you this type of play and family cohesiveness in gaming is unlikely to ever occur in my american family and any of the freinds that I have right now. So the cultural variations are also at play here..... Edited August 12, 2007 by Sleepdoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRIN_Wolfsong Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 I understand that the player who has been around a while has had changes in their lives. But I would guess there are new generations that would be taking over the old habits. Maybe they just don't know what they are missing. EDIT: No, not single. Engaged. She has her hobbies and I have mine. It's great. Not gaming much at all these days so because of that there isn't much LAN for me either. But it would be the way I'd go if I started to play regularly again. EDIT2: Don't bring the MMO people into this. They are pure crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepdoc-iBeta Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I understand that the player who has been around a while has had changes in their lives. But I would guess there are new generations that would be taking over the old habits. Maybe they just don't know what they are missing. I don't think so. Becuase that generation is extremely console centric. Demographics are shifting.... EDIT: No, not single. Engaged. Hehe. engaged eh? we have a word for that in america. Its called "Single". Let's revisit this post one to two years after your wedding..... EDIT2: Don't bring the MMO people into this. They are pure crazy. LOL. Ain't that the truth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCO*AFZ* Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Distance is a big reason. with today's high speed, clans are more spread out. Also familes. Suggestion... add webcam support in game to Graw2. Would be closer to lan play then, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JASGripen Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I understand that the player who has been around a while has had changes in their lives. But I would guess there are new generations that would be taking over the old habits. Maybe they just don't know what they are missing. EDIT: No, not single. Engaged. She has her hobbies and I have mine. It's great. Not gaming much at all these days so because of that there isn't much LAN for me either. But it would be the way I'd go if I started to play regularly again. EDIT2: Don't bring the MMO people into this. They are pure crazy. We were close to have a LAN in Uppsala in May, but SNAFU:s got us. Anyway, we will most likely do a GRAW2 LAN in the near future and probably in Uppsala; don't phone us we phone you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteKnight77 Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I also think part of it may be the game(s) itself. Some games lend itself to LAN gaming and show they really want MP gaming by having ways to connect in more than one way. Sure, include an in-game browser, but also include LAN and Direct IP support. The GR series is not something big for large LAN parties but smaller ones with friends was. As some of the community has changed what they do or have married or even drifted away from the series, it becomes harder to do. With teams and clans spread out so much, it gets expensive to meet up somewhere too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al-Cobra Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I'm with Wolf on this one. Me and my boys still LAN.. we rarely, if ever, meet online. Our LAN parties are about once a month. We actually get games based around how well they will work out over LAN. Nothing beats 14 hours of stinky nerds in my living room with blacked out windows. As a side note, all but three of my crew are married or in serious relationships so family and kids doesn't have to stop your socializing and in my humble opinion, never should. There's always the single guy or dude with an "agreement" with his better half that will allow an afternoon of games, pizza and beer... ah, nothing like that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatmanDaz Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 (edited) LAN parties are a feature of B:P:R and one that is a big plus point! I've done 3 so far and each one gets better. Venues have been bigger and better and we even managed a continental visitor last time! To be honest, the logistics always seem to be the sticking point but we've managed to overcome it so far. I hope that they get bigger, better and more frequent but only time will tell. For the last one we mae a point of inviting non B:P:R members & I hope that trend continues. Bizarrely, considering it's our main game, the GR series has always been the least played! We tend to go for mindless stuff but what the heck: The gameplay is only a filler for the beers, I have 32 bottles of Stella to beat and I'm damn sure I'm going to get there! Edit: Likewise, most of us are married or with partners & families. There appears to be an understanding that this is something we have to do? My better half certainly accepts it, then again she firmly believes I've never grown up! Edited August 12, 2007 by FatmanDaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnegadeVyp3r Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 (edited) Wolf and All, Here in Adelaide, Australia LANs still occur they are normally every 3-4 months and range from about 150-600 people. The problem i have had is that there isnt alot of games i play being supported at these events. Its mainly CSS / C&C / Quake etc. I love getting to know the fellow clan members and while i was an admin for a Aussie ISP we often had "Admin LAN" events and general "meet n greet" events at pubs and stuff - that was always fun. I had met over half of my previous clan and some of them travelled 600KM's+ to attend lan events. I miss the good old days of everyone coming up for a weekend or something but i am now married, got a 1year old daughter and i dont think the Mrs would be too happy if a bunch of us woke up bubs at 2am coz we got killed by a tango and were pretty peaved off. The Mrs at one stage thought i was having an affair with a Clan member (YES! the clan member was a chick). Also, another big thing, the LANS these days are more focussing on the Console, mainly the Xbox360. One of my bro inlaws is always going on and on and on and on and on about them. And... last point as its been brought up by others, with the recent change and availability of ADSL / CABLE in australia LANs arent required to play with fellow members and less and less events are being organised to cater for the clans out there to do battle (for the games i play). Mainly the LANS now (for PC) are a bunch of randoms who do more leeching then gaming. Anyway, enough ranting... i think i got off point. Theres a big lan in Adelaide early January that i will probably go to and one in 2 weeks time but i cant afford to get down there. Ohwell, next time perhaps. Edited August 13, 2007 by RnegadeVyp3r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrester Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Whatever happened to LAN parties? From the sound of some of the problems here, clans don't get together and play anymore. That was the only part of PvP/TvT that was ever fun to me. Going to the small "training camps" with the team members over a weekend, or a dedicated "match weekend". Hanging out and playing games 24 hours a day until you had to drag your ass back home and try to get some sleep before the next school/work day. Then going to bigger LANs to fight others. I know we still have a 5000-6000 computer LAN 1-2 times a year in Sweden, which is great gaming fun, although I haven't been to them in a few years as I'm not that type of player anymore. My point is, half the fun of any MP gaming is getting to know people with the same interests and hanging out outside of gaming afterwards. What happened to that? Are gamers not socially these days? I just couldn't stand sitting alone at home playing some "clan" match very often. It would boor my head off in the long run and make me tired of the game in a week or two. I know people are different, but is the gaming culture so isolated these days? Well I'd love to go to a LAN weekend to play graw, but.... There are no lans in The Netherlands publically advertising to host GRAW/GRAW2, they stay at teh bulk of the players (COD/WOW/Counterstrike and other no-fun-for-me-games) My clan is UK based, and I'm DUtch, so if I want a lanparty..... (planning for a holiday in the UK next year) And my third problem and the biggest... WIFE and KIDS....when I was without kids I used to host 3person lan games with 2 brothers in law.... but they have wives and kids too poor me. So If anyone from Holland is willing to organise a lan-graw party with me (Toniezz and Sui?) I'll try to get something going. I'm centrally located (Harderwijk) Maybe Ubi should organise lan-party's in every country hosting their games..... and make sure we know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrester Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 I went to a LAN late last year. Lots of fun but I get way to much stick from my girl friend/ friends and family for me to be doing it again. My gaming is almost my second secret life. Shame, but that’s it is. I guess the GR community mostly consists of adult’s ages 25+, and convincing a girl friend or family that you’re only going away for a gaming weekend and not cheating can be a very difficult task indeed. well not cheating is letting yourselve being known by your partner, I have no sercrets to my wife, I admit I'm hooked on GRAW.... she doesn't like it none the less. getting married and having kids givers a lot of time-consuming buissness with them, but you have to seperate fun from funs with a goal (wife and kids being happy, and you too off course) It can be difficult it means discovering boundaries and keeping to them, a game will be over but a marriage that breaks up leaves big scars and off course a big bill to pay. I wish I had my 36 hour work-week back..... but if I don't make money I can't spend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrester Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 I understand that the player who has been around a while has had changes in their lives. But I would guess there are new generations that would be taking over the old habits. Maybe they just don't know what they are missing. EDIT: No, not single. Engaged. She has her hobbies and I have mine. It's great. Not gaming much at all these days so because of that there isn't much LAN for me either. But it would be the way I'd go if I started to play regularly again. EDIT2: Don't bring the MMO people into this. They are pure crazy. We were close to have a LAN in Uppsala in May, but SNAFU:s got us. Anyway, we will most likely do a GRAW2 LAN in the near future and probably in Uppsala; don't phone us we phone you If you pay the ferry I'll be there LAN parties are a feature of B:P:R and one that is a big plus point! I've done 3 so far and each one gets better. Venues have been bigger and better and we even managed a continental visitor last time! To be honest, the logistics always seem to be the sticking point but we've managed to overcome it so far. I hope that they get bigger, better and more frequent but only time will tell. For the last one we mae a point of inviting non B:P:R members & I hope that trend continues. Bizarrely, considering it's our main game, the GR series has always been the least played! We tend to go for mindless stuff but what the heck: The gameplay is only a filler for the beers, I have 32 bottles of Stella to beat and I'm damn sure I'm going to get there! Edit: Likewise, most of us are married or with partners & families. There appears to be an understanding that this is something we have to do? My better half certainly accepts it, then again she firmly believes I've never grown up! I hope to include the next summer BPR lan in my holiday scheme... keep me informed. (poor jenny all those non continentals around her...lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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