"A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical area such as home, school, computer laboratory or office building.[1] The defining characteristics of LANs, in contrast to wide area networks (WANs), include their usually higher data-transfer rates, smaller geographic area, and lack of a need for leased telecommunication lines." --- wikipedia
Now many people here may be familiar with the term "LAN", especially people in my age (20-30). But I guess pretty much everyone knows what LAN is... And why? I'm glad you asked!
To answer this question, I take you back some years ago...how about 7 years? Starcraft (many here may be obviously familiar with that game) was quite popular, a new addon for Warcraft 3 was released, Counterstrike 1.6 was one of the biggest FPS title for E-sports, the Battlefield series was big as always and Unreal tournament just got a new sequel... One big reason why games like those became so popular and were (and are) really liked by so many people, was the ability to play those games - and many others - via LAN. More and more LAN-parties started and more and more people started to visit LAN-parties. Important tournaments were hold, events just got bigger and bigger and why again? Because of LAN! Playing on the internet was just an option...
It was at a certain point quite easy to set up, all big games had LAN-support and many people loved to connect and compete that way! I personally loved to visit LAN-parties, playing with people right next to me...everyone who knows what i'm talking about, also knows that the feeling is quite different than just sitting at home and facing someone you will never know...
Of course with time things change and lately they change quite often!
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 --- ~3 million copies sold Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty --- ~3 million copies sold only in the first month Call of Duty: Black Ops --- ~7 million copies sold so far
these and many more are multiplayer titles with no actual LAN-support they are also the most played and sold games along with some others
I know, I know...you may say that people are getting internet connections almost everytime, everywhere nowadays and I know that! I'm also pretty cool with playing those games over the internet, talking with friends via teamspeak, having good times... But where I start to really miss the LAN are events and so called "LAN"-parties.
Take big tournaments...the esl hosts a few quite often...every now and then they host a local event which is quite big...two people, sitting next to each other, huge crowd in front waiting, everything's ready but they can't play their match because the official servers are down by maintenance. Or imagine a big event (like Dreamhack) would have technical difficulties and for a short time no internet connection - most games can't even be played then! Thousands of people just sitting around. waiting. panicing. raging You can't even play newer games with some friends in the same house without connecting all people to a server probably not even located in the same country or continent!
Lately I see a trend where more and more games need an internet connection at least for activation and don't support some kind of LAN anymore (like HL2 at the release)... And personally - I don't like it! "Electronic sport" really turns into "Internet Sport" - casual aswell as professional. Dont get me wrong...I absolutely love turning my PC on, connecting to the internet, play some games online with people all over the world and get out...But i really miss at least the option of LAN.
So that's just me...
Now what is your opinion on that, since many here are in the same spot of playing at least one game with no more actual LAN-option and internet requirements (i'm not really counting the sc2 offline mode here as an actual offline mode ) ... Do you like it? Do you miss it? Why? What about the internet requirement for many games? Let me know!
edit: deleted the pictures out, since it was distracting some people...
I think blizzard should at least give authorized tournament organizer the ability to host LAN games so MLG DC finals won't happen again. Even if the computers are side by side there will always be latency when connected to the internet, which is bad especially at high level play
Obviously people are going to miss LAN play on any game. When I play Steams games at a LAN, we're still able to connect to a LAN server at LAN latency, despite also being connected to the Steam server. Blizzard could've done that, but they chose the "easy" way out; the bitching from people for the last 10ish months should be more than sufficient to prove that people don't like it.
But, a more important question: wtf is with all the shirtless guys in that LAN pic?
On December 05 2010 17:14 Craton wrote: Obviously people are going to miss LAN play on any game. When I play Steams games at a LAN, we're still able to connect to a LAN server at LAN latency, despite also being connected to the Steam server. Blizzard could've done that, but they chose the "easy" way out; the bitching from people for the last 10ish months should be more than sufficient to prove that people don't like it.
But, a more important question: wtf is with all the shirtless guys in that LAN pic?
On December 05 2010 17:14 Craton wrote: Obviously people are going to miss LAN play on any game. When I play Steams games at a LAN, we're still able to connect to a LAN server at LAN latency, despite also being connected to the Steam server. Blizzard could've done that, but they chose the "easy" way out; the bitching from people for the last 10ish months should be more than sufficient to prove that people don't like it.
But, a more important question: wtf is with all the shirtless guys in that LAN pic?
I think that was a nightclub, not a LAN party
I think LAN my die out eventually. If big games like CoD sell so many copies without LAN, developers may think "Well, I guess it doesn't matter if we don't have LAN support," and stop putting it in all games.
However, no matter how you put it, having to have an internet connection to play someone right next to you is absolutely stupid.
Data is sent to various places before it reaches the other person's computer via the internet... could induce delays somehow.... + delays from input lag from devices/monitors like 0.125 which some people could detect
On December 05 2010 17:27 StimCraft wrote: These types of threads (asking Blizzard to do something) are not allowed on TL
seriously? "...not allowed"? but blindly judging before really reading is? where am i asking blizzard to do something? i mean my english is not that good but you're from the us...you should be able to get at least the core of the thread... sc and sc2 where just examples amongst others here (wasn't even mentioning blizzard once) and clearly i was talking about the integration of LAN and internet in games overall, how it was and is, how i see it and just asking how you see the current and upcoming situation...not asking to change anything at all!
On December 05 2010 17:14 Craton wrote: ... I think LAN my die out eventually. If big games like CoD sell so many copies without LAN, developers may think "Well, I guess it doesn't matter if we don't have LAN support," and stop putting it in all games.
However, no matter how you put it, having to have an internet connection to play someone right next to you is absolutely stupid.
yeah i thought pretty much the same... and it is indeed stupid, i watched quite a few streams and vods where people were sitting next to each other, everything set up but not able to play for a while
It's difficult to have a LAN party now. I mean we still have them, but if the host didn't manage to get like 25-30 mbs, there's no way we can run 8 computers through one connection.
A lot of console multiplayers are starting to be released without LAN too.. mostly to force you onto their online service, what they don't get tho is that they are losing sales too. We used to LAN halo 2 and counterstrike almost every day back on the original xbox in my friends game shop (he has a perma-lan setup in the back of the store) I don't even know how many copies of each respective game was sold on the strength of people coming into the store and playing against us regulars and deciding to buy the game so they could practice at home before coming back to the LAN. So yes they may gain sales by forcing everyone to have a copy to play online (wasn't sc.. you could play someone else if they had the same cd key but they couldn't play anyone else?) but they are losing sales too, because people don't get to play with friends as a try before buy thing.
The games without a LAN support are like games without a soul to me.
LAN parties are the most fun events in a player's career! You got drinking, eating, messing with your friends and playing your favorite games in a same room. Seriously what more do you need!? And LAN parties always bring out the nostalgia and it's great to reminisce about them years later.
I dislike this current trend of games coming out online only, if games were good enough you would all ways buy them to play them online, its like gingerninja mentioned when you would go to lans, you would see people playing new games, get the iso and give them a go and if you had fun/ wanted to play it more you would buy it to play online . Where as now especially the established series are just cutting out LAN support ( not to mention most games are terrible, lazy ports from console games), i think eventually it will become full circle again and LAN support will come back but its probably only going to get worse before it gets better (i.e CoD 6 and no dedicated servers)
Only last year we had LAN's where we could only play old games because of lack of LAN support, nowadays our internet has become much faster (50Mbit) so we can play anything we want. But I remember how much it sucked to be forced to play old games on LAN (even ut2004 gets old after a while)
I don't understand how so many people are taking this lying down...it's one of the least acceptable things the gaming industry has started doing in recent times. We should be marching on their doors! No reason to take away LAN other than to squeeze money.
i'm guessing that blizzard want in some to devellop sc2 as esport worldwidly in a lot of country, the only way to have a tournament on sc2 is to be in a cybercafe and even it's still have lag problems. So how you want to devellope a game without a LAN support that will shutdown every LAN and tournament in lan because it's a big pain to have internet in 95% of LAN event? They have a server for WoW lan event, it could exist a lan version of SC2, i guess if blizzard don't put a server out someone will do it and it will be just as CS etc.
Btw about piracy of wc3 and sc2, garena etc, i think that most of the ppl who were playing wc3 on garena without paying the game get addicted to blizzard product and got to wow or/and sc2 so in the end , in general , and for multiplayer games, piracy can still give a lot of money to the editor.
About consoles, it depend the culture, in france, console in LAN are just here for fun tournament on guitar hero... but their problems in mainly about devollping games for console wich are broken for PC instead of LAN ... but ye here we don't need internet to play on wii etc :/
I think it's not the problem of no LAN support. It's not problem of a non 99,99% up guarenteed network. (in example Battle.net) Anyone knows that if they play on a tournament/LAN enviroment they are mostly perfectly capable of getting an internet connection therefor are capable of playing games "online". The big problem lays in the networks behind yours, in example Battle.net. It's fine we all getting forced to play on Battle.net but Battle.net itself is not prepared yet to run fulltime without any "problems".
I've not really missed LAN support that much, mainly because it doesn't make that much of a difference anymore (in the counter-strike days you DEFINATLY could REALLY "feel" the difference between a LAN or an internet hosted server). However if at the networks still got some issues therefor i think they should either fix those problems or partly support LAN support.
On December 06 2010 02:04 Laevateinn wrote: ... LAN support is needed for a game to become a reliable and serious esport.
saying that in a sc2 related community is actually quite funny... i mean i used to think the same way but especially since sc2 is out i'm not really sure about that! i hardly can imagine a game right now which is as much hyped to be the new esports title - without having something close to a LAN-mode... same for black ops and upcoming titles
Well, xaeiu, at big tournaments the problem with having no LAN support became quite apparent, the MLG Finals had huge problems with the Battle.Net servers going down etc.
I agree with the statement that LAN support is needed for tournaments and high level play, but for casual play, me and my friends still have SC2 LANs, we come together at my place and play together via the Internet (just like World of Warcraft LANs) etc, but that only works if you are small numbers, otherwise you would need a very good connection (talking about more than 30 people at a LAN)..
On December 05 2010 17:14 Craton wrote: Obviously people are going to miss LAN play on any game. When I play Steams games at a LAN, we're still able to connect to a LAN server at LAN latency, despite also being connected to the Steam server. Blizzard could've done that, but they chose the "easy" way out; the bitching from people for the last 10ish months should be more than sufficient to prove that people don't like it.
But, a more important question: wtf is with all the shirtless guys in that LAN pic?
I think that was a nightclub, not a LAN party
I think LAN my die out eventually. If big games like CoD sell so many copies without LAN, developers may think "Well, I guess it doesn't matter if we don't have LAN support," and stop putting it in all games.
However, no matter how you put it, having to have an internet connection to play someone right next to you is absolutely stupid.
Actually, COD does have LAN. Even Modern Warfare 2 does. You must be connected to the internet, sure, but as soon as you create a game, you're playing a game on LAN latency.
It's a tiny fact that got burried underneath all the rage.
EPT
