Are Any "MMO-Type" Games open to Dial-Up?

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: apoppin
OK ... so my Data Stream is still down from AT&T ... 2 days now

so i called them up ... besides crediting my account $20 for my "inconvenience" [damn i love AT&T wireless :heart:] i learned that AT&T doesn't want you to *host* games
-you can play them
-just no bandwidth hogs ... no P2P ... no D/L'ing movie after movie

thanks for all your replies

Most ISP say that. My Roadrunner account says I am not allowed to host or have a server. So I just use a router.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: apoppin
OK ... so my Data Stream is still down from AT&T ... 2 days now

so i called them up ... besides crediting my account $20 for my "inconvenience" [damn i love AT&T wireless :heart:] i learned that AT&T doesn't want you to *host* games
-you can play them
-just no bandwidth hogs ... no P2P ... no D/L'ing movie after movie

thanks for all your replies

Most ISP say that. My Roadrunner account says I am not allowed to host or have a server. So I just use a router.

they had my phone turned off ... so they credited me another $20 ... and since i was greateful, i showed Data Connect a 'shortcut' in troubleshooting DUN they will probably now write into their manual. :Q
... damn .. i am getting *paid* to have AT&T Wireless Data this month
:heart:

Anyway, i *clarified* both the "5GB limit" and "playing games" over wireless Internet. The limit is not "hard" ... if you consistently go over, you will get a call from them especially if they think you are HOSTING games or active in P2P file sharing of [especially] movie D/Ls. Their bandwidth is still fairly limited.

Anyway, i am consistently getting over their advertised speeds of 75-160kbps [that's kiloBITS ] ... in the 170s consistently and peaking in the very low-200s [236 is theoretical maximum for EDGE].

To put it in perspective 53kbps is the theoretical maximum for 56K dialup with most d/l speeds over a good dial-up ISP like NetZero consistently in the mid/low40s..... So practically, EDGE is 4X faster than 56K ... and i can take it anywhere i can get a cell phone signal - '2 bars' from AT&T.

4x is better than 1x
--and the price is right [$40 vs. $6.95] so i'll keep 'em both. Btw, RoadRunner ain't making it all the way up my road ... So, 'Beep Beep', your ass cable-company. :laugh:

i wonder if i can still play Hellgate: London ...

 

[apoppin]

Forget Hellgate
:brokenheart:

i can't even D/L updates reliably ... it is the *same* since it was a Beta ... i will be D/L'ing a Polish string [god knows why] and it will reset - over-and-over - and it is NOT my connection

maybe i will try again in a few months .. Flagship seems to have their heart in the right place ... perhaps they are just incompetent or hopelessly understaffed since they are probably not making the money they envisioned. It is absolutely beautiful in DX10 completely maxed out ... at least the SP works reliably [IF you can update it]

But .. yeah, even with my god-awful 700ms ping [at worst to NY] ... i can still play 'dial-up' Internet games.

Thanks for your suggestions
.. i really wish i explored it further about 8 years ago ... maybe not ... i would have never got anything done

 

[AVP]

In wow a guy in my guild got rank 15 in pvp, alliance first i believe, on 56k

 

[Pepsei]

And do any of you have experience with the cell phone "antennas" that go behind it's battery? Do they work at all? i can always use more signal.

no... if it works, don't you think the phone would be made with that material?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Pepsei

And do any of you have experience with the cell phone "antennas" that go behind it's battery? Do they work at all? i can always use more signal.

no... if it works, don't you think the phone would be made with that material?

i don't know ... if it saves 1/10th of a penny, the manufacturers will cut it out ... look at the external antennas ... they *worked* a tiny bit better than the same phones [i.e. my Samsung A437] without the "pull-out" antennas but you never see them anymore.

and so i TRIED it ... afterall, i got the manager of Radio Shack to discount them down from $19.95 down to $0.46

they are regularly $5 on the net but i have seen for less than a dollar:
http://www.accessorygeeks.com/...a-booster-sticker.html

yep, 46 cents from the Rat Shack .. the manager wanted me to test it for him .. and i definitely got my money's worth
- it IS worth 50 cents ... probably no more

there is a very *slight* difference ... maybe enough to make a 'borderline' signal barely understandable. the problem is it is hard to test [ i *fixed* my cell phone in the "best" position without it and measured my ping and D/L speeds; probably 5% improvement with it ,,, and i tested it a dozen times ... so slight as to make it probably not worthwhile - unless it is 50 cents.

this is what i got for a slightly better solution ... the antenna goes on my roof:

http://www.cellphoneshop.net/exanforceph.html

cheap solution ... my reception is crap inside the house ... excellent on the roof

 

[Bleeding Jawa]

I have never had a significant problem playing any MMO over dial-up, including several during beta stages. I have cable at home, but when I visit my parents for an extended period of time, I will often bring a laptop to play something. They live out in the middle of nowhere and have TERRIBLE dialup. I usually get connected at 20k-24k speeds, and it can be pretty painful to even surf the internet or email, but every game I have tried on that connection has at least been playable. I might not be able to play, surf pages and do voice-chat all at the same time, but considering that your dialup sounds a LOT better than what I am describing, I really wouldn't worry about it, except for maybe in raiding where their are hundreds of people on screen....then everyone's experience will suck. It's not like a FPS. If your ego can handle dial-up, then your MMO should handle it too.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Bleeding Jawa
I have never had a significant problem playing any MMO over dial-up, including several during beta stages. I have cable at home, but when I visit my parents for an extended period of time, I will often bring a laptop to play something. They live out in the middle of nowhere and have TERRIBLE dialup. I usually get connected at 20k-24k speeds, and it can be pretty painful to even surf the internet or email, but every game I have tried on that connection has at least been playable. I might not be able to play, surf pages and do voice-chat all at the same time, but considering that your dialup sounds a LOT better than what I am describing, I really wouldn't worry about it, except for maybe in raiding where their are hundreds of people on screen....then everyone's experience will suck. It's not like a FPS. If your ego can handle dial-up, then your MMO should handle it too.

thanks! .. LoL
-except for NetZero - for $6.95 a month it is the 'best' - you pretty much described my 56K connection for the last 8 years

:Q

... and my Ego is constrained by practical considerations
.. i guess i now consider my EDGE 'dial-up' as 'ISDN with a bad ping'

''

 

[apoppin]

i just bought LotR ... Shadows of Angmar for ten bucks at target .. this is the Original Game without the Expansion, right?
[i know about the $10 a month and i can play Guild Wars on my 56K connect as i have an awesome Ping time - ~100-150ms .. if the testing sites are to be believed

of course, i haven't opened it yet ... but i bought it when i noticed it says "56Kpbs Modem" .. seriously?
-Can i really Play it on dial-up ?
[i dumped AT&T wireless Internet ]

i ALSO got ET-QW at Target today for $10 just to use as a benchmarking tool .. so i will open it ANYWAY ... and i know, "forget MP" .. but is there ANY Single Player campaign - with 'bots - at all?

 

[apoppin]

I had to dump my AT&T wireless network
-most unreliable in my rural area for the data services - even with a good signal and external antenna.

So i am back to NetZero 56K dial-up .. i found however, that my Ping with my wireless service was always ~700ms and my 56K Dial-up is ~100-150ms IF the test sites are to be believed.

So .. i got LotRO for $9.88 at Target yesterday including the first month's play online .... and i guess i could also benchmark it ... but the box says "minimum 56K dial-up"

Really ? LotRO is playable on 56K dialup??


i can play Guild Wars: Nightfall OK on 56K .. but LotRO?

 

[Thebobo]

I use to play EQ on dialup. They have new servers with just the original expansion all classic. Plus there are some non Daybreak versions of EQ that folks are running on their own servers. Biggest problem is getting the game and getting updates. Don't think you can buy it unless someone has one of the old disc but then you would still need to update. That could take days on dial up?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I use to play EQ on dialup. They have new servers with just the original expansion all classic. Plus there are some non Daybreak versions of EQ that folks are running on their own servers. Biggest problem is getting the game and getting updates. Don't think you can buy it unless someone has one of the old disc but then you would still need to update. That could take days on dial up?

psss.....2008 "called" and said they no longer need dial up.

 

[shortylickens]

In 2008 I had 15/10 and now I have 65/55.

People on dial up are almost as lame as necromancers.