LAN partys are a ballache to setup.
Not really. There's some ground work and planning that needs to be done before hand, but its not bad and its part of the fun. I'd think it'd be easier to set up today with Steam, GoG, and the ability to build a decently powerful yet tiny LAN box, or even a gaming laptop.
Switches and network gear are far cheaper today than they used to be as well.
As others have said though, its the social aspect of LAN parties that made them so fun. Today's kids don't know how to interact with other kids outside of Facebook and texting.
What you're describing is a sleepover. Gaming with friends in a small group setting is fun.Then you're missing the point. LAN parties are about getting together with friends, playing games side-by-side, staying up late, eating pizza, talking trash, and generally shooting the shit.
LAN Parties: Dead?
Then you're missing the point. LAN parties are about getting together with friends, playing games side-by-side, staying up late, eating pizza, talking trash, and generally shooting the shit.
Unless your high-speed broadband internet connection can really accomplish all of that, LANs are here to stay. It's also a bit damning to hope for the death of a wholesome social activity which many of us still enjoy.
LAN partys are a ballache to setup. Console players can play split-screen gaming in some cases which means they get all the fun of social gaming without the hassle.
Not really. There's some ground work and planning that needs to be done before hand, but its not bad and its part of the fun. I'd think it'd be easier to set up today with Steam, GoG, and the ability to build a decently powerful yet tiny LAN box, or even a gaming laptop.
Switches and network gear are far cheaper today than they used to be as well.
As others have said though, its the social aspect of LAN parties that made them so fun. Today's kids don't know how to interact with other kids outside of Facebook and texting.
It's not really the networking, or anything computer related, that makes it a pain. Believe me, I know, I administrated about 130 of them in Georgia in the last 5 years. It's power mostly. Followed by tables, and then heating and cooling.
Power wise, it's not easy to find a place (most houses won't do it) that has the proper receptacles. Have you priced 15A extension cords lately? Copper is going up continuously and 15A heavy duty cords and strips can easily run 200-300$ to feed a decent room.
Tables is another issue, you have to have places everywhere for these rigs to go, and places like party central rentals and the like are not cheap. You'll need chairs as well unless you tell everyone to bring their own collapsible. We generally ran out of saturday/sunday college cafs.
Finally, 30 or more high power gaming rigs in one or a couple rooms puts major strain on AC systems. And you need to have a contingency plan I've seen AC systems freeze up because it's 90+ outside and they simply can't handle the cooling needs of the room. How do you keep the party going when ambient in the room is breaching 100?
Like was said in the thread online gives 80% of the experience for 10% of the energy. I love LAN parties, I'll always attend them, mainly because I love pc gaming. BUT it needs to be understood that a LAN with friends is simple, that's ok and it can be done easily. But anytime you start an *actual* LAN party, you'll be playing more time as host/admin than you will any game/"party" time.
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What you're describing is a sleepover. Gaming with friends in a small group setting is fun.
When I think of LAN parties, this is what I imagine:
They're super easy to setup. As mentioned, 8-24 port switches are cheap these days. They don't need to be fantastic. In 99% of cases, they don't even need to be gig. 100Mb works fine.
While online is definitely a convenience, the whole point is the social piece of it as mentioned above. While being holed up in their room is the current theme of the new generation, yelling into a headset and everyone talking over each other gets really old really fast. Being able to throw a pizza slice at someone and have it land flat on their monitor...
On what planet is setting up a LAN party 'super easy'?
On what planet is setting up a LAN party 'super easy'?
Always wanted to go to a huge lan party
Of course i would be the guy towing around the biggest case ,with no fear cause i used to tow around up 3 fleet of stairs a fully loaded antec 1200 that weighed a ton,its a bit of a hassle to game with 1 buddy or two...but for a huge lan it would be sweet.
If some people think these are sorta dead,it could be cause of the console generation,the fact people spend more on a gpu then on a console blows some peoples mind,no one i know personally will ever understand why i would spend $600 on a gpu,so yes it could be a dead generation.
I guess it depends on the number of people you have playing. If it's a small group of ~10 friends like I do, then yes, it is super easy. A 10-port switch, some network cables, and a few tables aren't exactly difficult to set up.
I am seeing a lot of 'ifs' here. Nothing about a LAN party is 'super easy'.
It requires time, organisation and planning. That is not 'super easy'.