Help and information on LAN parties.
Visiting a local Network LAN party can be one of the most
gratifying experiences for people who enjoy the challenge of
playing with or against other human players. At LAN parties you
will get the opportunity to meet with other people who enjoy games
as much as you do, rub in the fact any time you kill someone, see
everyone's gaming rigs, and get exposed to games you may not be
familiar with. Some of the bigger LAN parties with sponsorship may
even have prizes and awards that can be won.
Almost all
LAN parties you attend will require you to bring your own
computer. Before going to a LAN party make sure your computer has
a Network Card (NIC) installed
in the computer. A network card is what enables your computer to
connect with the other computers and play games.
- Information about determining the type of network card in
the computer can be found on document
CH000500.
- If you do not have a network card, make sure to install a
network card in the computer before going to the party.
Additional information about installing a Network card can be
found on document CH000418.
Below is also a short list of things you will want to make sure
you bring to a LAN party to make it a more enjoyable experience.
- As mentioned above, you will need to bring your computer,
this includes your monitor, keyboard, and mouse (may
even wish to bring a mouse pad) .
- Network cable - In order to connect your computer to
the network you are going to need to have a straight
through network cable.
- Network hub / Switch / Router - If you have an extra network
hub,
switch,
or router
bring that to the party just in case.
- Power Strip / Surge protector - With everyone at the
network party requiring at least two power
plugs, always make sure to bring a power
strip and or surge
protector. If
you have extras also bring those, you may save someone else's
day.
- Headphones - Make sure you bring a good pair of
headphones, no one likes to hear dozens of other computer with
their speakers playing and often you can give away your
position or strategy if you have speakers playing.
- Virus protection program - Who knows what may be on
the other peoples computers who are attending the party. Make
sure you have an up-to-date antivirus protection program on
your computer.
- Games - If you plan on playing games
at the network party make sure you have all the games that
plan on playing and that you bring any CD's that the games
require.
- Updates - Make sure you have all the latest updates
for all games you plan on playing and that your drivers
are up-to-date.
- Network shares - If you have a home network and have
any network shares or anything shared out that you might not
want shared, make sure to close the shares. Additionally make
sure you are not granting full access to your shares unless
you want people to send you files as well.
- Drink / Food - If the person hosting the party is
permitting you to bring food and/or drinks to the party make
sure to bring something to snack on and/or something to help
keep you awake.
- Chair/Table - Usually almost all LAN parties will
have enough chairs and table space for you. However, it is
always a good idea to make sure you verify this before going.
In addition some people may not want to sit on a folding
chair, and wish to bring their own comfortable chair.
Hosting your own network LAN party can be as gratifying as
going to a LAN party. However, to help make sure your experience
is as good as everyone else's there is some required setting up
that you will need to make sure you have done before the LAN party
starts.
Advanced notice - If you want a good crowd to
show up to your LAN party it's always a good idea to give plenty
of notice to everyone you would like to show up. Usually sending
out an e-mail a few weeks before the LAN party containing
information about what day the LAN party is going to occur, the
time the party starts and the time the party ends, what games you
plan to play, an address and even better a map, other contact
information such as phone / cell, and finally anything people may
need to bring to the party. Feel free to link everyone you invite
to this document for a listing of what they should be bring to
your party.
It's also a good idea to request users who plan on attending
let you know so you have a better idea of how many are really coming.
Network setup - Once you have scheduled the LAN party
you will need to begin preparing your network so people will just
be able to come to the party and connect into the network without
having to wait for you to troubleshoot the network. If you have
broadband access it is highly recommended you have a router that
is capable of sharing your Internet broadband access. There is
always someone who will need to get on the Internet to browse,
read their e-mail, download updates, etc. If you do not have
broadband but still want to share your dialup access you can setup
a proxy to share your dialup Internet access. If you do not have
Internet access make sure you make people aware of this before
they come to the party not prepared.
Make sure you have enough
ports to connect into the network; if you do not have enough ports
you will need to add an additional router, switch, or hub to your
network setup. If you do not have a spare network router, switch,
or hub request that someone else attending the party bring one.
Tables
/ Chairs - Make sure you have enough chairs and table space to
accommodate everyone who plans on attending your LAN party. If you
think you will need additional tables or chairs make sure to have
people bring some.
Additional hardware - Get out any
additional hardware you may be able to share with anyone who doesn't
bring everything they need. For example, any extra monitors,
headphones, network cables, power strips, surge protectors, etc.
Game
updates share - Download all the latest game updates for all
the games you plan on playing, create a share on your computer
that contains all the updates. This will get you and everyone else
playing games faster because anyone who does not already have the
game updates downloaded and installed can easily copy them from
your network share.
Virus protection program - Who knows
what may be on the other peoples computers who are attending the
party. Make sure you have an up-to-date antivirus protection
program on all your computers connected to your network.
Network
shares - If you already have a home network and have any
network shares or anything shared out, make sure to close the
shares if you don't want anyone leaching from you. Additionally
make sure you are not granting full access to your shares unless
you want people to send you files as well.
Sponsors - If
you plan on hosting a big LAN party (25+ people) try getting local
computer or gaming companies to sponsor your event. If you have
large network party (50+ people) try getting computer
manufacturers, hardware manufacturers, software developers, or
food or beverage companies to sponsor your network party. Often
sponsors will help with the cost of the LAN party, send you gifts
to give out at the event, etc.
As much as we would like to Computer Hope does not have the
resources to sponsor any LAN party.
