What are
/r/lanparty's
favorite Products & Services?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
The most popular Products mentioned in /r/lanparty:
The most popular Services mentioned in /r/lanparty:
D-LAN
Armagetron
Xonotic
pfSense
OpenRA
Mod DB
Urban Terror
DC++
OpenLieroX
Squid
WireGuard
Pi-hole
SoftEther VPN
Unreal Tournament
SendSpace
The most popular reviews in /r/lanparty:
Unreal Tournament 2004 is a great game on it's own, and gets you access to its associated mods, like Killing Floor and Red Orchestra.
As the other posts suggested, buy a cheap netgear swtich on amazon and some patch cables. If money is tight (not sure how old you are) i'd say it would be fair for everyone to pitch in 5 bucks.
That'll be plenty for a switch like this and some patch cables to go with it.
Depends if you want to "get them legally" or not
For the games that are free + DRM Free you can try out
Teeworlds (obv not the steam one - however you can probably just download from steam and take the files out)
Armagetron Advanced (Retrocycles on steam - same case as above)
Pretty sure AssaultCube has LAN (not sure though - https://assault.cubers.net/)
I use a NetData dashboard for this. https://www.netdata.cloud/ https://github.com/netdata/netdata
Docker settings: > docker run -d --name=netdata \ > -p 19999:19999 \ > -v netdataconfig:/etc/netdata \ > -v netdatalib:/var/lib/netdata \ > -v netdatacache:/var/cache/netdata \ > -v /etc/passwd:/host/etc/passwd:ro \ > -v /etc/group:/host/etc/group:ro \ > -v /proc:/host/proc:ro \ > -v /sys:/host/sys:ro \ > -v /etc/os-release:/host/etc/os-release:ro \ > --restart unless-stopped \ > --cap-add SYS_PTRACE \ > --security-opt apparmor=unconfined \ > netdata/netdata
One word: pfSense. If you aren't using it as a router/firewall already it has a load to offer, though in that sense it isn't "lightweight".
There is an option called "Register DHCP leases in DNS forwarder" which does exactly what you need. DHCP clients when requesting a lease will provide their hostname, which pfSense will then register in the DNS forwarder, so anyone on any OS can then type "ping dragon-pc" and get it resolving to an IP.
For sake of argument you can run pfSense just as a DNS and DHCP server if you needed to, or if you're familiar with virtualisation it's fully virtualisable. But seriously, it's an awesome router/firewall with lots of stuff that is very useful at LANs, like seeing a live traffic graph broken down by computer and how much it is using.
I like this: nothing "serious", but go with fun stuff, not stuff with monetary value.
Give everyone a nametag and an "ear", Winner takes home 5 ears, 2nd gets the ears he killed, etc.
Make it something cool but cheap, so people prize holding onto their ear, but people might trade them at the end of the night if friends and want the one with their name/gamertag on it.
IMHO, you're better off playing something like OpenArena. I understand that the Q3/Q3A brand may have some meaning, but OA provides extremely similar gameplay (the same engine but with new resources) without requiring you to jump through hoops to play it.
My friends and I enjoy playing Urban Terror to this day. It is free, you can run a locally dedicated server (or put one up on the Internet), and it runs on just about any old computer you can find(based off of Quake 3 engine).
We stay away from games where losing keeps people from playing anymore until the entire game is through (pretty much any RTS).
Good luck with your LANs!
It's a post Doom game, but does some things different. I really like the single player story, but I've never had the chance to play it at a LAN.
There's also Xonotic, a open source area FPS.
Cube 2: Sauerbraten, an older open source FPS.
Halo: Online, the hacked version of Halo 3 for Windows. I'll pm you the torrent. It's actually what lit a fire under MS's ass for MCC for PC.
To use pfSense to its full capability you do need at least 2 NICs (or 1 NIC that is VLAN capable, and a VLAN capable switch) but for just running DNS and DHCP you can run pfsense just as an appliance. But seriously, if you have an old server which has 2 (supported) NICs or the capability to add extra NICs to an existing PC, it's worth it. You'll be hooked.
We organize 300+ seat lanparties.
What hardware do you have, and why did you go for this hardware? We have around 15 Zyxel ES-2024 Switches. They are okay machines. Gigabit uplink is important on these machines, the internal 100mb connection is okay. We also have a 16-port full Gigabit Zyxel Switch (can't remember the model), which we use as the main switch.
How did you connect it? So we basically we have one gigabit switch, and we connect all the rest of switches to them through the gigabit uplink. One switch per table.
What kind of servers do you host? Old as fuck desktop running Smoothwall. It has firewall, DHCP, web interface. That's all we need. For tournaments, we have game separate servers, of course.
How many users do you support? We have capacity on our own for around 250 persons, I think. The rest of the equipment (last time we had 380 seats) we ask around, f.ex. Zyxel themselves were happy to borrow the equipment for us in exchange for some publicity, that was great of them.
Do you offer wireless? Yep, just put some cheap wireless router on it. We keep it public, so people who visit the lanparty can do whatevery they want.
How do you tackle the general problem of supporting so many users on a relatively slow internet connection. Oh my. This is a hard one :) Pretty much our network guys are monitoring the internet traffic through Smoothwall, and when they see something suspicious, they go to the guy's place and ask what's going on. Mostly it's just guys who claim that "they forgot uTorrent was running" ;) We don't really block any ports, because we can't be sure what ports people use for gaming.
This guy is a pretty good resource. Check out "Section 4: networking" under his A+ study videos. He also has a Network+ series. If you decide you really want to get in depth you might check out a CCNA study guide like this one. CCNA goes more into enterprise level stuff than you will need (and it's obviously cisco-centric), but you will still learn a lot of good networking theory.
Guy who created and runs LANPartyList.com here.
I would recommend looking at https://bbpress.org/ for combined User/News/Forum/VIP/Gallery/Pages system.
LAN Party List (and it's previous iterations) are fully integrated solutions from scratch, but if I were to do it all over again I would expand on a pre-existing system, because it took years of my own time as a volunteer to build it all and polish it.
A ticketing/reserved seating system alone is a big undertaking (months of volunteer part time development, if they finish it). So unless you have thousands of dollars to pay professional developers I would start small and plan to add more features as you go.
Also remember, paper is infinitely scalable: Not pretty but for one-off events and limited resources, you're likely better off doing things manually at first.
[edit]
For a pre-made seating system you could try http://www.lanreg.org
May I suggest this mod. It improves over vanilla a bit, optimising it and improving a bit. https://www.moddb.com/mods/farcry-addon-mod-fcam All participants need to have it installed.
Download only the patch side of the mod 1.5.05 instead od fcam 1.99 if you dont want graphics overhaul.
Wow that's great to hear! The only reason I used 2 servers was because I have hardly any experience with nginx.
I do think WordPress would work with Nginx as it is configured... Let me try it out quick. All it would need is mysql and php i think. I'll let you know in a few minutes
edit: so I tried to get it working and I'm running into some issues with Nginx. It isn't quite as easy as Apache to get working with WordPress. If you'd like to try it out, here's a few good guides.
Guide for installing the LEMP stack (nginx, mysql, php5) . You won't need to install Nginx, but the rest will be pertinent. Keep in mind that nginx is installed in /usr/local/nginx and that is also where the configuration files are.
Installing WordPress on Ubuntu using Nginx.. This guide shouldn't be too hard to follow.
Let me know if you have any questions, I may come back to this tomorrow. I'm really happy that you're considering using it!
Das ist ein Panel für Gameserver, bei dem die Server vorkonfiguriert sind (bzw du kannst Konfigurationen von anderen Nutzern laden) und die man per Knopfdruck starten kann. Kannst du quasi ergänzend nutzen, um nicht nur die Spiele zu verteilen, sondern auch noch die Server dazu zu verwalten.
Link: https://pterodactyl.io/
Yes, with the device in it's default configuration, you can plug things in the way you've suggested. If the config, or vlan.db file have previously used data in them, then some ports may be unable to communicate with others.
The ports labeled "molex" take small transceivers, in this case know as GBICs. This is an example of one that will fit in your switch and take a copper cable.
For monitoring traffic, you'll probably want to use a protocol called SNMP, and some software running on your [game] server that will graph this data out. I like Cacti a lot, but it may be a bit involved for just a LAN party. You're correct, this SNMP data will travel via TCP/IP over your ethernet ports on the switch, vs the console port which just provides access to the device for management.
Look at Wireguard VPN. easy to set up and super secure. You take a device (desktop, laptop, raspi) and it will be the VPN endpoint for your network. You generate login keys for your friends and all they have to do is set up a VPN connection pointed at your network and bam. Everyone can share everything.
Did I mention it's free?
I have people sit in these things for 6+ hour events, and I’ve never had a complaint
How much time/money do you have for testing?
If money's the constraint, the cheapest solution I can think of would be to try using a POE extender, like one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Cudy-POE10-Extender-Amplifier-Wall-Mount/dp/B082M7HTL8
No promises that it'll work, but it's worth a try. You'll need to get a POE injector, but those are cheap too:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-PoE150S-Injector-Adapter-Compliant/dp/B001PS9E5I
Use good quality cables, shielded preferably, test different length front cables, and it might work. Probably the cheapest to try. Much more reliable would be fiber or P2P wireless, but both options would be several hundred at least.
Running one of Scotland's largest LAN parties is a pain but we put a lot of planning into it beforehand. We make sure tournament details and a timetable is posted well before the LAN and it's re-iterated at the start of the event. Here's an example of our next big on next month:
Like EatingSteak has said, you don't have a problem at all. As long as you're pulling in the attendees you're winning in my books (it's our biggest problem making sure the 70+ places are filled and paid for).
Have a look on the website and see if you can pull anything that might help you: http://www.gamingscotland.com/ :3
Like the others have said, 100 Mbps is not enough for filesharing. Depending on how the switch handles the QoS you may get higher ping when playing locally if someone, for example, downloads the game files from a network share. Consider that a simple hard drive has a higher bandwidth than a gigabit switch, and most gaming PCs these days have SSD or NVMe drives that are 5 to 20 times quicker that HDDs. I suggest you get a gigabit switch, you can get a cheap unmanaged one for as low as 90 bucks:
https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Unmanaged-Rackmount-Lifetime-TL-SG1024/dp/B003BU0EKW/ref=mp_s_a_1_4
Increase the admission fee for the partecipants by 3 dollars each and you are set for this and the next LAN parties.
Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge download the full game here: https://www.moddb.com/groups/command-conquer-westwood-fans-ea/downloads/red-alert-2-yuri-revenge-full-version Then install the C&C Net lobby patch on top of the game here: https://downloads.cncnet.org/CnCNet5_YR_Installer.exe
If you're wanting the mindblowing experience of configuring ISC DHCP server, knock yourself out.
If you want something violently easy to setup and administer so you can spend less time administrating and more time fragging, it's incredibly low effort and wildly use to deploy Pi-hole on a fresh installation of Raspbian Lite. It has a DHCP server built into it and you get very solid control of DNS, too. This gives you power to block stupid stuff to conserve precious bandwidth for today's online server games.
Although, I'm curious why you're setting up a bespoke DHCP server just for a few friends. Your home router should be able to handle it just fine. If it's entirely offline, though, then I can see the need and you probably don't need much in the way of DNS, then, either. You'll still benefit from the ease of configuring through Pi-hole's GUI instead of ISC's awful format.
If you really want to do it yourself, setup dnsmasq instead of isc-dhcp-server. dnsmasq is a Swiss Army knife with IKEA instructions. isc-dhcp-server is a claymore with a handle covered in needles. IIRC, Pi-hole configures dnsmasq under the hood.
You can look here, but there is a large amount of information still needing filled out. https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/List_of_Local_Multiplayer_Games
The biggest LAN I've attended is also the first large-scale LAN I've attended. The GXL (https://www.facebook.com/thegxl) event at the TooManyGames expo in Oaks, PA this past May was more than 200 people. It was a pretty awesome time. :)
Not really a specific game recommendation (KF2 and Chiv have already been suggested), but I'd really recommend checking out Linux Game Server Manager: https://linuxgsm.com/servers/.
It takes away a lot of the guesswork and fiddling of creating dedicated servers for a LAN your size. I also used it to find a bunch of 16+ player games that I knew I could then easily host.
A couple games I'd call out from that list:
- Ballistic Overkill
- Call of Duty 4 MW
- Fistful of Frags (FREE!)
- Rust
Crock pot stuff is great because it can stay warm the whole time.
Chilli, boneless chicken stuff like nuggets, chicken balls (sounds dumb but not real chicken balls but nuggets in a ball shape, hot & spicy variants, etc), keilbassa, bauerwurst and italian snausages (with or without sauerkraut in the pot), hamburger helper (easy!).
Bonus: Hot Dog Roller makes the place smell awesome. Stick it next to someone and watch two packages of hot-dogs get devoured!
For a mid tower try one of these handcarts, if you aren't going to be going up a bunch of stairs: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?prodid=11241056&whse=BD_115&topnav=bd&cat=6309&hierPath=6216*&lang=en-US
I bring mine to quakecon, and just bungee cord the tower/monitor on securely. Works like a charm because it's a long way from the parking lot to the convention room.
Wolfenstein : Enemy Territory is a lot of fun, not a single executable but it's a 200mb download and unpacked about 400mb in total (Of the top of my head) so really easy to share, it's a free game and demands zero gpu power :)
There are some fun mods for it like Jaymod which let you set the gravity & has funmodes like panzer/sniper war. Especially the panzerwars are awesome.
Also check out the total conversion mods True Combat Elite and CQB, they add a CoD-like feel to the game and I really like it.
You can find the downloads here:
Well, Liero is typically straight PvP, while Teeworlds has a variety of gameplay modes. If I was going to compare, I'd say that Teeworlds is more similar to Soldat.
If you like Liero, be sure to try out OpenLieroX.
IMHO, Teeworlds is the best of these types of games.
Urban Terror. Kinda like counterstrike, but on the Quake III Arena engine. Walljumping, powersliding, it's pretty fun.
Other than that we play Killing Floor, CoD4, Trackmania Nations, Sanctum.
Xonotic (http://www.xonotic.org/) is a free clone of Quake 3/Unreal Tournament thats been updated quite a bit, and is a lot of fun at lan parties if you're into twitch shooters.
It should run pretty well on most machines, although if your group has machines that have a problem running anything on the source engine, you may have issues.
Yes, well I have some games that aren't on Steam and come in the form of executables. FEAR: Combat, for example.
I found Silent Install Builder and a way to generate a response file for InstallShield / MSIs: http://helpnet.installshield.com/installshield18helplib/IHelpSetup_EXECmdLine.htm#wp1039936
Ehhh depends on your comprehension of networking somewhat. but now that I think about it, if you can manage to find like a normal house router just sitting around that would do the job easier without much work on your part.
But if you are using the laptop you would need to install pfsense https://www.pfsense.org/download/ Ehh I'm not going to try and explain how to use it and all that could take up a lot of typing but there are plenty of youtube videos on it.
But yeah if you are able to just get a off the shelf/home router that would make your life 10 times easier.
I use Zerotier for this case. It's a VPN/Virtual Switch, you could compare it to Hamachi. I have the client installed on my firewall (opnsense) and I share out the network ID for people to join.
Most importantly it's built on top of open source software, if you want to use their web management portal then you're limited to 100 devices per network. If you need more devices then you can manage the network through the command line client and add as many hosts as you'd like.
So I am not a fan of whatever windows can do (It should be possible, but I do not use it).
I am a big fan of D-Lan though. You install it on every computer and share the relevant folder on yours. Everybody should see your computer and the shared folder in his instance of D-Lan and be able to download it. The cool thing about D-Lan, is that it's SUPER FAST. It distributes traffic to different computers who already have the file. I have seen it completely maxing possible downstream on my Gigabit Switch (125 Mb/s with 6 People using D-Lan). Windows shares are (in my very limited) experience much slower.
One additional tip (whatever method you are using): If you are sharing a folder (for a mod, for example) which contains a lot of really small files, you should ZIP that folder. (Transferring many small files is much slower than one big file)
I don't think I can get an actual server set up, but would this program be useful for us to share files easily? Would it require anything else other than the program itself installed?
EDIT: I suppose D-LAN would be a better choice for this.
I suggest you investigate using "Direct Connect" instead, most often simply called "DC++". You need a server running the hub software, most popular and relatively easy to used is YnHub and everyone will need a client, "DC plus plus" (DC++) is by far the most popular.
Only HTTP unfortunately. HTTPS/TLS can't be cached by LanCache.
If you want to do more general HTTP caching (in addition to LanCache) look into using Squid Cache as a transparent HTTP proxy.
LanCache is very heavily tailored towards gaming CDNs, normal HTTP caching is better with slightly different settings - which Squid deals with perfectly.
I've carried a lot of equipment by fashioning handles out velcro.
You could use the same to easily secure everything to a dolly or something like that.
I have a pretty big RECTANGULAR duffel bag that can fit any non eatx towers, so a pretty big beast. You can store keyboard, mice, cables, peripherals in the other empty space. If you want to bring a slim monitor (not vesa, the ones that are mounted from the bottom with two screws connecting to the stand) you can do that too
Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076BRXQLQ
Maybe quite a bit smaller depending on your case, and definitely get the straps on the large planes otherwise everything is going to tumble to the bottom of the bag.
Absolutely, I found a trendnet on amazon for ya: TRENDnet 8-Port Unmanaged 10/100 Mbps GREENnet Ethernet Desktop Plastic Housing Switch,TE100-S8 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M2UZBK/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_zeWtub0EY1P1Q
Your best bet is to buy a cheap ethernet adapter card for the 3rd machine and go with traditional wired networking. Not only is this the easiest, but it's probably cheaper than any other approach.
If you insist on a wireless approach, which for lan parties and gaming is NOT optimal, then you either need to buy a wireless ethernet adapter, a USB-3 to ethernet as you mentioned (which is not wireless), a USB wifi adapter, or see if the 3rd computer's motherboard already has a wifi antenna on it (unlikely).
Do you have line of site? Something like this:
Parts Recommendation:
8 port gig switch $22 https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unmanaged-Gigabit-GREENnet-TEG-S82g/dp/B00C2H0YFU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1499361614&sr=8-3&keywords=trendnet%2B8%2Bport%2Bgigabit%2Bswitch&th=1
Get cables from monoprice: https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10208&cs_id=1020802&p_id=11382&seq=1&format=2
I would send back the switch & get something that is full Gigabit. That switch is only 100Mbps. This is the gigabit version of yours.
1000Mbps = 125MB/s
100Mbps = 12.5MB/s
For the extra $6, go with this one. It's the 8 port version of that switch. I've been using one for years with no issues, and that way when you want to add a 5th, 6th or 7th seat, there's no extra headache.
I picked up a North Face Base Camp Duffel - X-Large. Along with a gear grip, I can carry all my stuff in one trip. It's a pretty big bag with comfortable straps.
I bought this for my Silverstone Sugo build years ago..still have it to this day.
My brother-in-law picked one of these up at Dreamhack Austin last year, he loves it more linkage
No problem. I'm just glad they still make them. They used to have them for LCD screens but i'm not sure if you can find them for bigger LCD monitors. I rocked one when my 21" 4:3 was cool.
Amazon is amazing - https://www.amazon.com/ROCCAT-Widescreen-Designed-Flatscreen-Monitors/dp/B002RSQ732/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485559792&sr=8-1&keywords=monitor+carrying+case
1.I will do my own research into this!
2.The computer count just dropped to 6 could i use this one that /u/PDXPayback said i could?
3.The router-Ethernet Thing shouldn't be a problem as the router is on top of one of the pc's (Im^holding^It^Now)
4.My dad is an electrician so ill ask him about where are the breakers so i can not trip the power
and finally THANK YOU!
Appreciate it man!
Will this suffice? As I'll have to lug my screen + case, max height is 1070mm and both rig+screen are 1040ish. https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B001GU6FYI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1AT7YVPFBWXBL
Here's a half-decent 8 port:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Gigabit-Ethernet-Desktop-TL-SG1008D/dp/B001EVGIYG
And a better 16 port:
https://www.amazon.com/D-Link-16-Port-Gigabit-Switch-DGS-1016A/dp/B0092KZBCQ
Pretty much anything will work, just remember you'll need one port for each computer, then one to link the switch to the next higher device (another switch or the router).
Just do some searching for extension cables on amazon or someplace similar, or hit your local hardware store. Look for 14AWG or better, at whatever length you need.
For the sake of simplicity I have disable my lagg to focus on 1:1 optimization.
I was just able to pull down a file via http @ around 80-90MB/s. iperf readings are normal for a single gigabit link @ 929Mbits/sec: http://i.imgur.com/EdZ0cRJ.jpg
FYI I use an SG200-26 and SG200-50P for switching at my LAN and have fitted my servers with intel PRO/1000 cards. This particular server is using this quadport nic.
Can't thank you enough for the debug help, really appreciate the tangible verification steps!!
I would suggest to save money just finding a cheaper office chair and doing some diy work to make it easily dismantlable but not unreliable. If you have some room, though, you could get a folding back tallback office chair like this one.
I really regret not taking a real computer chair with me to the last large LAN I was at. Two days on a hotel chair killed me. (along with sleeping on the floor)