Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Gambit. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
My DSL modem hates me
Topic Started: Dec 7 2009, 08:23 PM (145 Views)
Kishi
Member Avatar
Illithid
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
After a frustrating bit of time yesterday trying to figure out why I couldn't join the LAN fun with Lance, Nighthawk, and Jenn last night, we eventually realized it was because of my modem. Since my brother-in-law set it up and didn't give us the password, I didn't get a chance to subjugate any civilizations with them.

Then, about two hours later, my internet connection died abruptly.

Going by my standard IT knowledge, I turned it off and then on again- no luck. Hit the reset button. Nothing. None of the lights were even blinking, as they normally do when it boots up. Since Lance had found a PDF of the manual for the modem earlier that day, I checked through it. And it was of little real help- if the power light was read (as it was) you had to call technical support. Some Googling led me to suspect that it meant the modem was dead- apparently they're extremely susceptible to death via random power surge, even if plugged into a power strip- and calling tech support agreed with that. Ugh. They're supposed to mail us out a new one to get here tomorrow or Wednesday, but it's still pretty damn annoying.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Benevolance
Member Avatar
Ancient Wyrm
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
On the bright side, now you don't have to worry about the password. :D
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
lgm
Member Avatar
Demogorgon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Modems and routers are the boon and bane of all gaming
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kishi
Member Avatar
Illithid
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
True, if all goes according to plan (ha!) then I should be able to play for a while on Wednesday night. =)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Benevolance
Member Avatar
Ancient Wyrm
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
That would be most excellent. Jenn is interested to give Sins of a Solar Empire a try this season, too, and she's always a fan of Conquerors. Now that NaNoWriMo is wrapped up, she has Wednesday nights free for a while and can probably be coaxed into some games.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
The Nighthawk
Member Avatar
Bugbear
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
If she's interested in giving Sins a try, that would be awesome. I struggle jumping between Sins and Conquerors, only because AoC is so old, and the zoom fucntion in Sins is waaaay too easy to get used to.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Benevolance
Member Avatar
Ancient Wyrm
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
My biggest knock on Sins is that the games are not quick in any way, shape or form. And because it's real time there isn't a turn-end to pause, so a standard challenge game will go two to six hours. Whereas a tough Conquerors grind can go a couple hours, and as little as 30 minutes if things go poorly. :D

What I should do is put a clock in the room and after 90 minutes, simply stop playing. That's more the level of time committment I can afford!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
The Nighthawk
Member Avatar
Bugbear
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
The time commitment for a game is the main detractor. If we played on fast settings, a regular map will still take, as you say 4+ hours at a minimum. In general, 1 hour per player involved is likely a decent estimate.

We could try setting up some smaller maps with more players, say about 4-5 grav wells per player, instead of the 8 the random game usually gives. That might help speed things up, or it could make it too difficult to actually win!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kishi
Member Avatar
Illithid
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
That's how I used to play Risk. After a while, I'd get really bored and then just all-out attack all of my neighbors. I'd usually end up controlling about half the map, but I'd be wiped out in the next round. I was okay with that.

Yesterday, we had a massive wind storm and lost power for several hours. I feel like the universe is trying to keep me off the computer.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Benevolance
Member Avatar
Ancient Wyrm
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I haven't had time to clean the Lan party set up from the great room table yet, so I was able to convince Jenn quite easily (sans alcohol, even!) that it would be fun to play some Conquerors there for the usual Wednesday matchups. Hopefully Kishi can get online by this evening, and maybe Wes will even return from that black hole he's been inhabiting.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kishi
Member Avatar
Illithid
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Still no modem yet. I'm hoping it'll be deliver late this afternoon, we'll see how it goes.
Edited by Kishi, Dec 9 2009, 05:46 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
The Nighthawk
Member Avatar
Bugbear
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
I should be able to get on for a bit tonight. Give me a call when you and Jenn are ready to go.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Benevolance
Member Avatar
Ancient Wyrm
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Kishi, let us know if there is any change in its condition.
Edited by Benevolance, Dec 9 2009, 06:48 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kishi
Member Avatar
Illithid
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
New modem here! And installed, even.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Benevolance
Member Avatar
Ancient Wyrm
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Hooray!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Round Table · Next Topic »
Add Reply