Broadband needed, but what type?

Rex Havoc · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 2:50 pm

I haven't noticed any posts regarding this, so I thought I'd start one... (GD move as needed...)

It is widely known that dial-up is 'right out' in regards to Live & GameTap. What is in the discussion mills around some forums now is that Satellite is not being supported either, by GameTap, due to the latency issues. I've also read recently that the lower end broadband connections are questionable. Can someone please clarify this?

I am one who is currently on dial-up. My only option for broadband is satellite. The only reason I would consider the upgrade and expense of satellite is Live. So, before I plop down $400+ I want to have some assurances that I will be able to function on GameTap and in Live...

Thanks!!

Shorahmin · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:09 pm

As I understand things, Gametap requires a minimum of 384kilobitspersecond (kbps). And satellite won't work, they say. But this leaves a lot of questions. Maybe Randomos can help here.

It's clear that URU live works very well with a much lower speed connection than Gametap wants. I currently have 110kbps and do fine. If their plan is that Live be played through Gametap, we are in trouble. But, if Live can be accessed directly after a proper Gametap subscription, then it aught to work. What we need is a way to register on game tap, get approval to play URU Live, and download some type of license at essentially dial up speed. Then be allowed to go directly to URU Live without going through Gametap each time. Can that be done?

Second question: When Gametap says that satellite won't work because of latency, do they mean that shooter style games that depend on quick reactions won't play satisfactorily, or do they mean that Gametap will time out the satellite connection? The point is, of course, that URU Live does not require the fast response that the Shoot-and-Kill fight games do. Will satellite work satisfactorily for Live?

goofy · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:11 pm

well this is from gametap themselves

Broadband service: DSL, DSL light, or cable modem (minimum 384k)

got from here http://kb.gametap.cust-serv.com/gametapkb/gametapKB/CONSUMER/esupport.asp?hotid=9c47569d-67ff-4a34-9ff6-3dd0cb4762f0&number=5&nShowFacts=&nShowCause=&nShowChange=&nShowAddInfo=&activepage=statement.asp&bForceMatch=&strCurrentSymptom=&searchtype=normal&searchclass=&bnewsession=false&selecttype=match

Sorry for the big link. did a search on game tap.

Rex Havoc · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:15 pm

Quote:

Second question: When Gametap says that satellite won't work because of latency, do they mean that shooter style games that depend on quick reactions won't play satisfactorily, or do they mean that Gametap will time out the satellite connection? The point is, of course, that URU Live does not require the fast response that the Shoot-and-Kill fight games do. Will satellite work satisfactorily for Live?

I think this does affect more shooter style games as the lag might literally 'kill' you!!

Maratanos · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:15 pm

Quote:

It's clear that URU live works very well with a much lower speed connection than Gametap wants. I currently have 110kbps and do fine. If their plan is that Live be played through Gametap, we are in trouble. But, if Live can be accessed directly after a proper Gametap subscription, then it aught to work. What we need is a way to register on game tap, get approval to play URU Live, and download some type of license at essentially dial up speed. Then be allowed to go directly to URU Live without going through Gametap each time. Can that be done?

I think I should clarify. Until Uru obviously works fine on dial-up. We assume that URU Live will as well, ignoring huge downloads. But we don't know for sure that URU Live will not require more bandwidth simply to run.

However, I would assume that it would actually require less per person in a given age, becase of much more optimized code. However, this may well be entirely nullified by more populated ages.

Maratanos · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:17 pm

Goofy, can you edit your post so that that huge URL doesn't add horizontal scrollbars. It'd be simple. Just do it like this

Rex Havoc · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:23 pm

Until Uru is a totally different creature than Live, mainly because of the software is server side. You also hit on a feature of Uru. Populated Ages can cause a lot of data transfer. The idea of Uru Live is to interact with a lot of people as well as solve the puzzles and play the game.

This whole thing is really depressing.

Having been so active on the private shards, (lesser on D'mala as it never seemed to 'like' me!) I was looking forward to jumping in, big time, with Live. Now I'm not sure I'll be able to. *sigh*

Edit: On that is what happened to the page width!!

Starfyre · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:40 pm

Well I guess I'm out of Live now. I have 256k download. And for me to upgrade to the higher speed broadband would require spending another $20 a month. On top of that the price of Live at $10 a month and its just more then I can afford.

I will now not be joining Live.

Maratanos · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:54 pm

Come on... You're overreacting. I think its the same as dial-up. As other people have said, it won't be supported, and downloads will take a while, but dial-up will still be possible. I think its the same with a lower speed broadband connection.

Rex Havoc · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 4:23 pm

In speaking with GreyDragon, Rand, Trent (with GameTap) and EricL (GameTap too) during Mysterium about connections, dial-up, while not being blocked, will entail some very time consuming downloads. I suffered through Prologue with dial-up and I know that anytime I changed Ages, I could look for at least a 30-45 minute wait.

Before everyone goes around yelling "The sky is falling, the sky is falling", let's hope someone, knowledgeable, pops buy and offers some words of wisdom. Also, remember, one purpose to Beta, is to determine some of the answers to these questions...

Shorahmin · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:26 pm

Rex, I agree. We are speculating. We need somebody who knows something to tell us anything. Can you spell Greydragon or Randomos? So far the silence has been deafening.

And, how do I fix the page width problem?

Shorahmin · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:31 pm

[quote="Maratanos"]Come on... You're overreacting. I think its the same as dial-up. As other people have said, it won't be supported, and downloads will take a while, but dial-up will still be possible. I think its the same with a lower speed broadband connection.[/quote]

Actually, Maratanos, that seems not to be true. This whole issue came up when I, and soon others, were unable to consumate the Gametap install because of slow connections. Right now, the official word is that we are not going to get in. This isn't because of anything in URU Live. The problem is admitedly with Gametap.

Starfyre · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 6:33 pm

You know what I hope your right and I am overreacting. But if its any indication what the installer download was like as well as trying to download just one game. I am afraid I won't be in Live cause my connection won't meet the minimum requirements.

Pene · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 7:43 pm

i'm in the same boat with Rex in that i have dialup and nothing else is available in my area. it would almost (i say almost) be less expensive for me and my family to relocate :lol:

than to pay for satellite (well, ok a little exageration going on here :shock:

)
But the fact is, gametap won't even let you subscribe unless your broadband width is big enough (from what i've been able to tell).

BTW - I want a Stargate on my Relto!

Tokai · **Posted:** Thu Aug 10, 2006 7:57 pm

The proof of the pudding is in the eating Starfyre, you should give it a try first - then if it's not fast enough for you, you can call it a day - or consider paying for a higher throughput. I wouldn't chuck it on the strength of what you hear or see written. There must be many in the same boat as you - waiting in the wings (slow speed or not) - just waiting to give it a try.

In essence - give it a try first before you come to any rash decisions.

Broadband needed, but what type?

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