Link Cable games for Xbox?? (other than Halo) (1 Viewer)

[Leroy]

With all the new announcements at E3 of new and and long awaited games, will any multi-player games be suporting link play? I've read all I can about Brute Force and Unreal Championship but can find no mention of support for this underutilized peripheral(sp?). So far the only other game I know of that uses it is Tony Hawk 3.

Halo multiplayer is so much more fun via the cable since it's more like PC deathmatching where you have no idea where your opponents are(unlike splitscreen where it's hard to hide).

 

[Jared_B]

I've been wondering the same thing. I can't get access to broadband internet, so I will never be using MS's online gaming. My only option for multiplayer is the system link. I thought I read somewhere that Unreal will support the link cable, but I can't confirm that at this time. It's possible that Wolfenstein will also support it.

 

[Larry Seno Jr.]

Why use a link cable? You can always use a hub to play Vs each other.

 

[Jared_B]

Why use a link cable? You can always use a hub to play Vs each other.

Uh, what the heck are you talking about?
We talking about games the utilize the System Link feature of the Xbox, where you can link multiple Xboxes together using rj45 cables. To hook up more than 2 boxes, you will need a hub.

 

[Larry Seno Jr.]

Jared-
Uhhhh Im talking about a product which labels itself as a system link cable.
Link Removed
And there is no difference between the "System Link" and a generic cat 5 cable when it comes to performance. (rephrased for clarity)
And I hope you dont go around saying "Uh" to people in person, it will get you punched in the mouth, it's rude. I don't know if that was your intention, but a lot of people Im sure dont know that the system link cable is just a patch cord.

 

[BrianB]

Jared, that "system link" cable is just a twisted pair network cable, it really isn't anything more than networking cable with two of the wires fiddled around.

You're paying a premium for the Microsoft name.

The idea of using a regular hub + two regular network cables amounts to the same thing - that'd just be hardware people are more likely to have kicking about.

 

[Masood Ali]

MotoGP supports the link cable.

 

[Ryan Peter]

Jared, that "system link" cable is just a twisted pair network cable, it really isn't anything more than networking cable with two of the wires fiddled around.

To be more specific it's not just a twisted pair network cable (all CAT-5 cable is twisted pair, shielded or unshielded, whatever your flavor) it's a cross-over cable. And it's more than just two of the wires fiddled around. Here's a url that shows what a crossover cable is: http://gccprinters.com/support/doc/crossover.html
I have to show that I learned something in my Networking class.

 

[Masood Ali]

Ryan is correct. With crossover cable, you can link 2 Xbox's together without a hub. You can't do so with regular CAT5. Conversely, crossover cable won't work with a hub, but CAT5 will.

 

[BrianB]

Damn, crossover is the word I was looking for. Thanks, guys

 

[Leroy]

Darn..and here I thought I had gotten some replies about games that utilize the link cable (or crossover or Cat5).
I do hope that more 4 player games will support this, you would think that it would be easy to incorporate with all these online games coming.
As and aside, I think it was a boneheaded move to exclude modems as part of their online strategy. I had no problems playing Q3A or Daytona USA online via modem on my DC. I live just oustide Houston and have 0 broadband options (I don't consider DirecPC a viable gaming option).
Anyway, can anyone confirm the inclusion of link suport in any of the upcoming online/multiplayer games?

 

[BrianB]

I do hope that more 4 player games will support this, you would think that it would be easy to incorporate with all these online games coming.

It's not quite as easy at that. The Microsoft online strategy is for them to host the servers for online play - that means games' network setup will be written with that in mind. For "local" play, they need to utilise a slightly different setup - one of the machines needs to be the server etc.

It's very similiar, but still different...

 

[Jared_B]

Why use a link cable? You can always use a hub to play Vs each other.

This could be very misleading for someone who has never done the system link thing before. You obviously have to use some type of cable to hook everything up, a hub alone won't do it. Now, whether that cable is a crossover (MS's version), or a standard CAT5 from RatShack also makes a difference.
When I first tried using the System Link OPTION on Halo, someone here gave me some incorrect information. Now that I have it figured out, I've been playing Halo on two, even three TVs using a Hub and a couple CAT5 cables from RatShack. Now, through actual experience, I think I know what the difference is between MS's ripoff cable and a standard CAT5.
Leroy, In the little bit of searching I did, I could only come up with 4 games that support the System Link feature. Nascar Heat, Tony Hawk 2 & 3, and Halo. Like I said before, I too hope a lot more games support this feature. I would assume that any new game designed for Xbox Live will also support System Link Play.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Jared, I am going to try to hook my Xbox up to my DSL modem in the next few weeks...can you elaborate on the differences you discovered between MS' cable and standard CAT5 stuff? I am pretty new to all of this, but I thought (from previous posts here, mostly) that all I needed was standard (non-crossover) CAT5 cable and a router. Is that incorrect?
Thanks in advance...

 

[Jared_B]

Dave, I've never hooked mine up to a DSL modem, but I think you are correct. The MS cable is just a crossover cable, used for connecting two Xboxes (computers) directly. If you're using anything else, like routers, hubs, etc - you need standard CAT5.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Cool, thanks man. Oh, the trials we go through to be able to blast our friends online...

 

[Thom B]

Dave,
Depends on your intended useage. Are you looking to play online w/gamespy's tunnling software? If so, you'll need a standard cat5 cable which will connect to a hub which will allow your Xbox to talk to the tunneling software on your 'puter, which will then route the signal out to other players on the net.

In short, you'll need 3 cat5's. One from the router to the uplink port on the hub. One from the hub to the nic on your 'puter. And one from the hub to the Xbox.

Alternatively, if your router has built in ports for multiple 'puters to hook up, you'll just need one extra cat5 to go from the Xbox to the router.

In either case, the MS cable won't work for you. It's a crossover cable, as noted above, and is designed to directly connect two Xbox's, or two computers, without a hub/router in the stream.

Hope this helps.

T

 

[Dave Falasco]

Well my ultimate objective is to be able to play online via Xbox Live. Now I think I read that all I would have to do in that case is basically plug my Xbox into my DSL modem (probably with standard CAT5?), no routers, hubs, or anything else required. But I would also like to use the DSL modem for my computer, so instead of unplugging my Xbox and plugging the comp in, I thought I would pick up a router (hub? is there a difference?) so that both could be connected at the same time. And the next step would be, since I already have a computer and a router/hub, why not hop onto Gamespy and play via their tunneling software until XBL (Xbox Live) comes out?

So I guess the assumption I am making is that I can use the same wiring configuration (Xbox --> hub --> modem, computer --> hub --> modem) for both Gamespy and XBL.

And Leroy, I have totally hijacked your thread with this, and I apologize. I just wanted something I read in one of the posts clarified, and now your "What games are available for play over a system link?" thread has turned into "How can Dave get online?" thread. I didn't mean to do that, I'm sorry, and I won't post my questions in your thread anymore, I promise!

 

[Thom B]

Xbox --> modem...hmmm dunno about that one. One of my co-workers is in the early beta for Xbox Live, I'll have to ask him what the config is, but I'd assume that would work if your modem connects via cat 5 to a nic on your PC.

The "Xbox --> hub --> modem, computer --> hub --> modem" config does work for gamespy, and I assume will work for XbLive as well.

Routers and hubs are different beasts. At the most basic level, a router is a device that your computer talks to which then passes the signal out to the internet, while a hub is just a signal splitter that allows multiple computers to send info directly to each other.

Hope this makes some sense.

T

 

[Larry Seno Jr.]

Thom-

Im using a Hub right now to split a dynamic DSL line.