Life is cheap in world of multiplayer games

PETER GRIFFIN takes time off from Counter-Strike to describe his experiences with flat-rate high-speed gaming.

I'm crouching in a dingy tunnel behind a large crate marked explosives as bullets ricochet off the walls.

Behind lie the bodies of my fallen comrades, strewn unceremoniously and bloodied along the tunnel floor. Ahead, closing in stealthily, are the murky shadows of SAS commandos.

With my bullets spent, I make a last-ditch effort to save the mission. Clutching a grenade, I sidestep into the passage and lob it at my approaching enemies, diving back behind the crate as the startled commandos vanish in a blinding flash.

Aaaah! A satisfying way to finish a four-hour marathon session of Counter-Strike. A session, admittedly, that had seen myself at the wrong end of a grenade, burst of shot-gun pellets or sniper's bullet more often than I would have liked.

It's all part and parcel of the blood-thirsty, fast-paced world of multi-player online gaming.

A world where a creaking door or heavy footfall can attract a shower of bullets or a badly timed leap can have you plummeting to a bone-crunching death at the bottom of an air-conditioning shaft.

Most of the best role-playing computer games on the market - Quake, Half-Life, Unreal, KingPin, Duke Nukem, Return to Castle Wolfenstein - all have multiplayer versions that bring a new level of experiences when played with others over high-speed internet connections or a local area network (LAN).

Counter-Strike, the multiplayer modification for the role-player Half-Life, is regarded as the most realistic.

It is definitely the most popular, having attracted a community of tens of thousands worldwide.

They play one another in teams of terrorists and antiterrorist forces, using specially allocated servers dotted around the net.

Because these games pack a punch in terms of graphics and complexity, the multiplayer versions are largely the domain of players with broadband connections.

That makes Telecom's 25,000-odd Jetstream and Jetstart subscribers potential online multiplayers.

Those customers, equipped with broadband modems, are able to access the Jetstream Gaming Realm without chewing through their monthly data limits.

The Wellington-based internet service provider Paradise also has an impressive number of gaming servers which its Jetstream customers can tap into.

That makes online gaming the only highspeed service you can access at a flat rate - like a standard dial-up internet account.

The process involves Jetstream users logging on with a different username from the one they use for regular internet access.

The difference is important as connecting to the gaming servers straight through the internet will generate horrendous data charges. Parents, be warned!

After obtaining a game server address from www. jetstreamgames.co.nz, users log on to the server hosting their game of choice, usually by starting the game up and entering the address in a prompt box.

Server play is fast, smooth and not often interrupted. Overcrowding is a problem in the evenings and holidays as the number of players on each server is generally limited to 18, but people dive in and out of games often.

Counter-Strike has a number of defined objectives.

Assassination is my favourite, partly because it requires the least strategic approach. Simply seek out the VIP and his well-armed protectors and let rip with the biggest gun you can afford.

Bomb defusing, escapes and hostage rescues require a softer touch and strong teamwork.

Each variety of game has its own devoted fan base. They meet at pre-determined times on servers and vote on the levels or maps they wish to play, scrawling messages across the screen for all players to see.

The banter is lightning fast, resembling English and usually crude.

Seasoned players with names like Edward Trigger Hand, Your Local Terrorist and Mr Freeze will egg each other on, chastise opponents for cheating, and occasionally unleash a verbal attack when you deliver a volley of friendly fire their way.

Quake Unreal Tournament and Kingpin are variations on the Counter-Strike team but with a more surreal, otherworldly flavour.

Be careful. In the multiplayer form, these games are addictive. A couple of five-minute missions can turn into several hours as you are drawn deeper into the game.

Genuine Counter-Strikers have been known to battle on for 18 hours at a time, keeping their energy up with can after can of Red Bull.

A Counter-Strike tournament in Auckland this month drew 500 people, with Team Reality blasting their way into the position of New Zealand's reigning clan.

www.xtra.co.nz

Paradise.net gamers page

www.cstrike.co.nz

www.counter-strike.net

www.unrealtournament.com

www.planetquake.com

www.planetkingpin.com

Wolfenstein from Activision Games

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Getting ready to multiplay

Telecom provides the servers that allow Counter-Strikers to battle each other at a fierce pace, but it does not supply the software necessary to make the gaming action happen. You need a copy of Counter-Strike, Unreal or whichever game you want to join online. They are widely available from retailers such as Dick Smith (www. dse. co. nz), Harvey Norman or GameZone (www. gamezone. co.nz).

* Be careful and make sure you buy the right versions. Counter-Strike, for example, is sold as a standalone game ($69.95), meaning you don't have to possess a copy of Half-Life to multiplay. Quake III: Team Arena ($49.95), however, requires you to install a version of Quake III Arena ($49.95) as well.

* Having the correct software is just the beginning. Off-the-shelf games usually require you to download certain modification files from the net, updates that account for changes to game settings and the introduction of new scenarios and maps. Before I play a Counter-Strike game, I had to download a 78Mb modification file and a 13Mb map update. As a Jetstream 400 user, that was a quarter of my capped 400Mb data allowance in one go!

* Because Telecom doesn't make a lot of money out of bleary-eyed gaming fanatics sitting on broadband connections and tying up its servers for hours, it doesn't do much in the way of technical support. The situation isn't helped by the fact that the queries of Jetstream users are split between Xtra customer support and that of the company you bought your modem from. Usually one helpdesk will refer you to the other one and make you wait in a queue as you chase your tail. Games generally fall through the cracks of helpdesk staff knowledge altogether.

All the virgin multiplayer needs is Xtra to display a 10-Step Guide to Multi-Player Gaming page on its website but that seems too difficult. In the meantime, for those wanting to play online, it's a matter of feeling your way and picking up scraps of information from gaming message boards. Try e-mailing the Jetstream gamesmaster for tips.

* If you're enjoying broadband, you probably have a reasonably powerful computer. A Pentium II 300MHz processor machine with 64Mb of RAM is a minimum requirement. A standard 16Mb video card will give you good-quality graphics, but an upgrade will make your virtual world more lifelike, as will a faster processor and more memory.