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Post by AncientxFreako on Sept 6, 2016 23:59:02 GMT
For those of you members who did not have the honor of playing MechWarrior 3 back in the days when multiplayer was popular...the days of the MSN gaming zone...the days when many people DID NOT have a cable/fios/or dsl connection...when AOL was the biggest name in the internet...it was gloooorious. So, so glorious.
Cable connections were just beginning to become prevalent. I was one of the lucky ones to have one. My first multiplayer game was an education.
I had gotten 'MechWarrior 3 a year previous and made a conscious decision to practice in single-player for a year first to sharpen my skills, looking back I can only say...LMAO!
After a year of playing against the AI (bahahahaha) in 'Mech3 I thought I was finally ready. I set up my connection and went online. I was greeted by the MSN gaming zone, made my first zone name, DangerousDan, or...Dano_Dangerous...or something dumb like that...and I was presented with 2 amazing looking lobbies, one for Pirate's Moon, and one for MechWarrior 3.
Both lobbies were completely full. No open tables, no open spots. Nothing. Full rooms.
I sat and observed. Rooms would empty and fill again before I could even hit a keystroke. It was un-frikkin-believable. Apparently I had chosen prime time lol.
I chatted with a few players here and there and got some advice to try on an off day or night. I stayed for a while, observing the same thing. It was like trying to call in your favorite song at the radio station...you had to be extremely lucky to be the one caller that gets through. That's how those rooms were. Pirate's Moon lobby...same thing. I didn't have that game at the time anyway but still it was something to see.
A day or so later I showed up early during the day...not sure exactly when but it was much slower and I was able to host a room. Someone showed up, asked me what I was playing and I said MechWarrior 3...he lol'd and said no, is it stock, any weapons, what?
I said sure, any weapons. He said ok, and I launched.
In the mechlab I loaded up my favorite Daishi, tons of LRM20's, and I don't know, probably some ERPPC's I guess. My biggest, baddest 'mech I could put together. The map was...hmm, I guess it must've been The Villa because I only had stock maps. We launched. There I was...my first multiplayer game...my best 'mech, all that practicee...about to show this dude how awesome I was and what was he driving? A Shadowcat!! My first thought? "haha, I'm gonna wack this guy"
Boy was I wrong.
And I know what some might be thinking...it was a c1 scat right? (laser boat for those that don't know what that is) But no...it was a scat with uac10's or 20's...I can't remember if he talked me into unlimited ammo or not. Anyway...here he comes, waaaay waaay far off...I get missile lock...I fire my salvo of death at him. He EASILY jump-jets out of the way of my volley. I remember thinking I didn't realize you could be so maneuverable with jump-jets, he seemed to go sideways and it seemed impossible, but yeah, it's true, you can. I let loose another volley. Same thing. Complete dodge, not a scratch. Next thing I know he's circling me faster than my poor Daishi could turn and blasting the crap out of me with his ultra AC's and before I knew it I was dead. And that's how the whole match went and I'll never forget my first lesson in MechWarrior 3, and it wasn't even about lag yet!
To be continued..
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Post by StoneWall on Sept 7, 2016 11:15:53 GMT
Haha, fighting AI offline was a good idea, but we know how that doesn't translate to the human AI/lag shooting. As soon as the game installed for me in 1999, I jumped online when AOL finally connected.  The chat lobby was a whole 'nother game for me. I would get lost talking to people, talking shit, getting to know who the dbags were. It was fun times. They would call us Chat Warriors, because people seemed to get upset that their 56k connections were getting flooded with text. I started my online experience right after installing the game. I can't remember my first game, but one of my very first games I joined a c1(all lasers) room. We played it on Durgan City, 8 people, FFA. One of the pilots was Alfonze. He and his team mate won "Fat Boys" Harley Davidsons in the only MechWarrior 3 sponsored tournament not long after. It was a fun game of following him around. I guess he spared me from getting killed. It's kind of easy to tell who is new and who isn't at this game. www.gamespot.com/articles/mech-3-warriors-battle-for-harleys/1100-2448463/Not long after I joined a German(?) Stock Clan called the SteelW. I guess that ment the SteelWolves, since so many names in MechWarrior use Wolf. I haven't read the books, so I don't know why. Most of the team didn't speak English. I took the name SteelW_SpidersJ. I would drop in team games with these guys. One pilot took me under his wing to show me the basic of basics of MechWarrior. For some reason, I guess since I didn't speak German, many of these guys later on disappeared over night. I really enjoyed playing with them, but there was nothing I could do back then to find them. They had a badass leader, who's name I can't remember. He was like the leader of CoR. Just badass and a nice guy. Anyways, SteelW probably moved on to CounterStrike or something. After that happened, I changed my name to StoneWall and after 6 months of playing FFA games, Team Stock, etc I joined the Combat Zone League. There I lost alot of matches it if wasn't Stock as the game mode. I eventually met up with CIH_Frost_LM and we dominated 2 on 2 Stock matches both Pick Up and League games. We were unstoppable as a team, especially if we both newb'd it up and picked Mad Cat D's. He started playing less over time, as everyone did. I later went on to join Clan Mongoose in the Combat Zone. I was taken under the wing of CM_Scorpion who drilled me into being more precise with lasers. He brought my laser game up to par with almost the best players. Frost was the badass of Stock and Scorpion was the badass of lasers. Both guys were from the Norwegian area too. Playing with these two guys, I learned how to play every game mode in MechWarrior 3. My Combat Zone stats shot up and eventually alot of people stopped playing me in League games. lol  I stayed on MechWarrior 3, while taking a few breaks, until the end of the MSN Gaming Zone. There's way more to talk about, but that's a good overview of my start in MechWarrior 3 through my training history to the git gud terrority. |
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paul
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Post by paul on Sept 7, 2016 21:59:51 GMT
That sounds like tons of fun, great stories XD. I would definitely be a chat warrior StoneWall that much is certain.
Steel Wolves is from Mechwarrior Dark age the clicks game by wizkids as well as the books. Thats the faction I always play in the miniatures game. They are wolves who join Republic of the Sphere and then tried to return to clan customs about 50 years later and broke off.
I wish I coulda played on the zone with you guys so I could get on your level. I'll just have to aim for ur domes.
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Post by StoneWall on Sept 8, 2016 11:32:27 GMT
That sounds like tons of fun, great stories XD. I would definitely be a chat warrior StoneWall that much is certain. Steel Wolves is from Mechwarrior Dark age the clicks game by wizkids as well as the books. Thats the faction I always play in the miniatures game. They are wolves who join Republic of the Sphere and then tried to return to clan customs about 50 years later and broke off. I wish I coulda played on the zone with you guys so I could get on your level. I'll just have to aim for ur domes. I would say it's easier now days to play with good connections. It was rough back when everyone had 56k or less. We would have to lead Mechs 3 lengths if they were American all the way to the edge of the screen to hit the Australians. Now you don't have to lead much at all, and we get to play in higher resolutions.  |
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Post by AncientxFreako on Sept 22, 2016 23:22:45 GMT
A Multiplayer stock story--Chapter 2:
Why did that Shadowcat hit me so easily, yet I couldn't touch him with my dependable missiles? Lag, and "relaxed" jump-jets, and the skills to use them, and the fact that in the lag environment a slow, lumbering Daishi is an easy target. For those of you who don't understand what lag is, here is a simple definition:
In direct play games there is no "server" as modern kids have come to understand the term. The "Host" of a MechWarrior 3 multiplayer game is essentially the "server", and lag is simply the time it takes for "action X" (things that happen in the game) to travel across the internet from point A (player) to point B (host) to point C, D, E, F, G, ect....(other players) and back again, add-infinadum. This means that when you aim your weapon (direct attack, or "non-locking" weapon) at your opponent on a certain point on his 'Mech, the target you see has already moved ahead (or behind, if he toggled into reverse, or up or down if he hit the jump jets) of where you are aiming, and how far ahead is governed by his connection speed, his cpu speed, his graphics processing, etc., and yours as well (all of the above) The faster all of those things are, the less distance your target has moved. It's like you have to shoot into the future...and believe me, back in the day when people had 56k dial up connections it really was "shooting into the future" lol. It's also affected by the speed your target 'Mech can move and the physics of a particular weapon.
Nowadays though, it's not bad at all. Most lag-points (the point ahead of the 'Mech you see at which you can get a hit) are less than a quarter of a 'Mech out because of connection and processing speeds of today. So, you've got it easy. Almost as easy as modern games that use "server" based multiplayer systems.
So, why did the Shadowcat beat the hell out of me and I couldn't hit him? He was skilled with the use of jump-jets and knew what I didn't know, that LRM's can easily be dodged because they do not track like Streak missiles, my slow-moving Daishi had a very easy "lag-point" and his fast moving Shadowcat had a lag-point that was farther out, added to the fact that my Daishi couldn't turn fast enough to even line up a "normal" shot, nevermind a "lag" shot. I had absolutely zero chance against him because of my inexperience and the fact of "lag".
My next multiplayer game came soon after the shadowcat got bored and left. Someone new came to my room and we had a 1v1 but this time, not really knowing what "stock" was, I wanted to try it. Again, I took a 'Mech I thought would have the upper hand, every 'Mech3 singleplayer's favorite, the Sunder. I think I chose the Sunder A, which has an ERPPC, a Gauss rifle, and 3 LRM5's. My opponent took an Avatar. At the time I didn't know which one it was. He had chosen the Avatar B and was about to teach me that LRM's do have a place in 'MechWarrior 3 multiplayer.
We launched. Villa again. As we approached each other I locked on my trio of LRM5's, knowing it was a meager beginning. He dodged them without jump-jets and I was flabbergasted. I thought for sure against a bigger 'Mech I'd get a hit, especially since he wasn't jumping. I had no idea the B didn't come with JJ's, but figured it out soon enough. He wasn't fast but seemed to side-step them easily. More education. I then aimed my trusted Gauss/ERPPC combo to the best of my ability but no hits. I was dumbfounded because I still had no clue about lag. Suddenly I realized: He was well within range yet had not fired a shot at me. Then, as he got within about 300 meters he began to maneuver his Avatar in a wide perpendicular approach...as if he was going to go around me, and then, just when I least expected it, he let off a volley of LRM's...and it seemed like there were a billion missiles...BUT THEY WEREN'T EVEN CLOSE TO BEING ON TRACK...they were seemingly a hundred meters ahead of me and heading to the ground! I thought, "what the hell is he doing, is he dumb? those aren't going to hit me!" No sooner did I have that thought than I was gyro'ing onto the ground! A SITTING DUCK!! As I fumbled on my keyboard wondering what to do (single-player doesn't teach you about the "G" key for getting up!...unless you actually study the keyboard controls, as I had!) He let off another volley! And BOOM, I was dead. Just when I remembered it was the "G" key.
As I respawned, I decided I would try to mimic his maneuvering and not get hit. I still didn't understand exactly what had happened. Being "gyro'd" was a completely new thing. Not only that but the concept of his "lag-shooting" those missiles to hit the ground in just the right spot that would cause me to gyro was beyond my grasp as well. We closed in on each other, I with my missed PPC/Gauss combo shots again but with my added entry into the "circle of death" method of fighting, and him with his once again, LRM gyro with full Avatar B carpet bombing me to hell while I desperately pressed 'G"....but at least this time it took him 2 shots to ground me. I guess his lag-shooting missiles wasn't perfect, and honestly, no one's ever is. He did kill me again though. And again, and again. Then he got bored and left. Another great 'MechWarrior 3 multiplayer education. And, there were many, many more to come.
Just to let you newbs know...this used to be called "ground and pound". Dual UAC 20's used to do the same thing. But that's another story...
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Post by AncientxFreako on Sept 23, 2016 23:44:19 GMT
btw Stoney I remember Alfonze! He was a serious chat hound, flirted with all the girls! He was Buzz Lightbeer's teammate? 'Cause I know Buzz won the tournament.
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Post by StoneWall on Sept 24, 2016 18:25:07 GMT
btw Stoney I remember Alfonze! He was a serious chat hound, flirted with all the girls! He was Buzz Lightbeer's teammate? 'Cause I know Buzz won the tournament. He must have been. |
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Post by StoneWall on Sept 27, 2016 11:13:00 GMT
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Post by AncientxFreako on Sept 27, 2016 14:46:19 GMT
That wayback machine is pretty handy--and pretty awesome.
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Post by MindDrive on Oct 1, 2016 6:28:35 GMT
wow that brought back some memories.... wasnt mist a part of a whole family of 4 that played? xcalibur, alpha and i cant remember the other... all them CZ league battles... and the league that was right before CZ... BZ wasnt it?
i remember the horror of logging in on dial up *insert fax machine sounds here* and seeing pings of 300+ then getting DSL and seeing pings of 25-60... and the lag shooting was STILL just as bad lol... its a good thing i used my trusty sidewinder to be so horribly innacurate in aiming cause that basically took care of lag shooting for me ^_^ think it took me a good 2-3 months before i grasp'd the concept of shooting at a moving target like in real life shooting
wish i woulda kept my CZ league sigs.... what ever happened to them guys that hosted that? anyone ever hear from them? i remember right before the zone pulled the plug, i helped them with the rogue spear leagues.
or how about towards teh end of the zone when you could go into your registry and change some settings for zone lobbies and have X/9999 people at a single table, but would crash when 17th person joined... then there were all the zone script addons for riddles and lobby games... think i had like 5 accounts after i got the hang of the whole thing, that and playing bunch of different games and different clans... it was online gaming at its infancy and for the most part it was good times... people that game now will hardly know the joy and pains we all went through back then... now its instant gratification and rage quitting lol
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Post by StoneWall on Oct 2, 2016 12:02:44 GMT
You can use The Way Back Machine to pull your sigs from the CZ site.
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Post by MindDrive on Oct 2, 2016 18:54:31 GMT
way back machine cant find what im looking for ~_~
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Post by MindDrive on Oct 2, 2016 19:20:07 GMT
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Post by AncientxFreako on Oct 2, 2016 22:56:42 GMT
cool. Too bad the downloads don't work, the sound extractor would be interesting to look at and have for archival purposes, and I've always wanted to find a copy of hypersnap.
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Post by MindDrive on Oct 3, 2016 3:01:51 GMT
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just checking in