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What is a Game Server?

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:02:23 +0000

eSports Game Servers asked:

So, just what is a game server? Before answering that question, it’s important to understand how online gaming works. Many popular games today, first person shooters in particular, support online play. Such Internet-based play expands the game to whole new levels, and provides an experience not possible in single player environments. Players ranging in numbers from half a dozen to as many as sixty-four can all join what’s called a game server and play on the same map (game level) at the same time. Gaming servers work much like web servers, but instead of hosting websites, host game matches that others can join. Though the game itself is not loaded from the server, important game information such as player scores and rules are. Think of them in terms of a soccer stadium. The stadium provides a scoreboard and a field to play on, and the players come to the stadium to play.

While it is possible for a gamer to host a server on his computer, such servers are only suitable for a small number of players due to the slow speed of their connections. Game servers of any decent size are hosted by what are known as server providers in large data centers. With high-speed connection speeds and high-end server hardware, these providers can host servers of any size. The most popular games hosted these days include the Battlefield series, Counter Strike: Source, the Call of Duty games, the Medal of Honor series, and Unreal Tournament. Most providers offer free support, the ability to change the hosted game on the fly, free voice servers for oral communication, and web hosting. Prices for gaming servers vary greatly from provider to the provider and game to game, but the average is around $2 per player. People who run game servers sometimes pay for them out of their own pockets, but often times a group of gamers will form what is called a clan and share the cost of the server. Once a server is setup, anyone can play on a server for free, though some servers are private and require a password to join.

They make it possible for game lovers worldwide to get together and play their favorite games in an online environment, and have created a whole new market in the gaming world and have changed the way people view gaming. As technology increases, it will be interesting to see how the game server market changes.

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Why your Game Server Needs Good Admins

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:20:32 +0000

eSports Game Servers asked:

Many clans or gaming enthusiasts working to get a game server popular run into a problem: they don’t have enough admins. Though admins may not be necessary all the time, any game server of decent size will need one around. The admins you have on your game server will be crucial to its continuing success.

Though your friends who play on your game server may not cause trouble, other players who come along might. Trouble makers need to be dealt with smoothly and quickly if you plan on keeping your server’s popularity. It can take months to build up a game server’s status in the gaming world, but a trouble maker or cheater can clear out a server by simply annoying everyone else. No one likes playing with cheaters or annoying whiners, and players won’t hesitate to find another server to frag on for the evening if someone else is ruining their game.

You should have enough admins in your gaming clan so that at least one is at all times, or at least during the server’s busiest hours. If you can’t get enough admins, you can give players a way of contacting you if a player is causing havoc. Posting your email or AIM in a scrolling message in a scrolling message on the server is one good way. Another is getting a few trusted gamers on your server to keep watch for and inform you if any problems crop up.

Though you may have plenty of admins in your gaming clan, are they good? Most admins out there do a great job, but there are always a few bad apples who abuse their power. Worse than an abusive player is an abusive admin. Admins who kick players better than them, insult new players, or ban for minor offenses will make your game server’s players leave in a flash. Do your fellow players a favor and keep a watch on your admins. Have an email or website set up where people can ask questions about your server’s rules or report admin abuse. Occasionally pop in your server using an anonymous name and see how your admins act. The point is, don’t trust your game server admins blindly. Power can bring out the worst in people sometimes.

Without a strong admin base, your gaming server will not last. Every server on decent size needs a group of trustworthy admins who are always on call to deal with cheaters or otherwise irksome players. What is also important, however, is that these server admins be trustworthy and fair. No game server can last long without proper adminning.

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What Makes Online Games Addicting

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 03:21:09 +0000

Yanita asked:

Games in general are addicting. You can say that since online games are also games—though in a different format and medium— it’s natural that they should be also become addicting games. But then, there are more to online games than just being “games”. They offer many perks that other games can’t offer.

For one, online games are small in size. That means they are fast to download and play. You don’t have to wait hours (unless you’re using dial-up) for you to play the game. Not only that, you won’t need any special equipment or hardware to play the game. So long as you have a computer and internet connection, you can play online games immediately. Additionally, there’s a wide variety of online games in the internet. You have hundreds of choices for games for different genres and interests. This convenience, variety of choices and easy access are some of the things that make online games so popular.

Next is the graphics and gameplay. Though the graphics might not be as good as the games that you see in consoles such as PlayStation or Xbox games, the graphics and animation of online flash games are quite good for their size. For example, flash arcade games are quite at par with actual arcade games and are not that far behind to console games when it comes to animation. About gameplay, online games have different types for different skill levels. Though the complexity might not reach the level of, say, Medal of Honor, online games still pose quite a challenge. And that keeps online games from being too boring or easy.

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of online games is that a lot of them are free. You can play online games without spending anything. Since most sites offer free arcade games, you can play free arcade games without any limits. Whether you play for one minute or one hour, it doesn’t matter. Whether you want to play one game, or you want to play all of them, there’s no limit. And that is an effective incentive to make people want to play more. Since people are given free reign over the numerous games offered online, it’s but natural for people to want to try them all. Even if someone just played one game, the idea that he or she can go back anytime to play the game is a powerful invitation to come back for more.

And so, these are some of the reasons why online games can be so appealing. Easy to access, entertaining and free online games has a lot to offer that make people play some more.

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