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Gaming on satellite internet?
Ravenpoe
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
As someone who has been stuck with dial-up internet access because of where I live (the freakin' boonies of Florida) I have long wished that I had access to broadband. Satellite I never considered, because the price was too high, the bandwidth limits were stupid, etc.
The price is lower now, and the bandwidth limits are still stupid, but at least reasonable. I'm highly considering it.
I only wonder how well I'd be able to game on it. Of course, I can't exactly game now, what with the dial-up, so it's still an upgrade, but does anyone here have any experience with playing online games over satellite?
The price is lower now, and the bandwidth limits are still stupid, but at least reasonable. I'm highly considering it.
I only wonder how well I'd be able to game on it. Of course, I can't exactly game now, what with the dial-up, so it's still an upgrade, but does anyone here have any experience with playing online games over satellite?
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Yea, it's not a good idea.
Because that's less than optimal.
You'd be about 2 seconds behind everyone else. So that scag you are shooting already died.
- Satellite internet doesn't need a phoneline for uploading anymore. It can sand and receive data through the dish.
- You should look into cell phone companies, which provide Mobile Broadband connections. They come as laptop cards OR USB dongles. Beware the whole idea that how far you are from the nearest cellphone tower will affect your up/down rate and ping.
I used a Sprint USB adapter, and I was getting like 200 to 300 ms for ping rates. Definitely not FPS material, but in an MMO environment (or maybe some RTS, if you have enough intuition) it's definitely workable. My down rate, however, would swing from 15 kb/s to 22ish, when I was supposed to be getting 40 to 60 (according to their service map).
Gaming doesn't require awesome speeds, like downloading a gig file in a few minutes, but it does require awesome response time.
Holy shit, really? Sprint made no such mention of that, I don't think they really gave a damn. You should've tried haggling with them, "Well okay, I guess you don't want my money then..."
Sprint had data plans that were split up on how much net you use, but they also have an unlimited plan (which is what I signed up for; and trust me I exceeded all their other plans).
You can share the connection, but it takes a bit of work and requires your computer to be on all the time.
This doesn't stop people though. Can't you just bridge it off your PC through a router and mask the sort of traffic it is?
But yeah, they generally don't want people using it as main internet. There are always ways around it though.
I actually learned how to do this sort of thing when I went to tech school (surprise, unused knowledge is forgotten).
The USB connector I have scans the computer to see if it has the connection software and drivers installed. If not, it autoprompts an installer program. You don't actually have to use the program; I found out that going into your Network Connection settings you can connect that way. Problem is, I don't think you can do that on a PS3 or 360 directly.
So yeah. Plug into PC, and then have the PC source the connection to consoles... major pain in the ass.
Maybe Wireless Broadband using a fixed dish could be a good solution. This is essentially the same as mobile broadband but you are using a fixed dish to get better reception than a dongle inside the house. That said I have heard some pretty bad stories about the lag for mobile broadband as well but this defiantly seems like the best option. I am actually in the same situation, using mobile broadband with a dish, and crossing fingers that the lag would not be that large once I get Xbox Live.
Compared to other options, yes. Compared to itself years ago, it's way cheaper.
Pretty much this. If I went with satellite, I'd need to pay $200 for the equipment (or lease it) and then pay $70 a month for 1.2Mbps/200Kbps with a 300 MB daily limit, though there's an unlimited period between 2am and 7am to schedule large downloads in. All this with a permanent 1800ms ping.
I'm still looking into options though. I use verizon for my cellphone, but I think AT&T has finally extended their coverage to my area, so I might check into possibilities with a fixed dish mobile connection. I've tried their website, but all I've been able to find so far are laptop cards on limited plans that totally wouldn't work for me (5gigs a month? I go over that on dialup!). Guess I'll be giving them a call.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Still, a way better value then satellite. Then again a soup can attached to a piece of string would be too.
Where in FL do you live?
Anywhere around Sebring by any chance?
Yeah, since the switch my regular cell service has gone to shit and Verizon can't explain to me why. Definitely switching carriers soon.
According to the agreement I read, they don't cut you off, they just drastically lower your priority, causing reduced speeds. Your speed goes back up if you reduce your usage for 24 hours (though they don't explain how much you need to reduce it by) and you still have access to the unlimited 'download period' between 2 and 7am.
And for the person asking where I live, I live in Old Town, a little town in Dixie County in northern Florida. I'm about 50 miles west of Gainesville.
I wasn't even aware that you could connect a blackberry with a data plan to a computer to siphon off the internet. Obviously I need to bug these providers more.
If you have a 3G capable phone then you should be able to get internet through it to your PC. They call it Tethering. However, if you don't have a 3G phone you are probably better off getting one of their USB adapters. You can also buy a specially built router for it as well. Though they are quite pricey.
edit- My current setup is this: Blackberry -> PC -> (Internet Connection Sharing) -> Xbox 360. It works, I mean I can't really play multiplayer on Live, but I can download updates, demos, movies, XBLA games, and so-on.
I had satellite for almost 3 years and by drastically lower your priority they mean slowing you down to 16kbps(bits not bytes) at 5000 ping. Web pages are almost impossible to load.
They reduce it to a speed where you just turn off the computer.
Are you MacGyver?
A friend of mine played FFXI (the mmo) on a satellite connection. He had trouble doing certain things that required fast reactions but for the most part he was fine. That is, however, one of the slower MMOs.
I should add that tethering is the best route as what I did wasn't exactly EULA friendly. And it used minutes, but that's what free nights and weekends are for.
Man, I'm still sad that phone got crunched and I got stuck with this cheapy
Is tethering an AT&T only thing, or does Verizon offer something similar?
Of course, my verizon contract runs out at the end of this year. Hrm...
Verizon has it, I think most providers offer it.
I have no idea what sort of speeds I'd get using 3G tethering as my main internet connection, but it's bound to be faster than dial-up, and more responsive (and cheaper) than satellite.
I think I may just have to wait and look into this as an option.
Its actually really easy, just plug the router into your ethernet port, and use the WAN port on the router. Bridge the connections in windows... done.
There are also plans at most cellphone companies now that are specifically for home internet access, i know rogers has it here in canada as thats what my parents use. Telus has a similar plan. If you have cell signal at your house (You probably do), this is definately the way id go.
*edit* as for the people talking about tethering mobile phones, that will most likely get your contract cancelled. The USB dongles and a specific plan are definately the way you want to go in this situation if you want reliable access and dont want to jeopardize your cell phone plan.
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