PC Servers on GameRanger...what gives?

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If it were to cost more to the users for GameRanger to support access to servers outside its own network for every game that GameRanger has been designed to support, would you purchase such a service?

Yes
2
22%
No
7
78%
Maybe/Undecided
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 9

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SiP
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PC Servers on GameRanger...what gives?

Post by SiP » Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:33 pm

Recently, I got to thinking about the availibility (or lack there of in the case of some games) of game servers that are accessible through the GameRanger Network/Application. Why is it that some games, such as RTCW, America's Army, Call of Duty, Unreal, and so on, have been supported in such a way that GameRanger users can choose between playing on either servers that originate on GameRanger (hosted by Mac users) or servers that appear to have been linked from some other PC network source (i.e. GameSpy maybe?)

Clearly, seeing that AOE2, BF 1942 Demo, Ghost Recon, Star Wars Battlefront, and RavenShield are the top five games hosted (and probably played) on GameRanger, why is it that for none of them GameRanger has been upgraded to support servers from outside (PC) server sources?

PC's GameSpy Arcade has an incredible amount of servers for over 400 games. It's a shame that Scott Kevill has not done something similar for those top GameRanger games that he has done for some of the seamingly less popular other games.
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Post by TychPsych » Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:21 am

Well, Battlefront just barely came out for Mac but I agree with you. There should also be a way that you can make it show only Mac hosts or only PC hosts or make it show all hosts.
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Post by Dark uk » Fri Aug 19, 2005 8:02 am

My guess is that he would want Mac gaming to stay Mac gaming. I'm sure alot of people would decide to play on a 64 player PC server rather than a 21 player Mac server.
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Post by BigDog » Fri Aug 19, 2005 6:18 pm

Well, I kinda like that fact that there are 1.) fewer players in the games and 2.) that they're all Mac users. I have had IP-based games both in LAN party situations and online where there were both platforms playing and it was fun and worked fine, but it's a little less crazed than the 64-player PC games like BF1942, COD and the like. No opportunity for the social aspect like we have with SOG'ers playing GR.

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Post by SiP » Fri Aug 19, 2005 10:06 pm

Dark, Mac gamers would still have to use GameRanger to access these PC servers in the same way that GameRanger users access the PC servers for games such as the UT's, RTCW, or Doom 3.

I believe that to expand the GameRanger network in such a way would in no way harm the success of GameRanger. If anything, such an expansion would, in a way, be a "one-up" on what the PC-based gaming networks has to offer. I highly doubt that networks such as the GameSpy Arcade patch into the GameRanger network for Mac server access in the way that GameRanger has been patched into PC networks to access PC network game servers.
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Post by SiP » Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:24 am

Well, I was talking to Evill a bit about this and I found out a few things. It seems that the games that do support access to PC servers via GameRanger are games whose servers are not monopolized by first-party PC network providers.

PC game servers for PC games such as the Unreal series, the Quake series, and RTCW are networked by third-party networks (such as GameSpy). So, with that in mind, I'm under the impression that PC games such as the Ghost Recon are not in the position to be allowed to out-source their public servers to a Mac network such as GameRanger and, therefore, will likely never be accessible via any network other than UbiSoft PC gaming network.

Evill claims that merging such a networks' servers as UbiSoft's would likely place him a situation where he'd be at risk of being bought out.

BTW, BigDog, the beauty of it is that even if GameRanger did support full access to PC server networks for all the games that GameRanger already supports Mac servers for, us Mac users would still be guaranteed exclusive access to the PC-free servers that we have already been enjoying ever since GameRanger was created.
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Post by [BIG] Ranger » Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:55 am

Excuse me butting in to this discussion...But it's very interesting.

I *used* to be an avid MAC gamer and GameRanger user ~ but then I fell under the spell of 'Battlefield 2' and moved over to gaming on the PC.

So for me it would be great if I could meet my old MAC based chums on GameRanger ~ me playing on a PC and them on the Mac.

Personally I have never understood why there should be a problem doing so ~ though I *think* I read an article somewhere that said that the developer of GameRanger - Scott Kevill - was dead set against having PC game servers accessible via GameRanger.

(?)

-- However, can I ask whether MAC GameRanger users have gotten into VOIP any more these days? When I left the MAC game community there were only a handful of people that actually used the speech comms facility (?)

[Whereas on the PC we all seem to use Ventrilo or/and TeamSpeak.]

Good discussion guys!

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Post by Vir2L™ » Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:10 am

We at SOG use Teamspeak primarily. Some still pay for premium on GameRanger, but IMO, it's a rip off.

I don't see GameRanger doing to well in the future, especially that we have the Intel chips in the new Apples now, gaming will be more accesable for both platforms, and GameRanger won't be as useful as it once was. Only a miority of mac gamers only want to play with only mac gamers.

I don't really care about the Mac Gaming Community like Kevill does. I know players on both platforms, and seperating the two makes it more of a pain in the ass for me to enjoy the games I play.

The newer games coming out have in-game browsers so both platforms can play together, the only thing that is holding us back right now is the Mac releases of the games, but like I said about the Intel chips, sooner than later our dual platform dilema won't be as relevant as it is nowadays and we'll all be able to play the games together.
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