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Warp Pipe Project - GameCube Online
chadlnx writes "The Warp Pipe Project, an open source project to bring LAN-based GameCube games online, recently released a specification detailing how GameCubes communicate over a network. The Warp Pipe Project is aggressively seeking out developers who would be interested in this project through its SourceForge project page."
Along with dropping prices, this sort of info can really incline people to getting a GameCube! /me digs around in his pocket for some spare change :-)
Disclaimer: The above comment was made while under the influence of too much coding and not enough sleep.
And call it the OS/2 Warp Pipe Project.
Its exactly what nintendo wants (network without having to risk dollars to in), but being Nintendo, I can't imagine them being friendly to this group.
"Old man yells at systemd"
What should be really interesting will be if our dorm hookup (which already recognizes everybody in the building as being on the same LAN) works with the Gamecube LAN setup. It didn't work with X-Box as we had hoped, but with a little bit of X-Box piping help, we had some great inter-room/floor fights in Halo. The thought of doing the same with Mario Kart fills me with oh so much glee.
It's not stupid. It's advanced.
Didn't Tommy Chong (of "Cheech and Chong" and "That 70s Show" fame) just get arrested for selling those?
Man, that is a cool logo: the eternet plug as the hole in a Mario pipe. More open source projects need good designers to come up with eye catching logos like this. This may get modded off-topic, but oh well, I've got karma to burn. I went to the site and said, "Damn, that is cool." Anyone else agree?
-- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
With this thing, GameCube's Ethernet adaptor won't be called "Broaband adaptor" for nothing anymore :)
Hope it doesnt turn out like Loki... The open source community can sure do a lot for the Console gaming industry. But if I buy a game cube, will this be around to produce games worthy of playing?
It's going to take something completely revolutionary to make me buy a new console. The multiplayer is still in it's infancy. I love to see things like this though... it's tempting.
I found this Gamer's Internet Tunnel program a while back when attempting to play Starcraft without going through battle.net:
http://www.morpheussoftware.net/git/
It listens for almost any kind of traffic on a network, and relays it over TCP or UDP to another network, allowing LAN-only games to be played across the Internet. It might even work with GameCubes if you put a PC on the same LAN as one or more of them.
since Nintendo in general has a bunch of games specifically designed for groups (Goldeneye anyone?)being able to network the games just seems like the right thing to do. I'm too cheap to buy one though.
too bad all I play are rhythm games and rpg's on my console.
"In post 9-11 soviet russia, only beowulf clusters of welcomed overlords are belong to old grit-eating Koreans!" aendeur
It's good to see the Gamecube haxors getting in on the fun. I was thinking about which one I would rather buy, a GameCube or XBox the other day, and the main thing that makes me lean towards the Xbox is the better network support. Now, maybe, I'll wait out a see what these guys can do.
====
Crudely Drawn Games
Don't forget that the Dreamcast was the first that could do that...
From the abstract:
From the weblog: From this Slashdot story: I would be afraid to work with these guys...which games on the GCN are LAN-only as of now? It's a great idea, but the only game that comes to mind is PSO, and that *has* to be online. So could someone fill me in on which games are LAN-only? I remember reading in EGM about one that could support 16-player mode with the LAN, but that's about it..
except for the Alienware case in the picture. Those things are massive ripoffs. No way I'd buy one when I can build almost the same thing for less.
Now with Kirby's Air Ride, Mario Kart, and hopefully other titles (too bad F-Zero won't have it, that would have kicked major ass), there may be a reason to get the broadband adaptor from Nintendo.
Let's just hope it works better than XBConnect. I had a lot of problems with that, but I also haven't tried more recent version, so mayby it's gotten better.
Thursdæ
I'm not sure if people realized, but quite a while ago, Gamespy and Nintendo reached a development agreement. The idea was that Nintendo would give gamespy full access to how the LAN play on gamecube worked with the network architecture information, and in return, Gamespy would create a tunnel code and set up their own servers to arrage games (much like they do for everything else and Halo) for gamers to find eachother over the net and play online over broadband connections.
See, that's what bugs me when everyone says that Nintendo doesn't have an online strategy. At least with Nintendo's strategy of giving gamespy the information in return for creating the software (though technically unsupported) is very smart. Online gaming ability, only ever costing the consumer $35 out of pocket specifically (for the broadband adaptor) where as the consumer never has to pay the cost of developing online cost for a game, a monthly service charge to access a game, and no yearly charge to have online features.
If this turns out to be very popular and used by millions of gamecube owners, then Nintendo will put in the effort to do something of their own. Nintendo isn't stupid, and knows that just throwing money at a fad won't help anything. If they see through the gamespy system, or one like the one done by small groups, then Nintendo will have more incentive to put the effort in to give people the Nintendo Experience in an online format.
Cool logo indeed.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I didn't see any mention of how they plan to reconcile development assumptions between LAN games (relatively secure environment, lag-free) and online games. From what I gather, this is not an officially supported project, and few (no?) developers will be writing games with this particularly in mind. Instead, they seem to to be planning to rely on developers writing LAN-capable games, and then tunneling those over the net like what's been done with XBox LAN-capable games. However, because they games will be designed with LAN play in mind, they most likely won't properly handle lagging connections or untrusted clients.
I'm skeptical, and on the fence. On the one hand, I'd love to be able to play the new Mario Kart online, but on the other I don't think this will provide a satisfying online experience. And given the lack of Gamecube titles, I may find myself Cube-less within a year. Ah for the good old days of the NES, when you could rely on third parties to write awesome games for a Nintendo platform. <removes rose-colored glasses>
Imagine online Smash Bros....
Imagine the latency. Super Smash Bros. Melee is a twitch game just as much as Quake III: Arena ever was, and Q3A's target market is older and richer and thus more likely to have high-speed Internet access than Smash Bros.'s target market.
Will I retire or break 10K?
We can work with 40 fps :^) Or at least I do with UT2003. Still works well.
gamers don't want to sacrifice their smooth 60 fps framerates
Most LAN games don't update themselves every frame; instead, they predict what happens in one frame based on the velocities of the avatars. A racing game such as F-Zero, Mario Kart, or possibly Kirby's Air Ride (which I've been following since it was supposed to be an early N64 title but got back-burnered in favor of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards) can probably use much stronger prediction than some twitch game like Super Smash Bros. Melee.
We're not evil like Microsoft, so as long as they aren't pirating stuff, we won't really care.
So why did Nintendo sue the flash cart makers even when the devices had a substantial non-infringing use?
I'm not very sure you really work for Nintendo.
My GBA tech demos, if you're hiring game programmers and are willing to relocate me from Indiana
Will I retire or break 10K?
I agree on the technical limitations.
Both of the fast paced games I had for the Dreamcast (Bomberman and Chu Chu Rocket) were extremly lame online.
I am courious how the X-Box DOA is going to work, fighting games are all about timing, and the window for getting a reversal in DOA is very small. When two people swing at each other the time for who hits who or if they both take it is also very small. I cannot imagine that a game like that will be fun online.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Troll. Whole post. Funny one though. Kirby's Air ride a fast action game ... :)
it's in my head
Hey, I know you.. you work at Nintendo too. Why weren't you at work today?
Here's a link to the project paypal account... please donate so that work can continue :)
CVS2 is online, too. It's alright most of the time. My guess is that people with "good" broadband connections wont have any trouble.
-]Phreak Out[-
Nice troll...
./ and other places, but I'll leave that to other people), if you were an employee you would know the details of a game that was shown two months ago at E3. (Hint: I have a reason to know all of this)
You don't seem to know which games actually have a relationship between lag and framerate. You also don't seem to have ever seen Kirby Air Ride, and you don't seem to be a Nintendo employee.
Apart from the fact that your so-called "New Technology Department" does not exit (you have quite some history on
Well, after this little rant, I'll say something more on-topic.
Some racing games can compensate lag very well because quick reactions may not have a drastic effect on your vehicle's course (games like MotoGP). However, in racing games featuring weapons, lag can be very damaging because the reaction associated to attack and defense needs to be in real time, and sometimes the developers choose to pause the game while synchronizing the moves in order to keep fairness. And then it comes down to how many 15ms frames (not screen frames) are ok to lose without having to stop the game for sync (just look at Capcom Vs. SNK online on DC, PS2 and Xbox)
Contrary to what you said, Kirby Air Ride's simple controls could be suitable to Internet gaming without much trouble, but Mario Kart could pose a problem because the weapon system is an important gameplay feature. Miyamoto himself performed tests on the game and he was not satisfied with MK going online for this very reason.
But I bet you can just walk over to his office and ask, can't you?
- Otaku no naka no otaku, otaking da!!!
And don't forget the fact that this tunneling system could allow for cross-subnet play (such as on a college campus with multiple dorm rooms) where all the subnets and connections between them are sufficiently fast to provide no signifigant slowdown compared to a simpler single-switch sort of lan environment.
This flies in the face of science.
Evidence of being a fraud.
This guy's a troll.
what is CVS2?
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
With this project no matter what people are using to connect internet every terminal is gonna be a freenet relay
I think this is a great idea actually.
Some of us really like the good trolls.
DMCA
Not noteable, IMO a rubbish article.
I bought a GameCube a few months ago and love it. They've got a broadband adapter, but only one online game so far: Fantasy Star Online.
XBox developers and Microsoft have embraced online gaming as a big piece of the future of console gaming. Nintendo still needs to come around. I'm hoping that catch up (I think Microsoft & Co. are right!)
The hardware's ready when they are!
Maybe this project could help us bring linux for the gamecube at last. First compile a kernel that can run on the gamecube's architecture, then using a lan to exploit a buffer overflow to boot linux. You could even use the shell with a gamecube keyboard
Sounds interesting but is there any reason why a standard VPN bridge wouldn't do the trick?
It is online on the Xbox, and it's fairly fun on Live...but not fun enough to keep me playing it online. Playing 2 player in my house is more fun to me.
Thursdæ
Also, worldwide, Gamecube is outselling XBox by a tiny margin again. XBox sales have dropped off as they dont have any decent titles to keep the love going. Ever take a look at Japanese sales?
I've been playing that game myself, and while I've had quite a bit of fun with it, I sincerely hope the sequel isn't so tedious.
The worst are the ship battles, where the turn goes for a good 4 minutes before you can input any commands again (depending on the number of special attacks). And why is it that you can skip your Secial Moves, but nothing else? Not to mention the random battles. I can't even believe they 'toned it down' from the Dreamcast version, I can't even fathom that.
However, I've gotten more jaded over RPGs in general recently. I can't even touch FFX it goes on, and on so long. I hope someone manages to make a game with the best elements of an RPG (a plot, characters, more strategic battles) with the best elements of action games (no long forced movies, regular involvement of the player, exciting gameplay).
First off, in the interest of full-disclosure, I must say that I am a Nintendo fanboy and have had every system Nintendo ever made (yes, even Virtual Boy, but I admit it sucked).
My idea for Mario Kart not being online is that it leaves room for the NEXT mario kart to sell well. Think about it... Mario Kart 64 (N64) was totally different than Super Mario Kart (SNES) because it was 3-d. Mario Kart: Double Dash (Gamecube) is similar to MK64, but it has the distinction of being better looking, having the double-player feature and the LAN idea. It's also worth the upgrade from MK64 since it's been 5 years since we've had new tracks and cars.
However, if the Gamecube2 launches in 2005 like Nin hopes, and if MK is a launch or near-launch title, it'll likely be 3-d and may not compel people to shell out another $50 (hell - I still play MK64!), but next time, if the selling point is "Now with full Internet play!" you'll TOTALLY buy it. Imagine a 16-player (or 32) player MK free-for-all! It'd be unbelievable! An 8-player battle mode all the time, etc would be totally awesome.
So it's sorta like the Doom3/Half-Life2 idea. Since they're going to be released so soon to eachother, there seems little reason to buy the 2nd since they're too similar. For that reason, Nin is making sure that MarioKart 256 will be different enough to merit a new $50 purchase (rather than just 20 new tracks and some better graphics).
Just my $0.02
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of Gamecubes!
Call Nintendo and explain the problem. They've been good about repairing or replacing GC's, for free, even if they are out of warranty (but you will have to pay shipping at least one way, even if they fix/replace it for free).
Besides, at least Nintendo gives a 1 year warranty, instead of the short 90 day ones from Sony and Microsoft. But, since I mentioned my 'Disk Read Error' message on my PS2, I'm getting that repaired for free by Sony.
Thursdæ
NO! the parent is another goatse.cx link!
sending out standard UPNP
I know you should use "the right tool for the right job", but UPnP isn't a standard, it's a Microsoft initiative, and a poorly-designed one at that.
The US Army: promoting democracy through unquestioned obedience
I, like most GC owners, have looked at the broadband adapter with hope, but Nintendo so far hasn't really used it for much. I don't really have the opportunity to set up a LAN with other GCs, so I'd be limited to online.
Nintendo's website explicitly states that it needs to connect directly to a cable or DSL modem. Unfortunately, I've got a USB DSL modem and my provider won't upgrade me without paying more than I want to pay. I've got half a dozen computers sharing through the main PC just fine, though (mostly XP, a couple of 98), so will the broadband adapter work to go online through that despite what Nintendo says?
yea, some of the trolls are funny, but jesus others never f*cking
end!
yep, defitly a fraud
Does that mean that the people who hack the GameCube online games will be part of the "Crack Pipe project?"
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass
Gamecube only suppors 480p.
720p is one form of 'True' HDTV.
The Broadband adapter just needs to access 'the internet'. You don't specify to clearly how your dozen computers are sharing through your main PC, but if I'm correct in assuming you have kind of Windows Internet Sharing set-up with a router, you should be fine.
Just set up the broadband adapter the same as you would your other computers (DHCP or Static IPs, whichever method you are using).
I've never heard that you need to plug it directly into a cable or DSL modem. I even wonder if most games support PPPoE over DSL.
Oh, God... Getting those tools at Gamespy involved is just another nail in the GC-online-play coffin.
Now I can finally get a Water Pipe online!
sounds like a great idea
If the next next gen of consoles are powerful enough why wouldn't Nintendo just have developers create games almost like pc games where the user can host their own servers off the console? Or even a utility to run a server thru Win/Nix. They don't have to dip into their pockets to run a service at all then.
That's what I would do anyway.
No sig for you!!