Warp Pipe Project Ramps Up For Mario Kart

chadlnx writes "With the Stateside release of Kirby Air Ride, the first LAN-based game for the GameCube, the Warp Pipe Project is in the process of releasing source which allows users to play the game over a WAN on Linux. Development has slowed in recent weeks, but the team is working on porting to libPcap for maximum portablity. A basic stable release for both Windows and Linux is targeted for the release of the GameCube's second LAN-based game, Mario Kart: Double Dash, which ships on November 17th."

Comments

Gamecube LAN party!

[cool_bladelansmash.c]

Gamecube as a LAN box would be uber cool!!1! Unfortauntely it looks like it'll take quite a while before it will be a reality, but the potential is there.

Re:Gamecube LAN party!

[MORTAR_COMBAT!]

Uh... it's already a LAN box. This project is trying to make a WAN box out of it.

Re:Gamecube LAN party!

[cool_bladelansmash.c]

Ah ok then - not so in australia :(

sounds cool ...

[Dreadlord]

when I first read about Warp Pipe Project a couple of months back, I wasn't interested that much, cuz most of the GameCube games were only playable over the Internet, now with Mario Kart and several other titles, this project has sure become something interesting for Linux geeks who have a GameCube.
I just hope that Nintendo doesn't go after the team, using their programs requires a GameCube and a copy of the game, but who knows how big companies react to such projects.

XBox users have had this for more than a year...

[Scorpion_1169]

LAN enabled games have been playable over the internet almost since the date of release. There are actually several choices for clients, one of which was developed and is run by Gamespy Arcade.

I realize that there has not been a need for serious development of this tool for the GC and PS2 due to the lack of the LAN play in the the software library, but these guys seem to be a little behind. My guess is that Gamespy, with their large comercial resources, already have a tunneling software ready to go.

BUT, it will be handy having one for linux since Gamespay isn't likely to realease on...

enuf with my contradiction... have a g'night.

Re:XBox users have had this for more than a year..

[n0wak]

I believe that GameSpy, on the record, has previously said that if Mario Kart: DD! will have LAN play (which it will), there will be Gamespy GC tunnel available. So by all accounts, it's already complete.

Re:XBox users have had this for more than a year..

[Anonymous Coward]

LAN enabled games have been playable over the internet almost since the date of release LAN enabled games have been playable over the internet almost since the date of release.

"Playable" used here in the loosest sense of the word, of course.

Tunnel = Tunnel.....

[Daniel Wood]

You will be able to use any of the XBOX tunnels with the gamecube. It is all the same concept, a vpn.

I don't know why these guys are even working on another tunnel. Certainly not to bring the tunnels to linux. Half the Xbox tunnels out there are linux.

Re:Tunnel = Tunnel.....

[oo7tushar]

If you read the specs of how the GC communicates you'll understand.

Uh.

[Anonymous Coward]

these guys seem to be a little behind

I was watching when the Warp Pipe project was announced. They had a working early version within two weeks of the Japan release of the first LAN-capable gamecube game, Kirby's Air Ride.

The first LAN-play capable gamecube game, Kirby's Air Ride was released in america three days ago. They currently have a totally functional, if Linux-only, product. They're aiming for a windows/ OS X release within the month.

I'd say that that's not so bad. Are you suggesting that they should have come out with LAN-internet bridge software before any gamecube LAN-play games existed? How would they test?

Re:Uh.

[Scorpion_1169]

According to their site, the software they wrote doesn't go anywhere near fast enough for internet play yet. The framerates drop all the way down to around 20fps due to how the game sends packets, so yeah, they are far behind in some ways. With all the time that they have had with the Japanese version, I would think that they would have come up with more by now. BUT it's not like they are getting paid, so I understand the long dev cycle.

Like others have pointed out though, I don't know how relevent it is at this point since Gamespy will probably leapfrog them, at which time it will be easier to simply analyze the Gamespy tunnel software and port it to Linux then.

On top of all that, I hear that the protocals are VERY similar to the way the XB communicates over a LAN, and much of the existing tunnel software may be easily ported as well.

The "Nintendo Difference"

[chadlnx]

As some people have noted, there were traditional tunneling programs for Xbox and Playstation 2. Even PC tunneling programs have been tools for quick and dirty PS2 online gaming.

However, the GameCube uses a "plug and play" protocol called Universal Plug and Play (UPNP). As per my original specification details, the main challenge with bringing the GameCube online was authenticating two GameCubes on two different networks. This is a challange because UPNP broadcasts packets that have a TTL value of only 1. This challange, along with a few others, prompted me to start an open source project in order to enable online play for all LAN based GCN games.

As for the GameSpy speculation, Nintendo has entered into an agreement with GameSpy. However, this agreement is only for middleware which would allow the game to be played online right out of the box. This middleware would be authored by GameSpy and included in various GCN games. The first games with this middleware included are expected to ship early 2004. Specific titles have yet to be announced.

Re:The "Nintendo Difference"

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you for the clarification.

Re:XBox users have had this for more than a year..

[Scorpion_1169]

Actually, it's not used loosely at all. With a decent connection you don't get any more lag than you would in any similar PC game.