iLinked!

  • Thread starter Thread starter LoudMusic
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LoudMusic

LoudMusic

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I have a few friends in my town that play GT3, and none of them were willing to throw down money for iLink hardware. Bah on them. Then two friends came in town from states away and they wanted to take on the mighty LoudMusic in GT3. So I rounded up cables from work (one of the wonders of working with Apple computers ... spare firewire out the wazoo) and bought a hub for $45.

We got the chance for three together and I have enough cables for five. Racing along is fun. Racing split screen is mildly better. Racing iLinked with two is significantly better than racing alone or split screened. Racing with three is down right cool. I can't imagine what it's going to be like with six people racing together. Especially if I can find five more quality racers!

If anyone in the Central Arkansas area is interested, I think I can get three racers together - you'll need to provide a couple more, and one more long 6pin to 4pin cable for a sixth racer. But it's worth it (:
 
keep doin wat ur doin man...

i'm from california, but i'll be down to play when GT4 comes out...
but of course, everyone will be down to play when GT4 comes out... hehe
 
Originally posted by LoudMusic
We got the chance for three together and I have enough cables for five. Racing along is fun. Racing split screen is mildly better. Racing iLinked with two is significantly better than racing alone or split screened. Racing with three is down right cool. I can't imagine what it's going to be like with six people racing together. Especially if I can find five more quality racers!
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I have only done I.Link twice, with 5 people it is probably the most fun you can have with GT3.

I kinda want to do it again, but i'm hoping GT4's network play will allow a lan game.
 
If Gt4 doesn't allow a LAN game, I would really be DISAPPOINTED with them. Like NFSU: no LAN game option...only EA Server to decide your lag.

I wish I had buddies here in Columbus Ohio that would want to to an i-link game.
 
That's really pathetic about NFSU ...

We're pretty sure GT4 will have online play. Yay. We assume it will have network play. YAY! I hope they keep i.Link play, as I've just purchased all the stuff I need for that.

What I want more than anything, though, is the ability to have two players per console during linked play! Or even MultiTap support. It is sooo expensive to get six people into one game. Look at something like Halo. Two XBoxes, eight controllers, two copies of the game and two televisions. That's not bad. For GT3 it takes six of everything. MY GOSH! Not only is it expensive, but once you've got it all it's hard to fit into one room, difficult to get it together at one time, and time consuming as well.

If nothing else, the PS3 needs four controller ports and networking built in. The hard drive is just a bonus.
 
Originally posted by LoudMusic
That's really pathetic about NFSU ...

We're pretty sure GT4 will have online play. Yay. We assume it will have network play. YAY! I hope they keep i.Link play, as I've just purchased all the stuff I need for that.

What I want more than anything, though, is the ability to have two players per console during linked play! Or even MultiTap support. It is sooo expensive to get six people into one game. Look at something like Halo. Two XBoxes, eight controllers, two copies of the game and two televisions. That's not bad. For GT3 it takes six of everything. MY GOSH! Not only is it expensive, but once you've got it all it's hard to fit into one room, difficult to get it together at one time, and time consuming as well.

If nothing else, the PS3 needs four controller ports and networking built in. The hard drive is just a bonus.
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Agreed! PD needs to realize that not everyone will be willing to bring their tvs over. I have always wondered why they didn't allow split screen on each tv so that with only 2 tvs, you could have 4 players.
 
Exactly. The iLink (400mbit) protocal is super low latency - it should be able to send hundreds of player's data through one connection without a problem. Perhaps it is the implimentation of the protocal in the PS2 ... or the game's ability to draw that much information, but that seems unlikely as there is split screen anyway. Though it does not include additional cars.
 
There's no software, it's built into the games.

For three or more players you need 6-pin to 4-pin Firewire cables (the longer the better) and preferably a 6 port 6-pin firewire hub.

Cables

6 Port Hub

Now, I don't endorse nore recommend either of those. They are meant to be examples only. I got a discontinued Belkin 6 Port Firewire hub for $43, where as that one is more than twice that price. I also got my cables for free from work. Really it's all too expensive. Wait for GT4 and get ethernet hardware (:
 
Tofu4G63, Boombexus, myself, and three other friends all got together one night to do a six person iLink. It's awsome. Soda pop, loud cursing, laughter, crying, everything was there. Definatly a good time.
 
I just don't have the same amount of dedicated people here, as you guys do there. Nobody is really a GT3-er. It kind of sucks, but I have done a 2 player ilink battle, and it's way better than split screen. Much easier to control.
 
Racing along with 6 guys is sweeeet, beats racing the AI hands down 👍
 
Originally posted by toyomatt84
I just don't have the same amount of dedicated people here, as you guys do there. Nobody is really a GT3-er. It kind of sucks, but I have done a 2 player ilink battle, and it's way better than split screen. Much easier to control.
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You get a more 'standard' screen, and your own sound. I've found over the past few years that sound in games makes a really big difference. Especially in first person shooters, but I find it's true for racing sims as well.
 
Hey LM

I might be able to get 3 guys from the Okla. City area to come over if we did some advance planning.

Let me know if you're interested.
Michael K

*switching to IM.
 
Dude, that's a little over 4.5 hours. You'd have to spend the night and stuff.

I'm in the process of buying a big house with extra rooms so maybe this will be more feasable in the future. You could bring a crew and spend the night. We could get two (or more) days of racing in. Make your drive worth it (:
 
sounds fully sic loudmusic!
when you coming wiv your gear to Oz? ;)
 
It'll be a few years before I make it down your way. At which point my gear won't actually need to be used anymore as ethernet networking will be the fad.

I'll look you up when I get there (:
 
what would be awesome is setting up a gtp event with 6 t.v's and six logitech wheels set across a long table and have a big tourney. now thatd be nice.
 
I've hosted many i-link tourneys at my house with friends, the way we set it up was 6 tvs(actually 7 i'll explain) and 6 ps2 in my living room. I have a 65inch big screen and the winner of a race will play on the big screen until they lost and the tv positions are changed it got quite competitive to get the big screen ahah..this was a 5 day event of non stop racing during one of my school breaks. We set up team races ( 3 members on a team)
and did 80 lap races and each team would switch drivers when they pited to switch tires.We aslo set up a 24 hour race which had every one cranky the next day but it was fun..
 
You said you'd explain the 7th TV ... ?

A GTP event would be most excellent. It would seem to be better for a GT4 launch party or something. If a couple members could bring equipment for i.Link and for ethernet we could do GT3 for those who haven't gotten a hold of the new game, and GT4 for those of us who have. It would be a BLAST.

A small fee from each attending member could sponsor us quite a nice place to bring it all together. Being a system administrator I could handle the electronics side of things if someone else would be willing to work on location and reservations.

That could all be talked about in the future. I'm sure the European crew already has some sort of event in mind.
 
Woohoo! Got my sixth iLink cable on the way. This one is 15' long and free. My favorite price (:
 
Gah.. all this I.link talk is getting to my nerves.. Why did my ole PS2 go wacky on me so i had to get a "satin silver" PS2. >[ D*mn i miss the I.link.
 
Originally posted by ving
sounds fully sic loudmusic!
when you coming wiv your gear to Oz? ;)
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Why dont you head south for the GP weekend?

This is my GP weekend Thursday: Motorshow, Friday-Sunday: F1 GP, Monday: I-link ALL day, 9am-5pm with trophies for the winners:)

There will be at least 6 of us playing possibly a couple more

If you want to know more, send me a line

:cheers:
 
you meanthe weekend that just past? :/
 
I persoanally wasn't too impressed with iLink, but that's partly because it was just two systems so we didn't have the extra coolness factor of 3 or more people. Another thing is I spend a lot of time tuning a lot of my cars! I want to use them, not the arcade mode cars! I love stockers too, but it's just horrible to me that you can't use your own garage!

Oh well, GT4 might be my saviour!
 
Originally posted by ving
you meanthe weekend that just past? :/
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Nope, Labour day weekend here in VIC, 6,7,8th of March
 
Originally posted by Drifting Thunda
I persoanally wasn't too impressed with iLink, but that's partly because it was just two systems so we didn't have the extra coolness factor of 3 or more people. Another thing is I spend a lot of time tuning a lot of my cars! I want to use them, not the arcade mode cars! I love stockers too, but it's just horrible to me that you can't use your own garage!

Oh well, GT4 might be my saviour!
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Yup, that's pretty much everyone's sentiment. Hopefully GT4 will continue to support i.Link and won't force us all to get network adaptors.
 
Originally posted by LoudMusic
It'll be a few years before I make it down your way. At which point my gear won't actually need to be used anymore as ethernet networking will be the fad.

I'll look you up when I get there (:
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Well you your PS2 wouldnt work here cos we have a decent colour system (god bless PAL) unlike you guys.
 
Originally posted by Drifting Thunda
I persoanally wasn't too impressed with iLink, but that's partly because it was just two systems so we didn't have the extra coolness factor of 3 or more people. Another thing is I spend a lot of time tuning a lot of my cars!

Oh well, GT4 might be my saviour!
Click to expand...

iLink works with up to 6 players if you get a FireWire hub. And it's great fun with 6 I can tell you.

But we can only hope that PD have introduced code for running our Sim mode cars in network play on GT4.

Originally posted by LoudMusic
Hopefully GT4 will continue to support i.Link and won't force us all to get network adaptors.
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I strongly suspect you're very likely to be hoping in vain. I believe iLink has been killed of by Sony, and GT4 will be for on-line play via the ethernet adaptor. I'm just praying they will also code the game so that you can use an ethernet hub, and play on a LAN as well as online.
 
Originally posted by Wastegate
I strongly suspect you're very likely to be hoping in vain. I believe iLink has been killed of by Sony, and GT4 will be for on-line play via the ethernet adaptor. I'm just praying they will also code the game so that you can use an ethernet hub, and play on a LAN as well as online.
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That ... would ... suck butt. I will be sorely dissapointed in PD if they were to remove iLink-ability.
 
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