Curse

Darksci · Apr 24, 2005, 11:36 PM // 23:36

Hi.

I have a 56K connection, i can play diablo fairly well online. But games like Counter Strike are a bit of a hassle to play. Im just wondering whether i'd have any problem playing?
Bascially, my download/upload rate is around 4Kb/sec. Will i beable to play?

fawgre · Apr 24, 2005, 11:41 PM // 23:41

There are numerous posts here about this, you might want to try searching for a more detailed answer, as well as experience from dial-up users.

The short answer is that you can play, but you should try to access towns and outposts before you go out questing so that you get the long load-times out of the way early and you don't have to burden teammates with waiting for you.

Auh · Apr 24, 2005, 11:52 PM // 23:52

Actually, I'm assuming that maps and things like that will be able to be downloaded from the CD that you will get after you purchase the retail version of the game.

Darksci · Apr 25, 2005, 12:00 AM // 00:00

Yea. Im just bascially wondering if i'll beable to play once GW is retail (and i've brought the CD) etc

I've been reading though the forums, and have different response from people saying theres lag, load times, having to download before entering an area?

And i probably won't be PvPing, since i've never liked it (never done in diablo).

Its just really scaring me, when peple are saying that there might be map glitches, and need to redownload then after retail? (how big are the maps?)

Auh · Apr 25, 2005, 12:03 AM // 00:03

Well, They want you to feel that you are actually in a world, So they try to make maps larger. They don't want you to feel like it is instanced.

Darksci · Apr 25, 2005, 12:10 AM // 00:10

Size as in MB i meant

Sin · Apr 25, 2005, 12:12 AM // 00:12

I wouldn't worry so long as you aren't a PVP player. In the Beta events the PVP was always very laggy for modem play. PVE, if it's not on the cd, just go into the area before you join a group, that way it downloads everything, then go back to the town or outpost and join a group, the downloads will almost all likely have been done.

*Edit* At guildwars website they updated the hardware requirements, 2 gigs of disk space. The game client remains 73k I believe, very small.

Lunarbunny · Apr 25, 2005, 01:04 AM // 01:04

I'm hoping that you won't have to download nearly as much as you did during the BWE's. They were constantly updating the game, and much of the content that will probably be on the CD(s?) was instead downloaded.

I know I sound asnine, but I'm hoping to clear this up. 4KBps means you're probably connected at 36k instead of 56k. b=bits, or 1 digit of a binary number. B=bytes, or a string of 8 bits. If you get through the numbers, 56kbps/8=7KBps and 36kbps=4.5KBps. You can usually check your true connection speed by looking in your system tray and seeing if there's an icon with two tiny screens turning on and off. Just hover over it and it will tell your connection speed.

EDIT: /rant

Bgnome · Apr 25, 2005, 01:27 AM // 01:27

Official answer for guildwars.com:
Will I be able to play Guild Wars on a dial-up modem?
Yes you will. We are well aware that many users do not have broadband access, and we want the largest possible number of gamers to be able to join our game without being held back by technical issues like their Internet connection. We have designed Guild Wars to function excellently on a dial-up connection and our testers and they have no problems with their connection, even testing from other continents. In addition, during our E3 for Everyone Demo Event, our World Preview Event, and our Beta Weekend Event, many thousands of players successfully played using a dial-up modem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darksci

I've been reading though the forums, and have different response from people saying theres lag, load times, having to download before entering an area?

lag is minimal as bandwith requirements are small. on the rare occasion you are likely to experience lag, it has been a server-side issue. the main problem dial-up users have are the initial downloads for maps and loading if there are any updates. due to the streaming technology, once you have the initial resources, the updates should not take long. and with release, you should already have most of those resources installed.
if you have further concerns, i suggest that you use the search button and look through the threads posted by dial-up users just as concerned as yourself such as http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=2984
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=2898