LAN Party: Hosting the Ultimate Frag Fest (ExtremeTech) [Paperback]

William Steinmetz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0764558951 | ISBN-13: 978-0764558955 | Edition: 1

• LAN Party is the first and only book to tap into the growing popularity of LAN parties-literally thousands gather each and every week across the country to duke it out, computer to computer, playing games like Quake, Diablo, and others
• Players are tired of the slow response of playing games over the Internet, and are gathering in garages, basements, and even large convention centers to play their favorite games head to head
• Throwing a LAN party is not as easy as it might sound, but author William "The Ferret" Steinmetz knows all the tricks, from setting up PCs to blocking cheaters, managing power drain, and debugging the network
• No matter if the party is with a few friends, the whole neighborhood, or a large convention, LAN Party will transport the reader to gaming nirvana

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…the ideal guide to kick-starting your network gaming career…” (PC Utilities, July 2004)

From the Back Cover

Invite a few friends over to save the world

Been thinking about a LAN party, but not quite sure where to start? Well, relax. Buy this book, and you’ve already started. Everything you need to know is here–not only the necessary networking technology, but also the social stuff to make your frag fest an unqualified success. Here’s the scoop on setting ground rules (what and why), power plays (the plug-in kind), locations (your apartment or the VA hall?), getting connected (hubs, switches, and routers, oh my)–even what to order on the pizza.

Some secrets you'll learn

1. What makes a LAN party rock
2. How to prevent power outages
3. Good games to choose
4. When size matters
5. How to set and enforce rules
6. Proper party (network) protocol
7. Good physical and network layouts
8. How to assign a TCP/IP address to an Xbox
9. Directions for setting up a game server
10. Tips for dealing with a jerk
11. Ways to protect the equipment
12. What to do when something goes wrong

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 375 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764558951
• ISBN-13: 978-0764558955
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,956,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to making it all work, April 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: LAN Party: Hosting the Ultimate Frag Fest (ExtremeTech) (Paperback)

Yeah, I've hooked a few PCs together to go head-to-head with buddies, but getting more than that organized? No chance. We've talked about it, but who wanted to do the legwork? Now, the legwork's done. This book covers everything, from putting it together to making a big party work. There's security information and stuff we just wouldn't have thought about. We're getting ready to set up a frag fest, thanks to this book. Awesome!

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not so pointless, April 22, 2004

By 

"evanescenced" (Saskatchewan, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LAN Party: Hosting the Ultimate Frag Fest (ExtremeTech) (Paperback)

A compilation of all the knowledge needed to host a killer LAN party without having to search through thousands of web sites on the subject has got to be a good thing.

Ever tried taking a website to the store to use as a reference when buying equipment? Why waste all that time searching websites and gathering information, organizing it all into something easy to read, and then printing it all off for easy reference? Just buy the book.

Even if you do like to do your own searches, this book should still make a handy reference for those times when you're not at your computer and want access to the information.

[...] The fact is not everyone knows how to perform a good web search. Some people find it easier to read text off a page rahter than off a screen.

If you're going to throw a LAN party, get this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who said computer gaming didn't require social skills?, June 30, 2004

By 

"ejbrazell" (San Antonio TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LAN Party: Hosting the Ultimate Frag Fest (ExtremeTech) (Paperback)

As someone who has hosted a number of LAN parties, I found the book to be very helpful for the seasoned hosts as well the first time host.

The book is well written and organized to allow readers to quickly find information that is pertinent to their plans. It covers all aspects of setting up a LAN Party from the small friendly gathering to a large professional event. It covers all of the technical aspects as well as all of the social and logistic issues that each type of LAN Party must deal with. It also provides realistic expectations for the hosts to have from each LAN Party.

"LAN Party : Hosting the Ultimate Frag Fest" is a must read for the first time LAN host and is highly recommended to the seasoned host as well.