GameRanger: a new online gaming network for Arcanum

Hi all, just thought I'd let you know about a new multiplayer network I've created for playing Arcanum online called GameRanger.

Basically, GameRanger makes it quick and easy to play your friends online.

It has full lobby support for over 500 different games and demos (including Arcanum, of course), without the hassles and headaches that usually happen with network connections (eg. routers & firewalls).

I'm really excited to be releasing it, and hope it helps boost the Arcanum community by allowing people to play that were unable to until now due to problems with opening ports, etc.

This is especially important with the recent news of Sierra shutting down the servers for Arcanum.

You can download it at www.GameRanger.com

 

Hi all, just thought I'd let you know about a new [insert spam babble here] I've created for playing [insert aged game here] online called [obvious advertisement].

Basically, [obvious advertisement] makes it quick and easy to play your friends online.

It has full lobby support for over 500 different games and demos (including [insert aged game here], of course), without the hassles and headaches that usually happen with network connections (eg. [actually connecting to the internet]).

[This spambot] is really excited to be releasing it, and hope it helps boost the [insert aged game here] community by allowing people to play that were unable to until now due to problems [nonsensical technical jargon disguised as a problem], etc.

This is especially important with the [blatantly obvious incorrect fact] for [insert aged game here].

You can download it at www .[obvious advertisement].com

 

Does anybody really play online? I have occasionally tried it during these years, and I have only once found a server. If I make one, people will very rarely join.

That is not incorrect, Sierra is shutting the Arcanum game servers down, making it competely impossible to play game online.

 

I downloaded it, fairly legit. However, I was unable to host a game of arcanum, it kept telling me to find the .exe and when I did it wouldn't be able to recognize it. I was able to start an AoE3 game though.

 

AoE 3 is neither aged nor or on the verge of online collapse.

 

Does this program really work then???

 

:lol: Man, Philes, you have gotten damn funny as of late. I'm starting to think I could learn from you. (Coming from me? MASSIVE compliment.)

 

A true artist! :lol:

 

Damn, you beat me to it.

 

Heh, tough crowd.

 

This is House of Lords. Honey, tough crowd doesn't even come close to describing us.

 

Oh, so you're not a bot. Well, that makes it about 10 times fucking worse now, doesn't it?

 

Depends on your definition of the number 10. Besides Arcanum is never really going to be a multiplayer game until someone make a truly amazing multiplayer module. And probably not even after that.

 

Fair enough, the option is there should anyone need it.

 

Uh, thanks, maybe this can be put to good use.

All you naysayers can go drown yourself in cynicism.

 

What drown?!
Just a little sprinkle on your toast or cerial is all you need to cynicize all day. Yummy!

 

Just don't get the words jumbled and sprinkle cyanide.

 

Oh, you I like. Witty, sarcastic, venomous... you will do well here.

 

The problem with Arcanum multiplayer is that it's terrible. The fact that it doesn't work very well technically is merely a sidebar at this point. In short, nobody plays it because it's terrible.

The reason this ad made little sense/was an outright lie is because Sierra never had servers going recently involving Arcanum, and opening ports on your router is just something that needs doing if you play games online. It's not particularly hard or uncommon.

 

I've isolated the problem. GameRanger was expecting to find a "modules\Vormantown" folder in the Arcanum installation. It looked for this as a way of distinguishing retail from demo versions, which are both named Arcanum.exe. As it turns out, that folder is only created after the first time you start a server. I will be updating GameRanger to test for the file "modules\Vormantown.dat" instead, which means Arcanum will be detected automatically as it should have been.

Well apparently Sierra didn't know that either:
http://forums.vgames.com/ann.jspa?annID=332

Just because something bad is common, does not mean it should be acceptable. You're fine with port-forwarding, that's great. This causes major problems for a lot of people, especially if each game uses a different list of ports. Or if they use DHCP and their local IP address changes occasionally, breaking the port-forwarding entries. Or if they have nested networks, eg. PC -> Wireless Router -> DSL Modem -> Internet. Or if they're on a campus network with uncooperative administration. Etc.