How to Get a Game Server Hosted

First of all what are game server providers, GSPs, and why do I need one? If, like me, you love playing games with your other online gaming buddies you generally play together online. You and your team need a playground that will provide the online space for you to. How and where does all that information get processed? There are two main methods.

The first is peer to peer. Peer to peer is a well established protocol of information sharing between willing computers. In the case of online computer games this is where one computer acts as the host (master computer if you like) and all other players' computers send their information to the master. This gives the player hosting the game a slight advantage in response time or lower ping and of course once that player leaves the game the server no longer exists as it was dependent on his connection, historically this has been referred to as a 'listen server'.

Dedicated Servers. Some games companies like Activision and EA provide their own online "official" or "ranked" dedicated servers where they have their own machines in their own data centre hosting official servers that they control and admin. Console games generally also have their own dedicated servers provided by the developers or peer to peer solutions in some cases as with Modern Warfare 2 and 3. But some servers are provided by individuals who like to have personal control over how their game server is setup. These come in two options. Either the individual has a rented or owned machine and hosts the game server themselves. The second option is to rent a dedicated game server from a large list of GSP's (game server providers) who for a small monthly charge can host your server for you 24 hours a day and have web based graphic user interfaces in order to start, stop, reinstall, edit configuration files, setup scheduled restarts, install mods and much more. This is in large part the most common choice as it is both cost effective and much easier to get started. Only basic knowledge is needed in order to host a server this way. That is why the GSP industry has grown to a 5 million dollar a year industry.

What are online servers?

A server is a machine running in a data centre (DC) with a high bandwidth connection to the internet and a redundant power supply to keep things online 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. This allows lots of players to connect to one place to all play together. GSP's host their game servers on machines in a data centre.

What is ping?

Ping is just an ICMP command that checks the time it takes for a packet of information to travel from one computer to another and back again. Ping is measured in ms or milliseconds which are thousandths of a second. A game server that is hosted within 300 miles of your physical location should provide you with a good latency to your game server.

Full Dedicated Server

I have heard of dedicated servers. What are these?

You can rent a full dedicated server, this gives you root access to a Windows Server machine via Remote Desktop Connection. This is for advanced users as setting up a game server using steamcmd and configuring the firewall can be a time consuming process but for large communities and clans this is the only option. Full control over your game servers, root access to all of the files, something you will never get with shared game server hosting. It comes with a cost though, around the $100 per month mark so get those donations flowing to pay for the hardware.

Shared Game Server Hosting

Renting through a GSP (game server provider) is the most common and the best bang for your buck way to run a game server. You choose a provider from the many 100's out there, choosing which provider to go with can be quite a daunting task. Here are the main points to consider.

· Price. Well price is king in most cases and a lot of gamers would have looked for the cheapest company in the top ten of Google and gone with them without even thinking about it. However choosing the lowest price is a haphazard way to choose any service, whether it be a plumber, an electrician or in this case a game server. You can choose the cheapest and take a punt, go for the most expensive and hope that translates into a quality service or if you're like me go for the middle ground, not too cheap and not too expensive. I use this practice when choosing everything, from toasters to hotel rooms. But price isn't the only factor to consider.

· Reputation. Reputation has an extremely strong influence in any decision on which service provider to use. There are game server companies that seem to of been around since the dawn of the internet age, and there are new unknown companies that have only formed in the past years. The older companies have seen it all before and maybe can get caught not putting the effort into the control panel functionality that a modern games and gamers demand. New vibrant young companies can be enthusiastic and energetic in their approach to both new game releases and support but they can also make mistakes and show a lack of experience in challenging support matters. The complicated nature of the newer indie games and steam early access games make it very difficult to get a smooth running game server so I would opt for the middle ground again, a company that's not too long in the tooth but also old enough to have experience where it matters.

What else does a GSP offer then?

There are also some other factors to consider when selecting a GSP:

· Control Panel Interface. This is a Graphic User Interface (GUI) where you control your game server from. Here you can launch the game, change the rules, add server passwords, add bans, allows, add administrators and add mods. This should be fast and easy to use. The industry standard is TCAdmin 2, but many providers have custom created control panels to reduce costs as TCAdmin can be rather pricy for enterprise companies.

· Support staff experience. The support staff has experience to set up the game to make is easier to play as lots of games nowadays have complicated set up procedures. A good GSP will have a configuration editor already configured in the GSP control panel so that you do not need to go and research all the information to edit the file yourself. The key is the better the staff the less problems will go wrong with your server once you have it.

· Mod installers. Some GSPs have mod installers where you can, in one or two clicks, completely install a mod to a game with all the required files without the need to upload via FTP. Again this is a setup that your GSP would/should have made themselves.

· 24 Hour support. I play games into the wee hours of the morning and business hours support is no good to me. I want 24 hour support and I want someone to get back to me pretty quick so I can get on with my gaming. I don't get a lot of free time and I don't want it wasted on staring at a broken server, even if I did broke it myself.

· Instant Setup. Most GSP's should have instant setup, in my experience this is not actually instant, instant start of the setup, not quite instant setup, the files need to download and some of these new games can be 20GB or more.

· Configuration editors. These are necessary for GSPs as many don't want to give access to the root folders and modify the configurations and.ini files as the player slots are generally directly related to CPU consumption so the more player slots you require the more the server will cost. A good configuration editor will make the setting up of your game server easier. The complicated nature of some of the recent indie games like DayZ and Ark Survival evolved require attention to detail in order to get running smoothly. Make sure to check that the GSP is up to date with all custom configurations as updates for these types of games come quite often and can break an out of date configuration. So making sure the GSP staff are keeping up with games is a good indicator of a good GSP. Any good GSP should be able to answer detailed questions about their games and if they don't what kind of support can you expect from them.

Thanks for reading my article and be sure to check us out at https://www.gtxgaming.co.uk

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Play Online Flash Games For An Entire Day Of Gaming Fun

The internet has improved our lives in more ways than we can imagine. It has brought the world closer with its wide variety of communication media. It has revolutionized the way business is conducted. Not only this, by providing movies, music and games on demand, you can ensure you will never get bored.

There's no shortage of PC games on the internet. But the problem with many is that you have to pay to play those games. If you are unwilling to do it, you can only play a limited version of maybe an hour.

Online flash games are quite popular today and are a great alternative to their paid counterparts. They are free to play as they earn through advertisements. They are rich in graphics, sound quality and game strategies. There are fun and captivating games for adults and children alike. There are real-time games as well. For instance, some farming or cooking games follow the 24 hour time cycle when it comes to raising a particular crop or preparing a dish.

Educative too!

Talking about playing online flash games, we only consider the entertain value. But did you know they could help develop cognitive skills too?

Online games are divided into different categories. There are action, adventure, arcade, shooting, puzzles, and strategy and multiplayer games, making it easier to pick the type of game that interests you. Thus, these online flash games demand that the player employs varied skills from alertness to decision making to co-ordination to developing strategies. Multiplayer and social games teach players how to socialize and work as a team. Multiplayer games are also a great way to stay in touch with friends living in distant locations.

Engaging and captivating online flash games can also help reduce stress levels after a hard and tiring day at work.

How to play online flash games?

There is more than one way to play online flash games. For most, you will need an Adobe Flash Player or a Java Scripts plug-in. If you don't have these software programs installed on your computer, you might have to download them for a glitch-free gameplay.

If you don't want to download any third-party software, there is no need to worry as you can play online flash games directly on your web browser. You simply have to look for an interesting game, wait for it to load and start playing. There are no installations needed here.

Taking it offline

You can also play online games by downloading them. Once downloaded, you can play the game without an internet connection and at your convenience.

It's not hard to come across sites where you can play online flash games free of cost. Gaming portals might only differ in how they operate; while on a few you can start playing almost immediately, others might require you to register free of cost to start playing. Besides, new games are added regularly so you won't get bored.

So, the next time you are looking to take a break and unwind, you can play online flash games at Alllgames.pw. There are more than 100 games in different categories that afford an entire day of gaming fun.

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Xbox One - A Great Choice This Holiday Season

Christmas, Christmas time is here. Time for toys and time for cheers! Yes, that's right! Christmas is just a month away. We are no in November and we are starting the count down until we all get the great (or not so great) gifts that we have been wanting all year long. Hot on this list is game consoles.

With Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all having next gen gaming consoles on the market, not to mention the slew of new twisty, bendy laptops and other gadgets, what is the best gaming platform?

I have always been a PlayStation man, however I did briefly own an Xbox 360 before the red ring of death got it. Then about 6 months ago, my PS3 blew up. What was a gamer to do? I did a lot of research. I found that the GPU, the unit that drives the graphics behind the 2 machines, PS4 and Xbox One, were both created by my favorite CPU/GPU creator, AMD. When AMD makes a chipset then you know it is built right. Therefore, that did not help me much in deciding.

The PlayStation 4 (PS4) does have a faster, higher grade of ram memory in it as it utilizes DDR5 and the Xbox One still uses the standard DDR4. Therefore, I was jumping at the bit to get my hands on the PS4. I am glad I did not, however.

I found a great bundle deal that had the Xbox One console, the Kinect camera, and a $60 game thrown in for the giggles. This bundle cost me $450 at Walmart and that was not during a sale such as Black Friday. That was the everyday bundle price at that time. Heck, without the game that system was running $499. By the way, Titanfall alone was worth buying the Xbox One when I did.

For starters, what may not be learned off the box the Xbox One comes with, is that the Xbox One is designed to use the cloud created by Microsoft called Azure. Being able to utilize this cloud (many, many different servers systems hooked up together) the Xbox One can harness the power of the servers it is connected to, giving the console the ability to be 4 times stronger than the hardware that is enclosed in this console. This was the icing on the cake for me.

Throw in that the Xbox One has both an HDMI out as well as HDMI in so that you can plug up your high def cable box to this console, so that you can control what you watch on TV through voice command and hand gestures, this console just gets more exciting! With a slew of Xbox One Apps now on the market for free, yes free, as of a couple months ago you no longer have to pay for a Gold Live account as you can now use the apps and play the games online for FREE!!

James Trivolette, Owner and Digital Marketer of http://www.lovemyxboxone.com has been in Search Engine Optimization for over 10+ years. His love of gaming made this site a hobby.

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Understanding The Differences Between PS4 And Xbox Gaming Consoles

PS4 and Xbox are two of the most popular game consoles in the world. Due to their popularity, many people don't know the console that they should go for. Here is a comparison of the main specifications that will help you in making the right decision.

GPU

Xbox One and PS4 GPUs are technologically very similar; however, the PS4 GPU is a little bit larger. According to the creators, the Xbox GPU is similar to the Bonaire GPU that can be found in Radeon HD 7790. The PS4 GPU on the other hand is similar to the one found in HD 7870.

Creators of PS4 GPU say that the GPU is almost 50% more powerful than Xbox one. This means that games will have plenty of available graphics power on tap. Although, this is the case, Xbox One has a slightly higher GPU unlock speed.

Other than these differences, the two GPUs are identical as they are both based on the Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture thus they have the ability of supporting OpenGL 4.3, Direct3D 11.2, and OpenCL 1.2.

RAM

Both consoles have an 8GB RAM. PS4 has 5500MHz RAM while Xbox uses 2133MHz DDR3 RAM. Use of this type of RAM by PS4 gives the console a bandwidth advantage. For example, the PS4's CPU and GPU will have 176GB/sec of bandwidth to system RAM, while Xbox will only have 68.3GB/sec.

CPU

Just like GPU, both consoles have similar CPUs. Although, the CPUs are virtually identical, they have a number of differences. For example, the PS4 CPU is clocked at 1.6GHz while Xbox is clocked at 1.75GHz. Since Xbox one has a larger space, it's expected to be much faster.

Setting up the consoles

It's very easy to setup PS4 as you don't have to go through the trouble of installing a power supply brick; all you need to do is to plug the power cord from the PS4 to the wall and hook up the HDMI to your TV. The good side is that PS4 is easily recognized by many TVs; therefore, you don't have to fiddle with settings.

It's also easy to setup Xbox one; however, you have to deal with the power brick that needs to be placed in a well-ventilated area in order to protect it from overheating. The power brick also gives the Xbox console an ugly look.

Conclusion

These are the main differences between PS4 and Xbox one. Which is the best console for you?

We have plenty of information about PS4 hardware specs [http://www.ps4onnews.com]. We also have comparisons of the major gaming consoles. For example, we have a well detailed comparison on PS4 and Xbox One [http://www.ps4onnews.com]. Visit the given links to know more.

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Sega Master System - How Not to Fulfil Potential

Well my friends, it all started in the Christmas of 1990...

A young me saw an advert for the MS Power Base and instantly fell in love. I'd love to be able to show you said video but the internet, despite containing 12,000,000 shades of adult material, doesn't have space for it. I'm starting to wonder whether I imagined it all. In any case, for the month of December I relentlessly badgered my father (B. Simpson would have been very impressed) to purchase the Power Base with Hang-On, Safari Hunt and Light Phaser. And credit to the man, ignoring late mortgage payments, final demands and much to the annoyance of my mother, he duly obliged. I was stunned.

I did however find this American advert for the package which at £100 seemed expensive but actually provided pretty good value for money. Plus, there was also a hidden maze game. Someone needs to bring back hidden games. I dug out my Master System a couple of months ago, which still works despite my cousin tipping coke into it (pretty sure if you breathe too heavily on an Xbox it will explode) and boy did it bring back some memories! What also struck me was how bad some of the titles were. These were games I'd played to death! The Ninja and World Soccer were personal favourites but both of them are graphically woeful. That sounds harsh given they were some of the early release titles but let me continue.

Golden Axe is the game that really stuck in my craw. The Ninja (1987) and World Soccer (also 1987) were released a mere two years before Golden Axe (1989) but if you put them side by side you wouldn't guess they're from the same console. Other popular 80s titles (e.g. Ghostbusters, California Games) and even early 90s titles (Indiana Jones, Tom & Jerry) pale in comparison to the graphics in Golden Axe. Admittedly the levels are two-tone and the rendering is baffling in places but the sprites look almost the same as in the 16-bit. The sprites are large and well detailed. The main protagonist may only have around 15 frames of animation but the swing of the sword feels smooth and true. All of this with a palette of only 64 colours compared to the Mega Drive's 512.

Most 16-bit to 8-bit conversions are terrible (the awful E-SWAT immediately springs to mind) and many positive things can be said of Sega's stance to make completely different games on the 8-bit under the same license (Sonics 1 & 2) but I invite you to take a look at Streets of Rage and Mortal Kombat. Both of these games are one-dimensional and thus creating different 8-bit versions would seem silly. The care taken with both is remarkable. There's not much that can be done with the Master System's Texas Instruments (remember them?) SN76489 sound chip but its graphics capabilities are surprising. Of the 64 available colours, the Master System can display 32 at once. This is in comparison to the Mega Drive's 64 and the NES' pithy 25. The Zilog processor in the MS runs at 4 MHz compared to the NES' 1.79 MHz. The Zilog chip was also used in the Mega Drive alongside the Motorola 68000.

The clues were there. Streets of Rage, after a night out with a few too many jars (blurry eyes an all) could be mistaken for the 16-bit version - bar the awful sound. Sacrifices had to be made, the Master System's reduced memory (albeit still double that of the NES) couldn't handle two players, but all the levels remain intact including the excellent lift stage. With Mortal Kombat more sacrifices had to be made. There are only two stages but most of the characters are there with the exception of the unpopular Kano. Each sprite is big, well drawn, and the animation works to create a fun beat em up, the likes of which European/Japanese Master System owners never saw again. Why so specific with the region? Well...

Did you know Street Fighter 2 existed on the Master System? I sure as hell didn't until earlier this year I found out that the MS is still supported in Brazil (and emulation products in China and Taiwan). SF2 is a capable beat em up and although it looks decidedly more basic (although better than the C64 version) it really makes you wonder what Sega could have done with their first landmark console. Some Master System games are also available through the Wii's online service - who on earth would have thought this of a Nintendo console back in the early nineties!

There are things that couldn't be helped. The NES' stronger game library and character recognition meant it outsold the Master System almost five to one. By the time Sega invented Sonic, the Master System was subjected to poor arcade conversations and puzzle games. The inventive Galaxy Force is the anomaly here, Sega didn't make use of the advanced capabilities of the MS until it was too late. Sonic 1 was the last MS release in the USA. Most would assume that the release of the Mega Drive is to blame for this and Sega had to do something to halt the dominance of the NES. The fact is that Sega made a superior 8-bit console to the NES but chose to go 16-bit first-off, thus inviting the inevitable Nintendo sucker punch (the SNES).

I will always love the Master System and although I'm unlikely to ever own its current incarnations I can still enjoy my Sonics, Streets of Rages (oh yes, the sequel is on there too) and Mortal Kombat. Just don't mention E-SWAT.

For this and more head to http://www.arcadeattack.co.uk

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How Good Is the TI-84 Calculator As a Mobile Console?

Humanity has a knack for getting bored. We'll get bored in the car, on a plane, or in our math classes. No one would really blame us for being bored in a math class though. Math can be tedious and dull. That's what probably led to some people picking up the Texas Instruments 84 calculator and saying "I could work with this".

And thus began a unique corner of the gaming world, one running on a device originally used for graphing functions or helping solve equations. The TI-84 Calculator harkens back to the original Game Boy, in both graphical and mechanical limitations.

The TI-84 Calculator harkens back to the original Game Boy, in both graphical and mechanical limitations.

The TI-84 has limited screen-space and not the smallest of pixels, forcing developers for the system to be particularly crafty with how they designed a game. Some tend to use either single screens at a time or single screens the player either couldn't leave. This way the player knew what they had to deal with without the risk of being introduced to something new with the inclusion of poor screen transition blur or sometimes lag.

Much like the GameBoy, the TI-84 Calculator still had different aesthetic styles despite it's lack of pixel detail. Games had to have a balance between detail and size. In order for a sprite to be detailed they would have to be big, and thus take up more room on the screen. Despite all of this, games still look appealing, unique with each game.

Controls are a weird story when it comes to the TI-84 Calculator, as it is a calculator. For starters, there are a lot of buttons to works with, but not all of them are in a good position, or at least not a comfortable one. This is due to the placement of the D-Pad. The D-Pad it has is on the right, which is different to normal systems. Not only that, but it is also placed high up on the device. With most of the buttons being much lower than the D-Pad, it would be awkward holding it if developers decided to make use of those buttons.

In order for a sprite to be detailed they would have to be big, and thus take up more room on the screen.

It's a good thing they don't. The buttons used the most are the 2ND and ALPHA buttons, with some games making use of MODE and other ones just left of the D-Pad. Most games are forced to be simple, and because of that utilize simple controls. Some games use these buttons for things like jumping, shooting, or selecting, while other games only use these buttons to open the game and then the D-Pad does the rest.

Now what really makes a gaming system great is the games available to play on it. While there are ports of games like Tetris and home-brews of franchises like Mario and even Portal, there are also a whole slew of original titles, some of which I love dearly. Platformer games like Swords 2, arcade games like Uncle Worm, puzzle games like Pegs and the classroom-famous Block Dude, and so on. The TI-84 has been around for a while, so it has a fair amount of fun games on it now.

With all of this being said I just want to say that, after playing it a whole bunch, the TI-84 Calculator is an underrated gaming system. Unorthodox? Yes. A pain to get games on? Yes. Allowed in math classes? Yes.

Dan is the owner of Mangotron which is an Indie Games news website. Mangotron covers indie game news views, interviews and much more.

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Tips On How To Choose The Right Gaming Console For You

Gaming today has become a way of life for many people. They start and end the day by playing their favorite video and online games. A lot of people actually consider gaming as addictive: they just won't feel right or complete without firing their virtual gun or building a digital home or fortress in a day.

But to feel completely satisfied and happy with your gaming experience, you need to have and use the right gaming console. To make sure that you will be choosing the one that's right for you, below are some helpful tips you can follow:

Have some sufficient knowledge about the different gaming consoles - Do some research about the various gaming consoles available in the market today. Every one of them is uniquely different from each other. Use the Internet and read up on their specs, features and capabilities. Also, before buying at a brick-and-mortar or an online store that sells gaming consoles, ask the sales staff for their recommendation. Many of these sales persons are gamers themselves and can give you some valuable insights and advice.

Consider the console's versatility - Most, but not all, gaming consoles today can also be used as a Blu-ray DVD player. As such, a device that has this capability can allow you to have a console that doubles as an all-purpose media hub. This option also enables you to cut down on the amount of media devises you'll need to buy and store.

Find out which kind of games a console offers - There are some games you will only find on certain consoles and not on others. Be sure that the games you really want to play are available for the console you are hoping to get. There are also various styles of games such as first person shooter, racing, and platform games. And if you are primarily interested in racing games, make sure that whatever console you decide to go with provides a good variety of the style of game that you enjoy.

Determine how many people will be frequently playing or using the device - Ask yourself: is it going to be for just one person? Or will your friends or family be playing with you on a regular basis? Keep in mind that each gaming console also caters to each of these requirements differently.

Consider its online capability - Finally, not all consoles have the capability of being accessed or played online. If you want to play online with other gamers, pick a gaming console that supports this feature.

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