Live MP and AOL (cringe, please don't laugh...)

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Author Topic:   Live MP and AOL (cringe, please don't laugh...)

Goobmeister posted 05-03-99 10:31 AM ET
OK, I assume this is a match made in hell, but has anybody tried this? Or any other MP game for that matter. For better or worse this is the ISP of choice in my household, and I don't see it changing any time soon. What problems should I expect?
Will I get constantly disconnected every 10 15 minutes or does AOL look at MP games as real internet activity?
Goob

ForCripeSake posted 05-03-99 04:45 PM ET
I had AOL, and Unfortunately, AOL does not Realize your online(active) while playing multi. However, programs like Idle Bots and 45min kill, should readily solve the situation. I dont know if your an AOL goody goody or not, but try looking for some of the more seemy progs and proggies at Prog or Server Chatrooms.
-ForCripeSake
"Lord Cable Modem, save us from the fires of Hell And AOL, Lead All souls To Low-Latency, Amen."
tfs99 posted 05-03-99 07:03 PM ET
>>>>> Goob
I had the same problem with MSN. What I ended up doing, as a braindead solution, was to keep my newsreader open and to download a news message every turn or so to keep MSN happy.
Unfortunately, there were times I got so caught in the game that I forgot to do that. Doh! But most of my SMAC compadres were understanding and we just took it from there.
It helps to have a strategy worked out in advance as to what to do if someone drops from the game. That is, meet at AlphaHQ, contact each other via ICQ, or just try to rejoin the game at the given IP.
The only problem with the last option is that a person dropping due to a lost connection sometimes ends up fouling up the host computer so bad that it requires a reset.
HTH.
SMAC n ... Ted S.
Darkstar posted 05-04-99 05:28 PM ET
I use Dimension4, a time syncher program. I set it to go poll the time once every few minutes and this seems to be enough activity with my ISP to keep me alive. Its a strategy that may work for you. Give it a try. Downloading a message sounds like a lot of work.
You might also want to try an auto-pinger, or a weather page from your local news tv channel. A couple here in my region set the page to auto-reload the Live Radar graphic once every 5 minutes.
Just a couple of Keep Alive thoughts...
-Darkstar
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Author	Topic: Live MP and AOL (cringe, please don't laugh...)
Goobmeister	posted 05-03-99 10:31 AM ET OK, I assume this is a match made in hell, but has anybody tried this? Or any other MP game for that matter. For better or worse this is the ISP of choice in my household, and I don't see it changing any time soon. What problems should I expect? Will I get constantly disconnected every 10 15 minutes or does AOL look at MP games as real internet activity? Goob
ForCripeSake	posted 05-03-99 04:45 PM ET I had AOL, and Unfortunately, AOL does not Realize your online(active) while playing multi. However, programs like Idle Bots and 45min kill, should readily solve the situation. I dont know if your an AOL goody goody or not, but try looking for some of the more seemy progs and proggies at Prog or Server Chatrooms. -ForCripeSake "Lord Cable Modem, save us from the fires of Hell And AOL, Lead All souls To Low-Latency, Amen."
tfs99	posted 05-03-99 07:03 PM ET >>>>> Goob I had the same problem with MSN. What I ended up doing, as a braindead solution, was to keep my newsreader open and to download a news message every turn or so to keep MSN happy. Unfortunately, there were times I got so caught in the game that I forgot to do that. Doh! But most of my SMAC compadres were understanding and we just took it from there. It helps to have a strategy worked out in advance as to what to do if someone drops from the game. That is, meet at AlphaHQ, contact each other via ICQ, or just try to rejoin the game at the given IP. The only problem with the last option is that a person dropping due to a lost connection sometimes ends up fouling up the host computer so bad that it requires a reset. HTH. SMAC n ... Ted S.
Darkstar	posted 05-04-99 05:28 PM ET I use Dimension4, a time syncher program. I set it to go poll the time once every few minutes and this seems to be enough activity with my ISP to keep me alive. Its a strategy that may work for you. Give it a try. Downloading a message sounds like a lot of work. You might also want to try an auto-pinger, or a weather page from your local news tv channel. A couple here in my region set the page to auto-reload the Live Radar graphic once every 5 minutes. Just a couple of Keep Alive thoughts... -Darkstar