Satellite Internet and Online Gaming: Does It Work?
The reason for this concern is the issue of latency. Latency is an expression of how much time it takes for a packet of data to get from one designated point to another. This is direly important when it come to on-line gaming in that latency translates into the time that it takes from the moment that a button is pushed to when the action is performed in the game. Often this can mean the difference between life and death. With DSL and Cable the response time is almost immediate, being between 50milliseconds-150milliseconds. The latency for satellite internet is between 600milliseconds-800milliseconds. This may sound like the end of online gaming for someone who has just made the switch to satellite internet but it is not. Although this degree of latency does all but rule out first-person shooters there are a good number of MMOGs that operate well over a satellite internet connection. And, although the effects of latency can never be completely eliminated, there are ways in which to improve upon them. The simplest way to do this is by speeding up the way that one's computer handles and responds to information being transferred through the connection and by increasing the total amount of available bandwidth. Some operating systems have built in reserves on bandwidth that are non-essential to the functionality of most web applications, see link for a tweak http://www.wildblue.cc/wbforums/showthread.php?t=3323 .
By eliminating non-essential services i.e. bandwidth hogs that the average user never utilizes and dedicating more physical resources to the most used application can help tremendously. Minimizing the effects of latency down to the bare minimum allowed by the laws of physics enables one to play more online gaming that was before not workable and also speeds up the responses of other games that already do work. So, although there are limitations to on-line gaming over satellite internet there are also ways to improve upon game-play responsiveness and many games that will play well without operating system tweaks. Below is a list of online games for both console and PC that, according to subscribers that have tested and played them, do and do not work over satellite internet. This is not a definitive list of games guaranteed to work, so be cautious as results may vary.
What Works
Xbox/Xbox360/PS2/Handheld Games:
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat(for me anyway doesn't for some others)
Perfect Dark Zero
All Tony Hawk games
Mario Kart DS
Call of Duty 2
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Socom 3(mixed results)
Socom 2(so-so)
Nascar 06 total team control(works kinda)
Rainbow Six Series(Host boots for high ping usually, But CO-OP and 2 V 2 work well)
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
PC Games:
Runescape
Asheron's Call
Everquest
Everquest 2
World of Warcraft
Star Wars Galaxies
Dark Age of Camelot
Roma Victor
Eve Online
Star Wars: Empire at War
Dungeon and Dragons online
Warcraft3
GuildWars
City of Heroes(very difficult to connect to the patch server..other than that it works fine)
Final Fantasy XI
Contract Jack
Auto Assault
Aces High Online flight sim
Trackmania
WarRock Beta
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast
StarPeace
America's Army
Red Orchestra
Diablo 2
Titan Quest
F.E.A.R.
Postal 2
What doesn't work or is not enjoyable
Xbox/Xbox360/PS2/Handheld Games:
Far Cry Instincts Predator
Halo 2
NBA Live 2006
Quake 4
Prey Demo
Ratchet and Clank: Deadlocked
PC Games:
Star Craft
BattleField 2 Demo
Call of Duty 1&2
Battelfield2
Band of Brothers
C&C Generals
UT2004(playable..not enjoyable)
Ragnarok
Prey Demo
Civ 4
Battlefield 2142
Related Tags: satellite internet, online gaming
Jacob Minett is a consultant and copy writer for the fullfillment company My Net LLC. With six years experience in the satellite industry, Jacob has worked both in the field as a lead technician and now consulting and web copy duties for http://www.MyBlueDish.com which specializes in WildBlue Satellite Internet.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Your Guide To The Starcraft 2 Zerg Vs Terran Matchup
A Starcraft 2 Zerg vs Terran matchup can prove to be a very interesting proposition. Pairing up the - Train For Battlenet With The Starcraft 2 Campaigns
The Starcraft 2 campaign in-game will have you facing some of the most challenging and brutal strate - Is There A Permanent Fix For Your Xbox 360 Red Rings Of Death Error? A Fix At Home Solution Here!
When the Xbox 360 first came out it was considered to be the best gaming console around. But today m - Would You Like To Fix Xbox 360 Red Ring Of Death Fast? - Do Not Give Microsoft $140 - Fix It At Home
More experienced owners tend to be looking for ways on how to fix Xbox 360 red ring of death. This i - Repair & Fix Xbox 360 Red Ring Of Death - Permanent Fix In Just 1-2 Hours Flat
Are you so frustrated and desperate to fix Xbox 360 red ring of death fast? Well first and foremost - Which Video Game Console Is The Best?
When we consider which of the consoles that we consider to be our very favourite, we must consider a - Starcraft 2 Elite Guide - When The Heck Am I Supposed To Expand? Playing As Zerg
The Zerg economic system is fairly unique from the Terran and Protoss economies, a noticeably smart - Starcraft 2 Elite Guide - An Ideal Opener To Any Match As Terran
An essential aspect you need to always remember pertaining to Terran is the fact their economic proc - Dugi's Ultimate Wow Guide - A Rip Off? - Definitely Not!
Firstly a sobering thought as gaming has suddenly received some extremely negative media comment. A - Do You Want To Find Best Game In Top Online Games?
Rappelz is one of best rpg games and top online games so this game an intense fantasy MMORPG game th
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Joanna's Horde Leveling Guide - Ultimate Horde Guide? Find Out Here
Joanna's Horde Levelling Guide is a World of Warcraft guide that was created by a player that calls - Should I Upgrade My Sony PSP Firmware
Sony already has a reputation of being in the forefront of the war over digital rights management (e - PlayStation 3 Features
The PlayStation 3 became available to retail merchants in the United States. Marketplace on November - Xbox 360 Backwards Compatibility
With the Xbox 360 getting more and more popular, more and more new exciting games will be coming out - How To Easily Get Gold In World Of Warcraft
Just like in real life one of the most frustrating things in world of warcraft is lack of money (gol - Xbox 360 Modchip - The Facts
As the Xbox 360 is fast getting more and more popular, there will be people who will want to make th - WOW Power Leveling Guide Part 1
World of warcraft or "Wow" is a strategy game with a Role Playing twist set in a mythical land of go - Record Number of People Expected to Call in Sick to Work Today
American families, girlfriends, domestic partners and pets are not the only ones feeling the brunt o - Free Sony Playstation 3 for Anyone
The PlayStation 3 is a highly seeked and demand product released to the U.S. market in late 2006. J - Tradeskill Improvements in World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade
World of Warcraft has been criticized in the past for a sub-par and almost useless profession system