Warp Pipe Launches With Mario Kart Support

jkeyes writes "The Warp Pipe project for playing LAN GameCube games online has just released Beta 0.3 for Windows. This is the first release to support Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, contains significant optimization, and even has region-free play, so you can battle against gamers from Japan or Europe - the first Macintosh beta is planned for next week."

Re:Now I might buy a gamecube

[NanoGator]

"Seriously, the entire Nintendo not believing in online play... wtf?"

Nintendo has stated before that they don't feel the on-line world is quite ready yet. What they want to do is avoid a re-occuring cost for the players. If on-line pay means a subscription, and the service isn't like top-notch (lag?), it's not interesting to Nintendo.

I want on-line play too, but at least Nintendo's thinking about their gamers here.

Re:Now I might buy a gamecube

[August_zero]

I want on-line play too, but at least Nintendo's thinking about their gamers here.

Well maybe, I applaud them for not rushing into some half-assed online service that sucks as well as it blows. What worries me though, is from everything that I have heard about the next Nintendo console, The big N has no intention of pursuing any sort of online plan. This might be ok, but they need to leave the option available to their 3rd party developers.

I say include a broadband/modem option(or sell them seperatel

Re:Now I might buy a gamecube

[Sancho]

Is the limitation on online play within the Nintendo Gamecube Broadband Adapter? Or is that just a glorified network card that depends upon the game to use?

As pigheaded as they can be about some things, I doubt they would do anything that stupid.

Like going after the original Game Genie, a device that takes nothing away from games, but extends and expands them? Of course, that was years ago, Nintendo has probably learned their lessons. And on all those GBA mods they tried to C&D.

Re:Now I might buy a gamecube

[Clomer]

I say include a broadband/modem option(or sell them seperately) and let the 3rd parties forge the online services. Even if Nintendo themselves don't want to make online games they are going to regret it if they castrate the online possiblity entirely.

They already do this. The Broadband Adaptor, which does nothing but add a standard 10baseT network port, is available to those that want it (required to use Warp Pipe), and it allows interested developers to develop online games for the Cube. Phantasy Star

Re:Now I might buy a gamecube

[August_zero]

I was refering to their next console, though perhaps I wasn't as clear as i could have been. Nintendo's biggest sin with the broadband adapter of this generation is the relatively modest quantities of them that have been produced. When I bought PSO last January, I speant weeks looking in stores for a BBA, I was however able to order it direct from their website. I am not sure if they are easier to find now or not.

Re:Now I might buy a gamecube

[realdpk]

Almost nobody (relatively) plays online console games. Nintendo is wise to wait until that market matures.

Re:Now I might buy a gamecube

[DeadScreenSky]

I am pretty sure Nintendo's real story is they don't feel that online play is currently profitable. Miyamoto, etc. have said just that in several interviews over the past couple years.

Never heard the "avoid a re-occurring cost for the player" reason - not to rag on Nintendo, but that is probably the least likely Nintendo statement ever. Closest I have heard to that is that Miyamoto doesn't think gamers will pay monthly fees for online access, which is kind of funny - as is your very charitable spin on that

Re:Now I might buy a gamecube

[NanoGator]

"Nintendo loves 'ripping off' their players, and always has."

Ripping off? People go happily buy stuff and they're being ripped off? O_o

Re:for how long?

[zr-rifle]

possibily forever, since it does not infringe on the DMCA.

It makes no attempt in circumventing secuity protection mechanisms nor does it hack in anyway the machine itself.

What it does is route the packets to and from the internet, acting as a gateway (or better, router) from one machine to the other.

Basically, the gamecube thinks it's routing packets to a machine in it's own LAN, while actually it's routing packets to an ip thank to the the Warp Pipe software. Warp Pipe works like a simplified Gamespy A

Re:for how long?

[77Punker]

Forever, it appears to me. Nintendo has always taken good care of its customers, even re-writing bad cartridges for NES up until a few months ago. I doubt they'd ruin the fun on something that's not going to cut in on their profits, and may indeed increase sales of broadband adapters and LAN games.

It can't - DMCA is USA only...

[Ron Harwood]

...and this project is based out of Canada.

This news

[zr-rifle]

... made me seriously consider buying a gamecube instead of an xbox this xmas.

For 99, I'd get the latest in home entertainment technologyl, complete with online play (even if still buggy, as I presume it is since it's a beta).

Before unleashing the wrath of the DMCA upon these hackers, Nintendo should think about the advantages brought to it's console at absolutely no cost whatsoever.

Re:This news

[Dave_B93]

Actually if you go to Wal*Mart Tomorrow, you can get one for $78

For more info, check out this blurb at GameSpy [gamespydaily.com]

or are you counting the cost of a broadband adapter ( approx $35US) in your total?

Warp Pipe GPL release...

[Anonymous Coward]

The last GPL'd release of Warp Pipe (including sources) is available here [sf.net] for download.

Re:Warp Pipe GPL release...

[Dave_B93]

That version is 2-3 weeks old and doens't work very well with MK:DD, also it isn't being maintained by anybody. (not to mention the fact that the source is still availible from sourceforge CVS for now which has a fatter pipe, or that they thought they'd gone closed source a few months ago, so having that code is kind of questionable)

There's already 2 projects working on GC tunelling warppipe [warppipe.com] and X-Link [xboxlink.co.uk], so I don't see how starting a new fork of warppipe off 3 week old code is going to help unless you'r

Re:Warp Pipe GPL release...

[Dave_B93]

XLink RC3 (codename Kai) will have GameCube support. It's about to go into a closed beta, However XLink is still Windows only. They're thinking about perhaps releasing some source under a kind of opensource license so people could port it, but that probably won't happen untill after Kai comes out.

Read up on it here [xboxlink.co.uk] under "XLink RC3 Update"

Frankly, I'm glad Nintendo doesn't do much online

[Man In Black]

Considering the way Nintendo whores out it's GBA-GC link cable with the promise of extra content (most of which really should have been enabled from the start), I can only imagine how much stuff they'd force you to go online for... they'd probably end up giving you only half a game. The other two quarters would be unlocked via the internet and GBA link respectively... No thanks!

Ladders

[Nexxpert]

Can't wait for this thing to be stable, plan on grabbing an adapter soon as they get a 1.0 release with a match finder built in. as long as it runs decent, it will be great to play people from around the world at a game which, for the first time in a long time, I feel i'm deadly at. Bring it on