Warp Pipe Adds 8-Player Mario Kart, 1080 Avalanche Support

Thanks to the Warp Pipe site for its announcement that the latest 0.3.1 version of their Warp Pipe tunneling software for GameCube has been released, with Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X flavors now sporting a bugfix allowing a full complement of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! competitors ("you can play with up to 8 players via two Cubes"), and partial support for new GameCube snowboarding title 1080 Avalanche, albeit with "some stability issues", for this software which "enables you to play LAN-supported GameCube games over the Internet for free with other GameCube gamers."

In other words...

[Anonymous Coward]

...a handful of geeks have yet again done more to bring the Cube online than Nintendo ever has...

It's strange that Nintendo doesn't seem to notice this. MKDD is a good game as it is, but it's very nature makes it better when playing multiple people (local or otherwise). I just don't see why they couldn't understand that a MK64 presale promo (admit it, that demo disc was only half decent, and a far cry from what N could've done as a favor to their fans) + online gameplay would've made it, by far, THE GCN game to have.

Re:In other words...

[Babbster]

Don't forget the EXTRA special hosing received by those who made the mistake of the dial-up adapter because unlike Sony, Nintendo split dial-up and broadband. If they don't like, or get tired of, Phantasy Star Online (Eps. I and II; C.A.R.D. Battle), they're SOL.

Re:In other words...

[Babbster]

You've got it right there. CLEARLY, anyone who has fun playing console games online has been duped by marketing and needs to get back to playing PC Counterstrike.

/sarcasm

Re:In other words...

[bigman2003]

Well, I better get in a few more games of Top Spin, or Crimson Skies, before everyone else wises up to this.

It is far, far better to play the same computer AI over and over again. So I can learn every nuance of 'okay, there will be a guy over here, and if I throw a grenade right THERE I will kill him.'

Or better yet, I will devote myself to playing single player, so I can be like that guy who can beat Mario Brothers in like 8 minutes.

Mario Bros. Movies [keithdevens.com]

Playing against humans on-line is just stupid! Wh

Maybe Nintendo thinks the lag is a quality issue?

[Webapprentice]

With their high standards on the gameplay experience, they could have decided the lag wasn't worth it. They enabled the internal LAN instead. Though the other big blunder with the game is that when you plan LAN mode, the characters are randomly chosen.

Re:Maybe Nintendo thinks the lag is a quality issu

[irc.goatse.cx troll]

I owned a n64 long before laying my hands on a playstation. The main thing I noticed when my sister got a playstation for her birthday a year or so after my n64 was the HUGE load time. Some games have load time so bad that its not even worth the wait. Cartridges really were better IMO back when games were that small.

Re:Maybe Nintendo thinks the lag is a quality issu

[Anonymous Coward]

NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. CDs hold more data, therefore they are ALWAYS better. Never worse, you are a victem of Nintendo's brilliant marketing scheme.

Re:Maybe Nintendo thinks the lag is a quality issu

[Uart]

Seriously man, that damned "loading" screen is the #1 thing that pisses me off about my GameCube. Then again, Tetris used to be a bitch with its unskippable credits screen too, back in the 90s.

In Japan online play probably isn't a money maker

[Webapprentice]

I recall many articles citing broadband and telecom costs being expensive in Japan compared to the U.S. Maybe more people just would rather hang out and play in Japan?

Nintendo's next console will probably have to take the U.S. online numbers into account. So, it is more likely they will bundle or build in the network/modem adapters. They still probably don't want to set up their own network and be content to let the developers set up their own strategy, because Nintendo is more interested in making game

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Maybe Nintendo thinks the lag is a quality issu

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

So you refute the AC's assertion that Nintendo never made a public explanation of why Internet multiplayer was not included by saying, "Yes, that was their excuse." And then pointing to some article on a website that you run? Uh...that does not a convincing argument make. A Nintendo press release or interview with a reputable gaming news source would be a much better way to make your point. [Yes, I don't consider your site reputable - nor will I look at it. If your site is so small, you have to pimp it on S

Lag Issues

[Prien715]

I'm expecting a Gamecube tomorrow so I'm curious. I've heard there's lots of issues with lag in this program. Has it been resolved or lessened in any way?

Re:Lag Issues

[seinman]

I've been using Warp Pipe with MKDD for a month now, both the old version and the new. Lag is an issue if you play someone far away, although slightly less so with the new update. The game plays in slow motion in this case. If you play someone in your own state, the lag is still there, but it's small enough to be barely noticible and the game is still easy to play. If you play someone in your own town and especially on your own ISP, there's no lag, period.

Re:Lag Issues

[chadlnx]

Although this is true, it is also a lay man's way of saying that ping is the factor when it comes to lag.

When playing Mario Kart, a ping of 30ms or lower will allow you to run a flawless game.

When playing 1080: Avalanche, a ping of 45ms or lower will allow you to run a flawless game.

The jury is still out on Kirby AirRide.

XLink

[irate_canadian]

Forget Warppipe. Get Xlink instead. They're just about to do the second phase of beta testing for their new client, called "Kai" and then it'll have full Gamecube support.

The release available now, RC2 Omega supports all Xbox games that have system link capability, and the new one improves on the UI, the lag issues, and adds GC support to boot.

I don't know why anyone would use Warppipe in a few weeks, when Xlink will be able to play both Xbox AND GC with the same program, faster, and (although I'm not 100

Re:XLink

[edwdig]

Kai didn't rip off Warp Pipe.

Warp Pipe people are just stupid, aand assumed that the only way Kai could have pulled it off was by ripping off Warp Pipe. There's no evidence at all to support a claim that Kai ripped off Warp Pipe.

Re:XLink

[Shakey_Jake33]

Meh I think it's pretty stupid to label either side as 'ripping off' the other... lets face it, ht's hardly new technology.

My personal view is that anything that gives the the... somewhat empty GameCube online scene a boost a boost is a good thing, regardless of roots or motives.
I use the term 'scene' lightly, and perhaps generiously because so far the only online titles we've seen are Phantasy Star Online... I welcome any group who brings more to the people. As for any competition... well it's a shame th

Re:XLink

[Squidgee]

They already lost me to the dark (and green) side due to the very issue you're soeaking of: a lack of online play.

I had a GC for a year (well, I still have it; just never play it), and got tired of no online play. So I moved to the Xbox, and I've never been happier. XBL is the most amazing thing I've ever played on.

Sorry Nintendo, but it's your loss for ignoring such an important component of Next-gen consoles.

This is advertising

[superpulpsicle]

Does /. not have any real video game news. What is all this constant marketing of gamecube and xbox games. It's like a conspiracy going on.

1.) gamecube 3rd party slip many dollar bills into /. pocket
2.) /. post article
3.) !profit

Re:This is advertising

[chrismcdirty]

And what kind of video game news would you like? The announcement of new homebrew Commodore 64 games?

Don't try to tell me that it's only GC and XBox, because they make more PS2 announcements than anything else.

Posted by an AC. Need to read!

[DAldredge]

What follows was posted by an AC that is currently moded 0. It is reposted here for the benefit of those that block score 0 messages.

REPOST OF AC MESSAGE FOLLOWS

This runs as root. That means it can do ANYTHING to your system that it wants.

Why is this an issue?

Because these are the people that placed their sourcecode on sourceforge then closed the app, all the while using sourceforge resources to do it and kept the CVS open when they thought they had closed it. They have also lied about their linux version having a GUI. When people asked to help, they, rudely, said no because they were going to do it because that would have been the only way to keep the various platforms in shape. Big shock, they lied.

Remember all that when you run their closed source apps on your Gentoo box with full Root privilages!

0.3.1 isn't working with Linux

[Paladine97]

I installed the 0.3.1 version for Linux and tried to connect to my local friend to play. While I could play with the old 0.3.0 version just fine, the new version didn't work. It would get halfway through connecting and then just sit in an endless loop while searching for Cubes.

Be forewarned!

Re:0.3.1 isn't working with Linux

[chadlnx]

0.3.1 works well. We wouldn't release it without testing. The problem you seem to be having is a very common one. It is due to either you or the person you were playing at the time not having port 4000 UDP traffic properly routed to the other side.

Make sure you and your peer have port 4000 (udp and tcp) properly routed if behind routers. Also, if behind a firewall allow access to port 4000 (udp and tcp).

Re:0.3.1 isn't working with Linux

[DAldredge]

What happend to the Linux GUI that you promised in your forums?

Re:0.3.1 isn't working with Linux

[Paladine97]

We do have it propertly configured. We reverted back to 0.3.0 and it works as expected.

Here is the exact problem. We connected, and it went into the countdown. It would go down until 170 or so then it seemed to flash and the count went to 180 again and continued downward. Flash -> repeat. Something very strange.