Playing games with my friend who lives down the road. How?

[ian2002]

We both have a Cable Internet connection and we both have a small network set up in our houses. Is it possible to play a multiplayer game without using the Internet?

Lets say I start a game of Quake at my machine can he (somehow) join the game the same way as you would start a LAN game?

We just want to play the same way we used to when we used a Dial Up connection (modem to modem).

Thanks for your time.

Ian.

[BipolarBill]

Since you are both likely on the same ISP subnet, this may be easy. You must start the game in the host/server mode ("create"). Have your friend search for local games or connect to your IP (run IPCONFIG from a DOS prompt). If you're running a firewall (BlackIce, ZoneAlarm), you'll have to disable or configure it to allow the port you're using. I would just disable it. This only applies to the host PC.

What really complicates this is a DSL/cable router. If the host PC is behind one, the router must be configured to make the PC a DMZ host. You can tell if it is with IPCONFIG. If the IP address is 192.168.x.x, it's a private address and invisible to the outside. Enabling DMZ host would assign the router's IP to the host PC too.

BTW...to find out your IP in the above case, you need to use the router software and check it's "Status". IPCONFIG only shows the PC's address, not the router's.

[Praetorian]

Hmm.....I'd like to know how this goes. A buddy and I had this idea (but he's 5 miles away) so we found this article but we never went through. If BipolarBill's idea doesn't work you could always spend a bit more cash and setup a wireless config. There are anttennas that can broadcast a few miles, but then that'd be a security risk....

[BipolarBill]

but then that'd be a security risk....

Well, in all fairness, a DMZ host with no firewall and UDP packets flying in and out is a bit of a security risk in my setup too. Only the host is vulnerable, but the user needs to reset all security and kill the DMZ immediately after the game. If the user takes their time setting this up, they can filter all ports but the one they are on (27960 in Q3).