Part 2 - Gamespy Introduction |
WHAT IS
GAMESPY?
So far Ive discussed what deathmatch is and how it works
(on Quake 2 servers). However I have not told you how to actually
connect to a Quake 2 server. If you read the information that is
included with Quake 2 they give you some rudimentary information
on how to connect. To do it their way you first have to find some
IP addresses of Quake 2 servers (e.g. 145.453.234.23), enter them
in, connect, and pray that youre connection is fast enough
to play. There has to be an easier way to do that though, and
lucky for us there is.
Gamespy (previously called
"Qspy") is a Windows 95 program that goes out and
automatically searches for as many Quake 2 (and other 3D shooter
game) servers it can find and then returns with a list of them.
The servers are sorted by fastest to slowest relative to your
location. Simply locate a fast server, double click on it, and
Gamespy automatically runs Quake 2, connects to that server, and
launches your game! Now that is easy!!
Even better, the program is shareware which means you can use it for free!!! The makers do accept registration of the program however (for $20), and registration lets you use some of the more powerful features of Gamespy like chat. However if you just want to use it for locating servers and launching games then you can do that for free.
DOWNLOADING
GAMESPY
Before you download Gamepsy make sure that you have the latest
version of Quake 2. I discussed this in Part 1. After that
youre ready to go get Gamespy. The current version of
Gamespy is 1.52. The links for downloading Gamespy are on my Download
Central page.
Once youve downloaded Gamespy run the program and it will install itself. The installation and setup program is very easy to use. They walk you through it nice and easy so you shouldnt have any trouble. When the program is finished installing, run it. The first time you run Gamespy it will have you setup a few things. Dont worry, it leads you through this part as well as it lead you through the installation process.
Now that youve got Gamespy, lets figure out how to use it! Click the link below to go to the next page.