Can anyone help set up network Halo?
 

Okay, so here's the situation. I work at a remote office with an internet tunnel (maybe it's a virtual protected network?) to the network at the home office (mother ship). My company is nice enough to give each department and office an X-Box with a copy of Halo. The home office has games semi-regularly.

My question is how can my remote office get in on this action? How does one connect these games up? Any help is greatly appreciated...

The games have to be connected via wifi or wired. The usual way is to just connect 2 or more X-Boxes to a switch or hub. Simple as that. I've heard you can do wireless but it's a pain in the ass. Not sure if you are gonna be able to do it using your network. You can use the internet to connect to other internet games (it's a rig job, believe me) but it works. Downside: It's also no where near as fast as a wired local area network.

As far as I can tell, you said:
1> You need a network connection to play Halo.
2> LAN games are faster than internet games.
3> Internet games require a rig job.

I miss any content from your post?

By any chance, do you know how to set up a game that can be played over the internet? I can find this description on how to do it from amazon.com, but it is relatively over-specified. Do you know more?

( http://www.xbconnect.com/ seems to be the core of that solution. )

yep, just use xbconnect to do it. I got it to work once, but it was slower than shit. but your points are correct.

XBConnect isn't going to cut it for us, I'm afraid. We live behind a nazi firewall that most certainly won't let that through into the internet. However, the two XBoxes, in question, are on the same network, thanks to a network tunnel, so we should be able to simply connect to each other as if we're on a LAN. However, I don't think we've ever gotten this to work. Why not? Any other ideas?


As an aside, there are actually three XBoxes in question. One of the meeting rooms at the home office has two XBoxes, a 36 inch TV (flatscreen Trinitron) and a projector. So, they can set up an eight player game. I was hoping we can turn this into a twelve player game...

Where do you work? I think I'll be stopping by.

Yup, just get a switch, some feet of cat-5 cable, and you're good to go.

Maybe I'm misunderstaing you, Stare At The Sun, but I think you're misunderstanding me. I want to play a game with the main office (in San Jose) from the remote office (in Toronto &#134). That's a lot of CAT-5!




&#134 Actually, the office is in Waterloo, which is about an hour's drive away from Toronto, but who's ever heard of Waterloo, Ontario?

Play around with netcat/packet capture software and XBConnect and try to reverse engeneer what they are doing?

Hmm. Another possibility: set up a tunnel forwarding those two ports (TCP and UDP) to a PC in the same local network as the xboxes in san jose. From the amazon description linked, only 2 ports are involved in playing xbox games on a LAN.

XBox.to.ca <-> LocalPCTunnelEnd <----> RemotePCTunnelEnd <-> XBox.sj.ca.us

If I am right, and only those two ports are used, you should be able to fool the XBoxen in San Jose into thinking the RemotePCTunnelEnd is your xbox in Toronto... (Maybe not, but one could hope. One possible way this could fail is if the content of xbox packets includes some IP/Ethernet identification information.)

Mostly theoretical, sorry. =(

Re: Can anyone help set up network Halo?
 

I've heard of Waterloo. Had a friend working up there at some cool audio software place.

I think the whole idea of XBox live is to be able to play online over the Internet. Since your office has supplied you with the hardware, I imagine you're already set up (and also since others area playing!)

Seems like your best bet would be to drop some email to some of the other outlying offices, or even a phone call, and ask how they are getting hooked up. Gotta be an answer there somewhere....

I don't know who you work for, but can I send my resume? Sounds like a really neat place. Hell, my company is too cheap to get updated computers, let alone something for employee entertainment. You are a lucky one! Enjoy!