Help setting up a doubles LAN

[maxuhmilian]

NOTE TO MODS: If this thread is in the wrong subforum, feel free to move it. :)

Hey all,

I've been planning a Doubles Reach tournament, as a charity event.

On the first day of summer break this year, my friend fell off his longboard, and suffered a massive brain injury. He has been in a coma for over 6 months now.

Anyway, I'm hoping with this being a charity event, I can rally some local businesses to donate money... and receive a sponsorship from BestBuy or something.

Here comes my question for TLN, I need a list of electronic supplies I'll need, and how I should organize the gameplay. I plan on doing brackets, but should certain rounds be split screen? Where should I max the number of players/teams? How much should the prizes be? How much should I charge... We won't be streaming, and hopefully it will be in a large group instruction room so I can set up a bracket on a projector.

This is my time running a LAN, and it's going to be huge. So I'm looking for all the advice I can get, before pitching this to the companies around town.

Best regards,

--maximilian

[mrkillboy]

Sorry to hear about your friend. I will be praying for him.

Edit: You will need enough xboxs to run more than 1 series at a time. I would do best of 3. Double elim. Need routers to connect the xboxs or hubs. TVs. Make them bring their own controllers. Ethernet cables. Tables. Chairs.

If I can think of more, I will tell you.

[phreekopath]

Sorry to hear about your friend. I will be praying for him.

Edit: You will need enough xboxs to run more than 1 series at a time. I would do best of 3. Double elim. Need routers to connect the xboxs or hubs. TVs. Make them bring their own controllers. Ethernet cables. Tables. Chairs.

If I can think of more, I will tell you.

Switches would be the way to go. Hubs would cause too many problems with multiple xboxes running multiple games at the same time (network collisions and horrid broadcast domains). Routers are really designed to move traffic back and forth, to and from the internet, not LAN. Most home-type routers (i.e. linksys or dlink, etc) have a 4-port switch built in.

You will need something to pass out IP addresses to the xboxes, just to make setup easier. That could be done with a basic wireless router easily, just to hand out the DHCP addresses.

Where are you located, i probably have a 16 port switch i'll gladly donate.

[mrkillboy]

Never go wireless for lanning.

[phreekopath]

I didn't say go wireless, i said you could use a wireless router solely for DHCP functionality.

[mrkillboy]

No. I was just pointing out. Don't go wireless.

[forefront]

If you are trying to get businesses to donate equipment, then suggest to them some MLG stuff that will be cheaper than they expect.

Monitors with VGA-in, not HDTV's, and wired xbox controllers. Try to get whatever business to send a representative to keep an eye on their own equipment so that you are not held liable.

For a doubles tourney, you should be fine going split screen. That way, you can get one 24 port alcatel omniswitch and run 12 games at a time through it. The other option is 8 port Layer 2 hubs like what they use at MLG tournaments. Though I don't like the brand they use, it works fine for LAN setups. The less you need, the more likely the businesses are to help.

As far as cabling, you will need VGA cables for each xbox. Then, you'll need a Cat5e, or Ethernet cable to connect each box to the switches. Power cables for every box, monitor, and switch.

That's really all you need for a basic LAN setup. The switches that you get should provide out-of-the-box DHCP networking. That's how most commercial switches are I believe. You can use a router, but it's just going to be more of a pain to set up and keep track of. Try to find a good commercial size switch, or the 8 port hubs if you can't.

As far as a tournament, you will need some sort of PA system for announcements. Remember to provide refs who have been familiarized with the rules before hand, and a network tech to troubleshoot equipment issues. You may also want to provide some type of security. DO NOT allow wireless controllers from home. It will ruin your entire LAN... trust me on this one. How many teams you allow depends on how much equipment you have, and how big your space is. You will want about half (but no less than a third) of your total attendance playing in the first round. Everyone else will probably be content to spectate as long as they don't have to wait too long. Know ahead of time if you are going to record stats, because it can be a complicated and confusing process. Hand out copies of the opening bracket, and rules to participants before hand, but no later than at the door. Know who you are going to pay out to, (ie. 1st, 2nd, 3rd) and how much or what prize they get. Companies can donate them I'm sure. Lastly, remember to have one game disk to every xbox, with at least a few backups for both. You may want backups for the monitors as well.

If I forgot anything, let me know. I have been a part of several of these, and I know how frustrating it can be. Remember, you will have problems, but try to anticipate them the best you can.

[maxuhmilian]

Okay, wow thanks guys :D

We're located in North-east Houston, near Humble. Our planning is in its early stages, we just received confirmation that we can use their son's trust as our charity.

Our venue will probably be a gymnasium at our high school using tables from the Large Group Instruction areas to set it up. Chairs, we'll probably use either the band/orchestra posture chairs (I sit in them for over an hour most days) and I'm sure they'll be more comfortable than foldable chairs. Hmm, or I could use the chairs in the computer labs, some of those are cushioned.

How should I go about advertising? I've started a Facebook group and had some friends join, but should I post on the soon-to-be-new MLG forums? I know that locally there aren't that many good Halo players, from personal experience (:

As for referees/officials, I'm thinking about getting StuCo, Key Club, or National Honor Society to allow people to receive service points from this event so I will have people available to record scores and report them to the guys at the head of the bracket, as well as sell shirts and food/drinks. Idea: If I sell food/drinks should I lower the entrance fee?