- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Gladiator's little guide to multiplayer shorthand has inspired me to post this, an explanation of what a DS is and what it implies. Most of you don't need this, but sheer number of uninformed people online has forced me to do this.
On the most basic level, a dedicated server (or DS) is a computer. It is a special computer, though, because it has some special software and because all it does is sit in a room somewhere and send and receive information. No one is actually sitting in front of it, playing the game. It doesn't even have a monitor. In fact, it's probably owned by a hosting company and is in a huge, highly-air conditioned room, full of computers just like it. It has a preset lineup of gametypes and maps, which can only be changed by the server "admin," the person who has a special password and most likely owns or is renting the server. It is always easy to tell a dedicated server from a regular computer--look at everyone's pings by holding F1. If someone has a ping of 0 for the whole time (not just for a few seconds), that person is hosting the game on the same computer with which he is playing the game. If no one has a ping of 0, the server is a DS.
From this information, you can infer two general rules to follow when playing on a DS:
1. DO NOT accuse someone with a low ping of being the host. He is not, unless his ping is 0, and then you wouldn't be on a DS anyway.
2. DO NOT make any requests about map, gametype, starting weapons, etc. Plenty of thought has gone into the order of maps, and even if you had a good suggestion, the only people who can change anything are the few people with that special "rcon" password. Furthermore, even if one of them happens to be playing at the same time as your request AND that request happens to be the most extraordinarily brilliant suggestion for a Halo gametype ever conceived, it's a hassle to make the change right away, so keep it to yourself.
I know I'm preaching to choir for all of you experienced gamers, but the next time someone says "again!" at the end of a match I'm going to shoot myself.