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CALL UP |
The Call Up screen
is where you can search for active LAN or Internet games, or create your own
multi-player game.
The Call Up screen
is comprised of information columns regarding the various multi-player games
waiting to begin or in progress. Information per game includes game status, game
name, mission map in play, current number of players, game ping, and game type. |
Games that are
waiting to start, and that can be entered, have the status ‘Open’, and are
displayed in blue. Games that are in play and cannot be entered have a
‘Closed’ status, and are displayed in gray. Password-locked games have a
small lock icon displayed in their status box.
Game names are
anything the host wishes to name them. Mission maps can be familiar single
player maps, or new maps created by MOD builders. The ping of a game reflects
the speed of data transfer to and from the host computer. The lower the ping
number, the faster the transmission of game information from the host’s
computer to a client’s computer. Use the ping number to determine if a game is
“fast” enough for your taste.
Games that contain
game data different from yours are displayed in red, and cannot be joined.
Selecting a game of this type and clicking on the Info button will give
information on how that particular game’s files differ from yours.
Internet Game Connection Management |
SWAT3: Tactical Game Of The Year Edition uses Flipside.com for internet game lobbying, matchmaking, and connectivity. When you connect to the SWAT3 internet game lobby, you are actually connecting to a Flipside.com server.
Having a central set of servers for SWAT3: Tactical Game Of The Year Edition
to connect to
provides the ability to connect and play internet games if you are behind a
firewall. However, internet connections through game routing servers (such as
Flipside.com) are less efficient than connections directly between two
computers, regardless of how fast the servers might be.
Consequently, when a SWAT3: Tactical Game Of The Year Edition internet game is launched,
the host PC will attempt to initiate direct connections to client PCs instead of
using the Flipside.com routing servers. We call this kind of connection
"peer to peer", (meaning that no server is involved). During
this process you will see the message, "Going Peer-to-Peer".
If a peer to peer connection cannot be made, you will see
the message, "Failed Peer-to-Peer". This message does not mean you
cannot play the game. Rather, it means that your game connection is going
through the Flipside.com servers.
Firewall |
For modem players, SWAT3: Tactical Game Of The Year Edition works best
when none of the players in a game are behind a “firewall.” So, if you or the game's
host are playing from your office’s network (as firewalls are often placed on
business servers for security purposes), you might find that you can't go
peer-to-peer. You will still be able to play an internet game from behind the
firewall, but you should keep one thing in mind: if you are on a modem, and you
are playing with other players who are behind firewalls, your game might be
slower than it could otherwise be.
To find out if you’re playing behind a firewall, go to
the SWAT3: Tactical Game Of The Year Edition Call-Up screen and click the "Info" tab located at the
bottom of the screen. Persons who are behind a firewall will be notated with a
message containing their name, followed by the words “behind firewall."
Also, when a person who is behind a firewall enters your
game, you will receive a message in the game's chat window informing you that
the person who has entered is behind a firewall.
If you’re playing from behind a firewall, but would
prefer not to, you can contact your network firewall administrator and request
the opening of UDP port 16638 and TCP port 16639 for incoming and outgoing
connections.
If your firewall administrator cannot grant your request,
give internet play a try anyway, you might find that your connection is fast
enough.
Multi-Player Game Types |
There
are two types of multiplayer games in SWAT3, Cooperative and Deathmatch. Both
types of games support up to ten players. In Cooperative, players are part of up
to two five-man SWAT entry teams. Each team is comprised of an element leader
and up to four assaulters. Assaulters can be live players or AI characters.
Objectives for the missions range from hostage rescue to VIP protection to
warrant service. Cooperative games can be played in either stand-alone mission
mode, or in career mode.
Cooperative games
can be augmented with an Assumable AI feature. To learn more about this feature,
see below.
In Deathmatch
games, players can to battle in free for alls, or choose sides: the “good”
guys or the “bad guys”. Deathmatch objectives include last man standing,
team play, and most neutralized. Each objective type has special augmentations
that can be added. For detailed information on these additional features, see
below.
Located below the
game information columns is a chat window. Type into the chat window and hit the
ENTER key to send messages to other players in the Call Up screen. A list
of the other players in the Call Up screen appears to the right of the chat
window. Both the chat window and the players list have arrows which allow you
to scroll through the contents.
Located at the bottom of the screen are five tabs: Main/HQ, Career, Join, Create, Officer and Info. Pass your cursor over to highlight, click to select a tab.
This tab will return you to the Main
Menu if you are searching for LAN games, and back to Headquarters if you are
searching for Internet games.
Clicking the Career tab will allow you to either create a new Internet/LAN career or restore a saved Internet/LAN career.
Career Selection
Upon selecting and confirming a career, you will be taken to Operations to ready yourself and your team for the upcoming mission.
Clicking this tab will allow you to join the game you have highlighted in the list. To highlight a game to join, move your cursor over the name of the game and click. If the game is password-protected, you will be prompted to enter the password. Once you have joined the game, you will be taken to the Operations screen.
Multiplayer Game Creation Prompt
Clicking on the Create tab allows you to create and host your own SWAT3 mission. Once the Create tab is selected, a window will appear. In the space provided, enter the name you wish the game to have, a password (optional), and choose your mission location using the arrows.
You can also choose your game type from the list: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Last Man Standing, or Co-Operative. After you click OK, you will be taken to your game’s Operations screen.
Clicking the
Officer tab allows you to edit your active multi-player character, or edit,
create, or delete stored characters.
To access
detailed information regarding any of the multi-player games in the Call Up
screen, first click on an active game, and then click the Info tab. Available
information per game will include the name of the players, name of MOD builder
(if applicable), and a list of which MODs, if any, are in use.
Return To FAQ Main |
Next: The
Officer Screen |