Anyone up for some online arcade gaming? (SF Rush the Rock, Hydro Thunder)

DogP

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Anyone up for some online arcade gaming? (SF Rush the Rock, Hydro Thunder)

Hey,

I posted about this a few years ago, but AFAIK nobody ever got around to doing it... I assume more/different people have picked these games up since then, and maybe someone's interested... so I figured I'd bring this back up.

Anyway, I have a pair of SF Rush the Rocks, as well as a pair of Hydro Thunders, and both use Ethernet for linking. Because of this, it's possible to link over the internet. I've only tried the Rush games online, but I'm guessing Hydro Thunder will work as well. It should work for other games that use Ethernet, but I don't have any other games besides a single Rush 2049, and it's in the freezing cold garage, so I won't be playing that for a while ;) .

Anyone have one or more and would like to play online? It's easy to set up, and just needs OpenVPN installed on a computer (laptop works great). Just plug your Ethernet port into the Ethernet of the game (or a hub/switch with multiple games), and bridge the connection to your wireless internet connection.

Detailed instructions and configs are in the reply...

DogP
 
Here's instructions for playing SF Rush The Rock online. It may work for other LAN based arcade games (at least the original SF Rush), but I've only tested it with my pair of SF Rush The Rock cabs.

-First, download and install OpenVPN. I chose OpenVPN GUI for Windows, but any version (Windows GUI, command line, or Linux) should work.
The GUI is available here: http://openvpn.se/download.html (openvpn-2.0.9-gui-1.0.3-install.exe).

-The installation options I chose were default except I unchecked Autostart OpenVPN GUI and unchecked OpenVPN File Associations (I figured I'd make the installation as unobtrusive as possible and just run it when I want it, although if you'd like to change the options, other installation options probably work).

-After installing (may require a reboot) go to Start Menu->Programs->OpenVPN->OpenVPN configuration file directory.
Drop the key.txt file and Rush.ovpn files in that directory.

-Modify the line with "remote 10.10.10.10" (line 8) of Rush.ovpn (with a text editor like Notepad) to the correct IP of the server (PM me and I'll send you mine), or comment the line out (with a ';') to be the server.

-Go to Start Menu->Settings->Network Connections
You'll see your Wired ethernet adapter, and also a new TAP device. Select both of these (CTRL+Click), then right click and select Bridge Connections.

-Once that's done, make sure if you have a firewall/router on your internet connection that it allows traffic through port 1194 (if that's a problem, the port # can be changed in the Rush.ovpn file)

-Then connect your PC to the SF Rush machine(s)... if you've only got a single machine, you'll need to connect with a crossover cable or a hub/switch. If you've got multiple SF Rush cabs, then you'll need a hub/switch to plug all the cabs and your PC into.

-Then if the server you're trying to connect to is up and listening, just go to Start Menu->Programs->OpenVPN->OpenVPN GUI. You'll get an icon on the taskbar... just double click and it'll attempt to connect. If it connects, the window will disappear and the computer screens on the icon in the taskbar will turn green.

-Once this happens, the Rush networks should be bridged, and anyone starting a game will initiate a linked game like everyone was in the same arcade. I haven't tried messing with the settings in test mode or checking how many revisions there are, so there may be problems linking if the machines aren't the same version or if they're not configured properly (although my 2 machines came from different places and worked with no modifications).

Maybe some sort of chat/netmeeting/other communication would be nice to make it a little more social and allow us to communicate, but that can be worked out if we need to.

I'm sure I missed a few steps in there, but there's really nothing too complicated about this... here's a pretty good Windows howto if I missed something: http://www.pavelec.net/adam/openvpn/bridge/ , and a little more technical info here: http://openvpn.net/bridge.html .

I assume you'd also be able to do this if you only have one network connection (no wireless), but it'd probably take some more configuration to keep your internet connection up on the ethernet and also bridge with the VPN. Let me know if anyone has problems with that and I'd be glad to look into it.

The configuration might be slightly different/more difficult on Linux, but I haven't tried it. I'd be glad to give it a shot if someone needs help.

If anyone has any questions, comments, or is interested in joining in a game, send me a PM. If anyone tries this for other games, I'd also be interested in knowing which games it does or doesn't work for.

RUSH!!!!!
 

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That is pretty sweet!

So up to 8 machines linkable this way then? From more than 2 people? That would be very entertaining!

Just need ventrillo or maybe Skype to voice chat while playing.
 
Great, NOW I need one of those too......:D
Seriously that would be way cool.
 
I tried to get some games going with a few guys last year but it never panned out..

I've got 2 hydros, 1 rush the rock and 2 cal speeds...

I'll try to do some testing this week. We should pick a night and do some racing!
 
Cool... I'll spend a little bit of time getting this going again at my house (I haven't re-set up the router since moving and changing ISPs), and when anyone else is ready, lets set up a time to try it.

I've actually gotta move some games around, and I was thinking I should put Rush and Hydro Thunder on the same Ethernet switch, then I could just plug the OpenVPN computer in when I want to play any online, and we could have linked "sister" arcades. How cool would that be to hang out in your arcade and randomly get "Join In!!!" :) .

If anyone is familiar with Skype or any of those things... feel free to propose something. I'm not familiar with that at all, but it would be really cool to have at least an audio link while playing.

DogP
 
I think I've got an old extra p4 box I can put xp pro on with 2 nics and set this up... I've got an IP camera in the game room I can open up too...

BTW... how much bandwidth do you think this will take, the u/l rate on my dsl isn't that great..
 
This sounds cool! I just got a Hydro Thunder, I've been putting it's seat back together.
 
If we link these, if i randomly start a game at my house, (and your machine is on) will it ask you to join race?
 
sweet. i have a single, and figure it will be more fun linked. i also have IP cameras set up in the gameroom too.
 
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I really want to get a SF Rush the Rock. I knew they linked, but didn't know it was through ethernet.

This is just another reason I need to get one of these.
 
I got a SF Rush. Gotta read over what it takes to make it work online but when I figure that out I'll be up to play. That would be awesome.
 
I'm really curious to see how much bandwidth it requires..

I don't think it's much bandwidth, though lag/dropped packets might be a problem. If we get Audio/Video link going, that'd probably increase B/W quite a bit though.

And yes... all the games would be like they're linked locally, so when anyone on the "network" starts a game, all will be prompted like they were all linked in the same arcade.

DogP
 
I have SF Rush Rocks. I'd like to try this at some point. I have crappy Internet though. Might have to work on that.
 
This is awesome. If I ever pick up one of these I'm in for sure. And I have a 50 Meg net connection :)
 
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