x-box network

[homer15]

hey everyone,

i don't have an x-box, but my friend does. he called me up asking if it was possible for them to be networked. i know they come with a modem of some kind (i'm pretty sure it's dsl), so i asked him what the back of the x-box looked like. he said it had a "really big phone jack"... i'm guess it's a rj45 jack used for normal networking. am i wrong? his real question was can an x-box be networked with another x-box. i've seen those x-box cables they sell for doing such a thing, but they just look like crossover cables to me. i think he wants to get a 16-person game of halo going, so could 4 x-boxes get hooked into a switch or something and communicate properly? he has a broadband router with built in switch at his house, so if the x-box requires a dynamic IP address, the router can distribute them (it's also a dhcp server). is this possible?

[SW-14]

Yes, it's just a normal jack for networking. I don't think the xbox comes with a modem, though. You can hook up 4 xbox's, just plug them all into a router/switch and it should work.

[HackinCowboy]

Yea it's possible to get 4 XBox's together. We do it all the time at my house. There is no modem though, only NIC. You simply hook one machine up to the hub/switch using a crossover cable, then the other 3 machines can use normal cat5. It's important that you have the 'main' machine using a crossover since that box is going to be the host machine. On a side note, 16 player Halo is AWESOME.

[homer15]

yea, the multiplayer function on that game has me looking at dropping 200 bucks (which i don't have)... but why does the main x-box need a crossover cable? and could two x-boxes go together with just a crossover cable?

[HackinCowboy]

I'm not exactly sure as to why the main one requires a crossover, I think it has to do with the fact that it is the host. I was stumped for quite some time before I tried using a crossover. Also, you can connect two machines together. I would imagine you'd need a crossover. I think the money spent on my XBox was well worth it. The graphics and speed are intense. Also the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound really sold me.

[homer15]

thanks hackin, all of my x-box-ownin friends are going to throw a party (all of the sudden i feel left out without an x-box). i'll definitely be one of the 16 lean, mean killin machines in it.


is there anything else i need to know about getting it running for multiplayer?

[HackinCowboy]

Haha, good luck. Also, try and play on the main machine that's hosting the game. Depending on the quality of cables and hub/switch you're using there will be some lag. It will just give you a little advantage ;)

[homer15]

i'll be on the machine with the biggest tv... i think that'll give me an advantage too... hopefully the two happen to be in the same area. 4-way split screen on anything less than a 32" is just awful.

[HackinCowboy]

I've had it before where 3 of the machines were on 25" TVs. Those people had to suffer. While I was on a 64" widescreen :) When we play at my house though, we usually have between 8-10 players. So we can just get the split screen each TV for the most part. Which isn't so bad. After a while you don't even notice it. Also what's nice if you get long network cables, is that you can put each XBox in a different room that way other people can't look on your screen to see where you are.

[homer15]

yea, i was put in charge of making the cable. i bought 3 spools of 100 ft cat 5e cable (only 15 bucks at home depot). i think that should be long enough... i'll just centralize the switch. the more i talk about it, the more exciting it's getting. throw in some pizza and a whole lotta beer, and you've got quite a party.

[homer15]

hey, cowboy, i found <a href="http://www.xbox.com/news/0201/multiplayerparty.htm" target="_blank">this</a> article. it doesn't mentiont he crossover... i'll make a small one anyway to see how it works.

[Sauron]

it doesn't connect to a modem, but it does connect to a DSL modem, so you can play it over the net I believe.

[mrjohnsonjr]

the article i read on connecting xboxes together just mentioned a hub...

[homer15]

the one i read said you'll need a switch or hub for connecting more than two xbox, but two can just have a crossover.