26th April 2003, 5:05 PM
Since my friends and I use the gamespy tunnel (as well as XBConnect, which does pretty much the same thing on a different network) pretty often, I'll explain it to you.
Essentially, there are two ways to spoof the connection. One is via a hub, which sadly so far MK isn't supporting (well, nothing confirmed anyway). The other is the one that we may end up having to use. That second link up method for the spoof is two networking cards in your PC. One links you up to your service, the second is what the tunnel uses. The second, using this software, "pretends" to be a Gamecube in this case. The Cube thinks that it's hooked directly to another cube. Maybe hubs could do the job even in a direct system spoof. I'm not sure of the details there because all the XBox games I've linked support hubs.
Anyway, the software does two things. First, it finds someone else who wants to play (matchmaking). Then, it does the connecting. The systems are hereby "linked" to each other via software. This is only as effective as a normal wire connection though. Now the rest of the setup has to be done. The rest is handled soley on the GCN side (by both players), with no more PC stuff needing to be done (until you want to sever the connection and find someone else that is). Both the systems have to be on (duh), hooked up with their broadband to the second ethernet adapter (duh again), and put into whatever "searching for system" area the game is programmed for. In other words, you have to go into the game's system link mode up to where it says "searching for other cube" or something like that. Then, however the game is programmed to do the linking, once it sees the other person connected (the second they get into the system link portion of the same game), it'll do that. Some let you do some setup stuff before hand. Some go straight into the game. It's up to how the games are designed individually from there.
I may have made it sound complicated, but really it's very simple.
Requirements are what you wanted I think. Here you are:
*PC with one or two ethernet cards already setup. If hubs are supported, just one ethernet card and a hub would be better). Note that switches and routers can easily be substituted for a hub. The software may be able to use a hub even if the GCN game doesn't support a hub. I'm not certain though.
*Online broadband connection (honestly, this is using the GCN's broadband adapter to connect to each other, can you imagine the lag of spoofing braodband over a 56k connection?).
*GCN with broadband adapter.
*System Link compatible GCN game (like Mario Kart).
*Some sort of tunnel software made for GCNs specifically (the XBox software won't work because it has to trick the GCNs into thinking they are hooking up with a GCN, so the data sent out to them must look like GCN data).
*A total of 2 lengths of ethernet cable (one to go from the DSL or Cable modem device to your PC, and another to link your GCN to your PC). You will need one more if you have a hub (to link your PC and GCN to the hub, and the hub to your cable/dsl modem).
Since you ARE going to TC, I'm certain you have a PC (well, you might be visiting a friend or the library or using your DC, but that just means you are a looser, and yes, this is a joke).
I'm also pretty sure you have a GCN, and will be getting Mario Kart anyway.
The only things you should need then is the software (that's free if you can find it), the hub/second ethernet card (you can find them really cheap actually, as software etc sells a $30 hub with 4 cables), the GCN broadband adapter (which is FINALLY available in stores, where things SHOULD be bought), and finally, a broadband connection if you don't have one. That last one will be the toughy. Broadband isn't exactly cheap.
Essentially, there are two ways to spoof the connection. One is via a hub, which sadly so far MK isn't supporting (well, nothing confirmed anyway). The other is the one that we may end up having to use. That second link up method for the spoof is two networking cards in your PC. One links you up to your service, the second is what the tunnel uses. The second, using this software, "pretends" to be a Gamecube in this case. The Cube thinks that it's hooked directly to another cube. Maybe hubs could do the job even in a direct system spoof. I'm not sure of the details there because all the XBox games I've linked support hubs.
Anyway, the software does two things. First, it finds someone else who wants to play (matchmaking). Then, it does the connecting. The systems are hereby "linked" to each other via software. This is only as effective as a normal wire connection though. Now the rest of the setup has to be done. The rest is handled soley on the GCN side (by both players), with no more PC stuff needing to be done (until you want to sever the connection and find someone else that is). Both the systems have to be on (duh), hooked up with their broadband to the second ethernet adapter (duh again), and put into whatever "searching for system" area the game is programmed for. In other words, you have to go into the game's system link mode up to where it says "searching for other cube" or something like that. Then, however the game is programmed to do the linking, once it sees the other person connected (the second they get into the system link portion of the same game), it'll do that. Some let you do some setup stuff before hand. Some go straight into the game. It's up to how the games are designed individually from there.
I may have made it sound complicated, but really it's very simple.
Requirements are what you wanted I think. Here you are:
*PC with one or two ethernet cards already setup. If hubs are supported, just one ethernet card and a hub would be better). Note that switches and routers can easily be substituted for a hub. The software may be able to use a hub even if the GCN game doesn't support a hub. I'm not certain though.
*Online broadband connection (honestly, this is using the GCN's broadband adapter to connect to each other, can you imagine the lag of spoofing braodband over a 56k connection?).
*GCN with broadband adapter.
*System Link compatible GCN game (like Mario Kart).
*Some sort of tunnel software made for GCNs specifically (the XBox software won't work because it has to trick the GCNs into thinking they are hooking up with a GCN, so the data sent out to them must look like GCN data).
*A total of 2 lengths of ethernet cable (one to go from the DSL or Cable modem device to your PC, and another to link your GCN to your PC). You will need one more if you have a hub (to link your PC and GCN to the hub, and the hub to your cable/dsl modem).
Since you ARE going to TC, I'm certain you have a PC (well, you might be visiting a friend or the library or using your DC, but that just means you are a looser, and yes, this is a joke).
I'm also pretty sure you have a GCN, and will be getting Mario Kart anyway.
The only things you should need then is the software (that's free if you can find it), the hub/second ethernet card (you can find them really cheap actually, as software etc sells a $30 hub with 4 cables), the GCN broadband adapter (which is FINALLY available in stores, where things SHOULD be bought), and finally, a broadband connection if you don't have one. That last one will be the toughy. Broadband isn't exactly cheap.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)