Link cables - the forgotten art

o1s1n

I sat back in the games room yesterday evening with 3 CRTs staring at me, wondering is there any benefit to having them all there. Then it hit me, link cables!

Did any of you lads actually do this back in the day? The only experience we really had was on one occasion when my cousin's mate brought a ps1 and a tv over for link cable C&C Red Alert.

The combination of needing a link cable, two CRTs, two consoles and two copies of them game was just far too much effort (and monumentally expensive).

However, as it's all dirt cheap now, I think it would be pretty excellent to have a permanent link cable setup between two PS1s.

Retr0gamer

Back when the Xbox first launched there was a year where owners had absolutely nothing good to play on the system other than Halo so you got a lot of people having Halo LANs.

I never tried linking consoles myself but around 1999 I had a friend with a network of 4 PCs in his house so it felt like a lot of hard work for an inferior experience.

One thing I'd love to see is Destruction Derby with it's full quota of 40 linked consoles!

Myrddin

Retr0gamer wrote: »

One thing I'd love to see is Destruction Derby with it's full quota of 40 linked consoles!

That would be pretty damn cool I must say. Did it actually allow for this??

o1s1n

Indeed, it's most definitely an inferior experience to having a nice LAN setup. Funnily enough the guy who provided the second CRT and PS1 in my above post also had a 2 pc LAN setup in his house. First time I saw Unreal!

Should be fun though, I've been itching to have a linked Wipeout 2097 game since the 90s

That's a link cable sorted anyway thanks to ebay. I think I've one Ps1 left stored away with a network cable, so should be good to go once the link cable arrives.

Well, as long as I have two copies of games :eek: Might be time to rethink that PS1 Modchip!

Retr0gamer

Myrddin wrote: »

That would be pretty damn cool I must say. Did it actually allow for this??

It might have been a teenager fever dream due to too much refresher bars but I remember the demo advertising this as a feature.

Myrddin

o1s1n wrote: »

Well, as long as I have two copies of games

Steve SI mode, activated

Retr0gamer

Hmm might have been me remembering wrong. It says the game supports only 20 cars on screen. Also wiki says 8 player was planned but I think it only shipped with 2 player.

Myrddin

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Hmm might have been me remembering wrong. It says the game supports only 20 cars on screen. Also wiki says 8 player was planned but I think it only shipped with 2 player.

So from 40 down to 2...:(

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It might have been a teenager fever dream due to too much refresher bars but I remember the demo advertising this as a feature.

Myrddin wrote: »

So from 40 down to 2...:(

I shouldn't have rushed to buy those 20 link cables

Myrddin

o1s1n wrote: »

I shouldn't have rushed to buy those 20 link cables

You didn't...

o1s1n

Myrddin wrote: »

You didn't...

Heh, thankfully not. Retr0 would be strung up with them if I did

Myrddin

o1s1n wrote: »

Heh, thankfully not. Retr0 would be strung up with them if I did

Did you ever get that Nomad link cable I made you to work?

o1s1n

Myrddin wrote: »

Did you ever get that Nomad link cable I made you to work?

Yep! Its works great. In fact Ive never tried it with two megadrives. That's this weekends plan sorted

Myrddin

o1s1n wrote: »

Yep! Its works great. In fact Ive never tried it with two megadrives. That's this weekends plan sorted

I wont mention the game you wanted to try it on for fear of starting that whole thing up again, but it worked? Cool, yeah def try it on Megadrive

Jack burton

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?15793-Mega-Modem-Still-works!!!!!

I knew I read something like this before

Destruction derby on 40 crts would be amaze...wait for it......balls!

Not as retro but used to play a ton of 8 player halo 2 in my my mates.
4 tvs 2players per TV.
A ton of Buckfast and chicken balls
Crazy games. Such a larf
Xbox live killed that tho

CiDeRmAn

We all seem to be forgetting the all powerful glory of 8 player Mario Kart Double Dash.

I'm thinking....

I'm going to have two projectors at the next Beers in mine...
Two Gamecubes
The LAN adapters
The right cables
And a lot of controllers.


It could be EPIC!

Star Lord

CathalDublin

Doom on 2 386s with a home made null-modem cable, no better way to play multiplayer!
Although I can't image the fun we'd have had if there was buckfast thrown into the mix.

the chicken balls were also good.
I remember ringing the chinese and asking for ten portions of chicken balls!
8 with curry sauce and 2 with sweat&sour or "plastic sauce"
the chick was like - eh,you do know thats 100 chicken balls?!

CathalDublin

lol 100 chicken balls!
We use to ring the Chinese and order a 3in1 and ask to speak with the driver, we'd give him our order for a car full of drink and cigarettes to be delivered too

Doge

Back in 1994 when myself and my cousin had megadrives and both had zero tolerance, we asked our cousin in the states to claim the free link cable and he sent it over to us!

Actually no,
I just made the whole thing uo just to sound cool.

A ps2 takes a standard mini FireWire cable for ilink, I bought one but never got to use it.
I'd like to play 2 player time crisis 2 or 3 just for the hell of it Arcade shtyle.

o1s1n

I think that might be as close to owning a Time Crisis 2 cab that I'll ever get /sob

Really cool function though. The whole link cable thing seemed to die a bit of a death after the PS1, barely any PS2 games that use it.

Doge

o1s1n wrote: »

I think that might be as close to owning a Time Crisis 2 cab that I'll ever get /sob

Thats not such a bad thing considering the graphics are actually superior on the PS2 version and it has a load of mini games.

Skerries

I used to use a null modem cable to connect 2 Amigas up with and play Knights of the Sky and Stunt Car Racer in the early 90's

djsim101

Ah the link cable......I remember when GAME was in Limerick, and the launch of the PS1. You had the usual launch games, Ridge Racer, Street Fighter the movie, and then towards the back of the shop they had two CRT's X 2, PS1 X 2 and the link cable. I can say one of the best memories of gaming:-)

The closest thing nowadays is my local Lan parties on our laptops playing Quake 2, hell yeah :-)

Josey Wales

I think the only time I used a link cable was to play multiplayer Tetris on the Gameboy. It was great.

CiDeRmAn

Link Cable's Ultimate Purpose In The Universe!

PACMAN VS!

KeRbDoG

I have fond memories of perfecting playing system-link/death-match 'Doom' (2x CRTs, 2x Console of course) on the PSX with just one disc. Also had a method for the first wipE'out"
Simpler times then eh

Atavan-Halen

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Link Cable's Ultimate Purpose In The Universe!

PACMAN VS!

An updated version for the wii u would be perfect!

CiDeRmAn

True, Ghosts on the TV and Pacman on the Gamepad.
Nintendo, do this now!

Star Lord

The Luigi's Mansion / Mario Chase games in Nintendo Land aren't a million miles off that!

o1s1n

Link cable came in the post over the weekend and I managed to get some 2 player Formula 1 98 going. It really does work great. I thought there'd be crazy load times/communicating between the two Playstations, but it's all fairly instant.

Unfortunately one of the PS1s crapped out as soon as I went to try a linked game of C&C Red Alert. Really eager to pick up another one now. Might see if I can get a chipped one, save me having to buy duplicates of games!

TechnoFreek

Used to play Duke Nukem, Ridge Racer Revolution and Wipeout 2097 with my cousin on a couple of linked up ps1s.

The Last Bandit

Anyone every suffered through an Atari JagLink Doom session ?

Retr0gamer

The Last Bandit wrote: »

Anyone every suffered through an Atari JagLink Doom session ?

Heard it craps out a lot. The multiplayer was written before there was a finalised link cable so the fact that it works at all is a testament to John carmacks coding.

Donatron

Bushido Blade changes to first person when playing with link cable. Nice touch to put in considering it's probably one of the only fighting games to offer link play!