Codemasters Multiplayer Network Announced
Online gaming between PC, PlayStation 2, WAP and Xbox players is on its way for all Codemasters’ future online-ready games.
Promising a technically revolutionary piece of in-box online play software designed for all gamers, Codemasters today confirms the forthcoming launch of the Codemasters Multiplayer Network.
The Codemasters Multiplayer Network will go live on November 24th, the launch date of Insane, the hotly tipped 4x4 off-road racer on PC. A boxed product, Insane is the first game to utilise the Codemasters Multiplayer Network’s online play and communication facilities. Insane is a much-anticipated title thanks to its game design, which focuses on online play competitions.
Unlike game-specific servers, the Codemasters Multiplayer Network is unique in being universal to Codemasters titles. The software will recognise and be compatible with Codemasters’ future online-ready games, offering players instant multiplayer options over the Internet.
Supporting PC play at launch, the Codemasters Multiplayer Network has been designed with future gaming platforms in mind. It will be compatible with games on online platforms such as WAP, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Incredibly, it will allow cross-platform multiplayer gaming, enabling PC players to compete directly against PlayStation 2 players of the same title.
Codemasters’ ability to develop universally accessible games is much is evidence in the design and operation of the Codemasters Multiplayer Network. In addition to connecting players online, the Codemasters Multiplayer Network introduces a perpetual gamers league system called “Ladders”. Using Ladders, players can compete against other online gamers in an ongoing competition.
While leagues are not unusual on online game servers, they require the user to download league updates manually. Codemasters, however, innovates by using “push out” technology to force updates down the line, automatically updating a player’s leagues whenever they access the network. This way, the player’s information is always up to date and they can instantly see how they stand in any of the competitions running.
Offering players on the Codemasters Multiplayer Network Big Brother-like powers, players can vote on other players. The voting system allows them to vote on whether another online player has been using unfair tactics in games, such as cheating. Similarly, players can also vote for a star player who provides excellent multiplayer competitions.
The vote results are stored in every player’s profile, which can be accessed by everyone on the network. This ability for players to see who provides good games and who is suspected of cheating is all part of building a community for the Codemasters Multiplayer Network.
"Our research has shown that a high percentage of gamers would like to get into online play but have found the current routes a little daunting. So, the Codemasters Multiplayer Network has been written for people not programmers,” explains Mike Hayes, Codemasters’ Marketing Director.
"We are ensuring that the Codemasters Multiplayer Network is totally intuitive and uses context-sensitive help buttons in every location so that anybody can use them. We’ve seen and used other Internet play interfaces and they’re all pretty technical and non-intuitive - they give the impression that only net heads can use them".
"This will make a big difference to the regular PC gamer who is on the Internet net via a free ISP or sends email but would not know an IP address from a house address".”
The Codemasters Multiplayer Network is being designed and written in-house at Codemasters. The project led is by Ted Carron, part of the original team that created the Game Genie, one the most innovative play devices of the past decade.
Codemasters Multiplayer Network software will be included with the PC boxed product Insane and is due to go live on November 24th, the launch date of the game.
The Codemasters Multiplayer Network will go live on November 24th, the launch date of Insane, the hotly tipped 4x4 off-road racer on PC. A boxed product, Insane is the first game to utilise the Codemasters Multiplayer Network’s online play and communication facilities. Insane is a much-anticipated title thanks to its game design, which focuses on online play competitions.
Unlike game-specific servers, the Codemasters Multiplayer Network is unique in being universal to Codemasters titles. The software will recognise and be compatible with Codemasters’ future online-ready games, offering players instant multiplayer options over the Internet.
Supporting PC play at launch, the Codemasters Multiplayer Network has been designed with future gaming platforms in mind. It will be compatible with games on online platforms such as WAP, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Incredibly, it will allow cross-platform multiplayer gaming, enabling PC players to compete directly against PlayStation 2 players of the same title.
Codemasters’ ability to develop universally accessible games is much is evidence in the design and operation of the Codemasters Multiplayer Network. In addition to connecting players online, the Codemasters Multiplayer Network introduces a perpetual gamers league system called “Ladders”. Using Ladders, players can compete against other online gamers in an ongoing competition.
While leagues are not unusual on online game servers, they require the user to download league updates manually. Codemasters, however, innovates by using “push out” technology to force updates down the line, automatically updating a player’s leagues whenever they access the network. This way, the player’s information is always up to date and they can instantly see how they stand in any of the competitions running.
Offering players on the Codemasters Multiplayer Network Big Brother-like powers, players can vote on other players. The voting system allows them to vote on whether another online player has been using unfair tactics in games, such as cheating. Similarly, players can also vote for a star player who provides excellent multiplayer competitions.
The vote results are stored in every player’s profile, which can be accessed by everyone on the network. This ability for players to see who provides good games and who is suspected of cheating is all part of building a community for the Codemasters Multiplayer Network.
"Our research has shown that a high percentage of gamers would like to get into online play but have found the current routes a little daunting. So, the Codemasters Multiplayer Network has been written for people not programmers,” explains Mike Hayes, Codemasters’ Marketing Director.
"We are ensuring that the Codemasters Multiplayer Network is totally intuitive and uses context-sensitive help buttons in every location so that anybody can use them. We’ve seen and used other Internet play interfaces and they’re all pretty technical and non-intuitive - they give the impression that only net heads can use them".
"This will make a big difference to the regular PC gamer who is on the Internet net via a free ISP or sends email but would not know an IP address from a house address".”
The Codemasters Multiplayer Network is being designed and written in-house at Codemasters. The project led is by Ted Carron, part of the original team that created the Game Genie, one the most innovative play devices of the past decade.
Codemasters Multiplayer Network software will be included with the PC boxed product Insane and is due to go live on November 24th, the launch date of the game.