Are these games free??
 

Hi all,Bit of help for a newbie to online gaming, if you please. After playing EF1 on my own for a while, I explored the 'multiplayer' option on the CD, created a character, searched for a list of servers and clicked on one. I was dropped straight into a death-match and had a great time, best fun I've had in ages!!!What I'd like to know is; are these games being run by ordinary guys like me from their pc and so they're free to join in and play? It seems that way, but I thought I'd better ask the experts. I know some online games you have to pay to play but are those ones that are run by a company as a business?Thanks in advance.Steve (confirmed online addict now)

Re: Are these games free??
 

As far as I know, you don't have to pay anything extra. Just your monthly Internet bill which may increase if you spend too much time playing online. Unless you have a flat rate, so the price stays the same no matter how much time you spend online and how large your data traffic is.

Online servers can be run from home computers, but that tends to cause significant lag, so people usually rent servers from the specialised companies. They have to pay for it, ofcourse, but the amount of money they have to give every month depends on the number of player slots they rent. It's usually rather small amount of money, so if, for example, some clan has their own server, members of that clan may agree to pay for the server together.

I hope this clears things out a bit.

Re: Are these games free??
 

Thanks for the prompt answer, Tri. What surprised me most of all was the fact that I'm on dial-up and the game was still very fast, without problems. I can use the internet as long as I want for a fixed monthly rate, so I think I'll be spending a lot of time zapping people - there seemed to be games going all night!I'll do a bit of reading-up on here to find out about teams and clans.Thanks again.Steve

Re: Are these games free??
 

Just don't confuse real players with bots. Some servers use bots to fill the empty space when there aren't enough live players connected to keep the game going. Basically, if you're pwning everyone, there's a good chance you're fighting against the bots. ;)

Also, be aware of the server rules. Chatfragging (killing a player who's chatbubble is up), cursing, swearing, etc. are usually not allowed. Ofcourse, you can do anything you want to bots. =p Good luck.