Online Play
Why a friend looks offline when they are not
An offline dot is often a privacy setting, a patch gap, or the wrong identity. Check those before you invent a feud.
Tag
multiplayer
6 posts tagged "multiplayer".
Online Play
Dedicated servers versus a player host
Someone's computer decides the match. A dedicated server and a player-host fail in different ways. How to tell them apart.
Online Play
What crossplay shares and what it does not
Crossplay shares a match more often than it shares friends lists, chat, or cosmetics. What actually crosses the line.
Online Play
Voice chat etiquette in random lobbies
Random lobbies are rooms you did not furnish. How to call clearly, mute early, and leave the lecture at home.
Online Play
What matchmaking is trying to do
Matchmaking balances a close game against a short wait. The hidden rating is a guess, not a grade, and it can be wrong.
Gaming Culture
A short history of LAN parties
Before matchmaking, people carried PCs into one room and played on cables you could see. What that night was for.