THPS4 Online Play FAQ By: Sneve Last updated: 7/21/03 1. Getting Online 2. Registering With GameSpy 3. Joining A Lobby 4. Lobby Functions 5. Homie List 6. Types Of Servers 7. Game Modes 8. Uploading/Downloading Parks 9. Cheaters 10. Closing 1. Getting Online First off, getting the Sony Network Adapter would be easiest. But it's in limited quantities, so if you want to get on another way, read on. 56K Users You will need one of the following USB modems: Zoom FaxModem 56K USB Model 2985L USB Pocket 56K NetSurfer NMT00700 MultiTech Systems MultiModemUSB MT5634ZBA-USB Actiontec Call Waiting USB modem USB56012-01CW Along with the modem, you will need some phone cord to connect from the modem to a phone jack. *Make sure your PS2 is off* Plug the USB cable from your modem into the front of the PS2, in an open USB port. Connect the phone cord into the USB modem, and the other end into an open phone jack. Turn your PS2 on, and start up the game. Go to Options and Network Setup. Select Hardware Setup, and select USB modem. Go to Connection Settings and enter your ISP phone number (the one your computer dials to connect). If you don't have an internet connection, check your phone book for information on getting one. Enter your username and password for when you connect to the internet. Now go to the Main Menu and try Network Play. If you receive the MOTD, then you're set. If not, check everything (user name and password are case sensitive) and make sure your USB modem is on. Broadband Users You will need one of the following USB network adapters: LinkSys EtherFast 10/100 USB Network Adapter USB100TX D-Link DSB-650TX USB ETHERNET ADAPTER SMC EZNET-USB 2202 USB SOHOware 10/100 Mbps USB Network Adapter NUB100 Along with the adapter, you will need some CAT5 Ethernet cable to connect from the adapter to your router/modem. Now here's where your connection matters. Cable Modem Users Without Router/Hub/Switch *Make sure your PS2 is off* Plug the USB cable from your ethernet adapter into the front of the PS2, in an open USB port. Connect the CAT5 cable from the ethernet adapter into your cable modem. Now turn your cable modem off, wait a minute or two, and turn it back on. Turn your PS2 on, and start up the game. Go to Options and Network Setup. Select Hardware Setup, and select USB Ethernet Adapter. If you are running DHCP, go to the Main Menu and try Network Play. If you receive the MOTD, then you're set. If not make sure your cable modem is on and ready. If you are using @home, select Hostname. Enter the "computer name" you were assigned by @home. Now go to the Main Menu and try Network Play. If you receive the MOTD, then you're set. If not make sure your cable modem is on and ready. If you are not running DHCP, select Connection Settings, Type, Static IP Address. Now enter your IP address. Go to Gateway and enter your Gateway address. Go to Subnet and enter your Subnet address. Now go to the Main Menu and try Network Play. If you receive the MOTD, then you're set. If not make sure your cable modem is on and ready. DSL Modem Users Without Router/Hub/Switch *Make sure your PS2 is off* Plug the USB cable from your ethernet adapter into the front of the PS2, in an open USB port. Connect the CAT5 cable from the ethernet adapter into your DSL modem. Now turn your DSL modem off, wait a minute or two, and turn it back on. Turn your PS2 on, and start up the game. If you are running on PPPOE connection, select Options, Network Setup, Hardware Setup, and select USB Ethernet Adapter (PPPOE). Select Connection Settings, and enter your user name and password. Now go to the Main Menu and try Network Play. If you receive the MOTD, then you're set. If not make sure your DSL modem is on and ready. If you are running DHCP, select USB Ethernet Adapter. Now go to the Main Menu and try Network Play. If you receive the MOTD, then you're set. If not make sure your DSL modem is on and ready. If you are running with a static IP, select USB Ethernet Adapter, Connection Settings, Type, Static IP Address. Now enter your IP address. Go to Gateway and enter your Gateway address. Go to Subnet and enter your Subnet address. Now go to the Main Menu and try Network Play. If you receive the MOTD, then you're set. If not make sure your cable modem is on and ready. Using a Router *Make sure your PS2 is off* Plug the USB cable from your ethernet adapter into the front of the PS2, in an open USB port. Connect the CAT5 cable from the ethernet adapter into your router. Turn your PS2 on, and start up the game. Go to the Main Menu, Options, Network Setup, Hardware Setup, and select USB Ethernet Adapter. If you are running DHCP, go to the Main Menu and try Network Play. If you receive the MOTD, then you're set. If not make sure your router is on and working. If you are running DHCP, select USB Ethernet Adapter, Connection Settings, Type, Static IP Address. Now enter your IP address. Go to Gateway and enter your Gateway address. Go to Subnet and enter your Subnet address. Now go to the Main Menu and try Network Play. If you receive the MOTD, then you're set. If not make sure your router is on and working. You need to forward all traffic on port 5150 (UDP and TCP/IP) to the IP address of your PS2 for you to be able to host. Check your router guide for instructions on how to do this. Playing Online With An Xbox What you need: Xbox THPS4 Broadband connection with at least 128kbps upstream bandwidth A router with PC connection Gamespy Arcade - http://www.gamespyarcade.com/download Gamespy Tunnel - http://launch.gamespyarcade.com/software/install/gamespytunnel10.exe Some ethernet cable Plug the ethernet cable into your Xbox, and the other end into your router. Install Gamespy Arcade and Gamespy Tunnel. Run Gamespy Arcade, and select Xbox. Either use join game or create game functions. Note that you need a fast broadband connection, as a Cable/DSL setup can probably only allow 2 players total without lag. 2. Registering With GameSpy Once you get set up, you will come up with the Select Skater screen, pick your skater. Next, *important*, type in a name at the bottom of the next screen that shows, with functions like Ready, Clothes and Gear, Edit Tricks, etc. You will have an option to log in with Gamespy, where you should enter your email address and a password. Then go to Ready, and you will have the options of: Play Online, Upload Parks, Download Parks, and Save Settings. Save your settings now so you auto-login from now on. 3. Joining A Lobby Select Play Online, and you will be brought to a list of: Newbies - Beginner players to the game. Pros - Advanced players to the game. West Coast 1 - A mix of games West Coast 2 - A mix of games West Coast 3 - A mix of games East Coast 1 - A mix of games East Coast 2 - A mix of games East Coast 3 - A mix of games Neversoft - Occasionally there are FCFS servers. You can join games but not create them in this lobby. Clan Tryouts - Look for a new clan, or start yours here. Press X to join a lobby, sometimes they are full. If so pick another lobby. 4. Lobby Functions Once you pick a lobby you will come up with a screen with functions in the upper left, a game list in the upper right, chat in the lower left, and the lobby's user list in the lower right. Your options are: Host Game - Select this to create a new game, and fill in the options. Enter a password only if you want, but only people that know it can get in, you can turn it off. Join Game - Join a game that's been created by another user. Observe Game - Choose this to watch a game, but you will not play. You can switch between the players by pressing X. Refresh - Use this to reload the game list and user list of a lobby. User List - Selecting this will move the selection to the user list of the lobby, you can scroll up and down, and press X on someone to add them to your Homie List. Homie List - Use this to open up your Homie List. Enter Message - Use this to chat. A keyboard will show up that you can use to type with, or you can use a USB keyboard. 5. Homie List Here is the "buddy list" of THPS4 online play. To add users either select them from the User List of a lobby, or in-game pause it, select User List, and select the user to add. Note that if they haven't registered with GameSpy, they cannot be added to your user list. This way players can tell if someone is posing as someone else. Viewing the Homie List is done from either the lobby or the pause menu, it will tell you user name, lobby, and game/chat. Once you add users, go to the Online Menu and choose Save Settings so the usernames stay saved instead of not saving and them being ProSkater. 6. Types Of Servers Standard - There is one user playing that can set game options, kick/ban players, etc. He runs the game, and he started it. Auto-Serve - The host is not there but set it so a certain game plays repeatedly. First Come First Serve - One user sets up the game on their PS2, then sits out. The next person to join takes control as host, who can start games, change settings, although they can't ban or kick users. Once that host leaves, the next person to have joined becomes the host and basically takes over the game. If a game is not starting, even under heavy request, have all players pause the game and see if they get Start Game options, and say if they do or don't, to see who is the host. Hosts can select Auto-Serve or FCFS from their pause menu by the function Sit Out. When the original creator of either an Auto-Serve or FCFS quits, the game ends and everyone returns to the lobby. 7. Game Modes When you first enter a game, it will be in free skate mode, where you can skate and talk. Press space on your keyboard or use the chat function from the pause menu to talk. If a game has been started, you will observe until the end. The game modes are: Graffifi - The objective is to tag as many objects as possible, by pulling tricks on them. If a trick is pulled on a tagged object, it will stay tagged, unless the trick pulled scored higher than the first one. Play goes until time runs out, but you can stay in a combo after the timer ends and keep going until you land. Trick Attack - The objective is to get the most points in a time limit. Play goes until time runs out, but you can stay in a combo after the timer ends and keep going until you land. Combo Mambo - The objective is to get the highest scoring single combo. Your points go down as you land tricks. Play goes until time runs out, but you can stay in a combo after the timer ends and keep going until you land. Slap - The objective is to run into/slap the other players. Most wins. Play goes until time runs out, but you can stay in a combo after the timer ends and keep going until you land. Capture The Flag - The objective is to capture other team's flags and return it to your own. There are usually 2 or 3 teams. To take a flag in place, skate through it, to take one someone has, skate through them. If someone has your flag, skate through them to automatically return it. Going out of bounds loses the flag you are holding. You can return a flag to your base only if your flag is at the base as well. Play goes until a set number of captures has been reached. Goal Attack - The objective is to complete a list of level goals as quickly as possible. The list is selected by the host, and it is shown to everyone before the game starts. Play goes until someone completes all objectives. 8. Uploading/Downloading Parks The Create A Park feature now has gone online. From the Online menu you can either Upload or Download parks. Uploading - Go to Upload Park, choose a park you have saved, and select upload. Neversoft will view it and place it in a category. Downloading - Go to Download Park, scroll through categories with left/right and through parks with up/down. When you find one you want, press X and choose to save it. Alternate Method - If you are playing in a CAP you like, quit the game, go to Park Editor and it'll be there, all you have to do is Pause and press Save Park. 9. Cheaters Yes, cheaters are online. Please ban them from your servers, although they can get around bans, it's more of a hassle for them. Scores have gotten as high as 1 billion, so by no way at all can they be considered cheating, although if their score counter goes up in half a second, they are cheating. Some users enjoy signing on with other user's names. Check your homie list to see if it's actually them or not. 11. Closing For more detailed setup information, check http://www.neversoft.com/online_guide/online_guide.htm Thanks to Neversoft for their guide, which I used as the basis of mine, and also for making the game itself. Thanks to Activision for publishing the game. Thanks to PTH and tXo for their support in building a THPS online community. Thanks to GameFaqs for hosting this. You can contact me at sneve@snevesneve.com with any questions. Copyright 2003 Steve Wozniak.