Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Seeing as it's based on the Quake 3 engine, we had high hopes for Jedi Academy. We weren't disappointed. For our trial we used the Steam version which installed itself without issue. The game ran fine in both single and multiplayer modes at 800 x 600 resolution. With an attached USB mouse we found that there is no reason a netbook user can't successfully defeat a desktop user at Lightsaber combat.

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8Gb SS hard drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen

Darkfall Beginner Guide

Congratulations! If you're reading this we're assuming you won the Darkfall 'lottery' and were able to purchase an account. Of course there is no lottery but with account sales the way they've been, it might as well be that way.

First of all, when you start out in Darkfall Online you'll be nearly naked with nothing but a cheap one-handed sword in your possession. If you're sitting at the keyboard waiting for a tutorial to get you into the game, you'll be waiting forever as there isn't one. Instead of trying to figure out the controls for the game, go into the options and set the controls up the way you like. We recommend setting the controls up the same way you play a First Person Shooter as opposed to a traditional MMORPG.

Once you're moving around, check out the exits of the starter city you're in. Near one of the exits will be a Councillor. The Councillor will start you off on the beginner quests. Definitely complete all of the beginner quests that you can. This will give you the opportunity to kill a few goblins, earn some cash, and acquire a few crafting tools.

Now, before you leave town to kill your first goblin there are a few things you should know:

1. You are going to get killed. Lots. Probably not from goblins because they're pretty weak, but definitely from other players. Until you get your skills up (or make some friends to travel with), leave any armour you might have in the bank. All you're doing by wearing armour is advertising that you have something to steal.
2. Find the closest bank and get used to running there. Often. Sure it takes time to run back to the bank from the goblin spawns but it's still more cost-effective than losing everything you've looted to an opportunistic ganker.
3. You need a Fox Mulder mentality to make it in Darkfall, "Trust No One." You might be thinking that you only need to keep your eye out for other races. This is not true in any way at all. Especially as a new player you will be attacked by your own race repeatedly. After all, why kill ten goblins when you can kill one player who has ten goblins worth of loot? The alignment system won't necessarily protect you. If your would-be ganker has killed a few players of opposing races then his/her alignment will be high enough that he/she can afford to kill a few players of his/her own race. Or, if the would-be ganker manages to step in the way of one of your attacks, you will be flagged as "Rogue" for a period of time allowing your own race to attack you freely. Be wary of joining a group with another player even if he's offering to help. Being in a group allows the other player to attack you without consequence.

Now, this was a very basic guide but as mentioned, it's for beginner players. Leave a comment if you're interested in a more in-depth guide. Make sure to indicate what area you would like the guide to reference (crafting, combat, etc...).

Good luck out there!

Survey Results - #1

Which OS do you primarily run on your netbook?

The votes are in:
76% - Windows XP
15% - Linux
7% - Windows 7 (Beta)
2% - Other

Darkfall Online

If you're involved in the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) community at all then you've undoubtedly heard of the new game by the Greek company Aventurine: Darkfall. Darkfall was supposed to be released on February 23rd of this year however there have been so many issues with the launch that you might as well consider the game still in Beta testing. Right now there is a freeze on sales of the game until some of the issues are worked out.

We at Play On The Run are lucky enough to have an active game account and have had the pleasure of playing Darkfall for a few hours between server restarts and client crashes. This however, did not take place on our netbook. The poor Intel graphic chipset on our test unit just isn't up to the task of running Darkfall and the game client will not even start to let us attempt the game at it's lowest graphic settings.

Having discounted the game as viable for netbooks, it is still a mold-breaking MMORPG and as such, we will be publishing some hints and tips in the near future. Check back soon.

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8 Gb SS Hard Drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen

Sim City 4

First of all, yes, Sim City 4 will run on a netbook. In fact, SC4 is pretty forgiving to netbooks as it allows a lot of customization in relation to your graphics settings. The graphics settings in Sim City 4 include an option to switch to software rendering if you're finding the itty bitty graphic chipset in your netbook is having a problem rendering your city when it gets large.

Sim City 4 installs well from an image file though the installation takes a little while. When all is said and done, SC4 will take up approximately 920 MB of storage. The default graphics settings will allow the game to play smoothly. However, with no wide-screen resolution you might find it difficult to navigate your city as the control menu at the bottom of the screen takes up a large portion of your view.

Will you create a metropolis to rival New York? Or will you lead your city to ruin? Good luck!

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8 Gb SS Hard Drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen

World Of Warcraft

It's not the most original MMORPG (Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game) on the market nor is it the prettiest. However, there's one thing that World of Warcraft has that no other MMORPG does: over 10 million subscribers. What's the mystery behind WoW's overwhelming success?

First of all, WoW got a huge jump-start on to the scene simply because of the Blizzard brand name. Being the developers of Diablo, StarCraft and Warcraft, consumers knew that Blizzard produces a quality product. However, if hype was all WoW had going for it, it wouldn't have shown the staying power that it's demonstrated through it's two major expansions (The Burning Crusade and Wrath Of The Lich King).

Blizzard's biggest accomplishment with WoW is knowing just how far away to dangle the carrot at the end of the stick. Leveling up your character in WoW does take some grinding but the next level never seems that far out of reach. New skills and abilities are scattered throughout the leveling process so that there's always a reward, even if it's just a small one. This process feeds the addiction centre of the brain explaining the nickname World of War-crack.

Now if in addition to owning a netbook you are one of the over 10 million World of Warcraft subscribers, you probably skipped over the proceeding paragraphs to find out if you'll be playing WoW on the run anytime soon. Good news: yes you will.

One of the nice things about WoW for netbooks is that you can download the client from the World of Warcraft site. This saves you the hassle of dealing with image files or a USB optical drive. For the purposes of our test however, we ripped the Wrath Of The Lich King DVD to an image file and mounted it on the netbook over our network. If you have the Wrath Of The Lich King DVD you'll find that it contains all of the WoW data and Burning Crusades data as well, you don't have to install them all in order first.

If you own one of the base model netbooks that only has a small SSD hard drive, you won't be able to run WoW with all of the expansions installed. Wrath Of The Lich King pushes the World Of Warcraft directory up to an impressive 12.9 GB. However, if you own an Acer Aspire One like our test model, you can do what we did and install the game to a 16 GB HCSD card placed in the left SD card slot. This slot is designed to be used in the same manner as a swappable hard drive.

The installation is a long process and even after WoW's installed you'll be waiting some more for all the patches to install. Once installation is completed and you're in the game at the main menu, go into the options menu and then to video. Change the resolution to 1024 x 600 and lower all of the graphic settings as low as they will go. This will give you a very playable frame rate that hovers around the 20 frames per second mark. It's not going to look as smooth as it will on your desktop with a dedicated video card however with the small screen, it's actually pretty good.

We took a level 60 Paladin out running some quests in Silithus and had no issue killing giant bugs and worms. Afterwards, we went to Stormwind to see how things would render in a major city. During peak hours the frame rate dropped to 8 frames per second near the auction house but we were still able to move and tell what was going on. After the auction house we went and competed in the Alterac Valley battleground, holding our own and helping our team to victory.

In summary, you're not going to be playing WoW on your netbook if a desktop's available but it's certainly an option when you want to Play On The Run.

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8 Gb SS Hard Drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen

Monopoly Tycoon

Released in September of 2001, Monopoly Tycoon has surprisingly pretty graphics and a catchy soundtrack. With a variety of game modes and multiplayer support this business simulation game is fun by yourself or with other netbook buddies.

Monopoly Tycoon installed quickly from an image file and doesn't take up much storage space (approx. 112 mb). The game will run on a netbook at it's maximum graphic settings however it doesn't have support for widescreen resolutions. Play On The Run recommends using 800 x 600.

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8 Gb SS Hard Drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen

Quake 3 Arena

One of the best first person shooters of all time, this game has made more than one professional gamer a tidy sum of money. Played at tournaments all over the world, Quake 3 Arena is a high speed frag-fest. Will it run on a netbook? Thankfully, yes.

Both the original game as well as the newer version distributed through Steam will work on a netbook. Installation is problem-free with both versions. The game runs smooth and with an attached USB mouse be prepared to put up a decent frag count.

When Quake 3 Arena first came out, widescreen monitors were just a dream in the sleeping minds of gamers. Your netbook likely has a widescreen monitor and runs at a widescreen resolution (1024 x 600 in the case of our test unit). To set the game to a custom resolution you need to get into the command console. This is easier than it sounds. When you get to the main menu of the game, press the ~ key on your keyboard. Once in the command console you will need to enter the following three commands and then restart the game:

• r_mode -1
• r_customwidth 1024 (or whatever width you'd like)
• r_customheight 600 (or whatever height you'd like)

Changing the resolution as described here will make the game look and play a lot better however you likely won't be able to watch any of the game cinematics. Really though, Quake 3 Arena was never about story line. Happy fragging!

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8 Gb SS Hard Drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen

Steam

Obviously Steam itself isn't a game, it's a digital distribution service. The appeal of Steam to netbook users? Well some netbooks, like our test unit, have a small solid state hard drive. Steam gives you access to your game collection anywhere you have internet access allowing you to install one or two games at a time and changing them up when you want to try something different. This lets you keep hard drive space free and saves you from having to play around with a USB optical drive or image files to install your games.

The Steam client itself downloads and installs quickly and without issue. However, there are occasionally issues when running the client. Loading Steam and connecting to your account sometimes takes up to a minute and if you get impatient and click-happy, the client will lock up. Downloading a game over the Steam network will slow down the client and again, if you get impatient and click-happy, the client will lock up.

The Steam library is large already and as more publishers come on board, it's only going to get larger. In addition to the newest, most resource hungry games on the market, Steam also has PC classics with system requirements that will feel at home on a netbook.

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8 Gb SS Hard Drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen

Combat Arms

A free-to-play first person shooter with low system requirements. Sounds like a dream for netbook users (at least netbook users with a mouse). Does it run on a netbook? No.

The installer was downloaded from the Combat Arms website and after a painless installation it was tested. The game seems to have an issue with the graphics adaptor even though it, in theory, meets the system requirements. Definitely a disappointment as the game is quite fun to play and the price is right. Looks like something you'll have to save for your desktop.

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8 Gb SS Hard Drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen

The Sims

The best selling PC game of all time for a reason. But does it run on a netbook? Yes it does!

The image file was mounted in Alcohol 52% and installation was smooth. The first attempt to run the program at 1024 x 768 did not result in success. The Sims only loaded on the left side of the display and the colour scheme was way off. The program locked up shortly after but was able to be terminated in the Task Manager. Attempt number two involved running the game at 800 x 600. The game loaded up and ran smoothly. Occasional slow game play when mousing over a moving Sim but hardly noticeable.

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8 Gb SS Hard Drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen

Installing

Having noticed the lack of a CD or DVD drive you might be wondering how to install software on your netbook. As previously mentioned on this site, you could certainly purchase a CD or DVD drive that will connect to one of the USB ports on your netbook. Make sure to check out the vendors advertised on this page if that's what you wish to do.

A different approach is to use image files of CDs or DVDs and convince your netbook that it has an optical drive when it actually doesn't. I recommend using a free program called Alcohol 52% though similar programs such as Virtual Clone Drive will also work assuming you already have image files of the software you want to install. You will have to install Alcohol 52% on both your netbook as well as a desktop computer that has it's own optical drive. Take the CD or DVD that contains the software you want to install on your netbook and insert it in the optical drive of the desktop. Use Alcohol 52%'s image making wizard to create an image file of the CD or DVD.

Once you have the image file, you need to get it on to your netbook. You can transfer the image file on to an SD card or USB memory stick and then from there on to your netbook. Alternatively, you can use Windows' file and printer sharing and transfer the file over your home network.

Once the image file is on your netbook, use Alcohol 52% to mount the image on the virtual drive Alcohol 52% created when it was installed. Voila! Your netbook thinks it has an optical drive and that you just put a disc in it.

Getting Started

Out of the box, your netbook is going to need a little work. Chances are good that new drivers and security updates have been released since your netbook was packed in it's little box and sent on it's way. This guide is going to reference the Acer Aspire One however some of the tips will be applicable to all Windows XP netbooks.

Wireless Network Card
It's tough to Play On The Run when you're attached to a router or ADSL box with a network cable. As well, why play by (or with) yourself when you can play with friends? I have two Aspire One netbooks at home and they both had the same problem out of the box: a whimsical wireless network adapter. The adapter would work only when it wanted to and when it did work, it didn't work well. Luckily, this netbook has a wired 10/100 network jack on the left side. Connect to the internet using this adaptor and run Windows Update. If you pay attention to the left side of the browser window you'll notice that in addition to a mountain of critical updates there is at least one hardware update: a new driver for the wireless network adapter. Make sure you select that option for download before starting the update process. After all the critical updates and the new driver are installed, you're ready to roam.

DirectX
Having the newest version of DirectX installed can help prevent issues with some games. Updating is something I would recommend doing at the beginning to save yourself some trouble-shooting later.

Video Drivers
Are they important? Heck ya! The bottleneck of netbooks at this point is their video adapter. The more juice you can squeeze out of them, the better. Check out your manufacturer's website for the newest video drivers. If you're an Acer Aspire One user like myself, check out the drivers here.

Mouse
Personal preference I suppose but any game that requires quick movement is going to be difficult on a track pad. I recommend getting a cheap USB mouse. If you look around my site (below and to the side) you'll see links to vendors that carry just such an item.

Optical Drive
If you've been looking for a slot to stick a CD or DVD in your netbook, you're probably starting to get frustrated. CD and DVD drives take up space and space is a valuable commodity in a netbook. You probably don't have one of either. If you're interested, optical drives that connect to your USB port can be purchased at some of the vendors advertised on my site. It's my experience that people who buy netbooks already have a desktop computer in their house. If that situation describes you, and your desktop computer has an optical drive, we can teach your desktop to share with your netbook over your home network.

Netbooking It

You've splurged, found a bargain or were gifted a netbook and now your mind is gripped by one overpowering question: "Will it play games?"

The answer is simple: of course it will.

With the help of our trusty test unit, Play On The Run will show you the path. Our test unit netbook's specs are as follows:

Acer Aspire One
Intel Atom N270 CPU
1 Gb RAM
Intel 945 graphic chipset
8 Gb SS Hard Drive
16 Gb HCSD card used as a second drive
8.9" LCD screen