Here's the lowdown on all that computer nonsense that you hear, but can't make sense of, well, Hell Spawn is here to help!! below you will find all you need to know!
802.11b
A Wireless network standard running at 2.4GHz, runs at a around 5MBps in
real world tests
802.11g
Newer wireless standard also at 2.4GHz, runs at around 20Mbps in tests
3D graphics
card Often cited as
the most critical component in a gaming PC, these boards handle all of the
calculations that are required to produce the interfaces and 3D graphics you see
on your monitor. See the Newbie guide, chapter 2 for a full description of a
graphics card.
AA/AF
Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic filtering. Graphical
routines that compensate for low resolution by smoothing rough edges.
Action-adventure
A game with strong character and narrative elements combined with [Third person]
or [FPS] action.
ADSL
Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line. A variety of Internet connection, capable
of faster [bandwidths] than [DSL].
Adventure
A story-centred game
that emphasises plot, character, dialogue and puzzles over action.]
AGP
Accelerated
Graphics Port, provides your graphics card with fast access to your PCs RAM
AGP
socket -
Stands for Accelerated Graphics Port. This is the socket where your video card
lives. Due to be replaced by PCI Express.
AI -Artificial
Intelligence. Typically refers to the ability of computer controlled characters
to mimic human behaviour.
Avatar Your
visual appearance online. An avatar could be the tiny image next to your name on
a forum, or your in-game character.
Bandwidth -The
amount of data that your internet connection is capable of transferring per
second. This is measured in kilobytes or megabytes for example, a 56k modem
is capable of transferring 56 kilobytes per second, a 1Mb broadband connection
can handle one megabyte per second, and so forth. Related: [latency].
Benchmark
Benchmarking is the PC
equivalent of bench pressing. Test your system and record your score to
compare with others. Common standards are 3D Mark 2003 or Aquamark, but some
games also come with their own tools.
Bit Single
unit of data thats either I or O (on or off) and is the foundation of all
computation. See Kb, Mb, Gb.
Bit-rate:
The quality of an MP3 recording, the higher the better. Bit rates measure the
amount of data used to encode the noise.
Bios Beneath
Windows, the Bios is the configuration utility for modifying core operations of
your system.
Blue screen
(of death) Goodbye
game/work/20,000 word novel. Hello incomprehensible error message and
overwhelming urge to kill Bill. One of the reasons we just love PCs.
Bots Enemy
[AI] characters that mimic human play in online shooters.
Broadband - Any
high [bandwidth] digital Internet connection, such as [DSL], [ADSL] or [ISDN].
Bump Mapping
A lighting effect
applied to a texture to make it look 3D when light hits it at an angle.
Byte An
amount of memory or data usually eight bits and the smallest addressable unit of
storage.
Case The metal box that holds your
[PC]s hardware. Get a transparent one for +1 kudos.
Clan A
social group of gamers thats formed to play and discuss a particular game or
games. Common for first person shooters such as Counter-Strike and online role
playing games like Everquest.
Client -The
part of the game installed on your computer, which enables you to log onto the
server and play the game.
Code Software,
in particular, a game. Commonly games industry term, but increasingly adopted by
gamers.
CPU
The PCs brain. It performs the mathematical calculations that tell the PC
what to do and how to use any software your machine is running.
Crash
When your PC freezes up, or [blue screen]s. Disaster!
CRT
The Cathode Ray Tube method of displaying pixels. A CRT monitor is just the
standard, heavy, imposing box of beige dominating your work room.
Data rate
the amount of data
that can be sent through a communications circuit in a second. This figure
effectively governs the performance of any component.
Decals
Special [textures] that appear when the environment is damaged in some way.
Scorch marks for explosions, bullet holes for feather dusters, these (should)
all effect the walls and floors of the game in some way.
Developer
The individual or team
of individuals who create, design and program the game.
Driver A
program that enables your operating system, your software and your PCs
hardware to talk to each other and operate seamlessly. Most modern day
peripherals and hardware come complete with their own driver that enables the PC
to use the device effectively.
DRM:
Digital Rights Management is used by a wide range of technologies to prevent
file-copying and sharing. DRM protected music tracks refuse to play on computers
other than its owners.
DSL
Digital Subscriber Line. A variety of
Internet connection that works across a standard telephone line. DSL connections
come in a variety of [bandwidths].
Engine A
term used to describe the proprietary programming technology which makes a game
work, and gives it its particular attributes in terms of look, feel, physics and
on. For example, the Quake 3 engine is distinctly different from the Unreal
Tournament engine. Used more loosely, it may apply to specific technical aspects
of the game; one may speak of the [graphics engine], or the [physics engine] for
example.
Exploit
A bug , flaw or loophole in the game that allows players to cheat in some way.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions.
Feather
duster Clean your
house with it, [RMB].
File Format:
Often used when talking about digital music. MP3 is old news. Digital music now
comes in AAC and WMA formats, rather than vanilla MP3s, allowing them to
protect music with DRM.
Flaming
Performing a scathing personal attack in a forum or chat channel.
Flamewar
Ensues
when two or more people are [flaming] each other in a forum or chat channel.
FPS First
Person Shooter. An action game played from a first person perspective.
Frag
FPS term for
kill or death. E.g. Ive been fragged.
Gameplay
An abstract
term used to summarise the experience of playing a game as a whole. E.g. The
gameplay is excellent.
Gb/Gigabyte
An amount of
memory or date amounting to 1,024 [Mb].
Gibs
Wet bodily
fragments; the kind you see when you hit someone with a rocket in Quake. E.g.
I gibbed his ass!.
Graphics
engine A development
platform on which a game is built, typically providing the 3D environments we
enjoy in todays games. Common proprietary graphics engines youll see
mentioned in PC Gamer include the Unreal Engine (Unreal 2, UT2004, Vanguard:
Saga of Heroes), Valves Source Engine (Half Life 2), Cryteks Cryengine
(Far Cry) and the old reliable Quake III engine (Medal of Honour, Call of Duty)
IE The
Internet Explorer web browser.
IRC -Internet
Relay Chat.
ISDN
Integrated
Services Digital Network. A variety of Internet connection, which used to be the
fastest available kind, but is now superceded by faster and cheaper [DSL] and [ADSL]
lines.
ISP An
Internet Service Provider is a company that provides internet access.
Kb/kilobyte
An amount of memory
or date amounting to 1,024 [bytes]. A sentence in [notepad] is about 1kb.
Lag A
visible in-game slowdown caused by a delay in receiving information across the
internet.
LAN A
local Area Network connects multiple PCs so they may communicate. Typically used
to connect players in multiplayer games.
Latency
The time taken to deliver a packet of data
from the source to the receiver, i.e. the [server] to your PC. Commonly measured
in milliseconds. Latency and bandwidth are the most influential factors
governing the speed and stability of your Internet connection.
LMB
Left Mouse
Button. Use only in case of emergency. See [RMB].
Loading
times The time your
[PC] takes to load a section of the game.
LOD
Level Of
Detail, governed by variables such as [texture], [model], [particle] and
[physics] detail.
Mb/megabyte
An amount of memory
or date amounting to 1,024 [Kb]
Management
A game genre
ruled by numbers. The player must establish, control and expand a large
organisation such as a football team, city or empire.
Map A
map is an explorable area of the game defined by size. Multiplayer maps are
self-contained arenas, but an in-game contintent may also be a map. Also known
as a level.
Middleware
[Developer]s
software tool that connects two otherwise separate applications or a product
that serve as the glue between two applications.
Mipmapping
A graphical
routine that decreases [texture] detail the further the object is from the
player. By [rendering] less detail on some objects the [CPU] is able to draw
more objects on screen simultaneously.
MMOG
Massively
Multiplayer Online Game. Usually [pay-per-month], MMOs allow you to play in an
environment with literally thousands of other players simultaneously.
MMORPG
Massively
Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.
Mod An
existing game that is moderated or modified. Typically the gameplay experience
is changed by reprogramming or editing the game code. These changes often create
entirely new games and are generally the work of enthusiastic amateur coders who
make their mods available on the web for free. Famously Counter-Strike began
life as a mod and modern day examples of established mods include Day of Defeat
for Half Life and Desert Combat for Battlefield 1942.
Model A
model is a 3D wireframe of triangles that, when wrapped in a texture, looks like
an object.
Motherboard
The main board that
connects all components of your PC system together. See the PC Gamer PC
Companion, chapter 2 for a full description of a Motherboard.
MUD Multi
User Domain/Dungeon. The precursors to [MMOGs], MUDs are multiplayer adventure
games accessed via the Internet. The game is illustrated either with text, or
graphically, using ASCii.
NAT Network Address Translation, the method by which a router is able to take a single IP address from an ISP and share it between many PCs.
NDA
Non-Disclosure Agreement. A contract
between a software
company and any third party (such as beta testers and journalists) that
forbids the third party from disclosing information about the software.
NPC
Non Player Character. A named rather than
generic character in the game that is server-controlled, ie not directly
controlled by a human player.
Overclocking
Modifying a PC
CPU to operate faster than the instructions advise in order to increase
performance.
Packet
loss A situation that occurs when data
packets are sent from one source, ie the server, and do not arrive at their
destination, ie your PC. This is caused by high [latency], or [lag].
Particle
effects Graphical
effects that utilise tiny dots of colour to create explosions, nozzle flare,
smoke and other gaseous effects.
Patch A
file that updates a piece of software or game on your machine a newer, bug-free
and improved version. Most of todays games release a patch file soon after
release to bring their games up to date and some games, like Starcraft, are
still releasing patches years after they first appeared on our shelves.
Pay per
month A monthly
subscription fee. Usually applicable to an MMOG.
PC Personal
Computer.
PCI Peripheral
Component Interconnect, a standard connection for installing peripherals such as
modems and sound cards
PCI-SIG PCI
Special Interest Group, industry body (inc. Intel, AMD, nVidia) in charge of
developing and managing the PCI standard
PCI-X Not
to be confused with PCI Express, PCI-X is a slower, alternative connection spec
with a data rate of just 533MB per second
PCG PC
Gamer. Hooray.
Physics The
laws of physics applied realistically to objects in a game world. This means
friction, gravity and other forces influence in-game movement, creating more
believable game environments.
Physics
engine The part of the
game [code] that determines in-game movement.
Ping
The time in milliseconds it takes your
computer to communicate with the [server] the lower the ping, the smoother
the game runs. See also: [Latency].
Polygon The
triangular building blocks of 3D objects. Polygons are flat shapes that are
stitched together to create the illusion of 3D.
PvE
Player vs Environment. Combat between
players and [mobs].
PvP
Player vs Player. Combat between player
characters.
QA
Quality Assurance. The internal department
that tests a game before release.
Ragdolls
Dead bodies that react
realistically to force applied by the games physics, instead of performing a
pre-set death animation. See [physics].
RAM Random
Access Memory. RAM is the PCs short-term memory and effectively governs the
amount of data it can access at any one time.
Real time
Games that are played
in real time, as opposed to [turn based], are ones in which the action takes
place while you play. Blink and youll miss it.
Rendering
The process of
creating a realistic looking 3D model out of polygons and textures.
Resolution
The amount of detail
your screen can display as determined by the number of pixels it can support.
Rig your
[PC].
RMB Right
Mouse Button See [LMB].
Rocket jump
A game move that
enables the player to make an extraordinary leap into the air by placing a well
timed rocket into adjacent floor space while jumping. Only available in Quake
and similarly frantic contemporaries.
RPG Role
Playing Game. A game in which the player assumes the role of a character that
develops over time. RPG games are derived from paper-based progenitors like
Dungeons & Dragons.
RTS Real
Time Strategy. A strategy game played at real time speed. As opposed to
[turn-based] strategy.
Screenshot
A still frame taken
in-game. Also screen grab.
SDK The
Software Development Kit. The SDK is a set of tools and applications used to
create a game or game element. Developers will often release SDKs to enable
gamers to change elements of their games and create [Mods].
Server A
remote computer that stores, controls and passes data between other computers
via a network like the internet.
Sim A
character from The Sims.
Sim A
simulator. A game that attempts to realistically depict a real life experience
such as flying, driving, piloting a space ship, or anything else you might want
to simulate.
Skins A
[texture] graphic that defines a game characters appearance.
Specs The
specification of your [rig], or [PC].
Sprite A
flat, 2D graphical object.
Stats The
statistics, usually of your character in [RPG] games, but could also refer to
scores in [FPS] games.
T1
A variety of Internet connection, commonly
used in business as it can handle data and voice transmissions. The [bandwidth]
of a T1 line is rated at 1.544 Mbps.
Tactical
shooter Squad-based
shooters that emphasise the tactics of combat over reflexive shooting.
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol. A network
protocol responsible for verifying the correct delivery of data from client to
server.
Texture Flat
pictures that are applied to 3D models to give them surface detail.
TFT Thin
Film Transistor monitors. Flat, cute, and expensive. Sometimes limited in terms
of resolution too.
Total
Conversion A moderated
version of an existing game that bears little or no resemblance to its original
form. See Mod.
Tourney Short
for tournament. Typically used to describe a multiplayer competition between
clans. Check the Online Gaming section for PCGs very own TAG team.
Turn
based Games
that require players to make their moves alternately, as in a board game like
chess.
UDP Data packets how the data for your online game is usually sent across the Internet.
USB 2.0:
While the connectors are identical to the USB ports on the back of your PC,
USB 2.0 offers much greater transfer speeds up-to ten times faster. USB1 and USB2 devices will happily talk to each-other there are no incompatibility issues.
Videocard
See 3D Graphics Card
Virtual Server also called port forwarding, the method by which you can make holes in the security element of NAT to allow connections from across the Internet to your game.
WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy, encrypts data that travels over the wireless network, reasonably secure. 64bit and 128bit versions exist, the later is more secure.
WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access, new wireless encryption system that improves on WEP, not available on all wireless devices
Enemy's Pro-Tips
Allies Games Covered
Recruiting Mod's
.