So I have a question.
Does anyone remember MSN Zone?

I bought Rainbow Six again just now and remembered that the primary way I used to play it was through MSN Zone because its only option for internet play in-game was MPlayer.

For those not in the know, MSN Zone was MSN's browser-based matchmaking system for games in the early 00s. It used activeX controls to establish a virtual VPN (Think Hamachi, it did that using ActiveX) and force games to launch in LAN mode. All you had to do to play multiplayer was go to their website, let it load up the activeX controls, and then point it at the directory your games were installed in.

It became wildly popular because of how easy it was to use and because you didn't need to download a client to use it. It all was packaged inside of IE or an optional download. It also became a hangout due to the fact that anyone could talk to anyone else and weren't walled in their specific game community like Gamespy. I think it lasted about five years before Microsoft axed it.

But it made me think, do you think GoG would benefit by having something like that instead of their Galaxy client? Something quick and easy like that which isn't a hassle and doesn't involve downloading tons of clients?

I for one would love a GoG Zone.

Anyone remember TEN?

I was subscribed to that for about two months. Specifically because of Total Annihilation and C&C: Red Alert 1.

After that, I couldn't justify the fifteen dollars a month to my parents.

I used to love teamkilling on the msn zone on rainbow six.

I just remembered the best thing way back when that the RSPG guys used to do for hackers and TKers.

Because in-game names didn't translate to MSN Zone names, it was impossible to ban in-game because you didn't know who was doing it, right? So what the did is after a teamkiller got on and played for maybe three or so games, they would shut down the server and declare that they were from MSN's support team and the match was a sting operation to get hackers.

9/10 times the person would message them and beg for forgiveness, then they would laugh at them and ban them. I don't know why they fell for that so often.

lol I wouldn't have. I'd have kept on doing what I was doing. Had someone try that on socom on PSN once, right after he said that, He got a grenade launcher shell launched at him. lol

Heh, Yeah, but just think: There are at least nine other people who would have fallen for that

On socom I did have on teamkill that made the entire team start laughing, we loaded the map. They started running in one huge group without splitting up. I shot my grenade in the middle of their group perfectly. Killed every team member in one shot, and a couple of the bodies flew off the bridge. That was the only time I heard all of my teammates laughing at the same time on their mics.