jaxsplace
05-09-2008, 07:16 PM
I just started multiboxing this past week and I choose a hardware solution over software solution despite the cost, although I am saving on some costs. I am running three computers and three world of warcraft (wow) accounts. I choose a hardware solution over software because I did not want my wow software to compete for system resources had I gone software route. That is not to say or imply that those of my multi boxing brethren out there who are running a software solution are having system resource issues, it just saw hardware as more clean and efficient.
Without getting into details about my computers here is my rig …
I have 3 Hewlitt Packard computers. These HP’s are not the kind you go to Best Buy or Circuit City and buy over the counter, because those machines are crap with their integrated video cards and nVidia 6150 SE’s. I bought from HP directly and had them custom built.
As a quick highlight this is what I have:
They are all duo core processors.2 of 3 are identical and are the slimline models to save on space. The main computer is large desktop.All three computers have nVidia 8500 GT. The main’s video card has 512mb while the two slimlines have 256 mb. Each computer runs the game at 60 FPS and varies more often in Outland than in Azeroth.The main has 4 GB of RAM while the slimlines have 3 GB of RAM.All three run faster than 2.0Ghz.The main uses 22 inch wide flat screen, while the slimlines use 17 inch wide flat screen. The smaller screens flank the larger one to the right and left.I really do not get into the particulars or details because it is tedious. What is important to know that if you are going to multibox you don’t invest in over the counter computers, instead you have them custom made. These computers I purchased, despite having the custom built are nothing like some of our brethren who have identical systems. …but for me and my budget it is good to go.
Here is the hardware I purchased.
From Vetra…
VIP-844 MegaCast for PS/2 (Hook up 4 PC’s)
VIP-804 KM DE for PS/2 (Hook up to 4 PC’s)
The megacast allows one keyboard (or xKeys) to send commands to all computers.
The KM allows me to switch to any one of three computers and control it as an individual computer.The keyboard arrangement unfortunately does narrow down to using one keyboard. I have three keyboards in use but really only need 2. The third is my zBoard and I will explain that later. One keyboard is connected in tandem with xKeys which is then connected into the broadcaster, so that keyboard controls all computers. The second keyboard is connected into the switch neighboring a mouse port. That keyboard controls an individual computer via switch. However with xKeys if programmed properly can mediate both keyboards so that all you have to do is use xKeys which is explained below.
From PI Engineering
Quantity of 3 Y Key to Key
xKeys Pro
Y Key to Key plugs into each computer and then forks into the Megacast and the KM Switch.
xKeys Pro allows me to conveniently program “the follower’s” abilities into single button pushes without having to jockey multiple keyboards.
I am running a group of 3 Blood Elves. I am running one Warlock as my main which does not require xKey programming, but could benefit from it in a few circumstances, one mage and one priest. The void tanks the mobs, while the warlock and mage spank. The priest is damage control. My xKeys handles mostly the priest abilities for healing, priest targeting so that the priest can heal self, and the others to include the void. The mage has a few buttons for offensive capabilities such as frost bolt and frost nova etc… I use one xKey button so that all three characters target the same mob, but I am going to do some more refinement so that I can vary targeting per character to manage crowd control efficiently. All movement is done with the tackball, not WASD, and that is how I have always played the game comfortably. The trackball stays still, unlike a mouse, letting the thumb do all the work to handle facing and camera viewing while clicking both buttons to move forward or using auto run on the zBoard in tandem with a few navigation corrections using the arrow keys.
From Monoprice.com
Quantity of 18 6 foot male/male PS/2 cables
I bought more than what I needed because I wanted some extras in the event I purchased a fourth computer or need extras for whatever.
As far as purchasing goes that is it.
Before multiboxing I played WOW with a zBoard system. I love the WOW zBoard and cannot imagine playing without it, however for the most part it becomes useless when multiboxing, although I still have it hooked up in a USB port, so that it allows total independent functioning of the main computer without using the switch.The zBoard usefulness is only as good as the default wow keybindings. The more keybindings you have to disable in order to customize your xkeys the less useful zBoard becomes. Although new to multiboxing, I am concluding that it is necessary to disable as many of the default wow Keybindings as you can, especially, the letter and number keys because you have to reprogram those keys so that your xKeys can use the new Hotkey bindings you establish. Otherwise if you do not, there will be a conflict of interest when functions execute. For example, let us say one character uses the letter “C” on the keyboard in order to implement an attack, however for another character it still uses the WOW default to open the character window. You hit the C on xKeys and that transmits to all computers so what ends up happening is one character attacks while another opens the character window. That is not good in combat!
I have found that I prefer to individualize my custom hotkeys. For example, the mage will use control plus a letter or number. The priest will use alt plus a letter or a number. The warlock will use shift plus a number or a letter. This allows individual control so that when the broadcaster sends a control command for the mage, the priest and warlock do not respond, therefore to get all of them to respond at the same time you can push all their programmed xkey buttons or assign a xKey button where all three share the same hotkey. Even though my Warlock is using shift, I do not program his shifts into xKeys as I would with mage’s controls and the priest’s alts plus a number or letter. Instead I use the actions buttons and play him as normal, then using the xKeys to control the behavior of the other two. I still have to hotkey the shift for my warlock in WOW keybindings rather than leaving as is ( example 1, 2, and so on) because when xKeys fires off a command say like alt+1, when it executes the 1, that 1 key is broadcasted to the warlock causing him to act without my consent. By hotkeying the WOW defaults on my warlock from 1, 2, 3 and so on to shift+1, shift+2, shift+3 and so on, shift takes the place of the number and is in equal position with alt and control for my mage and priest. For some reason when the number is executed in tandem, despite being in the second position for all three it does not execute as it did when in the first position. Have I confused you?
Anyway this is what I have done so far in a nutshell. I am still learning so there maybe greater methods of implementation than what I have described here, but it has gotten me started and I really like the new challenge of managing all the characters plus the sheer power that a group can do when acting together under your finger tips.
Without getting into details about my computers here is my rig …
I have 3 Hewlitt Packard computers. These HP’s are not the kind you go to Best Buy or Circuit City and buy over the counter, because those machines are crap with their integrated video cards and nVidia 6150 SE’s. I bought from HP directly and had them custom built.
As a quick highlight this is what I have:
They are all duo core processors.2 of 3 are identical and are the slimline models to save on space. The main computer is large desktop.All three computers have nVidia 8500 GT. The main’s video card has 512mb while the two slimlines have 256 mb. Each computer runs the game at 60 FPS and varies more often in Outland than in Azeroth.The main has 4 GB of RAM while the slimlines have 3 GB of RAM.All three run faster than 2.0Ghz.The main uses 22 inch wide flat screen, while the slimlines use 17 inch wide flat screen. The smaller screens flank the larger one to the right and left.I really do not get into the particulars or details because it is tedious. What is important to know that if you are going to multibox you don’t invest in over the counter computers, instead you have them custom made. These computers I purchased, despite having the custom built are nothing like some of our brethren who have identical systems. …but for me and my budget it is good to go.
Here is the hardware I purchased.
From Vetra…
VIP-844 MegaCast for PS/2 (Hook up 4 PC’s)
VIP-804 KM DE for PS/2 (Hook up to 4 PC’s)
The megacast allows one keyboard (or xKeys) to send commands to all computers.
The KM allows me to switch to any one of three computers and control it as an individual computer.The keyboard arrangement unfortunately does narrow down to using one keyboard. I have three keyboards in use but really only need 2. The third is my zBoard and I will explain that later. One keyboard is connected in tandem with xKeys which is then connected into the broadcaster, so that keyboard controls all computers. The second keyboard is connected into the switch neighboring a mouse port. That keyboard controls an individual computer via switch. However with xKeys if programmed properly can mediate both keyboards so that all you have to do is use xKeys which is explained below.
From PI Engineering
Quantity of 3 Y Key to Key
xKeys Pro
Y Key to Key plugs into each computer and then forks into the Megacast and the KM Switch.
xKeys Pro allows me to conveniently program “the follower’s” abilities into single button pushes without having to jockey multiple keyboards.
I am running a group of 3 Blood Elves. I am running one Warlock as my main which does not require xKey programming, but could benefit from it in a few circumstances, one mage and one priest. The void tanks the mobs, while the warlock and mage spank. The priest is damage control. My xKeys handles mostly the priest abilities for healing, priest targeting so that the priest can heal self, and the others to include the void. The mage has a few buttons for offensive capabilities such as frost bolt and frost nova etc… I use one xKey button so that all three characters target the same mob, but I am going to do some more refinement so that I can vary targeting per character to manage crowd control efficiently. All movement is done with the tackball, not WASD, and that is how I have always played the game comfortably. The trackball stays still, unlike a mouse, letting the thumb do all the work to handle facing and camera viewing while clicking both buttons to move forward or using auto run on the zBoard in tandem with a few navigation corrections using the arrow keys.
From Monoprice.com
Quantity of 18 6 foot male/male PS/2 cables
I bought more than what I needed because I wanted some extras in the event I purchased a fourth computer or need extras for whatever.
As far as purchasing goes that is it.
Before multiboxing I played WOW with a zBoard system. I love the WOW zBoard and cannot imagine playing without it, however for the most part it becomes useless when multiboxing, although I still have it hooked up in a USB port, so that it allows total independent functioning of the main computer without using the switch.The zBoard usefulness is only as good as the default wow keybindings. The more keybindings you have to disable in order to customize your xkeys the less useful zBoard becomes. Although new to multiboxing, I am concluding that it is necessary to disable as many of the default wow Keybindings as you can, especially, the letter and number keys because you have to reprogram those keys so that your xKeys can use the new Hotkey bindings you establish. Otherwise if you do not, there will be a conflict of interest when functions execute. For example, let us say one character uses the letter “C” on the keyboard in order to implement an attack, however for another character it still uses the WOW default to open the character window. You hit the C on xKeys and that transmits to all computers so what ends up happening is one character attacks while another opens the character window. That is not good in combat!
I have found that I prefer to individualize my custom hotkeys. For example, the mage will use control plus a letter or number. The priest will use alt plus a letter or a number. The warlock will use shift plus a number or a letter. This allows individual control so that when the broadcaster sends a control command for the mage, the priest and warlock do not respond, therefore to get all of them to respond at the same time you can push all their programmed xkey buttons or assign a xKey button where all three share the same hotkey. Even though my Warlock is using shift, I do not program his shifts into xKeys as I would with mage’s controls and the priest’s alts plus a number or letter. Instead I use the actions buttons and play him as normal, then using the xKeys to control the behavior of the other two. I still have to hotkey the shift for my warlock in WOW keybindings rather than leaving as is ( example 1, 2, and so on) because when xKeys fires off a command say like alt+1, when it executes the 1, that 1 key is broadcasted to the warlock causing him to act without my consent. By hotkeying the WOW defaults on my warlock from 1, 2, 3 and so on to shift+1, shift+2, shift+3 and so on, shift takes the place of the number and is in equal position with alt and control for my mage and priest. For some reason when the number is executed in tandem, despite being in the second position for all three it does not execute as it did when in the first position. Have I confused you?
Anyway this is what I have done so far in a nutshell. I am still learning so there maybe greater methods of implementation than what I have described here, but it has gotten me started and I really like the new challenge of managing all the characters plus the sheer power that a group can do when acting together under your finger tips.