Open the Registry Editor. 2. Open the following key:

Chapter 25 ✦ Understanding Multimedia together to conquer another community or storm a castle. MMOG games include spaceships, superheroes, knights, drag racing, historical figures, and many other characters and worlds. Understanding high-performance gaming Most online and multiplayer computer games have fast and furious action. Action is continu- ous. Game delays or slow-running games can really ruin the gaming experience. You need high performance in both the network and your computer. Network performance relates to how fast the network connection is to both other gamers and the network server. Computer performance relates to how fast your computer is and how the computer is configured. To improve game performance, follow this advice: ✦ Disable any programs that might take up your extra bandwidth, such as chat programs, messaging systems, and file sharing software. ✦ Don’t download files while playing games, even from other computers on your LAN. ✦ Ask your Internet service provider how much bandwidth they provide and if the ISP can increase the bandwidth to your computer. Many ISPs will sell a larger Internet ser- vice subscription package that provides greater bandwidth. ✦ On your computer, check the minimum system requirements for the game. If your com- puter has only the minimum requirements, consider upgrading memory or processor, a new video card, and such. ✦ Anytime you install a game, use the full installation option; using all of the game’s files often makes the game run faster than using some files off of the CD or DVD drive. ✦ Make sure you turn off any applications that run in the background while playing the game. ✦ Install any and all Windows updates, patches, DirectX drivers, or other performance- and security-enhancing features to your operating system. ✦ Make sure you have the latest updates for video and sound cards in your system. ✦ You can also adjust the video settings in the game itself. Screen resolution, color depth, and texture size can all affect game performance. Lower graphic settings might give you more power for playing online. Sound quality might also affect performance. Strike a balance between the very best and the very lowest settings so play is enhanced. Creating games You can also use different programs to create your own multiplayer games. Many of these programs are expensive and for professionals; however, you might want to look into them. ✦ Softimage XSI is a 3D program that enables you to create content and pipeline deploy- ment needs. You use modeling and character animation tools in a dotXSI file format. Building the pipeline is done in C++ programming. www.softimage.com ✦ 3D Developer Studio Pro is a shareware program that adds 3D capabilities to any of these compilers: Microsoft Visual C++2, Microsoft Visual C, Borland C++ Builder 4, Borland Delphi 5, Visual Basic 6, and Visual Basic .NET. www.tucows.com