Gumpcom Gaming is an online community consisting of computer gamers from all over the country. The idea behind Gumpcom is to provide a relaxed yet professional environment for gamers of all ages to enjoy their passion for computer gaming.

At the heart of the Gumpcom Community are our LAN Parties. These computer gaming events are held every few months at the Dobbie Hall in Larbert, located in Falkirk, Scotland.

Gumpcom started way back in June 2003 and we have grown from five guys sitting around a dining room table to becoming Scotland's largest and most popular LAN Party with over 100 people attending each event. We continue to build on this, with plans for expansion in the coming years.

Other than the LAN Parties we organise online games and other social events, such as trips out to laser gaming arenas, ten-pin bowling and good old fashioned drinking sessions at various pubs around Scotland.

Well, you could, but where's the fun in that? LAN Parties allow you to play games over a super high-speed network with lag and latency more or less reduced to nothing. What's more, you get to meet new friends and socialise (shock horror!). You can enter tournaments, competitions, win some very good prizes and discuss all aspects of gaming and computers with like-minded people.

We at Gumpcom believe that gaming needs to break away from its traditional stigma. Being a gamer should no longer be anti-social. Gumpcom and all LAN Parties allow you to mix with people who share similar interests. Get signed up today and become part of the revolution!

If you are under the age of 18, you will need to get a parent/guardian to fill out a Parental Consent Form. They will also need to read the Terms of Service and the Gumpcom Rules.

Bring this form with you to the event. A new form has to be used for each event.

If you're unsure what bring to a LAN Party, why not ask on the forums? Below is a list of stuff you should bring as an absolute minimum. Don't worry if you forget something though - we generally band together to help those who've forgotten a DVI cable or whatever. Please don't forget your PC though. That would just be silly.

• Your Computer - It should be powerful enough to run the games you want to play.
• Your Monitor - 24-inch is a sensible size. You might have trouble fitting larger monitors on your desk. Double-check with us if you think your monitor is super huge. We don't allow dual monitors!
• A Network Connection - Most modern computers have a network conenction built into the motherboard. Gumpcom uses a gigabit network. To get the best possible speeds, use a gigabit network connection. If you don't know what a gigabit is, don't worry about it!
• A Headset and Mic - A headset is a must since we don't allow speakers. You might be asked to turn your headset down if it's too loud. A mic is also useful for voice comms.
• Power Strips / Surge Protectors - You get one electrical socket at Gumpcom. It's best to bring at least a four-way surge protector. We advise that you invest in a good surge protector. Our power system is safe, but it's always good to have a high-quality surge protector, "just in case".
• Games, Patches, Drivers and Operating Systems - You will obviously need your game CDs. Games should be patched to the latest version of the game. It's always useful to have your drivers and operatin system disks with you too. For some reason LAN Parties seem to attract the need for a full re-install!
• Munch and Drink - Bringing your own stuff will dramatically cut the cost of a LAN Party. Alcohol is allowed for over-18s only.
• Sleeping Stuff - a sleeping bag, pillow, camp-bed / matress. Silky pajamas. They all give you a good nights sleep. Which is handy, considering you'll get about an hour's sleep ;-)
• Mouse and Mouse Mat
• Keyboard
• Power Cables
• Monitor Cable
• Some cash

No, you do not need to bring your own network cable. All netwrok cables are provided by Gumpcom. They are CAT5e and tested to Gigabit speeds.

Please don't bring along your own switch to hook up another device to the network. We have plenty of room on the main switches, and miles of cable. Just ask a member of staff for an additional cable

Although the doors open at 7PM on the Friday night, the LAN doesn't officially start until 8PM. What does this mean? Well the first hour gives you the chance to get in the door and set up. Others use the time to catch up with other gamers . You can start playing games immediatly of course, but it's always good to get your bearings and start chatting to people before the hardcore gaming begins.

At 8PM Gump will make an announcement welcoming everyone to the LAN Party. He'll run through a quick presentation to cover things like safety, tournaments and what's for breakfast etc.

The LAN then officially begins. Sometimes people weep with joy.

Sure! You can have one console at your desk. Please remember that you have limited space on your desk too.

Most people who bring along their Xbox 360s place the console under their monitor. This isn't really possible with PS3 or Wii. Your monitor will slide off the PS3 and the Wii will be crushed. Make sure you take that into account when you're deciding what to bring. Please also remember that security for your equipment is your responsibility.

Ask a member of staff for an additional network cable if you need it

This is one of the most essential bits of information you should know! The Admins try their best to keep tournaments running smoothly at our LAN Parties. But with a wee bit of help from you guys, you can make their lives so much easier!

Team Management

• Every team must assign a Team Captain.
• The Team Captain is responsible for the team. They will manage the team on the Intranet and will make sure their team is ready to play at the correct time.
• Only the Team Captains can make the decisions (for example, choosing maps in the Finals). Of course Team Captains can discuss decisions with their teams, but only they can present their decision to an Admin. We don't want crowds of people swarming the admins! Admins get scared :-(

Tournament Schedule

Each event has a schedule available on the Gumpcom website. This gives details of when games and tournaments are due to be played. You will also need to be aware of the schedule relating to each individual tournament. This is how the pre-tournament administration (signup etc) is scheduled.

• Signup for every tournament opens when the LAN Party starts. Use the intranet to organise your teams - simply type http://web in your web browser (not there is no www. there)
• An announcement is made 60 minutes before the tournament begins. This is a reminder to get your teams together.
• Another reminder is announced 30 minutes before the tournament strats.
• 20 minutes before the tournament starts, signup will close. You will not be able to create or join any team after the signup closes!
• 10 minutes before the tournament starts, we'll announce the fixtures. You will be given the server you are to play on and the password.
• As games are played, submit your scores on the event's Intranet system. If there is a discrepancy, the admin will add the score themselves.
• At the end of each round and announcement is made with the results of that round.
• Games will continue to play until the final. Teams will get a fifteen minute break. All finals are shown on the projector (if possible).

Delays

• Team captains are responsible for managing their teams.
• If the team is not ready to play at the set time, they will be given a 5 minute warning.
• Games will then commence after the 5 minute warning is given, even if the team is still not ready.
• Teams can either play with the players they have, forfeit or bring in a substitute.
• Substitutes can not be spectators - they will have to be gamers who have paid to attend the event.
• Substitutes can not be a member of another team - even if the other team has already been knocked out of the tournament.
• The game will commence after the 5 minute warning has been given - there is no excuse for being late. Even if it's a technical fault - you should make sure your computer is stable and working properly. If you're having technical problems, ask another gamer if you can use thier PC.

Each LAN we look for volunteers to help set the event up. Due to the popularity of this, we have to limit the number of volunteers. Keep an eye on our forums the week before an event for a post asking for volunteers.

Doors open at 7pm on the Firday evening. If for whatever reason you need to turn up early, please contact a member of staff first. You will be asked to wait outside the main hall until the doors officially open.

Our LAN Parties rely on three main systems - the network, power and raw awesomness.

Network

• Our network is supported by seven Netgear gigabit switches, and one L3 3com gigabit switch. This gives us 192 fully gigabit network connections.
• Every user at the LAN has one gigabit connection. This is typically a lot faster than the average home netwrok - up to ten times faster! ZoomZoomZoom.
• Our Managed backbone allows us to monitor network misuse - we can see every packet sent through the backbone.
• Our firewall and router allows us to limit internet bandwidth per user. it also provides bulletproof protection bad guys.
• Every network cable has been hand-made and tested at gigabit speeds. The main network consists of CAT5e network cable, whereas the servers benefit from CAT6 network cable.
• The main game servers have teamed network adapters. Two or four gigabit network connections serve each server.
• High-end game servers such as Left 4 Dead run on quad core CPUs and up to 4GB of RAM
• Our DHCP server allows us to reserve specific IP ranges for servers, and the rest for gamers. The IP address range starts at 172.16.0.50 which reduces the risk of IP conflicts with those who have specified their own static IP address beforehand.
• Our DNS server allows you to connect to a server using a host name, i.e. "teamspeak.gumpcom" instead of using IP addresses.
• Our FTP server hosts files to large to download quickly using the internet connection.
• Our Intranet wesbite provides gamers with realtime information on servers, tournaments and other features.
• Our network has been designed to be as redundant as possible. If a server breaks (i.e. beer is spilt on it) we have the resources in place to absorb the problem quickly (sook up the beer with a straw).
• All servers are mirrored - we can get them back up and running in minutes while another server takes the load.

Power

• Our custom-built power system can handle more than 120 gamers in addition to servers and switches.
• The system can run from in-house 3-Phase power, or a generator.
• The network switches and servers run on their own power system, so if the system goes down for any reason the main infrastructure remains intact.
• The cables are made of high-end armored cable so you won't be able to gnaw through it in your sleep... or with a axe.

Raw Awesomeness

We were born awesome.

Of course! The Gumpcom shop opens regularly, providing you with a supply of chocolate, crisps and juice. Listen out for announcements for when the shop opens at the event.

KustomPCs - one of our super-funky sponsors also provide an array of fancy caffeine-based juice and sweets. From Bawls to Mountain Dew, Peanut Butter M&Ms to KoolAid, KustomPCs really are the gods of sugar. Make sure you bring a spare fiver just to spend on this stuff!

And finally - Breakfast and Dinner. This is rustled together by our lovely Dobbie Hall Caretaker; Mrs McPherson. Breakfast is served between 10am and 11am. Dinner is served between 5pm and 6pm.

First, you need to tell your friend that a few hours just isn't enough! For the full Gumpcom experience, you need to be there all weekend. But if your friend insists, this is what you need to know...

• Visitors are allowed between the hours of;
  • 7pm - Midnight on Friday
  • 10am and Midnight on Saturday
  • 10am and 7pm on Sunday
• Visitors wanting to stay overnight are required to pay £5 to a member of staff
• All visitors must wear a security tag (available from a member of staff)
• Visitors may play games on a friends PC (with their permission)
• Visitors may not participate in any tournament, raffle or competition

Yeah, you can bring along your laptop as a secondary machine. However you will not have wired network access. Intead you will use the wireless network. Ask a member of staff at the LAN for the network security details.

Sure thing! We won't even charge you for it. The way we see it, the more servers, the better. Speak to a member of staff at the event and they'll stick it on the backbone for you.Make sure you can manage your server as you won't have direct access to it for the duration of the weekend. We try and keep our servers safe for the duration of the event. You can obviously ask a member of staff to retreive for you, or reset it manually if need be.

It'll be plumbed straight into thenetwork's backbone.For best perfrmance, use a gigabit network card.

By far, the biggest source of connectivity issues come from firewalls. Users either don't configure them properly or they are not optimised for a LAN Party environment. 99% of the time, if you have problems finding servers or sharing files, your firewall will be to blame. The staff do not have the time to properly configure every firewall so they usually disable it. This is relatively safe; we've never had anyone deliberately 'hack' another person's computer at our events. Even if anyone was to try, they would be within punching distance, so why would they take the risk?

Check out this tutorial on how to disable your firewall.

We take security very seriously at Gumpcom which is kind of reflected in the length of this FAQ! Take a few minutes to read over

When you check-in to the event you'll be issued with a security wristband. Every gamer, visitor, VIP and member of staff will have a security tag. If you spot someone without a security wristband, please inform a member of staff immediatly.

Security wristbands come in a variety of flavours:

• Red - Gamer
• Blue - Visitor
• Lime Green - under the age of 18 (used in conjunction with either a red or blue wristbands)
• Black - Staff

Security of your belongings

This is your responsibility. Here are five steps to keeping your belongings secure:

• Mark all your equipment with your name, either by using a permanent marker or a security pen.
• Make sure screws on your computer are tightened and that you are unable to remove them by hand.
• Keep disks in a wallet and safe out of view.
• Don't leave money and other personal valuables on your desk.
• If you are really security conscious, why not invest in some kind of lock and cable system? This will allow you to physically strap your PC and monitor to the desk's leg. People will notice if someone tries to make off with a desk as well as a PC and monitor. Kensington do a great range of computer locks.

Security of your computer system

Again, this is your responsibility. Here are several steps to keeping your computer secure:

• Install and update a reliable antivirus program
• Install and update a reliable spyware program
• Password protect your machine and lock it whenever you leave your desk. (see the 'How to password protect your computer' video tutorial)
• Turn off file sharing. (see the 'How to disable file sharing on your computer' video tutorial)

Each user has a maximum download bandwidth of 300Kb/s and an upload bandwidth of 10Kb/s. This might not seem a lot but you can get almost everything you need on the local Intranet website anyway, such as patches and drivers. Internet access is provided for general web browsing, instant messaging and downloading files that are not available locally on the Intranet. If you desperately need a large file downloaded, ask a member of staff to either get it for you or temporarily uncap your personal connection.

In addition, some Internet ports are blocked. For example you will find that BitTorrent and other P2P ports are blocked, therefore you will be unable to use software relying on these ports. This is to protect the Internet connection from being flooded by unnecessary traffic.

The network is protected by a high-end and commercial Linux-based firewall. The firewall is hot and it burnt my fingers once :-(

File sharing is allowed at Gumpcom. However, there are restrictions. You are not allowed to share or distribute any of the following:

• Pornography of any kind
• Warez / illegal software
• Material to which you do not own the copyright
• Viruses, Trojans, Spyware or any other malicious software.

We monitor shared files on the network. Anyone found sharing any of the above will be disconnected from the network until they have unshared the content. Repeat offenders will be asked to leave the venue without a refund or compensation. We have done this in the past and we will do it again. This protects Gumpcom and minors from inappropriate material. See the 'How do I disable file sharing?' tutorial for more information on protecting yourself from accidentally sharing files.

Yes. If you are under the age of 14, you must be accompanied by a parent or guardian (who must be over the age of 18) for the full weekend. If you're between the ages of 14 and 17 you will need to get a parent or guardian to sign a Parental Consent form.

Only those over the age 18 are allowed to consume alcohol.

There is no upper age restriction. Hell, even Yoda made it to one LAN and he had a ball!

Where do we start? With so many other gamers in one place, you're sure to find someone else who enjoys the same games that you enjoy. FPS, RTS, Driving, Football, MMO… the list is endless. We also play a lot of console games in addition to the mainstay of PC games. Some of the most popular games are;

• Counterstrike: Source
• Left 4 Dead
• Call of Duty 4
• World of Warcraft
• Dawn of War II
• Flatout 2
• Team Fortress 2

And many more...

It's very difficult to list all the games played at Gumpcom, and the chances are this page is out of date! Every LAN sees a bunch of new releases and these all have the potential of become a LAN favourite. Why not ask on the forums if anyone plays the games you play?