cost of playing online.

[magenta]

well..

im a bit worried that a huge phone bill might come through to me... aieee... and i dont even play online as frequently as others here, maybe once or twice a week..

anyway my question is ... esp for people in the UK.. how much do you get charged for online play?...

really need to know this..

tar very much

[IceBlink]

Well, I only usually play on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays... and usually a two to four hour game too... PSO is so addictive, it's scary...

For the phone bill, I'll know it by the end of this month... *shudders* ^_^;;

We really need to find a way of using BTinternet (the one I have on my computer is the ?14.99 deal, use internet anytime without phone bill) for the Dreamcast... but I have no idea of how to do it on the Dreamcast...

There's gotta be a way...

[MaximumBeef]

I use BT surftime for PSO, and it's a hell of a fun time doing it...basically you need to download the US web-browser from somewhere, burn it to a CD-R, and then use that to change your ISP settings.

Of course we don't get a half decent browser which can do this out of the box...grrrr!

It's fairly decent speed-wise though, and does allow you to play for far too long (although I think it disconnects you every couple of hours, which is irritating).

[IceBlink]

... DAMN. ^_^; I don't have a CD-writer...

Oh well, can somebody post a link for the US browser anyway? I'll note down the link, and somehow find someone to make a copy for me... somehow... >_<

... *sigh* ^_^;;

[Sisqua]

I can't use surftime as I'm an NTL customer (ironically because of our London area we can't use NTL World either even tho all BT customers can) so I have to pay the local call rate. My total playing cost last month came to about 70 quid - about $100 for our friends across the pond - to be honest I was pleasantly suprised.

S.

[magenta]

so what is the normal cost/rate online then..

is it ?1.00 a minute (i sure hope not), or something like 5p a min ( i sure hope so)...

just neeed to know so i know how much i can play on or off line.

[Sisqua]

I don't know exactly, but I believe on NTL it is something like 2p per minute peak, 1.1p per minute off peak and 0.8p per minute weekends. You can do the math yourself.

Don't quote me on that though (or sue me if you're NTL!!!) I presume BT is roughly the same as its an 0845 number.

S.

[MaximumBeef]

I think seganet charges 1p per minute off peak, no idea what it is peak rate...

It'll be pretty much the same as every other "free" ISP out there.

[Sisqua]

Seganet (or rather Dreamarena in the UK)doesn't actually charge anything - it's entirely dependant on what your carrier charges for an 0845 number. So on BT you'll pay one set of rates and on NTL its slightly different - they're all pretty similar tho.

S.

[MaximumBeef]

Ahhh, so that's how it works...

Those crazy damn fools!

[The_Neon_Samurai]

Up until today, I was subscribed to a free ISP, namely Aviators.net. If you're using a free isp off peak (mo-fr from 6pm, all weekend) you get charged 1p a minute by BT for call charges. I think it's about twice as much during non off peak hours. I haven't received my phone bill yet, since I get it every 3 months but I think I'm looking at about 300-400 quid (around $500) http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_frown.gif. For 3 month, mind you. Still this sucks pretty bad, so today I finally got my, sorta, flatrate running. Here's what you do:
1. get the US browser 2.0
2. sign up with a free ISP that is supported by the BT surftime offer and is willing to give out user information (dial up number, user login), instead of an ISP disc.
3. set up the surftime deal with them, then with BT.
4. You now pay 5.99 quid a month and nothing else as long as you only surf off peaks.
I believe that non off peak charges are also reduced.

[kalten]

If all you folks would like to connect to http://www.gamefaqs.com and click on the link to the PSO files, you'll find a step by step FAQ I uploaded on how to get ahold of the US browser and how to setup access through your own ISP.

If anyone has any problems email me at [email protected] and I will try to help you out and maybe even send you a copy of the browser program.

[IceBlink]

Eeeee.... lot of work, but anything for cheaper pay rates... ^_^

Thank you! I'm sure a lot of UK people such as myself, Magenta, and a lot of others will be pleased to know this! ^_^

The only problem left is obtaining the browser... ^_^;; As I said! Sega are racist towards UK people! ^_^; It's a fact! We UK people can barely access anything with our browsers! ^_^;;

Maybe I should cool down... ^_^; Oh well... just get a writable CD, go to my friend's house who has a CD-writer, and... ^_^; *fingers crossed*