Idea kicking around inside by twisted brain....

DarquePervert · 08-24-2004, 11:37 AM

I'm a gamer... Some of the others that are into this as a hobby are as well.

My idea is to take a larger vehicle (An older Suburban was my thought) and rework the interior to make a rolling LAN Party....

Now before you go off, hear my entire idea....

You've got to have a dedicated server, which could also double as the driver-accessible system to do GPS nav, play music, and all the other functions that we want from our carPCs.

In the back, you could have four rotating captain's chairs with an LCD overhead and a tray (similar to the ones in an airliners armrest that folds up & out) for a keyboard/mouse tray....
Perhaps have an LCD monitor overhead that would rotate with the chair....

Have a kicking sound system so that the game server could also dish up some tasty tunage for not only the gamers, but for anyone within earshot... Of course you'd have to kick up the audio to make 'earshot' be as far away as possible.

Can you imagine having this tricked-out Suburban (BLACK, of course!) with the sounds of shotguns & plasma weapons cruising through a residential neighborhood with some Rob Zombie kickin as background?

Am I the only one that thinks this could be cool, in a geeky sort of way? I'm trying to guage my twisted geekiness.

Defiler · 08-24-2004, 12:17 PM

I would be cool and a shiet load of money. IMHO

Motorcity · 08-24-2004, 12:31 PM

Way cool idea, but as stated above, a **** load of cash, maybe two. A full size van would serve your 4 captain's chairs idea better. more room height wise for this. Why not hang a mini scoreboard like thing from the roof with 4 say 17" lcd panels, with each chair facing a screen? You could have that whole arena motif (sp?) going on. That, and with a killer sound system, you would have a mobile Toyota Center!

pioneer · 08-24-2004, 12:38 PM

what you want is a Long wheel base Mercedes Sprinter.........and a ph@ lot of cash.

VanMan69 · 08-24-2004, 12:49 PM

Depending on what games you're trying to play, you could probably keep the price within reason. I've thought of putting in a docking station for my laptop networked to the vanputer for 2-player Quake or Warcraft, which are the two games I like that can run decent on P3s without major graphics cards.

And yeah... you'd be much better off with a van. Just some gutted beater... they've got tons of space. If you really wanted to go all out, you could do up the sides with mad consoles, like the inside of a spy plane or something.

And you don't need to make the sound system TOO major, just toss some loudspeakers or marine speakers on the roof.

"Man! That's bull****! I woulda fragged your *** if we didn't hit that pothole!"

Or if you make them front-facing, racing games would be dope. I've had passengers tell me how weird it is to play F-Zero while the van's moving.

Seth · 08-24-2004, 05:27 PM

Crazy geeks

Jailer · 08-24-2004, 08:51 PM

Personally if it were me I'd try to find an old small school bus. Could probably pick up one fairly cheaply and you'd have a ton of room in it. Hell if they can build RV's out of buses I see no reason why you couldn't build a rolling LAN party out of one.

bgoodman · 08-24-2004, 08:56 PM

i'd find an old panel van (frito lay truck) maybe and old black van like the Secret Service uses.

Hell, find several of them and link them together via wireless driving down the highway

tdevil · 08-25-2004, 01:48 AM

of course with lighted score boards of whos leadin the frag count!

very very awesome idea but you need a ****load of cash.

Nic · 08-25-2004, 06:35 AM

then all you have to do is figure out a way to make one of the computers drive so you can play too

DarquePervert · 08-25-2004, 09:02 AM

This whole idea stemmed from my project plans. I want to have a competent gaming system in my truck that I can drive up to a LAN party, plug in to a switch and game from the drivers seat of my truck.
This idea is, of course, the next logical step...

Quote: Originally Posted by Defiler

I would be cool and a shiet load of money. IMHO

No illusions about how much something like that would cost. I was thinking of a rolling project for a game company or a mobile electronics company... Maybe both? I don't think it could be done without financial support of some sort...

Quote: Originally Posted by Motorcity

Way cool idea, but as stated above, a **** load of cash, maybe two. A full size van would serve your 4 captain's chairs idea better. more room height wise for this. Why not hang a mini scoreboard like thing from the roof with 4 say 17" lcd panels, with each chair facing a screen? You could have that whole arena motif (sp?) going on. That, and with a killer sound system, you would have a mobile Toyota Center!

I thought about a van, especially a gutted 15-passenger van... An older (60s or 70s) Suburban would look cooler, though.
Lowered. Jet black, with some big rims... Black limo tint on the windows... Perhaps a trick paint scheme (I'm partial to flames, myself) that incorporated elements/logos/charachters from games...
My original idea was to have a realistic-looking flame job with demon-heads from Doom3 incorporated...
Although if you did a colorful light scheme similar to the resonance cascade from the beginning of HalfLife, some headcrabs & crowbar-wielding zombies... Maybe have the G-Man in the background, behind it all...

Quote: Originally Posted by pioneer

what you want is a Long wheel base Mercedes Sprinter.........and a ph@ lot of cash.

Never seen one. Does it look like a delivery truck? If so, that wasn't the vision I had. Not that it wouldn't serve the purpose...

Quote: Originally Posted by VanMan69

Depending on what games you're trying to play, you could probably keep the price within reason. I've thought of putting in a docking station for my laptop networked to the vanputer for 2-player Quake or Warcraft, which are the two games I like that can run decent on P3s without major graphics cards.

And yeah... you'd be much better off with a van. Just some gutted beater... they've got tons of space. If you really wanted to go all out, you could do up the sides with mad consoles, like the inside of a spy plane or something.

And you don't need to make the sound system TOO major, just toss some loudspeakers or marine speakers on the roof.

"Man! That's bull****! I woulda fragged your *** if we didn't hit that pothole!"

Or if you make them front-facing, racing games would be dope. I've had passengers tell me how weird it is to play F-Zero while the van's moving.

True. When I originally had the idea, I thought of going completely high-end, possibly to pimp an upcoming game (HL2 or Doom3). If anyone associated with Valve is reading this, let's talk!

But you're right, if you wanted to play something a little more old-school, P3s would be fine. Hell, Quake3 on a P3 is playable, even.

And you could do a lot with a vehicle that had enough space. Consoles, DJ equipment, an external plasma display to show an match in progress...

Quote: Originally Posted by Seth

Crazy geeks

Yeah. And?

Quote: Originally Posted by Jailer

Personally if it were me I'd try to find an old small school bus. Could probably pick up one fairly cheaply and you'd have a ton of room in it. Hell if they can build RV's out of buses I see no reason why you couldn't build a rolling LAN party out of one.

Now that's an idea... You could easily get 10-12 rigs with seating in even a short bus... That brings up all sorts of humorous possibilities for customization...
A LAN party on the short bus? Hmmmmm....
There's a zillion jokes in there...

Quote: Originally Posted by bgoodman

i'd find an old panel van (frito lay truck) maybe and old black van like the Secret Service uses.

Hell, find several of them and link them together via wireless driving down the highway

The delivery panel van (a la Frito-Lay) would be cool too. Deck it out like the ice cream van from Twisted Metal, complete with the clown head on top. How many loudspeakers can you cram into a bobbley clown head?
Wireless for gaming sucks ***. Gotta be wired.

Quote: Originally Posted by tdevil

of course with lighted score boards of whos leadin the frag count!

very very awesome idea but you need a ****load of cash.

Or something showing game stats, but yeah. Nobody needs to tell me how much this would cost anymore. I'm fully aware.
It's just an idea/fantasy.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nic

then all you have to do is figure out a way to make one of the computers drive so you can play too

I'd think I'd assign driving duties in rotation. Loser has to drive for the duration of the next match.

Although that's not much of a deterrant to some.

Motorcity · 08-25-2004, 11:35 AM

I agree with you. Tricked out burbans are cool, in fact I owned 3. all were pre '91 models, the real big ones. The 2 '79s I had I didn't do much too them, but always a party on wheels. The '84, now that was a different story. That one had a homemade jacuzzi in the back!

Rafster · 07-24-2005, 04:57 PM

You'd probably be better off just getting a 26'-30' Class-A RV (The ones that look like buses). Maybe like early 1990s ('90-'96). They're pretty cheap and you can stand in them. Either that or get a 22'-26' Class-C RV (Cab over bed)

Here in So-Cal, you can find these for under $20,000.

Peace,

Rafster

wizardPC · 07-24-2005, 10:35 PM

Holy Old Thread, Batman!

BTW, Darque, you have a year to build it.

And then bring it to Ruston

Stealth97 · 07-24-2005, 10:46 PM

Get an old school bus, RV or something of that nature and add the ability to run from a generator or 120v on an extension cord when your not on the road. You could rent this thing out for kids birthday parties and stuff and make some money.