Gaming area does not have any internet connection, but I have an old Wireless Router.
Would like to have everyone be able to IM and share a folder on the GM's laptop. Also wondering if it would be possible to run Maptools on the GM's computer to share a map...is all this possible with just a Wireless Router?
I'm a network newbie so bare with me.
Ok so I turn on the router and setup a wireless hotspot. Give it an SSID (name that'll show up in everyone's WiFi list), and then have everyone connect to it.
This next step is where I'm not sure what to do.
Can we run an IM client and talk to each other? IM clients, I'm aware of, all talk over TCP/IP. Will any work over a Wireless LAN?
Second is the GM's PC, running Windows 7, will share a folder in the current workgroup??? Can the GM's PC be running Windows 7 Starter to do this?
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I don't know wht specific limitations Windows 7 Starter has on it, but if it has networking you should be able to turn your filesharing on and people can get to it easily enough. (Make sure to only share things your comfortable having your players see! Don't share your whole hard drive.)
For intercommunication over a LAN there are probably a number of solutions for that.
Using something like OpenRPG would have a lot of abilities that would be useful at the gaming table, as well as allow you to have group notes or maps or whatever. It'd be something you'd have to learn how to use to do what you want.
Just a quick google search came up with ShixxNOTE which seems to be kind of a post-it program you can use online.
I'm sure other people might be able to help you better when it comes to electronic communication at the gaming table.
Last night we setup the Wireless LAN. Everyone connected to it and then one person running Windows 7 started a Homegroup. They right clicked on a folder on their system and shared it to the group. There we were able to transfer maps and HeroLab POR files without having to pass around a USB stick.
Two people in the group, one running Windows Vista and the other running Windows XP were not able to connect, or rather we couldn't figure out how to connect because it kept asking for a Username and Password. They could see the shared folder and everything, but not its contents.
We knew the password, but didn't know what to put in for the Username.
We downloaded MapTools and were able to share maps and chat over the LAN. To do this one of us did File->Start Server in MapTools and then created a LAN server. Then the others did File->Connect to Server and selected the LAN tab and then selected the server created.
Now all we need to do is figure out how to get the Windows Vista and Windows XP to see the shared files (we don't need all that Library feature that Homegroups for Windows 7 provides).