Before you arrive
“Ask us now, not at 7:25 pm on the night”
Eighteen questions, answered by the people who get asked them most often. If yours is missing, the contact page is one click away.
How to use this page
Read it once, then forget it
Joining a group of strangers is easier when you know how the evening runs. These answers come from the questions moderators have heard in the first week of every season, rewritten whenever the answer changed.
None of it is a test. Nobody will quiz you on connection speeds or etiquette on your first night, and a mentor will be there to fill in whatever you skipped. The answers are grouped under three headings, so you can jump to the one that worries you most.
The crew
Who we are
- Is Low Ping Crew a company or a club?
- It is an informal club of volunteers. Nobody is on wages, nothing is sold and there is no membership fee. The details of who looks after the website are on the About page.
- How many people are in the crew?
- About sixty names are on the roster, and perhaps thirty of them log on in any given fortnight. Squads are small on purpose, so even on a busy night you only ever talk to four or five voices.
- Is there a ranking or a points system?
- Only within a season, and only for the league. The ladder resets at the end of every season, and nothing is carried over, so nobody has to catch up with a reputation.
- May I stream or record my matches?
- You may stream your own gameplay if the other squad agrees beforehand. Recording voice channels needs every speaker's consent, and clips are not to be shared outside the crew.
- Are you linked to a publisher or a shop?
- No. We are independent, we promote no products and we do not accept gifts for mentioning anything. It is one reason we talk about genres rather than titles.
- Do I have to attend every week?
- No. Most members come once or twice a week and a few drop in once a month. Missing a squad night is fine if you tell your captain beforehand, and nobody keeps a tally of attendance.
Gear
Equipment and connection
- Do I need a powerful gaming PC?
- No. Most of our genres run happily on a modest, recent machine, and the moderators can tell you which nights suit what you own. A stable connection is far more important than a fast graphics card.
- What ping is acceptable?
- Under 40 milliseconds to the nearest OCE server is comfortable, and up to about 70 is workable for co-op and strategy nights. League matches ask for a steady connection, not a perfect one.
- Should I use wireless or a cable?
- A cable, wherever you can manage it. Wireless links in older Maitland houses can drop packets whenever someone runs a microwave, and a drop at the wrong moment costs a whole squad its round.
- Do I need a headset with a microphone?
- For squad nights, yes, because the plan is made in voice. If you cannot speak for any reason, the text channel works and your mentor will make sure the squad knows.
- Can I join from a console?
- For most co-op and racing nights, yes. For league fixtures, check the rule sheet first, because the referee needs every squad to play on the same kind of hardware.
- What if my connection is poor on the night?
- Tell your mentor straight away. They will move you to a practice match or a co-op map that tolerates lag, and a volunteer can check your set-up with you on Wednesday, when the newcomer hour is on.
Day one
Your first night
- What should I expect in the first hour?
- A welcome in the text channel, a short voice introduction from your mentor and a gentle practice match. Most people say they were more nervous on the way to the keyboard than at any point afterwards.
- How will I know who to talk to?
- Your mentor is named in the welcome email, and the moderator on duty is shown at the top of the voice channel list. If both are busy, any member of your squad can point you in the right direction.
- What if I feel out of my depth?
- Say so. Every squad has at least one member who remembers feeling the same, and the session is slowed down or paused until you have caught up.
- Will I be asked to speak in front of everyone?
- Never. Introducing yourself is welcome but optional, and plenty of members spent their first month typing in the text channel and listening.
- Can I change squads if it doesn't suit me?
- Yes, at the end of any three-match block. Tell a moderator privately, and we will find another squad without any awkwardness for anyone.
- How late does a night run?
- Squad nights finish by 10 pm and the monthly meetup closes at 8 pm. We keep these hours deliberately, so that people can get home and still feel like themselves at work the next morning.