Used to play Quakeworld CTF via dialup all the time.
Quakeworld was playable, unless one side was entirely made up of ISDN players. I actually did pretty well for a guy with a crappy 28.8k connection - in Quakeworld.
Unreal's netcode was legendarily crappy.
End of world rescheduled for day after tomorrow. Something should probably be done. Please advise.
Back when I originally tried even Internet play, it was gawdawful slow. I think I tried dialup a couple of times but kept getting blown away. :-( Probably a combination of early Internet code and slow connection.
But back then, getting better than a 28K connection was a miracle when it happened. Either my ISP or my telephone company has upgraded its lines; I regularly get 50K playing Everquest nowdays. In fact, on those occasions when I get 28K, I just hang up and try again.