Think About Your Reserved Slots!

AAA2 · January 2003

I really often got kicked from servers with a "no reserved slots free"-message (but there still is the empty administrator-slot left). I really don't get what the administrators are thinking when setting such an option! One time I was the last fade on our team defending our hive, kicked. I can imagine my team was really happy about the 0 res skull joining the team! And I was very happy beeing kicked out of a running game! This really is the worst thing you can set! If you want to have a server for your friends or clan - lock it, if you need an administrator-slot, set it! But this so-called public servers are really driving me mad!

eaglec · January 2003

odd, but when you're running a server for the public, your paying for it in time and money I think you have the right to do what you damn well plese. If you don't like it don't go back to that server. I was thinking of setting up a reserved slot for myself and one of my friends on mine, no there are three ways I can go about getting a game of NSA when my server is full.
1) keep the server as a 14 player server with 2 slots held empty until an authorized player connects
2) let 16 players connect but if a prefered player connects then one slot is freed.
3) close my server kicking everyone off and freeing up my bandwidth for my own use.

I put in many hours work into my server and I regret I cannot also afford to supply a dedicated line for it so the most I can promise is that when it's running I'll keep the bandwidth free for the players until their game ends, if I need to use my bandwidth I'll close the server (after the game ends) and if I want to play then I'll free myself a place.

In short I bought the PC the line and software with my own money, I spent my free time setting it all up to run smoothly and keeping the cheaters and llama's at bay and you haven't done **** for me, if you don't like how I run my server then **** off and bother some other admin.

zippy · January 2003

in most cases you can make it so only the admin's can use the slots - therefore no one gets kicked <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'>

zippy

Gelantious · January 2003

Exactly,

I have 14 public slots on my server.
And 1 reserved.

Only Admins can join the server using that 1 reserved slot since its bound too their wonid.
So no one gets kicked.

And if you see a server with 15 slots and 14 are busy, then dont try to join since its probobly the Admin slot.

Lightning_Blue · January 2003

I won't use Reserved Slots just for this reason, I get upset at them too <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'>

Epoch · January 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Lightning Blue @ Jan 20 2003, 10:03 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>I won't use Reserved Slots just for this reason, I get upset at them too <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
Ditto. Yes, it's true that it's my server, but I run it for the players; not just for myself, so I feel they have the right to play without interruption. I believe that if you do whatever you damn well please in your server you will find that a lot of players will not come back.

eaglec · January 2003

I try to keep the players feelings in mind - but as I am often at work while the servers running I give them all the slots. I see nothing wrong in kicking a player, to make room for a prefered player as long as you state that's what you do in the server welcome screen. So far I have not set up reserved slots but as my connection can't support 18 players and 14 slots is (imho) not good enough. I get annoyed at joining a 16 player server with 8 people playing and getting - no reserved slots available, I normally mark these servers with a red mark in gamespy and don't go back. I also get annoyed when admins 'alter the game to even the odds' half way through after you've worked really hard to get the odd in your teams favour. These I feel are much greater crimes than simply requesting that players understand that you want to play on your own server.

My original statement was perhaps a bit harse, but in essense I feel it is right. I do run my server for the players, but I am one of those players. I feel that keeping two slots as useable but kickble is better than not allowing someone to 'borrow' those slots while I am at work, playing golf, drunk etc ...

PS You give me £5/month towards my bills and you can have your very own reserved slot. <img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'> and I'd probably still be making a loss.

Zdrone · January 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Epoch @ Jan 21 2003, 04:10 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>I believe that if you do whatever you damn well please in your server you will find that a lot of players will not come back.</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
I disagree. I've been trying to get people to quit my CS servers forever... Theres always another person in line waiting to get on.

As far as reserved spots are concerned, the only reason I don't use them is people using ASE or other "autojoin" programs get screwed. The program always thinks a spot is open.

Nothing constructive here... early.

Brutus · January 2003

My server is set up for 1 reserve slot and it kicks people when somebody with access to the reserve slot joins. I give reserve slots to people that are fun to play with and follow the rules. All I can say is that you should run your own server the way you like and not worry about anybody else.

Epoch · January 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Brutus @ Jan 20 2003, 10:45 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>All I can say is that you should run your own server the way you like and not worry about anybody else.</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
Yup.

Asraniel · January 2003

i would say that this is a good feature request.. please flayra, add a variable that you can see if a server has reserved slots.. thx

Roobubba · January 2003

I have maxplayers at 16 and 4 reserved slots which the public cannot access, but as I've got 5 regularly playing admins it seems to work out at maxplayers most nights which makes for pretty good games.
Of course if no admins are on then it's only 6 v 6 but IMHO many of the best games are when there's fewer players on...

If the admins join they only take admin slots as well, not the public slots, which is often the problem on some servers.

Anyway I'm of the opinion that you're welcome to my server if you're not a gimp, and you understand that as the server owner I insist that I and my close friends can play when we want to.

Those players who are good/pleasant/fun/sound people tend *not* to be booted if space is required...

EDIT:
And those who are regulars always get the benefit of the doubt

Brutus · January 2003

If you see a server with an odd number of player slots, then it probably has a reserve slot. I know a lot f people put "1 RSRV" or something similar in the host name. I know I do.

EvilGrin · January 2003

if you set amv_hide_reserved_slots to 1 then Admin mod will hide your reserved slots so the players never need know.

Bigtoy · January 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Brutus @ Jan 21 2003, 04:45 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>My server is set up for 1 reserve slot and it kicks people when somebody with access to the reserve slot joins. I give reserve slots to people that are fun to play with and follow the rules. All I can say is that you should run your own server the way you like and not worry about anybody else.</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
I agree 110%. I have my own server and run it in the same manner. The folks that have proven they can play with a good attitude are invited to become preffered players, they are given precidence over pub players.

Morose · January 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>if you set amv_hide_reserved_slots to 1 then Admin mod will hide your reserved slots so the players never need know.</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
It's my understanding that server monitors such as All Seeing Eye still report the total number of slots, including the ones that are reserved, despite having this variable set. I have a request in to the ASE folks to obey this setting (or at least make it optional to obey it), but haven't heard anything from them.

GoleX · January 2003

Yep, I run the reserved slots type 1 (one open slot always, kicks a player when an admin joins). With the size of my clan, sometimes as much as half the server is Twilight Eclipse, and there is no way I am setting that many slots reserved. But I also give the regulars on my server access to the reserved slot, so it works out fine.

eaglec · January 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Brutus @ Jan 21 2003, 05:45 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>My server is set up for 1 reserve slot and it kicks people when somebody with access to the reserve slot joins. I give reserve slots to people that are fun to play with and follow the rules. All I can say is that you should run your own server the way you like and not worry about anybody else.</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
yeah, what he said.
<img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

verbose · January 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (EvilGrin @ Jan 20 2003, 11:48 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>if you set amv_hide_reserved_slots to 1 then Admin mod will hide your reserved slots so the players never need know.</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
Hrm, undocumented, but present in the object file. Does it work? Does this change the maxplayers reported by the server, or does it just set sv_visiblemaxplayers? sv_visiblemaxplayers does the correct thing in the HL browser, but as Morose mentioned, third-party utilities such as ASE and GameSpy 3D/Arcade don't obey it (yet).

j0e · January 2003

NS can't control the # players that the server shows in reponse to a server query. however, adminmod has been fixed to respond with the "real" number of public slots (not including reserved) for a number of versions. it's an option in gamespy/ASE to show the reserved slots or not

a bit more info - adminmod has 3 types of reserved slots. type 0 and 2 require a high maxplayers and a lower number of public slots, the difference being the number of reserved slots. e.g. for 4 reserved slots and 20 public you would put

maxplayers 24
reserve_slots 4
reserve_type 2
or
reserve_type 0

2 will put admins in reserved slots and leave public slots open, 0 will put admins in public slots (so you could have 20 people on and 4 are reserved, but no more public people can join)

reserve_type 1 is different. type 1 doesn't have reserve slots. it sets 1 empty slot to let people in, then when server is full and an admin connects, the non-reserved player with the highest ping is kicked to make room for the admin.

personally, i have 3 NS servers. two have reserved slots and 1 is public. i you don't want to be kicked jsut use the public server<b>however</b>, good players just need to post on my forums to get a reserved slot (as long as they have a witness to vouch that they are good people). this way the 2 reserved slot servers are full of cool people, and the public server has people on good behavior who want to get a reserved slot <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'>

joe

Think About Your Reserved Slots!

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