Server Rules
Grendel
All that is fear... Join Date: 2002-07-19 Member: 970Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, NS2 Playtester
All that is fear... Join Date: 2002-07-19 Member: 970Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, NS2 Playtester
<div class="IPBDescription">Just the facts, man.</div> Simple little thread. Just post in here your response to the question:
What rules would you want in place on a server?
Please restrict yourself to either:<ul><li>None</li></ul>Or an itemised list of what rules you would want, e.g.<ul><li>No Comm Chair blocking</li><li>Auto Kick on Idle</li></ul>If you can think of a server that you play on that has <b>only</b> the rules you have mentioned in place, then you may post it's IP and name along with your post, as to act as an example.
If the thread can be kept spam free and coherent, then this might be a useful way to standardise what you guys want from a server, which in turn might encourage server ops to cater for it. Anyone deciding to use the thread as an excuse to have a pop at a specific community, op or server, will be looking at a ban, the sort of which you will not talk your way out of.
What rules would you want in place on a server?
Please restrict yourself to either:<ul><li>None</li></ul>Or an itemised list of what rules you would want, e.g.<ul><li>No Comm Chair blocking</li><li>Auto Kick on Idle</li></ul>If you can think of a server that you play on that has <b>only</b> the rules you have mentioned in place, then you may post it's IP and name along with your post, as to act as an example.
If the thread can be kept spam free and coherent, then this might be a useful way to standardise what you guys want from a server, which in turn might encourage server ops to cater for it. Anyone deciding to use the thread as an excuse to have a pop at a specific community, op or server, will be looking at a ban, the sort of which you will not talk your way out of.
Comments
another rule could be that structure blocking is permitted, though i doubt there are many public servers that have that policy.
auto-kick is fine, as are some other plug-ins such as +showres, hive % and chamber amount in numbers, however none of them are mandatory.
oh, and spectating should be allowed.
yeah, but add to that the system that doesnt randomize idle players.
what if you have mcs?
I would prefer a vanilla server, maybe kick if idle fore more than 180 seconds
</li><li>Intentionally using FF against the hive/cc will get you kicked/temp-banned/banned according to the number of warnings.
</li></ul> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
what if you have mcs? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
How will mcs affect friendlyfire? Sorry, I don't understand. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
That has not been an issue on my server. The rule was implemented to prevent intentional damage to friendly structures with the intent of prematurely ending the game.
- be mature, respect other players and be helpful if you can.
- spamming, flaming, using those "play sounds over voicecom"-tools and any other "offensive" behaviour will result in a warning, then a kick/temp-ban/ban. Same applies to the use of offensive nicknames and spraypaints.
- cheating, exploiting and bugusing will get you a kick/ban.
- "structure blocking" will be tolerated as long as you don't block vents (wich is the latest official statement from the NS dev team). However players are encouraged to not use this tactic at all.
- if FF is on players that abuse this to damage friendly strucutres and/or players will be warned and kicked/banned if they continue to do it. Damaging a building hive so that friendly aliens can use MCs to teleport to it will be allowed since it's become a broadly accepted strategy. Damaging the hive so gorges can gain XP for healing it in combat however will not be tolerated.
- Admins should take action as few times as possible, but when they take action, they should do it as consequent as the situation requires. The flow of a round should not be disturbed by an admin's intervention unless nessescary. In general the rule "not quilty unless proven otherwise" should apply. When an admin take action he should also always make a short note in the log what he did and why (see next point).
- players that feel mistreated are given the chance to complain in a forum or by mail. The admins then can explain why they tool what action. Should an admin be cought abusing his previleges his status should be revoked. First for a short period, later permanently.
Plugins:
- Welcome message / display rules. Since the NS standard MOTD is't really that good the welcome message plugin allows admins to display a list of running plugins (I think it's important that players see if a server is modified), server rules, contact mail and so on.
- KickIdle. Players that idle for more than 3 minutes should be kicked from the server.
- AutoAssign. A couple of seconds after the round starts players that are still in the readyroom should be assigned to a random team. However players should be given a little time before the auto assign kicks in so they have a chance to resolve stacking situations themself
- Cheating Death. Be it in Required mode or optional, Cheating Death gives players a better feeling most the times and reduces hack accusiationes quite a lot.
- High Ping Kick. While we do not want to discriminate players with small bandwidth there is a certain limit beyond that playing can become really difficult. players with an average ping over 250 should be kicked.
- Votemap plugin. the standard votemap is ok, but i do prefer the plugin that randomly chooses 5 maps out of the map cycle and lets players vote at the end of the timelimit. Atfter the first voting players can vote between the two maps that scored the most points in the first round.
Those would be my rules for a single server that has not been modified in terms of gameplay mechanics. If you want to use plugins that change gameplay mechanics in any way, they should be listed/display so players that join the server can see in wich way the server is modified.
Last but not least I'd really like to see a certain naming standard of NS servers wich gives players some information even before joining. I know this from the good old days of UT(99). Server names would start with the TLD for the country they are located in folowed by the real "name" of the server and then a short list of server specific rulesets, gamemodes, plugins and so on. This could look like that:
<!--c1--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'><!--ec1-->
.de XKC Meditation Chambers NS3.0final [CD Req - NS only]
.uk Jarhedz NS3.0final #4 [FF on - CO only - Extra Levels - Extra Upgrades]
.us Leathal Dose Clanserver - Combat Only
.fr French Fries - Natural Selection 3.0 final #2 [CD Req]
[...]
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/Hyper
I agree with this wholeheartedly. To clarify however, it's not currently possible to list all server rules (or even ones that change gameplay mechanics as you mentioned) on the server when a client joins (there is a character limit). What one needs to do is post a complete list of their rules on their clan's website and/or forums, then post a link to these on the server.
I have been hesitant to list server rules regarding plugins (although I found it necessary to mention rrblock and hpk). If it's ok with the thread's author I will do so by editing my post.
Friendly fire.
mp_blockscripts 0
Idle kicker.
Don't be a ****.
That's all I'd use. Pretty much covers anything so people can't say that what they did wasn't against the rules.
FF on
max players 16 at very highest.
Actually, what would be really cool is if there was a standardized skill database that would randomize people based on skill, so the teams are relatively even. This might be possible with one of those server plugins that records stats, although I haven't worked with the code, so I don't know if it actually is.
Back to the original topic,
I like these rules:
-No more than 16 players.
-No prolonging the game.
-No spawn camp protection.
-I prefer FF on, but it's not a big deal.
-I prefer mp_bs 0, but it's not a big deal.
-Random teams is nice, if everyone is competent, otherwise you often get stuck with an awful team.
-On CO, no faster wave spawn plugins, no 50 lvls crap (a couple extra levels is ok, but the game is balanced for 10 max, which screws things up).
-On NS, no chambers until you ask people if they care which one to drop, no "cheap" tactics (CC blocking is ok, but if you do it to trap in an onos, it's not).
The most important thing for a server is several active admins. I cannot stress this enough.
Consistency with regards to the enforcement of the rules. Whatever rules are in place, they should be operationally defined, meaning there is line that can be crossed. It should be a standard for all admins, not subjective.
I honestly don't believe in reserve slots unless everyone has access to them (i.e. can pay for it). These slots create a sub community that often, but not always feel that they are above the rules.
NS_Maps only
FF 1
Server size 12-14
CD REQ
FF
max of 16 players
/delwp
/res
For combat:
Allow marines to gain one extra level to help balance things out.
<b><i><u>Important Edit:</u></i></b>
Rate enforce plugin, good values for min/max rates, CAL-style config basically
/res
/delwp
hivehealth
chamber number
bs_0
no funny max rates
120 second afk kicker
spectating allowed
autorandom just before game start
edit: no ff, the only reason i can think of having it on a pub server is to allow attacking the hive for mc warping to a building hive.
Actually, what would be really cool is if there was a standardized skill database that would randomize people based on skill, so the teams are relatively even. This might be possible with one of those server plugins that records stats, although I haven't worked with the code, so I don't know if it actually is.
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
A Metamod plugin called Balance on Death gets it's input from values which come from Psychostats's mysql db. If an admin types "eventeams" while everyone is still in the readyroom, it will assign players to random teams and the average skill levels will be close.
This of course requires that every player on the server is currently in the database. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
1. No cheating. No exploiting. No flaming. Dont be lame.
2. No res whoring. FIRST ONE WITH 50 RES BUILDS HIVE. *1
3. Only go Comm if you know the job. No CC overtake.
4. Ask your team before building a upgrade chamber.
5. Play fair. No WTJ.
*1 this rule isn't taken that seriously. It's to prevent typical res whoring. imho the best at fading should go fade and i don't care if the hive get set a minute later. It's just a rule so if someone is the only one can set the 2nd hive and goes fade without considering the team needs i'm able to punish him based on the rules <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->.
Structure blocking to prevent a alien lifeform to escape is considered as exploit (as stated by the dev team).
Thats most important for serious administration of a server. But i must admit its difficult as different people (in that case adminstrators) see situations with different views. Thats human nature. It's a good idea to seek advice with the other members of the admin staff if you're unsure about a case.
<!--QuoteBegin-Firewater+Mar 2 2005, 04:15 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Firewater @ Mar 2 2005, 04:15 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->
I honestly don't believe in reserve slots unless everyone has access to them (i.e. can pay for it). These slots create a sub community that often, but not always feel that they are above the rules.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That depends on the admins. If a "reserved slot"-user violates the rules the admin have to punish him the same way. But for sure if it's a minor issue you won't use the straigt punishment and talk to him as you know him. But i had myself one happening i had to use the same punishment on a reserved slot user.
I only give a reserved slots to know regulars of the server (or woman <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> )
Thats most important for serious administration of a server. But i must admit its difficult as different people (in that case adminstrators) see situations with different views. Thats human nature. It's a good idea to seek advice with the other members of the admin staff if you're unsure about a case.
<!--QuoteBegin-Firewater+Mar 2 2005, 04:15 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Firewater @ Mar 2 2005, 04:15 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->
I honestly don't believe in reserve slots unless everyone has access to them (i.e. can pay for it). These slots create a sub community that often, but not always feel that they are above the rules.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That depends on the admins. If a "reserved slot"-user violates the rules the admin have to punish him the same way. But for sure if it's a minor issue you won't use the straigt punishment and talk to him as you know him. But i had myself one happening i had to use the same punishment on a reserved slot user.
I only give a reserved slots to know regulars of the server (or woman <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> ) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I wish this was reality, but to look forward to this would lead to disappointment.
FF on
Bs_0
ns_ maps only
Low player slots /12. Anything higher gets to be a little lame.
Most importantly, would be good admins. It's my opinion that most servers lack mature and sensible admins. A good server needs to have responsible admins on almost constantly to keep things under control. It makes me sad that this is neccesary, but there are a ton of retards out there. I have seen people come into games and just start beating the hell out of the hive/chambers, its rediculous.
I wish this was reality, but to look forward to this would lead to disappointment.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yea maybe ... but the problem is also that nobody cares about admins. Whatever you do there are always complains of people think your decisions are randomly diced while they have a well thought opinon. Nobody cares about the money and time you have to invest to keep a server running. Forget about a thanks. The only positive you will have if you have a own server is that you can play by the rules you prefer and have a reserved slot.
A little bit I can understand admins enforcing their rules by plain power with kicks/bans.
* 14 - 16 player maximum
* admins for kicking idlers/griefers/12 year olds/hackers
* map rotation with a CO map between every two NS maps
* loose enforcement of sportsmanship: if someone has a chronic resource whoring problem that costs his team games, ban him. But don't attempt to make every player feel special, if bad commanders want to avoid being jeered they can practice someplace that isn't this cool server of the future. Too many servers strip the fun out of NS when they attempt to change it from a game to an edifying experience. Any server that attaches "Spirit of <server name>" or "Gentlemen's Code" is seriously asking to drive away competitive players.
very good idea there.
YES. More people need to realize this. Huge lists of rules are huge lists of loopholes.
Icons are a super way to accomplish this. Regulars with over "X" amount of kills who also exhibit mature behavior and teamwork skills are rewarded on my server. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->