I won't be buying the game. Other than 2 minutes of gameplay, I spent the last 2 hours getting kicked from every server as soon as I joined. Luckily I had to wait for every server to load assets and precache first. It was a waste of time and killed any interest I had.
Good job, guys.
Please start passwording your servers when all the public slots are filled. As I mentioned elsewhere, you are polluting the game.
On the other side of the fence, there could just be proper reserved slot support.
I won't be buying the game. Other than 2 minutes of gameplay, I spent the last 2 hours getting kicked from every server as soon as I joined. Luckily I had to wait for every server to load assets and precache first. It was a waste of time and killed any interest I had.
Good job, guys.
Please start passwording your servers when all the public slots are filled. As I mentioned elsewhere, you are polluting the game.
On the other side of the fence, there could just be proper reserved slot support.
'I found this exploit in the game so I'm going to join every server I can and use it to ruin the game because YOU SHOULD FIX IT UWE'.
Just because you can do something terribly, doesn't mean you should.
Couldn't we have consistency check go against this and label these as modded servers?
Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't think that would help.
The problem we'd like to solve is that the reserved slot servers appear to have slots available to the public when they are actually full to the public. The ideal solution would be for the server browser to have some way of indicating that they are full to the public but still open to private members. Alas, the server browser can't do that (yet).
The reason I suggest using a password for this purpose - and the reason many other server admins already do exactly that - is that putting a password on a server is essentially equivalent to saying "this is a private server". Once a reserved-slot server has all the public slots filled, it is for all intents and purposes a private server and should be marked as such.
Marking the server as modded is not at all the same as marking it private. Lots of players don't filter out modded servers, since as things stand about the only mods you ever find on any servers are administrative mods that have no effect on gameplay. So marking the full-to-the-public reserved-slot servers as modded won't remove them from the public's view for many, perhaps most, players. The server list will stay cluttered, and non-member players will still occasionally waste their time joining a server and loading the map only to find out afterwards that it is "full" and getting kicked.
On the other side of the fence, there could just be proper reserved slot support.
Yes, that would be good, and probably someday there will be. UWE's resources are limited, of course, so it could be quite some time before they get around to it, given that their priorities are quite rightfully on other issues.
In the meantime, server operators like Voogru, Tactical Gamer, and National Gaming should do the right thing and password their servers when the public slots are full.
uh oh, I think somebodies internet girlfriend broke up with them... I knew it wouldn't last, you can only stack so many games until they find a new and better player!
I'm 12 and what is this?
Sorry man I'm too good at the game. I'm drowning in internet pussy.
uh oh, I think somebodies internet girlfriend broke up with them... I knew it wouldn't last, you can only stack so many games until they find a new and better player!
I'm 12 and what is this?
you certainly sound it. i'm not entirely sure you're not a troll
I won't be buying the game. Other than 2 minutes of gameplay, I spent the last 2 hours getting kicked from every server as soon as I joined. Luckily I had to wait for every server to load assets and precache first. It was a waste of time and killed any interest I had.
Good job, guys.
Please start passwording your servers when all the public slots are filled. As I mentioned elsewhere, you are polluting the game.
CrazyEddie, you seem to complain about this a lot. If it bothers you so much, why haven't you started running your own server?
It seems you've completely misunderstood what I'm complaining about.
I invite you to reread this thread's original post, as well as my first post on the matter (please read my other comments in that thread as well, but ignore most of the others as they are generally off topic). If, after rereading them, you still think that my concerns could be addressed by running my own server, let me know and I'll try to explain it more clearly.
So, your initial post says that you've found someone stating that he quit the game because he couldn't find any servers that weren't kicking him when he tried to connect. As this happened on a free weekend, I suspect there wasn't a lot of spare server capacity to go around. My point is, that if you (and everyone else complaining here) were running servers, then he would have had a significantly smaller chance of picking a server that was running reserved slots.
There's also the point where if players didn't enjoy playing on servers running reserved slots, they wouldn't be playing there. I'm sure there's a number of unpopular servers out there that are running reserved slots, but you don't seem to be complaining about anything except the very popular ones.
My point is, that if you (and everyone else complaining here) were running servers, then he would have had a significantly smaller chance of picking a server that was running reserved slots.
The problem that I'm complaining about is that the particular implementation of reserved slots that some reserved slot server operators use makes the server browser less useful - and in fact makes the server browser outright hostile. People use the server browser to find a server they can join. Voogru, TG, and NG servers look like people can join them, but when people try to join them they waste time loading the maps and then get kicked.
An analogy might be that these three particular organizations have dropped landmines in the server browser. Unsuspecting players click on their servers expecting to get a game, but instead they get blown up.
Your suggestion, then, is that rather than having these server operators stop putting landmines in the browser, that all the rest of us should run more servers so that people would be less likely to click on the landmines when they're trying to find a game.
My response is that, while having more servers (in particular more servers that don't put landmines in the server browser) is certainly a good thing, the fact that Voogru, TG, and NG are putting landmines in the server browser is a bad thing in and of itself, and they should stop.
Tactical Gamer at least partially agrees with me. Their admins agree that not passwording their servers when the public slots are filled is a bad thing which is causing harm both to the players who click on their servers and to the NS2 community at large. Where they disagree with me is that they don't think they should stop. They know it's wrong, but they'd rather not stop, because doing so would slightly inconvenience their members.
As this happened on a free weekend, I suspect there wasn't a lot of spare server capacity to go around.
My complaint has nothing to do with the amount of server capacity. The problem doesn't arise because someone can't find a server to play on other than the ones I'm complaining about. The problem arises because the servers I'm complaining about appear in the browser. Their mere presence in the browser is the problem. Even if there were plenty of other servers to play on, the fact that those servers appear in the browser is the problem.
It's a problem because in the browser it looks as if the public is able to join them even though that's not the case. This invites players to click on them, only to discover after wasting time loading the map that they can't actually join the server after all. These server operators are lying to the public, wasting people's time, and turning off new players from the game.
This is true as long as those servers appear in the browser list as public servers even though their public slots are full. This is true no matter how many other servers there are and no matter how many games players have to choose from.
It's made worse by the fact that these are actually very good servers. They are popular, they run large playercounts (which is a popular thing to do), they have good pings, they welcome rookies, and they run multiple servers each. That means that players are more likely to click on these servers when they're trying to find a game to join, and thus more likely to step on the landmines.
There's also the point where if players didn't enjoy playing on servers running reserved slots, they wouldn't be playing there.
The fact that players enjoy playing on these servers is completely beside the point of my complaint. That you mentioned this simply shows that you still do not understand my complaint. I'll try to explain it again.
My complaint is NOT that these servers are using reserved slots.
My complaint is NOT that when you join a server that uses reserved slots, you might get kicked.
My complaint is NOT that some people like playing on these servers.
My complaint is NOT that some people can't play on these servers.
My complaint is NOT that these are bad servers.
My complaint has nothing to do with the people who play on those servers.
My complaint is that the particular method by which these servers have implemented reserved slots causes problems for everyone else in the community. And that problem is NOT that everyone else can't join. The problem is that people can't join even though it appears in the server browser that they can, and accordingly people end up having their time wasted loading a map and trying to join a server which says they can join but in actual fact will not let them in.
I'm sure there's a number of unpopular servers out there that are running reserved slots, but you don't seem to be complaining about anything except the very popular ones.
I'm only complaining about the ones that I've discovered myself by connecting and getting kicked. I haven't connected to every server, and quite naturally the unpopular ones are the ones that I'm least likely to have connected to at a time when their public slots were full. There was actually one other server that I mentioned in my previous thread (The Insane Asylum), but I haven't noticed them in my server browser lately so I didn't bother mentioning them by name this time around.
Furthermore - and this is a point that I really think you have failed to appreciate - I'm not complaining about reserved slots in general, only about servers that use reserved slots and which don't password their servers when the public slots are full. There is at least one group of server admins who do exactly that, and I called them out specifically as good examples to imitate: the OldF.Net Geriatric Ward server. They do it right. Good on them. Voogru, Tactical Gamer, and National Gaming should do the same.
Passwording the server when the public slots are full removes the server from the browser's list of publicly-available servers and marks it as private. This means that nobody will see their server in the browser list, and if they do, they'll know that it's not open to the public. That's all it takes to stop causing problems for all other NS2 players. The downside is that it is slightly less convenient for their members, which is why Tactical Gamers hasn't done so yet.
I'm hopeful that they may yet start doing so.
========================
I'm sorry for this mammoth wall of text. I had thought that everything I said above was already clear from my previous posts, but you seem to have had a persistent misunderstanding of the nature of my complaint.
So, your initial post says that you've found someone stating that he quit the game because he couldn't find any servers that weren't kicking him when he tried to connect.
No, he quit because the servers he connected to kicked him.
There's a difference.
It's not that he couldn't find a server that didn't kick him, it's that he got kicked by the servers he found.
He shouldn't have had to look for a server that wouldn't kick him. There shouldn't have been any non-public servers for him to find in the first place.
Agree, Those servers have little respect for the pub in all honesty. When you're booted near the end of a game that you may have already invested 40mins in. I started to fav(heart) these servers as a way to black list. Shot through the....
Comments
On the other side of the fence, there could just be proper reserved slot support.
'I found this exploit in the game so I'm going to join every server I can and use it to ruin the game because YOU SHOULD FIX IT UWE'.
Just because you can do something terribly, doesn't mean you should.
The problem we'd like to solve is that the reserved slot servers appear to have slots available to the public when they are actually full to the public. The ideal solution would be for the server browser to have some way of indicating that they are full to the public but still open to private members. Alas, the server browser can't do that (yet).
The reason I suggest using a password for this purpose - and the reason many other server admins already do exactly that - is that putting a password on a server is essentially equivalent to saying "this is a private server". Once a reserved-slot server has all the public slots filled, it is for all intents and purposes a private server and should be marked as such.
Marking the server as modded is not at all the same as marking it private. Lots of players don't filter out modded servers, since as things stand about the only mods you ever find on any servers are administrative mods that have no effect on gameplay. So marking the full-to-the-public reserved-slot servers as modded won't remove them from the public's view for many, perhaps most, players. The server list will stay cluttered, and non-member players will still occasionally waste their time joining a server and loading the map only to find out afterwards that it is "full" and getting kicked.
In the meantime, server operators like Voogru, Tactical Gamer, and National Gaming should do the right thing and password their servers when the public slots are full.
I'm 12 and what is this?
Sorry man I'm too good at the game. I'm drowning in internet pussy.
you certainly sound it. i'm not entirely sure you're not a troll
So, your initial post says that you've found someone stating that he quit the game because he couldn't find any servers that weren't kicking him when he tried to connect. As this happened on a free weekend, I suspect there wasn't a lot of spare server capacity to go around. My point is, that if you (and everyone else complaining here) were running servers, then he would have had a significantly smaller chance of picking a server that was running reserved slots.
There's also the point where if players didn't enjoy playing on servers running reserved slots, they wouldn't be playing there. I'm sure there's a number of unpopular servers out there that are running reserved slots, but you don't seem to be complaining about anything except the very popular ones.
An analogy might be that these three particular organizations have dropped landmines in the server browser. Unsuspecting players click on their servers expecting to get a game, but instead they get blown up.
Your suggestion, then, is that rather than having these server operators stop putting landmines in the browser, that all the rest of us should run more servers so that people would be less likely to click on the landmines when they're trying to find a game.
My response is that, while having more servers (in particular more servers that don't put landmines in the server browser) is certainly a good thing, the fact that Voogru, TG, and NG are putting landmines in the server browser is a bad thing in and of itself, and they should stop.
Tactical Gamer at least partially agrees with me. Their admins agree that not passwording their servers when the public slots are filled is a bad thing which is causing harm both to the players who click on their servers and to the NS2 community at large. Where they disagree with me is that they don't think they should stop. They know it's wrong, but they'd rather not stop, because doing so would slightly inconvenience their members.
My complaint has nothing to do with the amount of server capacity. The problem doesn't arise because someone can't find a server to play on other than the ones I'm complaining about. The problem arises because the servers I'm complaining about appear in the browser. Their mere presence in the browser is the problem. Even if there were plenty of other servers to play on, the fact that those servers appear in the browser is the problem.
It's a problem because in the browser it looks as if the public is able to join them even though that's not the case. This invites players to click on them, only to discover after wasting time loading the map that they can't actually join the server after all. These server operators are lying to the public, wasting people's time, and turning off new players from the game.
This is true as long as those servers appear in the browser list as public servers even though their public slots are full. This is true no matter how many other servers there are and no matter how many games players have to choose from.
It's made worse by the fact that these are actually very good servers. They are popular, they run large playercounts (which is a popular thing to do), they have good pings, they welcome rookies, and they run multiple servers each. That means that players are more likely to click on these servers when they're trying to find a game to join, and thus more likely to step on the landmines.
The fact that players enjoy playing on these servers is completely beside the point of my complaint. That you mentioned this simply shows that you still do not understand my complaint. I'll try to explain it again.
My complaint is NOT that these servers are using reserved slots.
My complaint is NOT that when you join a server that uses reserved slots, you might get kicked.
My complaint is NOT that some people like playing on these servers.
My complaint is NOT that some people can't play on these servers.
My complaint is NOT that these are bad servers.
My complaint has nothing to do with the people who play on those servers.
My complaint is that the particular method by which these servers have implemented reserved slots causes problems for everyone else in the community. And that problem is NOT that everyone else can't join. The problem is that people can't join even though it appears in the server browser that they can, and accordingly people end up having their time wasted loading a map and trying to join a server which says they can join but in actual fact will not let them in.
I'm only complaining about the ones that I've discovered myself by connecting and getting kicked. I haven't connected to every server, and quite naturally the unpopular ones are the ones that I'm least likely to have connected to at a time when their public slots were full. There was actually one other server that I mentioned in my previous thread (The Insane Asylum), but I haven't noticed them in my server browser lately so I didn't bother mentioning them by name this time around.
Furthermore - and this is a point that I really think you have failed to appreciate - I'm not complaining about reserved slots in general, only about servers that use reserved slots and which don't password their servers when the public slots are full. There is at least one group of server admins who do exactly that, and I called them out specifically as good examples to imitate: the OldF.Net Geriatric Ward server. They do it right. Good on them. Voogru, Tactical Gamer, and National Gaming should do the same.
Passwording the server when the public slots are full removes the server from the browser's list of publicly-available servers and marks it as private. This means that nobody will see their server in the browser list, and if they do, they'll know that it's not open to the public. That's all it takes to stop causing problems for all other NS2 players. The downside is that it is slightly less convenient for their members, which is why Tactical Gamers hasn't done so yet.
I'm hopeful that they may yet start doing so.
========================
I'm sorry for this mammoth wall of text. I had thought that everything I said above was already clear from my previous posts, but you seem to have had a persistent misunderstanding of the nature of my complaint.
I hope this has cleared things up for you.
No, he quit because the servers he connected to kicked him.
There's a difference.
It's not that he couldn't find a server that didn't kick him, it's that he got kicked by the servers he found.
He shouldn't have had to look for a server that wouldn't kick him. There shouldn't have been any non-public servers for him to find in the first place.