DEVELOPERS: Please read in regards to unfair labeling of servers as "modded"

deathmongerdeathmonger Join Date: 2012-07-06 Member: 153953Members
http://www.reddit.com/r/ns2/comments/19rnjr/are_you_deterred_by_modded_servers/

You can read through that Reddit discussion and see that the vast majority of people won't even give a modded server a try because they feel like "modded" means it alters the game play. I'm all for servers showing up as modded if they have the combat mod, resource for kills, etc, but with the current setup you've basically squashed all personalization out. The worst part is that people can actually bypass the system and run stuff like resource for kills...and the rookies don't even know it! Resources for kills is something that I know for a fact would deter me from playing the game, so I would think getting this issue under control would be towards the top of your list of things to do.

TL:DR

Mods such as NS2Stats--that do not alter the characteristics of the game--should not be grouped in with mods such as combat, res for kill, etc. Or at the very least, you should remove the ability to filter out modded servers since these harmless mods are basically guilty by association.

Comments

  • unter_hosenunter_hosen Join Date: 2003-01-05 Member: 11858Members, Constellation
    Seconded. We have between 8 and 10 servers running and its a mare trying to get them used! We dont do this for ANY kind of financial or popularity gain. We just want to provide the community with a decent game arena, which is fair. So we run as much consistency checking as possible and people seem to see this as "modded".

    Combat, MvM and the like I would totally agree are mods and require a "modded" label.
  • ScardyBobScardyBob ScardyBob Join Date: 2009-11-25 Member: 69528Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    My biggest concern is that hosting custom maps causes your servers to be listed as 'modded'. There needs to be a better method of distinguishing between proper mods, like balance mods or different gameplay modes, and expected server features, e.g. ns2stats, DAK, custom maps, etc.
  • ZEROibisZEROibis Join Date: 2009-10-30 Member: 69176Members, Constellation
    Given that the point of the mod filter was more to filter out game modes like NS2C and Combat. I think it would be better to have something called gametype like in CS:S for example where you can see the type of game the server is playing. Then let users filter by game type. Most people are going to use the gametype as server admins when not forced just like they do for CS:S b/c they want players who are looking for that game type to join their server.

    This then prevents servers using mods that do not have anything to do with game type from being filtered. Basically remove the mod filter all together.

    What would really be nice is if they game type could have a little explanation when a user hovers over it or something. This way new users can read a quick description of this gametype and not be afraid.
  • ScardyBobScardyBob ScardyBob Join Date: 2009-11-25 Member: 69528Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    To be frank, what would really help out is if you could see the active mods on the server either through the server browser or a popup window. Give to ability to filter results based on active mods would help too.
  • ZEROibisZEROibis Join Date: 2009-10-30 Member: 69176Members, Constellation
    I do not see how seeing the active mods makes this any less scary for the user. The problem in the OP here is that people are afraid to even try a moded server b/c they do not know what they are in general and do not want to spend the time to find out. The real problem is taking what is defined as modded to far by calling things like custom maps stats and admin systems mods. Not only does this damage these servers but also the modding community b/c they are encouraged not to make for example an admin system with interactive menues b/c they would need to have clients dl stuff and that would cause the server to get flagged. A whitelist does not work b/c they no one is allowed to modify the mod in any way to fit their needs.

    Example lets say dak has a version that people dl for an admin menu and I want to use different icons. Currently I would need to create my own workshop clone of DAK just to do this or another workshop mod to server the content! However if DAK is on whitelist I would then need to have my mod on whitelist so I can do what, have a custom logo!? This is why such a filtered system is a bad idea. It is not practical.

    What is practical is to do what all other games do and allow servers to identify themselves as modded not the other way around. Server owners know if their content is different from the normal game. Give them away to declare how in a gametype and they will use it just as they do for other games out there.
  • ScardyBobScardyBob ScardyBob Join Date: 2009-11-25 Member: 69528Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    ZEROibis wrote: »
    I do not see how seeing the active mods makes this any less scary for the user. The problem in the OP here is that people are afraid to even try a moded server b/c they do not know what they are in general and do not want to spend the time to find out. The real problem is taking what is defined as modded to far by calling things like custom maps stats and admin systems mods. Not only does this damage these servers but also the modding community b/c they are encouraged not to make for example an admin system with interactive menues b/c they would need to have clients dl stuff and that would cause the server to get flagged. A whitelist does not work b/c they no one is allowed to modify the mod in any way to fit their needs.

    Example lets say dak has a version that people dl for an admin menu and I want to use different icons. Currently I would need to create my own workshop clone of DAK just to do this or another workshop mod to server the content! However if DAK is on whitelist I would then need to have my mod on whitelist so I can do what, have a custom logo!? This is why such a filtered system is a bad idea. It is not practical.

    What is practical is to do what all other games do and allow servers to identify themselves as modded not the other way around. Server owners know if their content is different from the normal game. Give them away to declare how in a gametype and they will use it just as they do for other games out there.
    I agree, but from UWE's perspective, this can be beneficial. The problem with making the most moddable game ever is that you risk having new players unknowingly play a modded version of the game, thinking its the vanilla version. In theory, Steam Workshop provides a nice solution to this problem by making mods easily identifiable and yellow-listing them. Unfortunately, it only stops mods that need to be downloaded to the client, such that pure server-side mods can be run without triggering the modded flag (see DAK, ns2stats, probably others).

    A whitelist is a good compromise in that it allows us to distinguish between admin or map-related mods and actual gameplay modifying mods at the cost of some flexibility. Its not perfect, but I don't think you'll be able to convince UWE to open it up so that server owners have to flag their servers as modded, rather than being automatically flagged.
  • TyrsisTyrsis Join Date: 2002-11-15 Member: 8804Members
    edited March 2013
    The mod flag needs to disappear until they flesh it out. All it does right now is make less technically inclined server owners unable to run mods via steam works since it will list the server as modified, and people would rather be on a classic unmodified server then on a modified server, even if the modification is just an admin mod.
  • IronsoulIronsoul Join Date: 2011-03-12 Member: 86048Members
    This is a huge issue and is DESTROYING ns2.
  • CalegoCalego Join Date: 2013-01-24 Member: 181848Members, NS2 Map Tester
    I most definitely am deterred by the yellow servers, and I agree with the OP.

    It would be nice to have some classification of "moddedness." Perhaps a couple more colors?
    ZEROibis wrote: »
    I do not see how seeing the active mods makes this any less scary for the user. The problem in the OP here is that people are afraid to even try a moded server b/c they do not know what they are in general and do not want to spend the time to find out.
    While I agree this would not wholly solve the problem, I think it would still be a nice feature. The main reason I myself don't try the yellow servers much is because I have no way of knowing how far the game is modded. A list would be helpful in that matter. Seeing that something only has more consistency checking or only NS2Stats would clarify the fogginess surrounding the yellow server.

    The other thing about the yellow servers is that they can't say rookie friendly. I'm not so much of a rookie any more but I like playing with rookies in a rookie friendly environment. I also probably act like a rookie on servers with custom maps.

    I wouldn't go so far as to say this is destroying NS2, it's just not helping it flourish to its full potential.
  • tarquinbbtarquinbb Join Date: 2012-11-03 Member: 166314Members
    the server browser is still lacking imo...

    - server history tab
    - lists which mods are on a server
    - lists which players are on a server
    - seperate favourites tab
  • CurveCurve Join Date: 2003-12-17 Member: 24475Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    howto-1.gif

    Server browsers in general have become far too dumbed down, classic ut was a good way to show detailed information.
  • CrushaKCrushaK Join Date: 2012-11-05 Member: 167195Members, NS2 Playtester
    I've done my fair share of modding stuff in a way that keeps the server whitelisted in UT2k4. While I appreciate the creativity it requires from the coding side (which is always a nice challenge), it goes completely against the intended use of the mechanic.
    The only distinction for "modded" was whether or not you were using a Mutator (and thus it's hooks in the engine). The workaround was to include the actors in the map itself or to spawn them on the server and make use of regular script events. There were also whitelisted Mutators, but the list was not expanded often and basically only included security and holiday Mutators. But one hack you could pull off was to extend your Mutator from a whitelisted one to keep it whitelisted as well.

    The only real problem in UT2k4 is that modded servers are filtered out by default and frankly is the button to disable that behaviour at the bottom of the screen and not in the usual server filter settings. Personally, I prefer modded servers in NS2 over vanilla ones and would actually appreciate a filter setting that shows ONLY modded servers.
  • SintSint Join Date: 2007-01-09 Member: 59540Members, Squad Five Blue
    Imo server browser is still one of the worst things in NS2, even on 4,5ghz machine it has fps 0-2 sometimes (or every time). I hope that there will be better server details when browser some day gets updated. Should not be big deal to see what mods server is running. Also its not really fair that server side mods which can even enable combat mod can make server appear as unmodded with little effort and any workshop mod will make it appear as modded. Its totally broken and needs to be reworked. I would also prefer gametype option for mods. Thou different color for modded is still too much, should not be required. If gametype can be seen on server list, its enough. Filter for mod name should also exists in server browser. Restrictions like this will only make people to use "hacks", if there would not be restrictions and server would show what workshop mods it is running, I don't think there would be that much hidden server only mods.
  • deathmongerdeathmonger Join Date: 2012-07-06 Member: 153953Members
    Max wrote: »
    We are aware of the issue and have a plan to address it. What we are going to do is remove the special color for modded servers, add secondary information when you click on a server to see what mods it is running, and in the loading screen give detailed information about the mods that the server is running. We just have been a little busy and haven't had time to do it yet.

    This is awesome news! Any chance it will make it out with the next build?

  • digitaljuicedigitaljuice Join Date: 2003-01-17 Member: 12420Members
    yes we need this asap! :)
  • digitaljuicedigitaljuice Join Date: 2003-01-17 Member: 12420Members
    Max wrote: »
    We are aware of the issue and have a plan to address it. What we are going to do is remove the special color for modded servers, add secondary information when you click on a server to see what mods it is running, and in the loading screen give detailed information about the mods that the server is running. We just have been a little busy and haven't had time to do it yet.

    can we get a comment on this? Just would like to know when we're likely to see this, a reasonable timeframe perhaps?
  • MavickMavick Join Date: 2012-11-07 Member: 168138Members
    That is awesome Max. Honestly the only thing that's ever held me back from running a mod such as ns2stats is flagging the server as modded.
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