The 24/7 BlackMesa/Dustbowl Server

[Executable]

So, I had a few questions and it'd be great if somebody could provide some insight or more suggestions.

So, currently, there is the BlackMesa/Dustbowl server. It's always been difficult to fill either of those two maps, and it's always admins in Vent trying to get it full of people. A pub recently remarked how difficult it was to learn the ins and outs of BlackMesa, and promptly left. Dustbowl is a regular map, and fun when it's balanced and tons of pubs join, but it's simply not a fun map to have to go in and "fill" and play for 5 hours a day.

My proposal is, why not create a second Valve Maps? Whenever pl_badwater (and other such popular maps) hit the valvemaps server, its always filled with at least 4 people waiting in queue for it.

However, I had a second idea that came in this vein. We already have a valvemaps server, so what's the point in having two? Well, why not have a Custom maps server, with maps created by the community (for example, pl_frontier) and this way, BlackMesa could always be voted in via rtv, giving the people who like it their fix. It would also open up a lot of interesting venues, with interesting maps that the community hasn't seen before or are rather obscure.

Well, what do you think?

 

[Cold[INACTIVE]]

It's a good idea, yet it's been tossed around a bunch already.
Despite what people think, TF2's Leadership is doing all that they can to work all these problems our and get everything smooth and in working order again.
In due time, everything will be fixed.

 

[IrateDonnie]

I had a similar problem learning how to play Blackmesa. It's a big map but once you learn where all the "danger zones" are, it's not so bad.

 

[Sephiroth]

I actually found it quite simple to navigate mesa and find where all the vantage and "danger" zones were.

 

[Executable]

For sure, it's an interesting and fun map to play in, and personally I love it. However, it gets a bit monotonous, and it's this I want to avoid.

 

[Wubstep]

ill say this, any ego server with mesa on it, im on

 

[Mithos Riot]

i think one of the problems is the dustbowl is a 32. when it is full, its just too many people and then they start to leave. Dustbowl is my favorite map and I play it most of the time, I actually have 6 dustbowl servers favorited and they stay full near 24/7. ours will pick up soon enough, im sure.

 

[PloxBox]

I like mesa, but then again, i hardly get on TF2 anymore!

 

[ShawnJ]

dustbowl is like a bubblegum, you can only chew it for so many before it bores the death out of u.

a custom server would be better. no need to include mesa on it since we already have a server for it.

 

[Roker]

The reason dustbowl is hard to fill is because it has a low quickplay rank and is also a 32 slot server. This means until we get the rank up, it will be very difficult to fill but once that does happen it will stay full with relative ease.

Blackmesa is a completely different situation. When blackmesa was in its prime (rank 50ish) there was no quickplay, everyone that played there was either a regular or someone who noticed the server on the top of their server list. It was easy to fill because there were so many people that wanted to play there and only there that they would deal with the <10 players for the 15mins it took to fill. From there it was fine all day.

In short, dustbowl just needs lots of support until it's quickplay rank increases and blackmesa needs the support of past regulars in order to gain some new ones to stay full. I'm predicting all our servers will be incredibly easy to fill and recruit from this summer. Until then things will be tough.

 

[Shiznoe]

Blackmesa was the first Edgegamers server I played on, sure it took me a while to learn it but I kept at it and started learning the map easier