Server Filling: The Simple Truth

[Tride]

I am going to say it, I do not like the fast vehicle respawn rule. It is terrible that they made that option available for ranked servers, and I think it should not be on any of our servers.

I know the arguments for and against and to be honest it does warp the balance on maps when armor is constantly on the field.

 

[Snoopnoop]

Server Filling vs. Server Configs

I'm curious what everyone likes to play. Do you like to play CQB? Do you like air maps? I'm curious because we seem to focus on certain groups and atm it doesn't seem to work. I personally like all air maps + some other popular large conquest maps, with a votemap mod.

We need to have servers with multiple maps over different dlcs, not concentrating on either maps or dlcs. It's been a year now since release, people want variety and the chance to vote for it.

Another issue is that people go off onto other servers when ours are empty. Someone tries to get everyone to come to one server to fill it, but they look at the server and say "Well, there's only one person there, I won't make much of a difference" so they stay there. So now you have 10 eGO members in different servers. I do this too occasionally, but I try to help fill when I have time.

Randy says here that people don't necessarily fill our servers but go to others. This is probably because they don't like our server configs for the most part aka normal or HC as Randy also stated. Or they don't like the map rotation, its a conglomeration of things. We need to rethink our servers all around.

 

[KyleLucky]

I'm curious what everyone likes to play. Do you like to play CQB? Do you like air maps? I'm curious because we seem to focus on certain groups and atm it doesn't seem to work. I personally like all air maps + some other popular large conquest maps, with a votemap mod.

We need to have servers with multiple maps over different dlcs, not concentrating on either maps or dlcs. It's been a year now since release, people want variety and the chance to vote for it.




Randy says here that people don't necessarily fill our servers but go to others. This is probably because they don't like our server configs for the most part aka normal or HC as Randy also stated. Or they don't like the map rotation, its a conglomeration of things. We need to rethink our servers all around.

This. I value the little time I get to play games, I'm going to play something that is desirable for me. When all of our servers except one aren't, then why would I play in any and waste my only time to play games. Just being honest.

 

[LilShortstuf]

I'm curious what everyone likes to play. Do you like to play CQB? Do you like air maps? I'm curious because we seem to focus on certain groups and atm it doesn't seem to work. I personally like all air maps + some other popular large conquest maps, with a votemap mod.

We need to have servers with multiple maps over different dlcs, not concentrating on either maps or dlcs. It's been a year now since release, people want variety and the chance to vote for it.




Randy says here that people don't necessarily fill our servers but go to others. This is probably because they don't like our server configs for the most part aka normal or HC as Randy also stated. Or they don't like the map rotation, its a conglomeration of things. We need to rethink our servers all around.

This. I value the little time I get to play games, I'm going to play something that is desirable for me. When all of our servers except one aren't, then why would I play in any and waste my only time to play games. Just being honest.

This is where I am going to shift some blame to you guys. By going to other servers we see that you may not like our server configs. Well what are we supposed to do? Track all of you down in vent, interview you, and record the results? We need feedback more than just every time we do a roll call. If you don't like something and want it changed then PLEASE post a drop box thread or PM one of us. Just playing on other servers frustrates us leadership because we have no idea why you aren't playing on our servers.

 

[KyleLucky]

We are in vent all the time, there's no tracking down. And people just told you why lol.

 

[LilShortstuf]

We are in vent all the time, there's no tracking down. And people just told you why lol.

You missed the entire point of my post... There are more than the 20 people in vent and no not everyone who plays on our servers is in vent. Also it only took until I acted for you to tell us what you wanted. We shouldn't have to pull teeth to find out what you guys want to play.

 

[Snoopnoop]

You are leadership, you should be interacting with members regularly right? That is one way to find out what we like.

 

[redhat]

This truly saddens me.. I have just returned to eGO after about a month of being away from the community, and society in general.. and it is sad to see that our servers are still very empty.

I will try my best attempts to populate the servers but I can't do it alone, neither can any of the other members that attempt to populate. I hope everyone starts participating in trying to populate the servers. If we can get just a few members in there, the servers will populate quickly.. so please, PLEASE help try to populate.

 

[LilShortstuf]

You are leadership, you should be interacting with members regularly right? That is one way to find out what we like.

Yes it is and I admitted that we as a leadership team were not doing our job as well as we could have. Communication is a two way street though. We shouldn't have to come ask you for suggestions and we also shouldn't expect you to always have to suggest things. When you have a grievance that isn't being addressed that is something we need to know and that is when we need you to use the drop box. So when the communication breaks down, as it has, one side needs to reach out. Yes that should be leadership's job and that is what we are doing now but sometimes we won't always do it because we don't necessarily see the problem or aren't necessarily doing our job as well as we could be and that is when we need you guys to reach out and tell us what is wrong.

 

[Snoopnoop]

Servers

I came to you very neutral and friendly last week in vent with 3 leadership in channel. I offered our opinion about our servers and what they should be. I have heard multiple complaints and have taken the initiative to step up and say something. Am I in the wrong by saying something vocally in vent? Should I just drop box it so it can be forgotten?

 

[LilShortstuf]

I came to you very neutral and friendly last week in vent with 3 leadership in channel. I offered my opinion about our servers and what they should be. I have heard multiple complaints and have taken the initiative to step up and say something. Am I in the wrong by saying something vocally in vent? Should i just drop box it so it can be forgotten?

I'm going to be honest here and say that I don't remember what you said. This is the reason I request the use of the drop box because it means the suggestion is in writing and I can reference back to it at any time. Like KCK's post earlier in this thread it is there and although I forget the exact suggestions I know it is there and can reference as we discuss what to do with our servers, which is a conversation going on in leadership right now.

Yes sometimes the drop box seems like it doesn't effect the outcome of anything because no immediate action happens such as for promo recs but those suggestions very much so color how we look at a situation in the future if it is not an issue that must be handled right away.

We also stress the drop box mainly for the less public suggestions such as members who aren't following the rules or who deserve a promo rec because those honestly shouldn't be things that get posted for that member to possibly see. As for suggestions posting them in the drop box or in the Division discussion or PMing us gets them to us but posting in a public area sometimes leads to people shooting the idea down without merit or without thought (hey even I have shot down ideas that have later been implemented and worked because I didn't fully think it through when it was proposed).

So Snoop I'd love to hear (again, sorry) what you said so we can add it to the rest of the suggestions from this thread. If you PM it to me I'll make sure to copy it to the thread we have going about server configs. (Hopefully we'll get some changes going soon).

 

[Tride]

I think the attitude of the division and the fact servers are not getting filled is communication enough. Obviously something is wrong, and lack of faith in our leadership prevents us from tying to go to you. I will not lie, I am on vent everyday and honestly rarely see any of the leadership doing anything other than sitting in the leadership channel. If you actually dropped in and asked any of us what we thought you would know.

If I had a server I liked, I would attempt to fill it in order to play on it. I also would not try to fill one of our servers I did not like playing on. Such as 24/7 metro servers or TDM, I think these point farming servers are pointless and I will not support them even if they are funded by eGO.

In the end it has been a bleak period I think. I do not play Battlefield all the time, but on the occasions I do I like playing on full servers. I think most people do, which is why nobody tries to fill. I will attempt to start filling servers more, but if it is a unpleasant experience I will not stay them out. This partly comes from what I expect of fellow eGO members.

If you are filling a server, play to fill it, don't play in such a way that drives people off. I know I have joined a sever recently and left almost within 5 minutes because I was becoming frustrated at fellow members who were having fun at the expense of me and other eGO members who wanted to help fill a server.

 

[Diezel]

 

[Netsky]

Its a pointles discussion to me, a discussion which will happen in more games and more possible future games and divisions in ego, reason for me is dlc's. Which scatters the bf3 community to much, if we're all honest BF3 is the most scattered game which ego supports not only in map choices but also in game modes. And we as a community are not able to offer everyone what they like, which results in the curious situation.
Personally i won't support ak servers anymore, i just don't like them, i know other people do and that's fine and their opinion, i know other people dont like close quarters and small conquest while i do... this is a problem which can not be fixed, cause everyone should spend their gaming time on something they like.
And if we're honest Bf3 aint a game anymore, its a bundle of games......

 

[Vertago]

If you are filling a server, play to fill it, don't play in such a way that drives people off. I know I have joined a sever recently and left almost within 5 minutes because I was becoming frustrated at fellow members who were having fun at the expense of me and other eGO members who wanted to help fill a server.

This...

This list or a variation of it has been posted before with do's and don'ts in regards to server filling but honestly is it mostly common sense.

• On conquest maps (especially metro) Do NOT cap all the points! Why would I want to stay on a server with so few people just to get spawn camped or not be able to get out of spawn? As an example for Metro, If you are on the US side and have good players then only cap up to B and do not go outside to the Cafe. If you are on RU side then only cap to B and do not go down the Escalators/Stairs. Of course we cannot control/enforce whether pubs break these bounds while filling a server. But they will most likely not be able to cap the point or lose the point without the support of a few members on the team staying back (eGO members) (This is not a server rule and cannot be enforced but requested)
• Do not team stack! (This "IS" a Server Rule as stated HERE)Example: having all eGO members on 1 side versus pubs
• Do not vehicle hog. Or rather I say no vehicles until there are a reasonable amount of people on smaller maps. On large Air maps or Armored Kill it is understandable because those maps are made for vehicle warfare. But in my opinion, vehicles should not be used until there are at least 16 players total on Seine Crossing, Grand Bazzar, Teran Highway, and Damavand Peak. (This is not a server rule and cannot be enforced but requested)
• Do not play like a 12 year old in "Call of Duty". We are a mature gaming community for a reason. Do not taunt or antagonize other players. Honestly I see this in jest among eGO members most and that is fine. But when asked to stop please do so. (This IS a Server Rule as stated HERE and will be enforced via W/K/B)
• Do not argue with another eGO member in-game in regards to admining, we do not have admin chat like other games. If you have an issue with someone then point it out to them in Ventrilo. If you are not on Ventrilo then you opinion is moot or if the player admining is not in Ventrillo they should not be admining unless they are the only viable admin on the server. If the issue requires a member of leadership to intervene then please do so with out involving the whole server.
• Seeding a server is fine (Being AFK in a server to add to the player count) but do not have all AFKs on one team. If this happens you can message a member of Battlefield Leadership and we can rearrange players so that seeders are evenly distributed. Do not kick eGO server seeders unless the server is full, starting to quickly get filled, or is causing major team imbalances. If you do end up kicking a eGO seeder then please put the reason for the kick. (Example Kick Reason: "Thank you for seeding, the server is full" or "Team imbalance, please come back when you are not AFK")
• When filling a server it fine to have "Pistols Only" until more people join but you cannot enforce people (Pubs or eGO members) to use pistols only, you can only request that they do. (Example Message: "Hey PLAYERNAME we are doing pistols only and No Vehicles until more people join, if you would like to join us great or if you would like to use a regular gun that is fine too")

Sure there is a lot more that I could add to this list but you get the idea...

 

[RandyOglestein]

My server suggestions:

1. HC Rush, reg tickets, full rotation (including B2K and AK), non-fast vehicle respawn, non-votemap, 2 rounds per map

2. HC Conquest, 500-750 tickets, full rotation (including B2K and AK), non-fast vehicle respawn, maybe votemap, 2 rounds per map

3. Normal Conquest, 500-750 tickets, full rotation (including B2K and AK), non-fast vehicle respawn, maybe votemap, 2 rounds per map

4. Normal Rush, reg tickets, full rotation (including B2K and AK), non-fast vehicle respawn, non-votemap, 2 rounds per map

These 4 servers cover every base (vanilla players, B2K players, and AK players) without map exhaustion, are the least polarizing (has both large and small maps, rush maps are relatively CQC), and include the most people (in regards to DLC).

Note: Why no votemap? A lot of people want to play all the maps, and with votemap, you end up with the AK server situation the other night: people keep voting for one or two maps. This may sound like a good idea, and why wouldnt it? Power to the people! Let the players choose! However, votemap ends up in people getting sick of maps and leaving the server. People are much more tolerant of a set rotation. The more traditional the server, the more people it will attract IMO.

Note 2: Why no fast-vehicle respawn? Simple: it messes up the balance. When you have people like Killer out there that dominate in vehicles, it really screws up the balance of the game and makes people rage. Especially on AK servers where theres already an insane number of vehicles.

I come back to the point Ive been making for so long: There are an obscene number of "24/7 OP METRO 1000 TICKETS SPAMFEST DEATH", "24/7 B2K", "24/7 AK", and "24/7 Seine, Bazaar, Metro, Damavand" servers. Why add to the already rediculous number of these servers? With traditional, full-rotation, non-specific setting servers, eGO will attract a much larger audience IMO.

 

[Tride]

Randy has it about right, I think the time of expansion specific servers is done. I despise pretty much all of the armor kill maps with the exception of death valley. Having 4 servers with a wide array of maps will make people happy. Plus Randy's set up allows for those who want to play hardcore to have their server and those who want to play normal to have theirs.

Also when people figure out that they can vote for the map they want to play on people will use it more. I think admins in the server should promote the map vote when it comes up. Too many times I have seen a map win with 2 votes on a 20+ man server. The thing is if most of the people want to play a certain map and most of them do vote I think it is fair if they want to play the same map on multiple occasions. Plus the same map option is not always one of the four choices.

I also support no fast vehicle re spawn on our servers.

 

[LilShortstuf]

So for the votemap plugin the choice for which maps are voting options is done randomly based on a randomness value. If you set the value one way you basically force the server through the entire map rotation whereas if you set it the other way it gives every map an equal chance to show up as a voting option at any given time. I am currently in a school computer lab so I can't check to see what that value is on our servers right now but on the larger rotation servers we could get that number so that the server is forced to go through most of the maps but not all of them should the population of the server not want to play a map such as say Metro or Gulf of Oman (Just examples not saying these are bad maps).

The reason I explain the plugin is because I personally think it could be a great asset to the server so I don't want it counted out yet because it seems to cycle between a limited number of maps on our servers which do have small map lists.

 

[Tride]

I agree the vote map is great because you can actually go though the full rotation while still offering people the option of playing a map they like more next.

Like I said, we just need to let people in the server know that they have the option, many times it gets overlooked in the heat of combat and people forget about it.

 

[RandyOglestein]

I think votemap is only good on a FULL rotation server. On B2K and AK, I don't like it.

Also, after playing for over 2 hours in both B2K and AK today, B2K didnt get above 40 players (peak) and averaged about 24-26. AK peaked at about 20 players, and averaged about 16.