[Drunken F00l]

Also here's some graphs because graphs are fun.


Gee guys that was fun, let's do it again. No seriously though, I hope we learned from this one.



Basically what it says in the graph.



So why is it that valve maps 1 seems unaffected (or at least much less affected)?

[moralhazard]

1) Get rid of the team scramble feature.

Stopped reading here.

[ibby]

DF, I know Valve 1 is unaffected, but what about Valve 2? I feel like it's less populated than before, perhaps some changes to the map rotation?

[Drunken F00l]

It's reaching the end of a downward spiral. Less people connecting because less people are on. It's been on a downward slope for a while now. Nothing to attract new players I guess. It never really had a regular following.

(I removed the smooth averaging from the last month of the graph)

At any rate, you can't fix an empty server by not joining it.

I wonder if they migrated to the no crit server (or if the success of that server was unrelated).

[sdogg2m]

I think Valve #1 and 2fort Instant Respawn are picking up the dispersed regulars from the three empty servers.

Stopped reading here.

You have also only played sourceop six times since November. So either play more or give solutions that encourage participation because this kind of crap doesn't work.

http://sourceop.gameme.com/playerinfo/222358

[Drunken F00l]

I don't. Instant respawn has been full 24/7 since forever and clearly the IP change on the 2fort server hurt bad. Also, I'm more interested about what you have to say about the content in my 750 word essay -- not the pretty pictures.

Here's a helpful graph showing the instant respawn server's player history for the last year and a half:

[Butane]

I'm glad I'm from valvemaps1; non of this whiny nonsense shit; will try to hop on 2 tho then to help I guess.
I think LMA is admin on arena so why not valvemaps1 then if ppl want more admins their (as long as nominating myself is not allowed :wink: ).
I don't personally like autoscramble due to it hurts teamwork but meh.
More subforums for each server is dumb, we already have an all inclusive one and it barley gets 1 new post a day. Also flame bucket is needed badly to vent for w/e reason bout anything, In-fact the flame bucket has had some interesting reads as of late.
Edit: nm

[moralhazard]

You have also only played sourceop six times since November. So either play more or give solutions that encourage participation because this kind of crap doesn't work.

With no plans to come back anytime soon; I don't have much spare time these days, and don't know why I'd want to spend that small amount of free time playing on servers full of stackers and angry drunks who rarely use their mics for anything other than shit-talking or complaining. The only server that has even a modicum of decent players is Valve Maps 1, but it's always full of subscribers so having a reserved slot is useless.

The fact of the matter is that TF2 has been out for three years and there are tons of other games out there that people enjoy playing. The overall playerbase is decreasing, with people angrily leaving over things like hats and new game modes faster than new people are joining.

SourceOP servers are some of the only ones out there that don't have ridiculous sound clips or the ability to manipulate gameplay if you donate enough money, but even with that appeal they aren't fully populated all the time. Servers need to be cut, the few regulars from those cut servers will try to find another home but then realize SourceOP is pretty much the best you're going to find when it comes to vanilla servers and end up becoming regulars on the ones that weren't cut.

The servers themselves, as they are set up, aren't much of the problem; it's the people you have to suffer through interacting with in order to play a social shooter that are driving down the popularity, and there's nothing DF can code to cure stupid.

My opinion is not invalid just because I haven't played recently; I have played on SourceOP servers almost exclusively for the entire time I've owned the game. Perhaps you shouldn't preach about building community in one breath and be an asshole to other members of the community in the next.

[sdogg2m]

MoralHazard - I wasn't being an asshole. I seriously think those who complain the most about team stacking are a vocal minority and don't play the servers much. You have eight days on the server and haven't played regularly in two months thus proving me right on both counts. The auto-scramble feature is turning off regulars.

I wish your first post would have been to help the community rather than telling us why you stopped reading. Your second post was a bit better. Perhaps its a pipe dream to think a community can be grown with a three year old game.

----------------------------------------

I will admit goldrush and the other servers on that box (vm2, arena, prophunt) are suffering from lag issues... It could be solved by throwing more hardware at the problem, but remember, this box was once good at running TF2.

Solution #1 More Hardware
The cost to update the Xeon 3210 server (GR, Valve, Arena, Prop) to a similar box as Valve #1 is $269/month. Of course this is you go with the same server provider and you get a discount. I have no doubt in my mind that this will not happen until revenue picks back up. The server will take a hit if the IP changes but the community can rebound if the server is experiencing less lag and lower latency.

Solution #2 Bug Valve

Something not entirely out of the question. They do often respond to their community. They are slowly optimizing the game. I am not entirely sure who to contact with this but I am willing to (e-mail or phone). The only other option is to create a thread on the steam forums. I was puzzled by the warning that suddenly popped up about TF2 being intended for 24 players. Just about every server that was popular at the time hosted more than 24 players.

That server lost of all the late-night players because most of them were foreigners and probably didn't know good English and missed out on the memo that the server was changing IP.

A server in Dallas is going to be at a competitive disadvantage for a euro-player. I haven't a clue how to get them back. I wonder too if this is a major issue because the servers do fill up during the nights when American gamers are home from work or school. They empty out after 2AM. Someone brought it to my attention that better euro servers are popping up.

The lag spikes (the half second or so of unresponsiveness) are something I need to investigate more, but I suspect they have to do with slow disk access when flushing logs and reading player sprays.

Converting the servers to SV_PURE 2 servers would get rid of the sprays. I actually disabled mine over a year ago. If removing the sprays would diminish some of the load on the server then I think people would be willing to give up their sprays for a lag free TF2 experience.

All that said, keep in mind some people just don't know what the hell they're talking about. Walk into any pub at any time and ask if anybody else is getting lag too. Somebody always says "yes."

A single incident or a problem existing for a short period of time is one thing. The lag problems are consistent. People will only put up with it for so long.

In response to your points about community growth, yes there are definitely some improvements that could be made. I don't have the time to run 400 events... free to recommend somebody (just don't recommend yourself -- asshole).

You have admin tasks you have to complete. I am sure some of them get on your nerves. Start with small tasks in the hands of noteworthy people. If they don't screw it up then increase their workload.

I would recommend pfrog as a new 2fort admin. Nipsy Russell as a Gold Rush admin. SighCommander as a second Valve Maps admin. These are responsible adults who take server rules seriously, play the servers a lot, and I doubt would be abusive with admin rights. Sunkistadora's group is sourceops largest and she does promotions. Maybe she could do a few for sourceop? Please, before I get laughed out of the water, these are only recommendations, someone is bound to have BETTER ideas.

If I make separate forums for each individual server, how is that going to help? I foresee about one post per week in each. It's not helpful that people don't recognize the website for the SourceOP.com server they are playing on is SourceOP.com. Maybe that's my fault? Though I don't see how...

What is the point of any sub-forum? Keeps the forums from getting cluttered. I have no doubt no one from Valve #1 cares to read me dissect the different strategies for winning on the three Gold Rush maps. I don't post Gold Rush specific discussion for just that reason alone. Promoting the individual communities will increase the overall community. No opportunity for that exists currently. I could be way off base here by my thinking is GROWING the community not doing the same things that I see causing the servers to die off in six months. The new sub-forums will grow slowly at first but does it really matter if each forum only has one or two posts? This is just an idea. I am not saying any one of my ideas must be accepted but what I would love to see is all the servers full 24/7 again with less lag.

What's wrong with the Flame Bucket? None of the threads there are flames at community members.

I guess it's a way for people to blow off steam but there is always a limit. Nothing is truly "anything goes" and there was some question as to its necessity to begin with. Flaming turns people away or keeps them from signing up in the first place. I guess this is more of a personal preference. I see a positive environment fostering chatter about the game promoting growth as opposed to flaming anything. This has nothing to do with keeping the servers full.


Other ideas were mentioned such as removing the least popular maps from Valve #1. Making a best of maps server. Converting the Gold Rush server into a Payload server.

-----

Hell-met is correct here. Part of the reason the goldrush server has had a steep decline in players is because of the regulars' incessant whining. What attracts players more? A group of players having a light conversation over voice chat and participating in team work (see Valve maps 1) or a server full of people who aren't communicating and on the offchance they do are bitching about how terrible their team is or how there aren't enough fucking people on the cart or how there are too many fucking snipers or how they hate how stacked the teams are right now or how auto scramble sucks balls.

I read this twice because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My guess is people are coming to you complaining on a consistent basis? If they are Gold Rush regulars then they have done it in confidence. I don't know what to say: I HATE LOSING. The server pits two teams against each other, it's supposed to be a competitive game. Certain strategies work and thus I "ask" (and believe me I do ask) people to change. No one has come to me or someone with a similar personality and said, "YOU are the reason why this server is dying and why I don't play here anymore."

[moralhazard]

The auto-scramble feature is turning off regulars.

Regulars who stack onto the rape train are the reason nobody else becomes a regular. You can only get rolled so many times before you find a new home.

That and the regulars who establish some false hierarchy based upon who's been here the longest and therefore has the biggest dick will be the downfall of SourceOP.