A Competitive Pub Server

|DFA| Havoc|DFA| Havoc Join Date: 2009-08-07 Member: 68375Members, Reinforced - Shadow
The DFA community came together and funded the purchase of brand new overclocked and watercooled i5 machine several months ago, and right now there is a significant amount of headroom left in the under-utilized hardware.

I frequently see comp level players defending their choice to stomp rookie servers, saying there is nowhere better for them to play, nowhere they can play against other competitive players and be challenged. To that end, we are now hosting another server with the explicit intention of creating a haven for the best of the (North American) NS2 playerbase to pub at an elevated level.

The caveat, and this is true of any server or community, is that it will require people who are willing to seed in order to succeed. The casual rookie friendly DFA server doesn't fill unless seeded either, so you will have to take some small measure of responsibility / ownership in order for this to work. Add other competitive players to your friend list, join the server and throw out invites, then be patient. It doesn't generally take very long, and the more people who get behind the idea, the more successful it will be.

The server is currently named 'Elite NS2 - No Noobs' and it's set up with the ENSL maps and mods, with a 12 player cap. The hardware can easily handle double that, but this is the number I assume is preferable based on tournament match and scrim sizes. Admin privileges will be handed out to trusted comp players as needed. DFA will not be moderating, we are simply providing the hardware / service, and we can make whatever tweaks or add whichever mods are required or requested by the competitive community. This is your server, and we will shape it to fit your needs.

This is your chance to play a better class of pub game, to challenge and improve yourself against others of the same skill, to get out of the kiddie pool. No more hackusations or getting banned for being too good, no having to worry about the server emptying out when the casuals get tired of being dominated, no more commander fail holding you back. By the same token, I should expect not to see any comp level players stomping around in rookie friendly servers as long as there are spots open on this one. Time to put your money where your mouth is. :P

The IP Address is: 71.201.65.186:27017


Enjoy!
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Comments

  • PaLaGiPaLaGi Join Date: 2008-01-03 Member: 63331Members, Constellation
    edited August 2013
    I would suggest upping the player count to 16 since it's still a pub setting and you need the extra slots to keep the game going as people leave, etc. Other than that, I will try it out.

    Edit: also i see it is on ns2_summit right now. Maybe change the map rotation to use the nsl versions instead.
  • dePARAdePARA Join Date: 2011-04-29 Member: 96321Members, Squad Five Blue
    Why are nsl maps needed on an pub setting?
  • ColtColtColtColt Join Date: 2012-06-27 Member: 153707Members
    I would also advise upping the player count to 16 or 18; even if you encourage competitive players to flock to the server, it's still an unorganized pub and ultimately regardless of the base skill level, will require people to constantly leave/join. At 12 players you're hosting a potential scrim server (even those run 14/16/18 for spectators etc), and if you actually get a good base of comp players hanging out regularly, some people like to spec and observe other players.

    Other than that, great idea. Good initiative. I wonder if there's actually still enough NA comp players to fill up pubs on a nightly basis.

    +1
    -Colt
  • GrissiGrissi Join Date: 2003-08-28 Member: 20314Members, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    dePARA wrote: »
    Why are nsl maps needed on an pub setting?

    The extra fps you gain from playing the nsl maps is huge. The nsl maps make the gameplay experience much better for that reason.
  • SammyGSammyG England Join Date: 2013-05-07 Member: 185160Members, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    other than the name of the server there is not much stopping rookies joining. Perhaps putting a password on the server and revealing it on here and ENSL forums. Could even do a password rotation each day/week. I think this would atleast thin out the number of rookies you get joining but ofcourse some will read these forums.
    Just an idea.
  • joshhhjoshhh Milwaukee, WI Join Date: 2011-06-21 Member: 105717Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester
    edited August 2013
    Entire NA scene might fit on that server! lol

    Also, not enough people read the ENSL or UWE forums to justify applying a password the server. I believe All-In did this months ago and it lasted for about a few weeks. The problem is populating it.
  • current1ycurrent1y Join Date: 2003-12-08 Member: 24150Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester
    Yep. It was semi successfull in all-in but none of us wanted to take the time to populate it. I would also suggest bumping the player slots. 12 is too small to keep full. If 1 person leaves mid game it's basically gg. Plus in 6v6 games if you throw in a random pubber or 2 which is very possible quite frankly I would rather go farm kills on a 24 player pub with a welder then be try harding it in a 6v6 game with people who don't know what they are doing.
  • DGKHaploDGKHaplo Join Date: 2002-12-22 Member: 11324Members, Constellation
    Hello, I'm the DFA server host. Per the suggestions above I've loaded all the NSL maps and configs. The player count has been upped to 18. Map changes will occur via a map vote instead of a time limit, of course someone with admin could also force change the map. You can contact me via steam for any server related issues - http://steamcommunity.com/id/dfahaplo/

  • RoobubbaRoobubba Who you gonna call? Join Date: 2003-01-06 Member: 11930Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    I think this is a great idea, and a generous one from you DFA folks. I'm an EU player, but as you know havoc I enjoy joining your server when I can. Sounds like you've already made the changes people have suggested here, so that's cool. I'd definitely like to play with/against better players when pubbing, as it's a great way to improve, so I'll be checking it out when I can next play :)
  • fanaticfanatic This post has been edited. Join Date: 2003-07-23 Member: 18377Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
    This has been tried a million times before and never succeeds. Sorry to burst your bubble.
  • ColtColtColtColt Join Date: 2012-06-27 Member: 153707Members
    It's a very respectable initiative, as it has always been. I think the issue's always been that the scene is just too small to actually support this kind of environment... especially here in the NA.
  • fanaticfanatic This post has been edited. Join Date: 2003-07-23 Member: 18377Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
    Don't get me wrong, I appreciate any and all effort for the community, but I've been around long enough, and seen enough initiatives like this fail, to know that this is a waste of time for the people involved.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
    edited August 2013
    I want more of these, but more generally Fana is right. It absolutely won't pan out as well as hoped.

    I suggest making it 18 slots with 4 reserved slots and let anyone who is signed up for ENSL on a team or some other similar condition use those slots. DO NOT kick players who are already playing. Just make it so they can't join unless there's less than the 14, but that list of players can.

    edit: Add Custom Hud plz
  • joshhhjoshhh Milwaukee, WI Join Date: 2011-06-21 Member: 105717Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester
    edited August 2013
    Let's not pollute the only designated 'skilled NA server' with reserved slots. I get enough of that pubbing already.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
    joshhh wrote: »
    Let's not pollute the only designated 'skilled NA server' with reserved slots. I get enough of that pubbing already.

    OK, let's let it fail instead
  • |DFA| Havoc|DFA| Havoc Join Date: 2009-08-07 Member: 68375Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    current1y wrote: »
    Yep. It was semi successfull in all-in but none of us wanted to take the time to populate it.

    Honestly, I'm not very optimistic that it will succeed, for this very reason. Even if would yield a better class of game and a better experience overall, my experience is that most skilled/comp players would rather just immediately join a populated rookie server than put any effort into seeding.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment

    So, my bubble has not been burst. However, I feel that even if it has a small chance to succeed, it is worth it to try and to support it in any way I can, for the betterment of the community. Continuing as we have been just yields frustration all around.

    We will not be adding a password or reserved slots to the server, we want there to be as few obstacles to joining the server as possible. I think the 'rookies joining' problem will be marginal at best, and in most cases should resolve itself - most rookies don't like playing on a server where they get reamed inside out. Reserved slots are counter-intuitive to the largest problem we are facing here, which is that we need to populate the server, not worry about overpopulation and preferential treatment. If we do somehow end up with a problem of there being too many people wanting to play, we will simply host another server.
  • |DFA| Havoc|DFA| Havoc Join Date: 2009-08-07 Member: 68375Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Also, thank you to everyone who is posting constructive feedback!
  • ColtColtColtColt Join Date: 2012-06-27 Member: 153707Members
    Even if would yield a better class of game and a better experience overall, my experience is that most skilled/comp players would rather just immediately join a populated rookie server than put any effort into seeding.

    I agree with this concept except that I feel it's a little unfair/myopic to say it only applies to the comp players. Nobody 'wants' to seed/populate. The only servers that regularly get that treatment as far as I can see is KKG, and that's because the community leadership/administrators do daily, concerted efforts to spam-invite community members and try to get a large audience of seeders on a hugely regular basis.

    Everyone who wants to play the game would rather join a populated server.
    The only people who 'want' to seed are server operators and people with a large number of friends wanting to join.

    For the rest of everyone (comp players included) it's an inconvenient timesink to get a game going, and there's no difference between comp and casuals in regards to time constraints on gaming. If I only have 40 minutes to play, it's not going to be spent seeding a 0/18 game. It's going to be hopping into a 23/24 game and blasting some folks away.

    *Shrug*
    Just my two cents on your statement there.

    -Colt
  • Mattk50Mattk50 Join Date: 2013-02-04 Member: 182824Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    the most skilled players i've found and the closest games have been in rookie servers with titles like "newbies only"

    its the weirdest thing.
  • |DFA| Havoc|DFA| Havoc Join Date: 2009-08-07 Member: 68375Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    @ColtColt

    Well, that's fair to say, but the difference as I see it is that it doesn't really matter if the majority of the playerbase just piles into servers at random, but the highly skilled have a tendency to destroy balance wherever they go. Having elevated themselves above the teeming masses, it requires a little more effort to find an adequate challenge. The idea is the greater effort yields a greater reward, and everyone is happier as a result.

    Everyone talks about how great it would be to have a matchmaking system, as many other successful games have, but the size of the community makes it untenable. We can attempt to produce the results on our own with a little work and discipline though. We're providing everything we can to make this happen, we just need people to get on board. The more comp players support the idea, the less individual effort will be required.
  • joshhhjoshhh Milwaukee, WI Join Date: 2011-06-21 Member: 105717Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester
    I don't think anyone is against the idea... just skeptical on the results. I favorited your server but the last few times I looked it was empty. Like Colt stated earlier, most of us won't populate a server.
  • SamusDroidSamusDroid Colorado Join Date: 2013-05-13 Member: 185219Members, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Gold, Subnautica Playtester, NS2 Community Developer, Pistachionauts
    edited August 2013
    Well, what if there was a set time each day where people jump in and play a few competitive rounds. Obviously not everyone can play at the same time, but if you said like 1 sessions will start at 8PM Central time in NM and another at 8PM Europe time. Might make it a little better than just random trying to play. Could even make a Steam group for it or something and post announcements about it when someone wants to populate the server. Tough issue indeed.
  • ritualsacrificeritualsacrifice Join Date: 2012-11-14 Member: 171148Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    SamusDroid wrote: »
    Well, what if there was a set time each day where people jump in and play a few competitive rounds. Obviously not everyone can play at the same time, but if you said like 1 sessions will start at 8PM Central time in NM and another at 8PM Europe time. Might make it a little better than just random trying to play. Could even make a Steam group for it or something and post announcements about it when someone wants to populate the server. Tough issue indeed.

    You mean like the reddit pugs that usually happen 4-5 times a day?

  • simbasimba Join Date: 2012-05-06 Member: 151628Members
    i'll be sure this server is on my favorites and i'll work to seed it whenever I am trying to play.
  • SyknikSyknik InversionNS2.com Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 2064Members, Constellation, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow
    The only issue i've seen is that people who think they're good... really aren't that good at all and yet they begin to complain on the server about 'stacked' teams. -_-
  • NordicNordic Long term camping in Kodiak Join Date: 2012-05-13 Member: 151995Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    I saw this thread, then saw the server had people. So I joined. I am not in that upper end of skill, more mid end, but I had a blast. It was nice to play with people better than myself.
  • fanaticfanatic This post has been edited. Join Date: 2003-07-23 Member: 18377Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
    I was actually considering joining this today, since it seemed to be seeded, but 240 ping... Unplayable for eu players unfortunately.
  • kalakujakalakuja Join Date: 2012-09-11 Member: 159045Members, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter
    high ping and decent players :
  • SyknikSyknik InversionNS2.com Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 2064Members, Constellation, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow
    I had a pretty upsetting couple of games where people were definitely not up to part with the server. I understand that not everyone who joins is going to be a top tier player, but if you join the server don't start complaining about how other players on your team suck, when you're 5:26.

    Only thing to really mention, remove Docking and Mineshaft from the rotation.
  • current1ycurrent1y Join Date: 2003-12-08 Member: 24150Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester
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