That's why I'm not playing it and I'm playing Chivalry! Awesome game, big population.
Chivalry no offense to that dev team(hope they continue to make games) is absolute garbage, I've never uninstalled a game so quickly (yes I have)
The game even has an fps cap so you can't hit 120fps.. I had to go into random config files to try and turn it off and then got it uncapped from 60 fps to 90 fps (lol) not to mention the movement/collision was terrible.. among other things
It's proof that modern day gaming is all about that instant gratification moron fest
OP is pretty much convinced in their infallibility regarding this situation and obviously doesn't believe in action on their own behalf. If I'm ever getting wayyy up there in kills and not so much in deaths then I usually gorge it up (or just leave, kills are fun but a challenge appeals to me more) . It's this disgusting selfish behavior that kills matches, and ultimately the player count. As aware of the issue as OP claims to be (and of the veritable lack thereof of action on the part of UWE) this post leaves a really bad taste in the mouth of the community. If you truly care for the game and it's future well-being I highly suggest you rethink your argument.
Solution:
- Increase rookie hour from 4 to XX (desired amount).
- Rookies remain in rookie server
Now was that so hard to understand?
And yes you got that right.
This suggestion serves no purpose whatsoever. If you move all greens to rookie servers, it'll be even easier for killwhoring asswipes to identify new players and tear rookies a new one.
In summary, killwhoring elitist asswipes will always make sure the population remains low. Since NS2 has no matchmaking by tracked stats, I doubt that will ever change.
Now was that so hard to understand?
tl;dr even thuogh this suggestion does nothing for the rookies, I will pretend like I am posting on their behalf so they will get off "my" server(s).
Edit: Forgot to put the quotation around "my," since apparently some people are more entitled to play NS2 than others.
"Killwhoring elitist asswipes" will exist regardless of whether or not my proposed solution is implemented. All I'm saying is, we can at least REDUCE the amount of rookies being turned off by "good players" who rape the charts in KD ratio. Douchebags will ALWAYS join the rookie friendly servers to bring their ego up and own noobs. They don't go to normal servers to own noobs, hence the phrase douchebag. Just because all rookies are subject to be in the rookie server doesn't mean the douchebags will disappear more or less, if that makes sense. At least it will prevent people like ME and others who wish to play on normal servers the chance to not shit on these rookies. Every solution has flaws and holes but at least it's a start.
OP is pretty much convinced in their infallibility regarding this situation and obviously doesn't believe in action on their own behalf. If I'm ever getting wayyy up there in kills and not so much in deaths then I usually gorge it up (or just leave, kills are fun but a challenge appeals to me more) . It's this disgusting selfish behavior that kills matches, and ultimately the player count. As aware of the issue as OP claims to be (and of the veritable lack thereof of action on the part of UWE) this post leaves a really bad taste in the mouth of the community. If you truly care for the game and it's future well-being I highly suggest you rethink your argument.
I hope you understand that this problem is bigger than me or you. If I decide to lick the @sshole of every cocksucker on this planet just so they can have a better time on this Earth, it still won't change the fact that EVERYONE else will still remain static and to their own usual ways. There are TONS of players who "possess" the skill to ruin a game, trust me. And most of them won't lower their "gaming abilities" every time NS2 is bombarded with new players. <- That is incredibly simple to understand.
THUS I'm trying to propose a bigger solution to a bigger problem. Telling me to play or act a certain way won't change the fact that new players are still leaving NS2 at an incredible pace. Sure, me being nice to all the rookies may cause a miniscule change for the better but I don't see how it will solve the big picture.
Douchebags will ALWAYS join the rookie friendly servers to bring their ego up and own noobs. They don't go to normal servers to own noobs, hence the phrase douchebag.
Exactly, so you are fully aware of the fact that your solution puts a douchebag magnet on every green server on the server list. Do you honestly believe this is a viable solution for new players? There is a reason WHY a majority of green players starts joining a normal server after a new match. If you force them to play with the same elitist killwhoring assholes they joined a regular server to avoid, what do you think will happen to the player base?
dePARAJoin Date: 2011-04-29Member: 96321Members, Squad Five Blue
We have an ladder system running on our server since a few month. Its very simple (scorebased) and you can see your rank on the scoreboard.
Some might saying "bah, this is useless stuff"
But im using this system to give our regular players an passworded server and only players with an ingame rank can play on this server atm.
I hope some reading this and start to use the server as it was not nessesary to use it before summersale.
You can join direct via password or via serverswitch button (only ranked players have this button)
The minimal score to get an rank is around 2500 points now.
An veteran can get this within a few games but a rookie had to play 30 rounds maybe? Dont know, but more than 4 hrs for sure.
This rank tells nothing about skill/aim or whatever. But it represents the game awareness a bit.
Its interisting to see that the games on my server getting better and better the more high ranks are on the server.
Ok, here are my suggestions about the current situation:
Rookie server should not use NS2stats (im sure many players using this servers for statspadding now)
We need servers for advanced players (pro player in the servername isnt enough cause rookies join anyway)
In the end both sides (rookies and advanced/pro) have a better gameexpirience.
I remember some balance-mod games where i want to run around to learn the new movement snd gamemechanics only to get slaughtered by the BT Veterans. It was so frustrating.
We have the same situation right now and im sure many stop playing right from the start after getting slaugtered a few rounds.
ENSL gather is not a real alternative for me btw as it could took ages to fill one.
Douchebags will ALWAYS join the rookie friendly servers to bring their ego up and own noobs. They don't go to normal servers to own noobs, hence the phrase douchebag.
Exactly, so you are fully aware of the fact that your solution puts a douchebag magnet on every green server on the server list. Do you honestly believe this is a viable solution for new players? There is a reason WHY a majority of green players starts joining a normal server after a new match. If you force them to play with the same elitist killwhoring assholes they joined a regular server to avoid, what do you think will happen to the player base?
? What are you talking about? LOL
Douchebags will always go to rookie server, regardless of my solution?
The green "rookie-friendly" server clearly being advertised in the filter menu is the magnet itself.
@ssholes will still go to the rookie server to troll and boost their ego for the obvious reason that ROOKIES will be present!? <--
We have an ladder system running on our server since a few month. Its very simple (scorebased) and you can see your rank on the scoreboard.
Some might saying "bah, this is useless stuff"
But im using this system to give our regular players an passworded server and only players with an ingame rank can play on this server atm.
I hope some reading this and start to use the server as it was not nessesary to use it before summersale.
You can join direct via password or via serverswitch button (only ranked players have this button)
The minimal score to get an rank is around 2500 points now.
An veteran can get this within a few games but a rookie had to play 30 rounds maybe? Dont know, but more than 4 hrs for sure.
This rank tells nothing about skill/aim or whatever. But it represents the game awareness a bit.
Its interisting to see that the games on my server getting better and better the more high ranks are on the server.
Ok, here are my suggestions about the current situation:
Rookie server should not use NS2stats (im sure many players using this servers for statspadding now)
We need servers for advanced players (pro player in the servername isnt enough cause rookies join anyway)
In the end both sides (rookies and advanced/pro) have a better gameexpirience.
I remember some balance-mod games where i want to run around to learn the new movement snd gamemechanics only to get slaughtered by the BT Veterans. It was so frustrating.
We have the same situation right now and im sure many stop playing right from the start after getting slaugtered a few rounds.
ENSL gather is not a real alternative for me btw as it could took ages to fill one.
What server are you talking about and where would you rank up? This is interesting.
Douchebags will ALWAYS join the rookie friendly servers to bring their ego up and own noobs. They don't go to normal servers to own noobs, hence the phrase douchebag.
Exactly, so you are fully aware of the fact that your solution puts a douchebag magnet on every green server on the server list. Do you honestly believe this is a viable solution for new players? There is a reason WHY a majority of green players starts joining a normal server after a new match. If you force them to play with the same elitist killwhoring assholes they joined a regular server to avoid, what do you think will happen to the player base?
? What are you talking about? LOL
Douchebags will always go to rookie server, regardless of my solution?
The green "rookie-friendly" server clearly being advertised in the filter menu is the magnet itself.
@ssholes will still go to the rookie server to troll and boost their ego for the obvious reason that ROOKIES will be present!? <--
Since someone is lacking a little critical thinking and comprehension skills, let me break this down into a few simple steps. Everyone loves those.
1. By your own admission, assholes will always go to green servers.
2. By your suggestion, you are forcing rookies to play on green servers.
3. Rookies can no longer join normal servers free of trolls.
4. ???
1. Because normal servers are obviously more rookie friendly right? Normal servers must imply "Rookie Friendly!" simply because they are free of trolls! <- Which ain't even the case.
2. I'd honestly deal with trolls in rookie servers than pros who WILL rape you downright in normal servers if I was a first time NS2 player. Most of the time, people who "troll" or seek ego boost are not very good at all in the first place.
3. ???
edit: Anyways, I'm done arguing with you. You can keep thinking however you like and I'll keep doing what I do because it's obvious neither of us will come to a compromise. So I'll be the bigger man here and say you "win". Either way, this is for UWE to decide and worry about.
I'd like to end with a single word, and it comes to the heart of the issue, and how NS2 is supposed to be played. If you can't understand that, or "do" it because it's "below you", then you're not really getting the idea - so perhaps COD or CS is a more suitable type of game for you.
Just a little sidenote about the rage-quits. I think that NS2 should block the Esc-menu for a couple of seconds after you die. Battlefield 3 do this. It reduced the rage-quits with up to 30% according to a friend of mine who work for DICE i Stockholm as a game designer.
I agree with Shinigami completely, hell i said all this too more than a few times over the past few months but nothing has changed or improved.
The developers (as awesome as the work they have done so far) seem to have their heads in the clouds now, focusing more effort getting a female marine model into the game than making urgently needed rookie improvements into the game.
After the balanced disaster 'improvements' of 250, me and my friends have decided to take a break from NS2 and wait for the next major update, new map etc to see if things finally improve.
Also waiting for Marine vs Marine mod but i think all the drastic game play changes in the recent builds have continously delayed it which is a shame because the aliens still suck, now more tha ever.
250 made alien commanding twice as difficult for new people to learn than previous builds did and at the same time dumbed down the marine commander experience to the point where there's not much to research or do and as a result has become boring.
Build 250 turned out worse than i imagined.
I think the worst changes was over complicating the alien commander to the point that even when new people do give it ago, they are frightened off from repeating the experience more than ever before leaving lots of games without a willing alien commander and the marines moaning that they have one yet the game ain't starting, after a few days of this on multiple public servers, it was obvious to me that build 250 was a royal screw up.
I just hope the developers finally wake up and listen to the well thought out suggestions that have been lying unacknowledged and ignored on this forum for months and that they make the alien commanding either as simple as they have made the marines now or more intuitive to learn.
I prefer challenging yet intuitive myself, dumbing stuff down isn't the answer in my opinion.
1. Because normal servers are obviously more rookie friendly right? Normal servers must imply "Rookie Friendly!" simply because they are free of trolls! <- Which ain't even the case.
2. I'd honestly deal with trolls in rookie servers than pros who WILL rape you downright in normal servers if I was a first time NS2 player. Most of the time, people who "troll" or seek ego boost are not very good at all in the first place.
3. ???
edit: Anyways, I'm done arguing with you. You can keep thinking however you like and I'll keep doing what I do because it's obvious neither of us will come to a compromise. So I'll be the bigger man here and say you "win". Either way, this is for UWE to decide and worry about.
Except not everyone in regular servers are killwhoring asswipes and some will actually offer helpful suggestions and tips. I know, hard to imagine for some people, but helpful players are out there. In contrast, most experienced players who go to green servers are most certainly trolls.
Since you said you will be the "bigger man" I am assuming you won't reply anymore, which is totally fine, because thus far the majority of your posts can be summed up in a single sentence in my original post:
tl;dr even though this suggestion does nothing for the rookies, I will pretend like I am posting on their behalf so they will get off "my" server(s).
To be honest, I stopped reading this thread after page one. It seemed more like a epeen flaunting thread than anything.
Anyway, even if rookie servers were designated for players with less than X amount of hours, the problem will not be solved. There will still be a large skill gap even in these "non-rookie" servers. UWE acknowledged the problem a long time ago. Since UWE hasn't had the time to fix this yet, how about we help the rookies ourselves?
If a new comm jumps in the chair and is oblivious, ask if he/she needs help. If you see a skulk straight lining the marines on the floor, give him a tip or two. Think about what we, as a community, can do for the new players to make the game more enjoyable. If it wasn't for some friendly, helpful people around back when I learned NS1, I would have quit after a few days. The same applies for NS2. I'm not asking people not to 'try-hard' or whatever you want to call it. Just take a step back once and a while and see how your team is doing.
Just my two cents.
-Josh
P.S. Blink, catch up in borderlands. Golden and Shino already passed me up and started a new game.
If he was stomping noobs on a rookie friendly server, then people criticizing him may have an argument, yet this was on a NON rookie friendly server.
Weve been asking for Rookie ONLY servers since Beta, it makes complete sense, especially when you have steam sales and free weekends ... which quite frankly PISS OFF your established player base because it deteriorates gameplay so much.
1. Because normal servers are obviously more rookie friendly right? Normal servers must imply "Rookie Friendly!" simply because they are free of trolls! <- Which ain't even the case.
2. I'd honestly deal with trolls in rookie servers than pros who WILL rape you downright in normal servers if I was a first time NS2 player. Most of the time, people who "troll" or seek ego boost are not very good at all in the first place.
3. ???
edit: Anyways, I'm done arguing with you. You can keep thinking however you like and I'll keep doing what I do because it's obvious neither of us will come to a compromise. So I'll be the bigger man here and say you "win". Either way, this is for UWE to decide and worry about.
Except not everyone in regular servers are killwhoring asswipes and some will actually offer helpful suggestions and tips. I know, hard to imagine for some people, but helpful players are out there. In contrast, most experienced players who go to green servers are most certainly trolls.
Since you said you will be the "bigger man" I am assuming you won't reply anymore, which is totally fine, because thus far the majority of your posts can be summed up in a single sentence in my original post:
tl;dr even though this suggestion does nothing for the rookies, I will pretend like I am posting on their behalf so they will get off "my" server(s).
If he was stomping noobs on a rookie friendly server, then people criticizing him may have an argument, yet this was on a NON rookie friendly server.
Weve been asking for Rookie ONLY servers since Beta, it makes complete sense, especially when you have steam sales and free weekends ... which quite frankly PISS OFF your established player base because it deteriorates gameplay so much.
Who's gonna comm the rookies? what happens when rookie comms leave green status and join a non rookie server ... and think they have to build turret factories everywhere, with macs, because they are used to playing against aliens who cant find their arse with both hands and the light on?
I guess the point i am making is that rookies will only ever be rookies if they learn from more experienced players, but that learning time needs to be fun and not onerous.
First wash car, then wax. Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out of mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important. [walks away, still making circular motions with hands] Wax on... wax off. Wax on... wax off.
Who's gonna comm the rookies? what happens when rookie comms leave green status and join a non rookie server ... and think they have to build turret factories everywhere, with macs, because they are used to playing against aliens who cant find their arse with both hands and the light on?
I guess the point i am making is that rookies will only ever be rookies if they learn from more experienced players, but that learning time needs to be fun and not onerous.
First wash car, then wax. Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out of mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important. [walks away, still making circular motions with hands] Wax on... wax off. Wax on... wax off.
They will learn like everyone else did before
Do you think that there was anyone to teach us vets who played NS1 from day 1 ???? How on earth did we ever manage ? Dont you find it odd that when NS1 came out ... and everyone were rookies .... why did we have such a high player retention ? Most of the players who i played with from day 1 were still around a year later. Having 'experts' command and not allowing new players a chance to learn, wheres the logic in that ? Learning is a trial and error process, and what better place for rookies to learn commanding, than a rookie only server where they can make mistakes and not get bombarded by complaints ?
When you have a server with 16 or more rookies with 2 rookie comms ... nobody is gonna be barking orders or be too focused on winning, the entire focus will be on learning the aspects of the game, enjoying the atmospherics and having fun.
You want to ease people into the game, if you hit them with hardcore gameplay, must win, must not make mistakes attitudes... straight off the bat .... its no wonder that player retention is so low, your chasing players away. New players should experience the good parts about the game first, not the bad parts, first impressions are everything, they need to learn the mechanics in a low pressure environment (and btw, nobody learns from tutorial videos, they learn from doing, not seeing),
Rookie only servers are the PERFECT learning environment to ease new players into the game, with low expectations, low difficulty, low pressure, low stress, super casual, all the rookies have to do if have fun. We need to allow them to discover what they enjoy about the game, after that they will probably see a reason to stick around rather than walk away thinking "its not worth putting in the time to learn that game" the minute they get frustrated.
Who's gonna comm the rookies? what happens when rookie comms leave green status and join a non rookie server ... and think they have to build turret factories everywhere, with macs, because they are used to playing against aliens who cant find their arse with both hands and the light on?
I guess the point i am making is that rookies will only ever be rookies if they learn from more experienced players, but that learning time needs to be fun and not onerous.
First wash car, then wax. Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out of mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important. [walks away, still making circular motions with hands] Wax on... wax off. Wax on... wax off.
They will learn like everyone else did before
Do you think that there was anyone to teach us vets who played NS1 from day 1 ???? How on earth did we ever manage ? Dont you find it odd that when NS1 came out ... and everyone were rookies .... why did we have such a high player retention ? Most of the players who i played with from day 1 were still around a year later. Having 'experts' command and not allowing new players a chance to learn, wheres the logic in that ? Learning is a trial and error process, and what better place for rookies to learn commanding, than a rookie only server where they can make mistakes and not get bombarded by complaints ?
When you have a server with 16 or more rookies with 2 rookie comms ... nobody is gonna be barking orders or be too focused on winning, the entire focus will be on learning the aspects of the game, enjoying the atmospherics and having fun.
You want to ease people into the game, if you hit them with hardcore gameplay, must win, must not make mistakes attitudes... straight off the bat .... its no wonder that player retention is so low, your chasing players away. New players should experience the good parts about the game first, not the bad parts, first impressions are everything, they need to learn the mechanics in a low pressure environment (and btw, nobody learns from tutorial videos, they learn from doing, not seeing),
Rookie only servers are the PERFECT learning environment to ease new players into the game, with low expectations, low difficulty, low pressure, low stress, super casual, all the rookies have to do if have fun. We need to allow them to discover what they enjoy about the game, after that they will probably see a reason to stick around rather than walk away thinking "its not worth putting in the time to learn that game" the minute they get frustrated.
Here it is in a simple, logical step-wise explanation:
1. Rookies get stomped on non-rookie servers
2. No matter what, there is the potential for 90% players in any game to get stomped.
3. The particular problem with NS2 is the steep learning curve
4. Make rookie status last 50 hours (for argument's sake) and sure that it is only possible for rookies to play on rookie servers.
5. This is the OBJECTIVELY OPTIMAL method to ensure that the number of new players getting stomped is circumvented to the greatest degree.
Does this mean stomps cannot occur? Of course not. But will it reduce the frequency? Yes.
There are two counter arguments:
1. This splits the community.
2. Rookies need direction from non-rookies.
To answer point 1. Yes, it does! So what? Oh? You think there won't be enough servers for you to go on? Are you for real? Player numbers average over 500 - how many of those do you think are rookies? Of COURSE there are enough non-rookies. "BUT BEST WHEN I GO TO MY SERVER BROWSER I ONLY SEE ROOKIE SERVERS WITH PEOPLE ON THEM". Yes and those rookie servers usually have as many non-rookies on them as rookies. Collate them and you'll have over 200 non-rookies.
So point 1 is dealt with.
To answer point 2. The fact is that the first 50 hours exist for people to get the basics. That is what they are for. Think about the ranking systen in CS:GO. Do you want to be thrust in against players with 500 hours in the game? Of course not. You start off at the bottom (with, of course, anomalies of skilled players you may have to play against - probably less than 1 in 50). Rookie status is to understand the gaming mechanics. They'll have trouble when they first come to non-rookie but the point is to make the learning curve more manageable so that once someone has spent a certain number of hours improving, they feel invested in the game, and want to continue.
Now to the criticism of Shinigami. Remember that he was on a non-rookie server. While it is somewhat valid to complain that he was "kill farming" (I have been accused of this in the past as well...), the fact is that he BOUGHT the game and wants to PLAY the game. Phoenix suggested that he go do something else in the meantime then; but that is NOT DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM. You might want to say, "well Shinigami is the problem". He's a minor part of the problem. What about people like me decimating the opposing team? Am I a part of the problem too? What of lots of other players with around 100 hours in the game decimating opposing teams? It's unfair on us to expect us not to play the game for a several days just because of a deluge of rookies. How does one circumvent that? Stick them on rookie only servers.
Now as Shini says, he can also stomp against non-rookies. I can do that too (probably not to the same extent) but I find it MUCH MORE DIFFICULT to do so. While on a rookie server it requires lag to kill me (most of the time), on a non-rookie server, there's a fair chance I will get killed, as an alien, and a guarantee I will get killed at least a couple of times as a marine.
TL:DR - While rookie-only does not eliminate all problems in terms of stomping, it DOES help.
Do you have metastasis causing multiple cancers? Will chemo cure it? No. But it will make it more manageable and allow you to live longer. Just stop and think about it.
TL:DR - While rookie-only does not eliminate all problems in terms of stomping, it DOES help.
Do you have metastasis causing multiple cancers? Will chemo cure it? No. But it will make it more manageable and allow you to live longer. Just stop and think about it.
Help who? It doesn't stop the rookies from being trolled. Placing rookies in their own little world where they circlejerk each other in how to play the game the wrong way isn't going to help them one bit once they step out into the real world. The only people this change will help are those who don't want rookies polluting their servers. Then again this line of thinking is to be expected from the acerbic community of NS2.
Make it more manageable? The only thing chemo will do when you have metastatic cancer is prolong your agony while pointlessly delaying your inevitable death. So you choose to prolong your pain and suffering rather than accepting the inevitable and make peace with it? Just stop and think about it.
May not care about the game nor its players, but at least don't make suggestions purely for your own benefit. If you all want so badly to isolate yourselves from the lifeblood of the community then go make a server for your own use and password it. If you want to live in a bubble then by all means, but don't forcefully isolate a group of people in that bubble solely for your own benefit.
Now we have rookie friendly and not rookie friendly servers. Maybe add option to make rookie ONLY servers also.
In optimal circumstances we would have matchmaking. But that needs a lot of work to be done, if its done at all, and before that rookie only servers could help:
-Veterans and skilled play in normal servers
-You can help rookies in rookie friendly servers
-Rookies can avoid getting stomped and have fun with other rookies in rookie only servers(only players with rookie status can join)
-Rookies can still join any server they want
Also rookie status should last longer. Maybe something like 20-30hours. The lenght cant be a problem when rookies can still turn it off(in the options) while playing on the normal servers to avoid complaining about "rookies".
Comments
Chivalry no offense to that dev team(hope they continue to make games) is absolute garbage, I've never uninstalled a game so quickly (yes I have)
The game even has an fps cap so you can't hit 120fps.. I had to go into random config files to try and turn it off and then got it uncapped from 60 fps to 90 fps (lol) not to mention the movement/collision was terrible.. among other things
It's proof that modern day gaming is all about that instant gratification moron fest
"Killwhoring elitist asswipes" will exist regardless of whether or not my proposed solution is implemented. All I'm saying is, we can at least REDUCE the amount of rookies being turned off by "good players" who rape the charts in KD ratio. Douchebags will ALWAYS join the rookie friendly servers to bring their ego up and own noobs. They don't go to normal servers to own noobs, hence the phrase douchebag. Just because all rookies are subject to be in the rookie server doesn't mean the douchebags will disappear more or less, if that makes sense. At least it will prevent people like ME and others who wish to play on normal servers the chance to not shit on these rookies. Every solution has flaws and holes but at least it's a start.
I hope you understand that this problem is bigger than me or you. If I decide to lick the @sshole of every cocksucker on this planet just so they can have a better time on this Earth, it still won't change the fact that EVERYONE else will still remain static and to their own usual ways. There are TONS of players who "possess" the skill to ruin a game, trust me. And most of them won't lower their "gaming abilities" every time NS2 is bombarded with new players. <- That is incredibly simple to understand.
THUS I'm trying to propose a bigger solution to a bigger problem. Telling me to play or act a certain way won't change the fact that new players are still leaving NS2 at an incredible pace. Sure, me being nice to all the rookies may cause a miniscule change for the better but I don't see how it will solve the big picture.
Exactly, so you are fully aware of the fact that your solution puts a douchebag magnet on every green server on the server list. Do you honestly believe this is a viable solution for new players? There is a reason WHY a majority of green players starts joining a normal server after a new match. If you force them to play with the same elitist killwhoring assholes they joined a regular server to avoid, what do you think will happen to the player base?
Some might saying "bah, this is useless stuff"
But im using this system to give our regular players an passworded server and only players with an ingame rank can play on this server atm.
I hope some reading this and start to use the server as it was not nessesary to use it before summersale.
You can join direct via password or via serverswitch button (only ranked players have this button)
The minimal score to get an rank is around 2500 points now.
An veteran can get this within a few games but a rookie had to play 30 rounds maybe? Dont know, but more than 4 hrs for sure.
This rank tells nothing about skill/aim or whatever. But it represents the game awareness a bit.
Its interisting to see that the games on my server getting better and better the more high ranks are on the server.
Ok, here are my suggestions about the current situation:
Rookie server should not use NS2stats (im sure many players using this servers for statspadding now)
We need servers for advanced players (pro player in the servername isnt enough cause rookies join anyway)
In the end both sides (rookies and advanced/pro) have a better gameexpirience.
I remember some balance-mod games where i want to run around to learn the new movement snd gamemechanics only to get slaughtered by the BT Veterans. It was so frustrating.
We have the same situation right now and im sure many stop playing right from the start after getting slaugtered a few rounds.
ENSL gather is not a real alternative for me btw as it could took ages to fill one.
Douchebags will always go to rookie server, regardless of my solution?
The green "rookie-friendly" server clearly being advertised in the filter menu is the magnet itself.
@ssholes will still go to the rookie server to troll and boost their ego for the obvious reason that ROOKIES will be present!? <--
Since someone is lacking a little critical thinking and comprehension skills, let me break this down into a few simple steps. Everyone loves those.
1. By your own admission, assholes will always go to green servers.
2. By your suggestion, you are forcing rookies to play on green servers.
3. Rookies can no longer join normal servers free of trolls.
4. ???
2. I'd honestly deal with trolls in rookie servers than pros who WILL rape you downright in normal servers if I was a first time NS2 player. Most of the time, people who "troll" or seek ego boost are not very good at all in the first place.
3. ???
edit: Anyways, I'm done arguing with you. You can keep thinking however you like and I'll keep doing what I do because it's obvious neither of us will come to a compromise. So I'll be the bigger man here and say you "win". Either way, this is for UWE to decide and worry about.
TEAMWORK
The developers (as awesome as the work they have done so far) seem to have their heads in the clouds now, focusing more effort getting a female marine model into the game than making urgently needed rookie improvements into the game.
After the balanced disaster 'improvements' of 250, me and my friends have decided to take a break from NS2 and wait for the next major update, new map etc to see if things finally improve.
Also waiting for Marine vs Marine mod but i think all the drastic game play changes in the recent builds have continously delayed it which is a shame because the aliens still suck, now more tha ever.
250 made alien commanding twice as difficult for new people to learn than previous builds did and at the same time dumbed down the marine commander experience to the point where there's not much to research or do and as a result has become boring.
Build 250 turned out worse than i imagined.
I think the worst changes was over complicating the alien commander to the point that even when new people do give it ago, they are frightened off from repeating the experience more than ever before leaving lots of games without a willing alien commander and the marines moaning that they have one yet the game ain't starting, after a few days of this on multiple public servers, it was obvious to me that build 250 was a royal screw up.
I just hope the developers finally wake up and listen to the well thought out suggestions that have been lying unacknowledged and ignored on this forum for months and that they make the alien commanding either as simple as they have made the marines now or more intuitive to learn.
I prefer challenging yet intuitive myself, dumbing stuff down isn't the answer in my opinion.
Except not everyone in regular servers are killwhoring asswipes and some will actually offer helpful suggestions and tips. I know, hard to imagine for some people, but helpful players are out there. In contrast, most experienced players who go to green servers are most certainly trolls.
Since you said you will be the "bigger man" I am assuming you won't reply anymore, which is totally fine, because thus far the majority of your posts can be summed up in a single sentence in my original post:
Anyway, even if rookie servers were designated for players with less than X amount of hours, the problem will not be solved. There will still be a large skill gap even in these "non-rookie" servers. UWE acknowledged the problem a long time ago. Since UWE hasn't had the time to fix this yet, how about we help the rookies ourselves?
If a new comm jumps in the chair and is oblivious, ask if he/she needs help. If you see a skulk straight lining the marines on the floor, give him a tip or two. Think about what we, as a community, can do for the new players to make the game more enjoyable. If it wasn't for some friendly, helpful people around back when I learned NS1, I would have quit after a few days. The same applies for NS2. I'm not asking people not to 'try-hard' or whatever you want to call it. Just take a step back once and a while and see how your team is doing.
Just my two cents.
-Josh
P.S. Blink, catch up in borderlands. Golden and Shino already passed me up and started a new game.
If he was stomping noobs on a rookie friendly server, then people criticizing him may have an argument, yet this was on a NON rookie friendly server.
Weve been asking for Rookie ONLY servers since Beta, it makes complete sense, especially when you have steam sales and free weekends ... which quite frankly PISS OFF your established player base because it deteriorates gameplay so much.
Must be hard for you to let go.
I guess the point i am making is that rookies will only ever be rookies if they learn from more experienced players, but that learning time needs to be fun and not onerous.
First wash car, then wax. Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out of mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important. [walks away, still making circular motions with hands] Wax on... wax off. Wax on... wax off.
They will learn like everyone else did before
Do you think that there was anyone to teach us vets who played NS1 from day 1 ???? How on earth did we ever manage ? Dont you find it odd that when NS1 came out ... and everyone were rookies .... why did we have such a high player retention ? Most of the players who i played with from day 1 were still around a year later. Having 'experts' command and not allowing new players a chance to learn, wheres the logic in that ? Learning is a trial and error process, and what better place for rookies to learn commanding, than a rookie only server where they can make mistakes and not get bombarded by complaints ?
When you have a server with 16 or more rookies with 2 rookie comms ... nobody is gonna be barking orders or be too focused on winning, the entire focus will be on learning the aspects of the game, enjoying the atmospherics and having fun.
You want to ease people into the game, if you hit them with hardcore gameplay, must win, must not make mistakes attitudes... straight off the bat .... its no wonder that player retention is so low, your chasing players away. New players should experience the good parts about the game first, not the bad parts, first impressions are everything, they need to learn the mechanics in a low pressure environment (and btw, nobody learns from tutorial videos, they learn from doing, not seeing),
Rookie only servers are the PERFECT learning environment to ease new players into the game, with low expectations, low difficulty, low pressure, low stress, super casual, all the rookies have to do if have fun. We need to allow them to discover what they enjoy about the game, after that they will probably see a reason to stick around rather than walk away thinking "its not worth putting in the time to learn that game" the minute they get frustrated.
My line of thought exactly, bravo on that post!
Here it is in a simple, logical step-wise explanation:
1. Rookies get stomped on non-rookie servers
2. No matter what, there is the potential for 90% players in any game to get stomped.
3. The particular problem with NS2 is the steep learning curve
4. Make rookie status last 50 hours (for argument's sake) and sure that it is only possible for rookies to play on rookie servers.
5. This is the OBJECTIVELY OPTIMAL method to ensure that the number of new players getting stomped is circumvented to the greatest degree.
Does this mean stomps cannot occur? Of course not. But will it reduce the frequency? Yes.
There are two counter arguments:
1. This splits the community.
2. Rookies need direction from non-rookies.
To answer point 1. Yes, it does! So what? Oh? You think there won't be enough servers for you to go on? Are you for real? Player numbers average over 500 - how many of those do you think are rookies? Of COURSE there are enough non-rookies. "BUT BEST WHEN I GO TO MY SERVER BROWSER I ONLY SEE ROOKIE SERVERS WITH PEOPLE ON THEM". Yes and those rookie servers usually have as many non-rookies on them as rookies. Collate them and you'll have over 200 non-rookies.
So point 1 is dealt with.
To answer point 2. The fact is that the first 50 hours exist for people to get the basics. That is what they are for. Think about the ranking systen in CS:GO. Do you want to be thrust in against players with 500 hours in the game? Of course not. You start off at the bottom (with, of course, anomalies of skilled players you may have to play against - probably less than 1 in 50). Rookie status is to understand the gaming mechanics. They'll have trouble when they first come to non-rookie but the point is to make the learning curve more manageable so that once someone has spent a certain number of hours improving, they feel invested in the game, and want to continue.
So both points dealt with.
Now as Shini says, he can also stomp against non-rookies. I can do that too (probably not to the same extent) but I find it MUCH MORE DIFFICULT to do so. While on a rookie server it requires lag to kill me (most of the time), on a non-rookie server, there's a fair chance I will get killed, as an alien, and a guarantee I will get killed at least a couple of times as a marine.
TL:DR - While rookie-only does not eliminate all problems in terms of stomping, it DOES help.
Do you have metastasis causing multiple cancers? Will chemo cure it? No. But it will make it more manageable and allow you to live longer. Just stop and think about it.
Help who? It doesn't stop the rookies from being trolled. Placing rookies in their own little world where they circlejerk each other in how to play the game the wrong way isn't going to help them one bit once they step out into the real world. The only people this change will help are those who don't want rookies polluting their servers. Then again this line of thinking is to be expected from the acerbic community of NS2.
Make it more manageable? The only thing chemo will do when you have metastatic cancer is prolong your agony while pointlessly delaying your inevitable death. So you choose to prolong your pain and suffering rather than accepting the inevitable and make peace with it? Just stop and think about it.
May not care about the game nor its players, but at least don't make suggestions purely for your own benefit. If you all want so badly to isolate yourselves from the lifeblood of the community then go make a server for your own use and password it. If you want to live in a bubble then by all means, but don't forcefully isolate a group of people in that bubble solely for your own benefit.
In optimal circumstances we would have matchmaking. But that needs a lot of work to be done, if its done at all, and before that rookie only servers could help:
-Veterans and skilled play in normal servers
-You can help rookies in rookie friendly servers
-Rookies can avoid getting stomped and have fun with other rookies in rookie only servers(only players with rookie status can join)
-Rookies can still join any server they want
Also rookie status should last longer. Maybe something like 20-30hours. The lenght cant be a problem when rookies can still turn it off(in the options) while playing on the normal servers to avoid complaining about "rookies".