Discussing server browser improvements for everyone
_INTER_
Join Date: 2009-08-08 Member: 68392Members, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow
Join Date: 2009-08-08 Member: 68392Members, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow
The recent changes in the server browser with the defaults and mod tabs is very controversial and a heated dispute is going with hard fronts on both camps:
- New server browser is hiding mods behind tabs, making them too hard to gain traction
- Old server browser doesn't clearly distinguish between mod and vanilla, especially when sort orders are applied
Without going further into this pointless blaming each other, I'd like to discuss possible solutions and hopefully new suggestions, so that everyone = both camps can arrange with.
I think this is important before the new UI is being fully implemented.
Example of some stuff I heared of:
- Change sort order algorithm
- Have (horizontal) tabs per game mode or mod with little choosable pictures promoting them clearly visible and appealing
- Game mode pictures per server entry
- Have a popup that can not be dismissed by a "don't show anymore" checkbox
- Better color codes
- Have more than one colume with servers on one screen
Hopefully some solution emerges.
- New server browser is hiding mods behind tabs, making them too hard to gain traction
- Old server browser doesn't clearly distinguish between mod and vanilla, especially when sort orders are applied
Without going further into this pointless blaming each other, I'd like to discuss possible solutions and hopefully new suggestions, so that everyone = both camps can arrange with.
I think this is important before the new UI is being fully implemented.
Example of some stuff I heared of:
- Change sort order algorithm
- Have (horizontal) tabs per game mode or mod with little choosable pictures promoting them clearly visible and appealing
- Game mode pictures per server entry
- Have a popup that can not be dismissed by a "don't show anymore" checkbox
- Better color codes
- Have more than one colume with servers on one screen
Hopefully some solution emerges.
Comments
In general i think the most important part is to improve the game mode tab. It has already improved with the addition of player count, but i think it needs to be highlighted more. maybe using different colors etc, but it needs to be quite prominent in the UI, now its too easy to not see.
If you want, sort the non-rookie modes by player count.
A pop-up that cannot be dismissed with a "do not show anymore" checkbox is another good idea..
I don't know about having the tabs be horizontal simply because every other browser I've seen had them at the top.. Seems like horizontal would be more confusing. (and since apparently some people are already having a hard time...)
Pictures would be nice but they'd be really small.. I think generally color coding would accomplish the same thing with less time/effort spent.
Changing sort order wouldn't really do much.. If anything removing the sort by player option would be better.. Honestly the default sorting should be by ping.. Everyone should be encouraged to play on the lowest ping server they can.
In my opinion, NS2 needs a server browser that differentiates mods from the main game while also highlighting and informing players that there are alternative gamemodes. The main game mode must be differentiated from mods. Rookies can't tell the difference otherwise. But alternative gamemodes are important. Alternative gamemodes extend the playability of NS2 and I think have the highest chance of increasing player retention. If UWE does it right, a new server browser that differentiates mods from the main game while also highlighting and informing players that there are alternative gamemodes could be the best change to NS2 since launch.
Alternative gamemodes are important. Alternative gamemodes extend the playability of NS2 and I think have the highest chance of increasing player retention. If UWE does it right, a new server browser that differentiates mods from the main game while also highlighting and informing players that there are alternative gamemodes could be the best change to NS2 since launch.
The Rust server browser does a good job at differentiating the main gamemode from modded gamemodes while also highlighting modded gamemodes. Maybe the NS2 server browser can borrow some of the better design elements from Rust's server browser. Maybe other games do it better and have elements NS2 can borrow from. The bottom line is that NS2 needs a server browser that differentiates mods from the main game while also highlighting and informing players that there are alternative gamemodes.
A lobby chat system would be amazing. It would be doubly awesome if it also was some channel in the UWE discord. I don't thin that is possible though.
Shamelessly pushing my own stuff:
http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/141651/server-browser-improvement-player-lobby-server-seeding-tool-lite-match-making
Steal from blizzard games in terms of menu creation. They know what they're doing.
If I may ask here, how does your suggestion differentiate mods from the main game while also highlighting and informing players that there are alternative gamemodes?
You could try to:
- rename the "game" tab to "mod"
- rename "ns2" game mode to "Natural Selection 2" or to "-" (as in "no mods")
- enforce naming guidelines that prevent game play modifying mods to contain the brand name natural selection
- set more focus on the game mode column in the server browser
- set the game mode column to first position; give it a different font, background and foreground color (or colorize the whole row depending on game mode)
- add an image tab associated with the mod or game type
- scratch the "skill" tab (or at least the arrows)
- scratch the "performance" tab
- hide anything that performance poorly for a longer period of time. Like: if the server runs below acceptable for 2 hours, it should be hidden for a week in the browser
The seeding tool would apply to all servers.
I don't get these... They both need to be improved upon, not removed.
Without the performance tab you have no clue whatsoever how a server may perform... and without the skill tab there's no way to at least try to avoid the super high skill "everyone will roflstomp you" servers...
What's your reasoning here?
Seems to serve the purpose with less hurt feelings by the modding / server community. Also wouldn't need a long time to program I would imagine when compared to a total re-do of the browser.
I find the skill arrows not informative. It's not a good indicator whether you should join or not. I would even go so far to say that nobody has ever decided not to join a server, because of the skill arrows.
If you're new, you will filter by ping and sort by slot count.
If you're a veteran, you will filter by ping, sort by slot count and may have favourited servers.
The "PERF." information is only important, if the server performs poorly, but at this point you might as well just not show the server at all.
However, I bet rookies don't even understand what "PERF." stands for.
Both of those tabs take away space, while not really providing much use.
I find it informative. Depending on what mood I'm in, I select a server. There are days I wan't to help rookies (while playing or commanding), so I join double-down arrow servers. Often there are indeed a few Rookies on that server. Other days I'm up for a challange or a casual game. The arrows are a fair indication.
Fair enough. It was my subjective feeling that the arrows don't really matter, and that you'll find a mix of veterans and rookies on every server.
Then again rookies have rookie-only and veterans organize their gameplay.
The Perf tab I don't use.
Hell at 1000-1100 its kind of fubar that most servers show as double down for me in the first place..
They do help somewhat though.. I'll never join a double up arrow server because i know it'll be a **** experience.
As far as the perf tab it could definitely use some refinement as well.. But it is useful. There are times i didn't join a server because the performance was bad.
Likewise if I see a server with good performance I'll join it over a bad or unknown anyday..
We are.
example: 42 slot server
- 0 players no blinking highlight color
- 1 player the mod tab blinks with a highlight color
- 10 players it highlights with a different color
- this goes on until its climax
also the idea with seeding a server from biscum should be shown in a different visable browser or box otherwise modded servers wont benefit as much of it because you would first have to open the tab and check which people might not do
I'd scratch those mod tabs, but insist on a name change of ns2large. Choose a made up fantasy name like "Woozas" or whatever.
"This is an officially supported server. UWE guarantees high performance and that gameplay experience will not change."
This would really show how much effort is being put into player experience.
I would also put a timer of at minimum 5 seconds on it so you cannot dismiss the pop-up to make sure everyone has read it, everytime.
Upon leaving the vanilla server another popup would be really cool:
"Thank you for playing on an officially supported server (UWE Server #1)."
You would dismiss it with 1 button: "Favourite" to add it to your favourites right away (if it is not already in your favourites).
Maybe this is a hint that the browser could use some customizability feature: Select to show/hide columns so you can have whatever metric is important for you.
This might also make it more interesting to introduce different metrics that are not in the browser right now. I am thinking of maybe the average, min, max hive skill as a number instead of icons or next map, time remaining etc in addition.
I was already working on a mod that puts you in a queue on multiple full servers (your favourites) to join you to the first one that becomes free. Natively supporting multiple auto-joins would of course be better.
PS: if you are wondering why I am double posting... this allows you to "Agree", "Disagree" to each idea individually. Rather than rejecting all ideas because of one you didn't like or vise-versa.
That thing steals your slot if you aren't fast enough to click.
(don't know, maybe it was fixed)
When there's a "do not show this again" box people tend to just click it without even bothering to read what it says..
Hope they'll implement some tab showing average server skill. Actually, I think there was one, before the arrows.
We'd like to do something like the relative server skill again, but in a more reliably useful way.