A new low: Time padding servers

[BirdKiller]

Seeking to play a random server, I joined what seemed to be an innocent server until I was in the game. Everyone in my team was at the main base, so was the opposing team. There was one person who ventured out and took a flag only to be warned by the admin there. I almost confused this server to be a co-op server, but apparently it seems players just stay in the server so they can "pad up time" to meet some badge requirements.

Note the mini-map where the 2 aircrafts are idle and the 2 helicopters are grouped up on the southwest area. Those tanks are not moving. Note the server message where it says to turn the flag to EU's favor when the time limit, currently at over 2 hours, reaches down to 20 minutes.



From the scoreboard, almost nobody has as any points, implying inactivity:



EDIT: Blurred out names & info

This isn't unique either. From the link below, take note of the score that most players have:

http://www.game-monitor.com/search.php?search=time&vars=bf2_ranked=1&game=bf2

I figured stat padding would be the lowest a BF2 player could get down to, but this one just breaks it down to another degree.

[jesus]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

Is it affecting your game play?

[ElFipso]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

Is it affecting your game play?

It is not, but it is still stupid. :dead:
Hard to find an EF server that is NOT a "Time server"

[ThIrD-EyE]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

This has actually been going on since shortly after BF2 was released.

[Kreepy Kitteh =^o.O^=]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

Well it seems the bird has just heard the word... OHhhh ZING!!! xD

[Wizrdwarts]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

1) It's not affecting your gameplay. Would you rather have them taking the F35 and hovering at 20,000ft for jet time on a normal server?

2) Awards don't give points in BF2 right, so they don't get faster unlocks or anything, just more awards. If you're worried about other people's awards, you need to remember the point of the game in the first place--to have fun, not to stat whore.

[jesus]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

It is not, but it is still stupid. :dead:
Hard to find an EF server that is NOT a "Time server"

But you have to remember that if the server owner's original plan was a time server, then if they got shut down, it's not like they'd put up a regular server. You'd still have a hard time finding actual servers. It would just look even emptier because the time servers would be gone.

[Infamous™]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

It does effect his game play since he loaded into a server only to find out if he actually played the game he'd be kicked. The peeps on these servers and the clans that run them are pathetic. It isn't any different than wall glitching, they are exploiting the game in a way it wasn't intended. It is sad to see that there are alot of these popping up lately.

There are plenty of real servers to play on, but that doesn't mean we as players can't call these losers out for being such tards. Everyone has dissed a certain clan for the way they kick so their members have priority in vehicles which is complete bs, but at least those morons actually play the game. These time douchebags fit in somewhere between those tards and the glitchers...lol:thumbsup:

[ElFipso]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

But you have to remember that if the server owner's original plan was a time server, then if they got shut down, it's not like they'd put up a regular server. You'd still have a hard time finding actual servers. It would just look even emptier because the time servers would be gone.

Well some server owners original is to put up stat padding servers :p
Anyway, both kinds of servers would be "illegal" according to EA. And that's the point where it does affect us. Imagine EA shutting down the stat system because of so many "illegal" servers. Yeah, they won't do it because they get payed for the servers :laugh:
And where's my benefit from a "not so empty looking server list" ?
There's none.

It really doesn't affect me. If I happen to join such a server I usually put some C4 on these guys, blow them up and get banned. That way I can never join the server again.
And Jesus, it's great to disrupt a stat padding server. :laugh:

[BirdKiller]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

But you have to remember that if the server owner's original plan was a time server, then if they got shut down, it's not like they'd put up a regular server. You'd still have a hard time finding actual servers. It would just look even emptier because the time servers would be gone.

I do believe it does affect my gameplay since I'll be kicked from the server if I do anything that would make the round end faster such as taking flags and killing stuff. If this isn't gameplay, I have no idea what you mean by it then.

And let me get this straight, it's okay for a time padding server to exist because it "beefs up" my server list? That's like saying it's okay to have a lot of bones in the meat since it'll make the meat look larger. Sure the list is bigger, but it's larger because there are pathetic servers that I would never join if I knew what they were. Either way, I still have the same number of actual servers I can choose of, except from your view, I have a chance to stumble on these servers which is a waste of time.

Here's a question: Would you like to have a server list, showing about 50 servers that are actually true to the game, or a larger server list showing 75 servers, 50 actual, 25 of them being otherwise? Your point makes no sense.

1) It's not affecting your gameplay. Would you rather have them taking the F35 and hovering at 20,000ft for jet time on a normal server?

Quite so, although that too is frustrating, at least I can go and do something else, such as taking flags, killing enemies, and anything else that Battlefield 2 is all about.

2) Awards don't give points in BF2 right, so they don't get faster unlocks or anything, just more awards. If you're worried about other people's awards, you need to remember the point of the game in the first place--to have fun, not to stat whore.

I'm not concerned much about this, I know these awards are just pixels and numbers.

[jesus]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

I do believe it does affect my gameplay since I'll be kicked from the server if I do anything that would make the round end faster such as taking flags and killing stuff. If this isn't gameplay, I have no idea what you mean by it then.

And let me get this straight, it's okay for a time padding server to exist because it "beefs up" my server list? That's like saying it's okay to have a lot of bones in the meat since it'll make the meat look larger. Sure the list is bigger, but it's larger because there are pathetic servers that I would never join if I knew what they were. Either way, I still have the same number of actual servers I can choose of, except from your view, I have a chance to stumble on these servers which is a waste of time.

Here's a question: Would you like to have a server list, showing about 50 servers that are actually true to the game, or a larger server list showing 75 servers, 50 actual, 25 of them being otherwise? Your point makes no sense.

My point was that regardless of the time servers being there or not, you're still going to have a problem finding actual servers. (As mentioned by ElFipso)

And going into the server was your fault for not knowing what a time server is. Now that you know, I assume you'll never make the mistake again, right? So now they won't affect your game play any more. If I find a server with an innocent name, then join to see that no one is doing anything but sitting in vehicles at the uncap, I'd simply just leave and find another server.

I've been playing this game since May 2007 and 99.9% of my time I always forget that stat padding/time servers even exist.

And to whoever said it's the same as wall glitching... it's actually not. Wall glitchers interrupt people who are actually playing the game on real servers. You have no choice but to deal with them, if you encounter them. (Leaving the server counts as dealing with them). Stat padding/time servers can be VERY EASILY completely ignored, especially since they're usually labeled "stat padding" or "time server"

I hope you don't think you're the first person to make a deal out of this, because you're not. These servers have been around forever, as far as I'm concerned, and the only people who lose out because of them are the people on the servers that are stat padding.

As long as stat padders don't stat pad on real servers, then I don't see what the problem for us players is. It's EA's problem, not ours.

[Wizrdwarts]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

Quite so, although that too is frustrating, at least I can go and do something else, such as taking flags, killing enemies, and anything else that Battlefield 2 is all about.

If the padding servers are marked (I have never stumbled onto a padding server in BF2/2142), then there is no problem. It doesn't affect your gameplay in the fact that there isn't tons of people just idling in the main base just leaving you to cap flags on a real server.

You can simply quit a padding server, but when people decide to pad on a legit server, it's a lot harder to get rid of them.

[Infamous™]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

Tomeis, respectfully you are wrong but you are entitlted to your opinion. Fact is these servers manipulate the game in a way it was not intended in order to gain rewards that really don't mean anything other than a players reflection on his own gameplay. If you use these servers you are among the weakest group of players. It is like glitching in that the developers never intended for the game to be used in this fashion and it takes a moron admin to enforce this manipulation. Idc since I have reg group of servers to choose from, but it doesn't mean I can't take this op to state my opinion that these people are tards and should just man up and play. They are basically cheating for false rewards and that makes them sad sad gamers...:thumbsup:

[jesus]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

Tomeis, respectfully you are wrong but you are entitlted to your opinion. Fact is these servers manipulate the game in a way it was not intended in order to gain rewards that really don't mean anything other than a players reflection on his own gameplay. If you use these servers you are among the weakest group of players. It is like glitching in that the developers never intended for the game to be used in this fashion and it takes a moron admin to enforce this manipulation. Idc since I have reg group of servers to choose from, but it doesn't mean I can't take this op to state my opinion that these people are tards and should just man up and play. They are basically cheating for false rewards and that makes them sad sad gamers...:thumbsup:

And I agree with you that stat padders are pathetic. But the thing is, glitchers are not only EA's problem, but also a problem for the server admins, and for the players trying to play on the server. Stat padding servers are only a problem for EA. Stat padding servers will only affect you if you want them to.

[BirdKiller]

Re: A new low: Time padding servers

I've been playing this game since it was released back in 2005, and it's the first time I encountered a time padding server, not a stat padding one. I created this thread to point it out and it seems there might be some confusion already :dead: