Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

[Catziggy]

Ok. Finally decided to take the plunge and start my own BF2142 server. This will hopefully migrate into new BF2142 or Heroes 2 server(s).

I guess every server owner has aspirations of theirs being succesful but I am hoping the experience I built up at Timeless and the reputation Timeless had at the time will be an assett to getting a good rep for the new server.

I would like your thoughts though. I would rather have a Conquest server to start but don't just want to do Gib. I thought a 3 or 4 map rotation would be good. What about server numbers though. I keep reading that experienced players prefer 48 rather than 64 servers. But this also effects the maps as some are better than others depending on the number of players.

I am NOT a fan of Full ff off. OK I hate it. But as I was an admin for someone who liked it I had to defend it But I also don't like the arguments and bitter team politics with FF On. Would setting FF Off to 70-80 percent be ok? This would stop the rdx spammers and using rdx to get to high places.

What about baserape. I am a fan that players should be able to spawn and get prepared before entering combat. The issues are that most players now understand where players spawn and spam grenades or pk's into these areas on maps like Gib. Plus the server empties and dies late at night if base rapers take over the base and just dominate the issue.

Apart from commander should support their troops, ( a guideline, an admin can kick if it's seriously effecting gameplay) and the usual no glitching or pod surfing or padding, I was going to leave the rules as that. Clean and simple.

Next issue would be admins. I would like to offer two super admin positions (with 2142cc console) to people with good reps I can trust, then sell admin in game positions aka (C&G) to a few people to help the server costs. These positions would be carefully monitored and overseen by the three super admins so to speak.
Selling admin rights is not the best option but is possibly one way to ensure some income to offset costs.

I can build a website of course although maybe not VB4 just yet giving its causing everyone headaches. (especially Timeless).

And what server provider. I have thre choices. Rackage I like, having worked with Nick before, but killercreations seem the least cost and everyones choice these days although (C&G) servers do seem laggy and crash a few times a day. I have no xperience with multiplay.

So help me out and let me have your thoughts. If you want to pay to be an admin let me know by pm and of course if you and I know each other either through Timeless or this forum (I have no grudges so even if we have flamed don't let it stop you asking), and you want to be a super admin then let me know by PM also please.

Have fun and let's keep 2142 rocking.

[TrooperJac]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

I think 48 players is a good maximum. 64 players can be laggy and quickly become chaotic spamfests - fun now and then but 48p servers offer better tactical opportunities.

I tend to play conquest so this is good. Stay away from CampG and Suez as there are already a thousand servers running these rotations. I would like to see Minsk, Sidi, Shingle maps in rotation. NS maps as well as I play those almost exclusively nowadays. Usually the C&B NS only server which is always full. However this server does crash often.

The C&B server is pretty much a free for all. Baserape is banned etc etc but there are rarely admins on so the rulez are not enforced. This is not an issue usually - the only time it becomes a downer is when someone is glitching as there is no way to get rid of them. There was a guy called Deception glitching on Port B the other day and there was nothing to be done about it. The less rules the better imho.

The only danger with giving admin rights to people is that they tend to become asshats and ban people when things aren't going their way. Keep the vote system running - even tho it rarely works. FF on at 75% etc. Autokick for +4 teamkills.

[Minmaster]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

if you go 64, shuhia taiba conquest is a must. one of my favs. action might be too sparse on lower player counts as the map is really expanse.

for 48, i wouldn't mind playing sidi conquest. another of my favs.

not a big fan of minsk, although i rarely get to play it. it's all about gunship taxing guys to the back flags because frontline breakthrough is nearly impossible with large player counts.

for a conquest infantry map that doesn't seem to get much love nowadays, belgrade. something for everyone on this map.

[Catziggy]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

I love Belgrade. Great for roadkills. I like Shuhia as well but it mptied the server when it rotated on Timeless. I have some great screen shots of armour convoys of tanks and goodness knows what else running the vully from the PAC side up to the central flag.

I hate the vote system. It never works and interferes with concentration. It will be turned off.

I agree about lack of admins on C&G. have complained about it myself on their forum to no effect. This is one reason I want to start my own. I am a stay at home dad so pretty much can watch the server all day and evening. I also am pretty much middle of the road being a nearly 50 year old family man. I tolerate asshats on the server as long as they stick to the rules and don't interfere with others as well hardened gamers that play for the win at all costs (Not that they ever are ever the same person of course ). i do agree with the paid admin issue which is why everyone of them would need to be monitored using server logs and feedback.

I still like Gib. It's ovedone on servers yes, but that's because it's probably the most liked Conquest map overall. If I did a rotation it would be in there somewhere.
Kinda thinking, belgrade, Gib, Shuhia and Shingle at the moment. Not final yet so keep sharing your thoughts.

[Minmaster]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

very soon everyone will get NS maps for free so think about that.

and there are few new maps we're getting in addition in the upcoming patch.

[Catziggy]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

Yup. One reason i still sticking with BF2142 for now

One thing I have noticed. In the server listings in game the EA UK multiplay servers are listed again. Any thoughts? Have they always been there? I only just clicked they were listed again. They don't show up on the independant server listings websites because no one has registered them.

Why are they still being run if no one uses them? Maybe Multiplay have to have them as part of their partner contract. ANy thoughts?

[sempf]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

Never go for multiplay servers, they are absolute crap, the only people who can play on there without nonstop lagging are uk people with a good net. multiplay used and still might be doing, to set multiple servers on one machine. this makes the server really slow and gives crap hitreg. rackage and killercreation are a lot better but still, for me at least, they lag nonstop, and my net speed isnt fully loaded.

I'm a fan of inf only, and if possible, no rockets. and always have ff on. if someone is soo crap to keep trowing nades where his teammates are, let him get kicked for teamkilling, no need for him to be there.

the amount of people on your server depends on your preferences, i never go above 32, and if possible i stick around 20 people. but there are many others who never go below 48, it is all your choise.

[LeeJr]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

I am the leader of SoV. We Have had numerous servers since the game started. We have tried many combinations. We run a NV Camp G server with 3 or 4 other maps at the end of the cycle we can switch to but 95% of the time we're on Camp G. We have many admins and try to run a clean server. We have had our I.P. changed serveral time and have had to get our server popular again. I can put in 4 idles and we have about 35 fairly active members in 2142. By doing this we can get our server ranked up in the top 100 within a week or so. We have FF at 50% which seems to work pretty good...to eliminate demo droppers and roof jumping. We also enforce the noncap as to protect spawners. We have found 32 players is a great combo of player numbers and little lag issues. We try to make teams as fair as possible by having SoV members switch to help even if needed. Like I said we have been doing this formula since the game was released with great success. We are also #1 in world in TWL competition, so the level of the skill in our servers is very high even though we invite all and try to help it be a great experience for everyone as Fair Play and Fun is our Motto. Good luck with your new server.

#SoV| LeeJr03205, SoV Leader

[Catziggy]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

Thank you Sir. Some good advice.

[Medic9017]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

Glad to hear about a new FF-ON large server coming on board! Not thrilled

to hear that Gibralter will be part of the rotation, but I can understand

that if you like it, then you would want it on your own server. I submit

that the reason why Gibralter is so popular is because it's the best spam

map in the game; even Fall of Berlin doesn't come close.

I would suggest Tunis Harbor instead. IMO, it has much of Gibralter's feel,

but without the spammy chokepoints.

Tunis Harbor (a refreshing blend of Gibralter and Belgrade)

Belgrade (Fabulous!)

Fall of Berlin (Excellent teamplay map for PAC; wanna know how good your

team/squad is? Play PAC and find out.)

Operation Shingle (Nice cousin to Belgrade with a Cerbere base)

And possibly one of either Shuhia, Sidi, Verdun or Minsk for vehicular

spice.

I also recommend that you allow vehicles on all maps. It spices things up,

reduces strangle-holds on choke points, and engys can always deal with them.

* Player count. At least 48. I usually prefer 64 but 48 does make for

better gameplay some of the time. Sometimes 64 can seem like too much, but

once the players get spread out over multiple flags, it's not bad.

Chokepoints are always nasty; that's just the way it is.

You could always start with 48, wait for it to get popular, and then bump it

up gradually.

* FF-ON: Any FF-ON is better than none. Your idea might be a reasonable

compromise.

* Base-camping: Definitely disallow that, except for Recons hitting assets,

and Recon defense when they are attacked. When there used to be tons of

servers, it was nice to have the variety where some servers allowed base

camping, but with a dying game, we can't afford to scare off anybody.

* Fighting/flying commander: I like fighting commanders, as long as their

primary duties are covered. If the commander is running the assets 90% of

the time, including dropping supplies, then I think they should be able to

do just about anything except front line work. Some disagree, of course,

but what happens a lot of times is that no one wants to command because it's

so boring, and then the game really does get lopsided.

Flying commanders are probably best avoided, but when there's not many

players on, they can make a real difference.

* Vote system: I agree. No voting.

* PB Punish: I also dislike this. 99% of players auto-punish, including

vets. Personally, in 3+ years, I've punished maybe once. I don't want the

stress either way.

I'm actually in the 'market' for admin rights somewhere, although I have no experience. Many of the good

servers that are left never seem to have admins. I'm flat broke so I can't

buy it right now, but if you have difficulty filling free spots, I'm

interested. I've been Medic9017 on the EA forums since the beginning, but

my first account got hosed there. And I'm DeathLine in the game.

Good luck with the server!

[Catziggy]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

Wicked reply and suggestions. I am taking a lot of this on board. The state of play is I have 70% finished the website that will act as the homepage now. I amOK at setting up websites but 100% crap at graphics so if anyone wants to help with logos etc then shout at me

As soon as I have uploaded the dozens of arcade games and made sure they all work and added a few other bits and pieces I will rent the server.

One thing I am aiming at is to make it a multigame multi platform forum. I only play BF2142 but know that players often play a multitude of games on consoles and pc's. So I will cater for all I hope. This isn't intended to be another Total Gaming Network. Just a small group of middle of the road players looking to have a well run server and a few mates to chat too. Hardly the epic .

More update soon. E.T.A. for server launch 15th January.

Edited to add. Gosh Sidi Power plant. I remember playing this in the demo before the main game was launched. I also remember playing it on EA UK official servers but apaprt from that can't remember it much. Why isn't it popular still. Is it because it was played to death in the first months? Perhaps it's time for a revisit. It was a great squad game if I remember. On the EA server we used to man a squad per flag. Was often a fierce battle to defend/attack our respective flags.

Considering.....

[TrooperJac]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

Feckinell what is gawn on wit this forum!

What graphics do you need? I can do graphics.

[Catziggy]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

logo really. I will pm you with details if your really up with it.

Quiet init

[LeeJr]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

Glad to hear about a new FF-ON large server coming on board! Not thrilled

to hear that Gibralter will be part of the rotation, but I can understand

that if you like it, then you would want it on your own server. I submit

that the reason why Gibralter is so popular is because it's the best spam

map in the game; even Fall of Berlin doesn't come close.

I would suggest Tunis Harbor instead. IMO, it has much of Gibralter's feel,

but without the spammy chokepoints.

Tunis Harbor (a refreshing blend of Gibralter and Belgrade)

Belgrade (Fabulous!)

Fall of Berlin (Excellent teamplay map for PAC; wanna know how good your

team/squad is? Play PAC and find out.)

Operation Shingle (Nice cousin to Belgrade with a Cerbere base)

And possibly one of either Shuhia, Sidi, Verdun or Minsk for vehicular

spice.

I also recommend that you allow vehicles on all maps. It spices things up,

reduces strangle-holds on choke points, and engys can always deal with them.

* Player count. At least 48. I usually prefer 64 but 48 does make for

better gameplay some of the time. Sometimes 64 can seem like too much, but

once the players get spread out over multiple flags, it's not bad.

Chokepoints are always nasty; that's just the way it is.

You could always start with 48, wait for it to get popular, and then bump it

up gradually.

* FF-ON: Any FF-ON is better than none. Your idea might be a reasonable

compromise.

* Base-camping: Definitely disallow that, except for Recons hitting assets,

and Recon defense when they are attacked. When there used to be tons of

servers, it was nice to have the variety where some servers allowed base

camping, but with a dying game, we can't afford to scare off anybody.

* Fighting/flying commander: I like fighting commanders, as long as their

primary duties are covered. If the commander is running the assets 90% of

the time, including dropping supplies, then I think they should be able to

do just about anything except front line work. Some disagree, of course,

but what happens a lot of times is that no one wants to command because it's

so boring, and then the game really does get lopsided.

Flying commanders are probably best avoided, but when there's not many

players on, they can make a real difference.

* Vote system: I agree. No voting.

* PB Punish: I also dislike this. 99% of players auto-punish, including

vets. Personally, in 3+ years, I've punished maybe once. I don't want the

stress either way.

I'm actually in the 'market' for admin rights somewhere, although I have no experience. Many of the good

servers that are left never seem to have admins. I'm flat broke so I can't

buy it right now, but if you have difficulty filling free spots, I'm

interested. I've been Medic9017 on the EA forums since the beginning, but

my first account got hosed there. And I'm DeathLine in the game.

Good luck with the server!

Most of what you are suggesting here is what we have done with our SoV servers from day one of the game. We have had a least one server for the life of the game and had as many as 3 at one time....usually one NV, one Veh, and a twl competition/scrim server. We have adjusted ff all around and have settled on about 50%...causes enough damage to deter rdx droppers,etc and let our admins control it from there. We have been almost exclusively 32 slots and it has worked well. I pay most of our clan costs and couldn't justify the extra slots and it seems to be a good all around number of competition vs. lag vs. spamming.

I love to play a variety of maps, but if you want an active server you need to "specialize" in one map or a few at most. Especially since the popularity of the game has dropped, it will be hard to keep a server active. Also a decision has to be made on NV or not. We have had great sucess with ours at NV. I actually love vehicle maps but "sacrifice" for the ability to have a populated server. Having your map rotation diverse will kill your server as I have experienced this many time. I have controlled various types of 2142 servers since day one and have tried "everything" tweaking rotations, ff, rules, etc. and speak from that experience.

Only 3 days ago we had to change our server to a different I.P./Location and with my methods it has already gone from a rank of 600 something to around 175. We switched due to crashing issues....possible from hackers we had banned crashing it. I have the ability to personally put in 4 idles and with my clan members, we can keep our server pretty active.

Good luck with your endeavour...it sounds like you're taking the right approach.

#SoV| LeeJr03205 or #SoV| Raidersboy...my idle, Leader of #SoV| Soldiers of Valour.....forums at Enjin

[Catziggy]

Re: Starting a new server. Your thoughts.

Thankyou for your contribution. Some good info.
I have not quite decided still on maps. Hovering on Belgrade, Tunis and possibly Shingle. All good squad maps. And hardly any bottlenecking lol. I was wondering still about Sidi. It's a great map for squad play and has all the armour you need but just worried it will kill the city guys or bore them silly. As LeeJr says my experience is much the same. Certain, larger maps usually, kill off the server, especially late at night. I think people want instant action.

Website is all but done. Probably going to Rackage as I know Nick is reliable and hardworking from my experiences at Timeless. E.T.A. for server launch is Friday evening. Hopefully some of you guys will come and give it a try just to kick it off