What freedom in modification does RO2 offer?

[harfang]

Hi! I would like to know what's happen if I put a non white listed mutator on a server?

I introduce myself, I'm in a french CS/CZ/DOD team (1.6), we have two public servers for each of them, and we are looking to extends our games.

What we want is a freedom to modify game comportment like we have in the half life engine. Exemples of plugins we have on it are admin level management, admin commands, strong players limitation (less weapons) and new players help (more health), automatic team management, etc.

So, we are looking for a game offering those possibilities, enabling us to keep our identity. Our goal is to keep our server for new players, we don't play to become the best but only to have fun, and protect players for bad guys, we need the possibility of ban players (for voluntary team killing, insults, etc).


For exemple, if we decide to develop our own mutator, is it difficult to make him whitelisted? What happend if we put a mutator who doesn't become whitelisted?

Is the list of modification presented before potentially whitelistable?

Thank's a lot for your attention. We have a very big investment to do so we want to make the good choice.

Harfang

[Ducky]

Originally Posted by harfang

For exemple, if we decide to develop our own mutator, is it difficult to make him whitelisted?

The white-listing procedure is rather simple. Make the mutator and send both the sources and binary to Yoshiro and [TW]StragoMagus. In most cases the white-listing will take 5 working days, though that depends on the current work load.

It will be TWI's choice to approve it or not. In general the mutator must be fair to all players and it may not give the players on your server an advantage compared to those on an other server. Extra health points for new players will probably cause it not to get white-listed, because it gives an advantage to "new" players, though we never know if it's a new player. It might be an old player.

Originally Posted by harfang

What happend if we put a mutator who doesn't become whitelisted?

Your server will become unranked if your mutator won't be white-listed.

[harfang]

Hi Ducky, thanks for your answer.

Originally Posted by Ducky

Extra health points for new players will probably cause it not to get white-listed, because it gives an advantage to "new" players, though we never know if it's a new player. It might be an old player.

Our actual system is based on players ratios. Players ratios are stocked in a server file, so players ratios are calculate for all maps (not juste the current map). So we can have an idea of the player skill.

When the ratio of a player is under a constant value (0.75 for exemple), he respawn with a 50% health bonus. When the ratio of a player grow (reach 1.25 and higher), on Counter Strike and Condition Zero, the player can not buy big guns (AWP, etc), on Day of Defeat, the player is highlighted so he can not camp, and if his ratio keep growing up he lose his main weapon.

On all games, when the players is very too strong and his ratio keep growing up, he is definitely banned for the servers.
We have two server per games, with two different level.

This system is used for many years ago and works very well. It allowed to keep a constant level on the server, as our servers are made for beginner (or at least bad, or normal players).

So, yes it gives advantages in a part, and disadvantages in another part, but it's a fair system, made for equilibrate the level, not for advantages some players.

Originally Posted by Ducky

Your server will become unranked if your mutator won't be white-listed.

What do you mean by that? The server will not appear in the player server list in the game or it will just not be considered in the servers rank?

[Cwivey]

Originally Posted by harfang

What do you mean by that? The server will not appear in the player server list in the game or it will just not be considered in the servers rank?

Servers that are un-ranked will be in the Un-Ranked tab of the server browser and player progression / stats will not be applied to it. The largest downside of an un-ranked server is that most people don't check the Un-Ranked tab, so player traffic will drastically decrease on the server.

[[TW]StragoMagus]

If the mutator significantly alters gameplay balance we generally do not whitelist it. Exceptions can be made occasionally if the demand is very high. As above, running a non-whitelisted mutator moves the server to the unranked tab.

[-=THOR=-]

New players want to rank up, so they play on ranked servers. Old players play where people are, so they play on ranked servers. To make it simple... unranked server => empty server. So you NEED to be ranked, thus need to use white-listed mutators. I strongly suggest that you send a detailed description of your mutator to TWI for inspection BEFORE putting any effort on it.