Server Survey - Your ideas improve gameplay

[BaronFelX]

Hello, everyone. I'm new to these forums, but I've been playing Red Orchestra since it became available through Steam (which I know is not nearly as long as some people here have probably been playing). It's a game I really enjoy, since its one of the most realistic and tactical WW2 shooters I've ever seen. There's an intensity there that I just love. Also, tanks.

I plan on hosting a collection of servers in the near future, and I would like to support the RO community by hosting this game in one of them. I have quite a bit of experience in maintaining servers. But there are of course a slew of game-specific aspects that, even as an avid player, I might have missed.

That's why I made this thread. In order to provide the best possible experience for the most people, I'm asking for the community here to discuss what makes an RO server good (besides the obvious like good admins, good ping, etc).

These can be anything from good custom maps (or maps to avoid) or ideal number of slots, to specific things like server side settings and admin plugins (which I'm still looking into, given that I've not worked with plugins in this engine before). Also, it's important for me to identify what map(s) fill this game's "Dust Syndrome." I know that Arad and Danzig are fairly popular, or at least were, but a broader view always helps.

So, let's hear what you all have to say. Remember, the better your input here, the better gaming experience I can provide.

 

[Major von Mauser]

Two maps that I find to be server fillers are Konigsplatz and Odessa. Another neat custom that get's people is Kreigstadt.

Try to make a community around your server, take 2 Manny's as an example.

A decent number of slot's is probably form 32 on up.

Hope I helped.

 

[SiC-Disaster]

Please drop Odessa, Basovka, Danzig and other over-played maps... There are so many servers running these, and it's getting boring, as i have also heard other people say.
More custom maps, or maps that came with the mapping contests would be great.
Something more rifle-oriented would be great, perhaps a mutator that reduces the amount of smg's and semi-automatic weapons to keep run-and-gunning low, and the overall feel of combat a tad more realistic

And then, but this is personal taste so all might not like it:
black screen mutator and no-deathmessages mutator would totally kick ***.
Those 2 really add to atmosphere IMO, as you cant know where people are or gonna be like you can with spectator mode, wich makes players more carefull a lot of the time. Also, no deathmessages would help to add to this experience as well.

 

[Solo4114]

A few bits of advice from someone who helped run a server that never quite took off.

1.) SEED THE SERVER. You'll need a core group of guys, say 8-10 of them, who are willing to sit around and play 4v4 or 5v5 for hours on end. People go where the bodies are. So you need your core group to be there as much as possible. Once you have a regular population and maintain it long enough, barring any server hiccups that knock you offline for a day or so, you should be able to maintain it.

2.) pay close attention to the map rotations and keep things fresh and interesting. People complain about several maps here and there, but it can be a good idea to rotate ones they were previously sick of back in every so often. Lately Odessa, Danzig, etc. are on the sh!t list, but I guarantee you if you keep them off your server for a month, one month later, people will be saying "Hey, how come we never play Danzig anymore?"

3.) Turn on voting. BUT set a REALLY high number for how often a map can be revoted. IE: you have to go through 15 maps out of 20 before you can re-run a map. This gives people options, but also helps prevent the same maps being played over and over again ad nauseum.

4.) Keep active admins on as much as possible and have a clearly defined set of rules that you stick to closely. You shouldn't have to worry about too much spawn/exit camping, since most maps are designed to prevent this. If you get one that isn't, talk to the mapper and ask them to fix it, or drop it from rotation. Outside of that, the usual team wounding/TKing/destroying friendly vehicles/racism stuff are good rules to have.

5.) Set up some forums where people can go to help build a community. This can help you organize special events, guage the attitude of your regular players, etc.

 

[Xendance]

Make sure you have Smolensk Stalemate in rotation

 

[Major von Mauser]

Make sure you have Smolensk Stalemate in rotation

Yeah, that really seems to get people as well.

 

[Xendance]

Yeah, that really seems to get people as well.

Really?

 

[Sigurd]

Of course it does. It won the map contest IIRC.
Tcherkassy also seem to attract players.....

 

[Jono]

Armoured beasts mutator is an absolute must for excellent tank combat.

With this alone you will attract players to the server.

 

[Drecks]

Avoid all maps made by Drecks. Otherwise your server
will be filled with nadewhores and SMG scam.

 

[[ODIN]Tor]

Nice that you want to contribute. I agree with several of the things already mentioned:

1. 32 player server or more... but don't push the server too far. I'd prefer to play on a 32 player server that runs fine, rather than a laggy 50 player server...
2. Seeding the server is important, but as a help it would be useful to add some bots when the numer of players on the server go under 6 or 8. Noone will join a server alone... and nothing to shoot at is somewhat boring. However, makes sure that the bots only appear when the number of players is below 6 or 8. Some servers still have bots when there are 20+ players on... I don't see the point of bots then.
3. I like map rotation - if the "right" maps are in rotation that is. Voting is prob best, but make sure that maps can't be played over and over and over...
4. I would like to see some custom maps... but not too many versions of the same maps - that's just confusing (beta1, 2, 3b, 3c...etc). I have always liked the old mod maps that were ported... Koitos1944, Warsaw(2), Ambush... also, I like Zhitomirrevenge, Nabruska, Budapest, Last Battle (II ?)...

 

[Xendance]

Avoid all maps made by Drecks. Otherwise your server
will be filled with nadewhores and SMG scam.

I have to agree with you on that one

PS. If you decide to run, for example, a 50 player server, only run maps that are suitable for 50 players.

 

[Nimsky]

Kriegstadt... try to make that map popular on your server.

And like SiC says, a blackscreen mutator or something.

 

[illinifan]

i would reccomend

krasnyioktyabr
kaukasus
leningrad
konigsplatz
smolenskstalemate
koitos1944
enemyatthegates 2
kreigstadt beta 2
vizdeme (my favorite)
tchkerassy
stalingrad kessel
BDJ
Orel
ogledow
krivoi rug
debrecen
kurland kessel
edit- also kruykuvo

mutators- try no death message, black screen for spectators, and maybe AB mod for tanks

do voting, and after a map gets voted for it cant be played until maybe 13 or 14 of the 17 i picked are played

do a 40 player, seems to work on most maps
put bots until the server exceeds 10-15 ppl

 

[Solo4114]

Several of the stock maps are NOT suited for 50 players. Krasnyi Oktyabr is one of them. Stalingrad Kessel seems to be another, though that's debatable. Maps that scale well are Koenigsplatz and Kaukasus as far as the stock maps. Basovka I can't decide on. Sometimes it plays great, other times it's just a slaughter for the Germans. I guess that means it's maintained its balance.


One other thing, and this one is really important.


TURN OFF THE "NP" MUTATOR!!!!!

Many people have been noticing that high population servers with the NP mutator turned on will lag after a while. This only started after the most recent patch introduced the NP mutator, so it's all anyone's been able to come up with as the cause for the problem. The theory is that servers have to track that much more information (in the form of a TK and whether it's been forgiven), which bogs them down. RO is already a VERY server-intensive game, and only seriously powerful servers can run a full 50 players with decent pings and minimal lag. If your server is right on the edge of being able to perform reliably with 50 players, adding the NP feature may introduce lag. This can be visually seen as, for example, warping, or firing a weapon and then being able to immediately fire it again without chambering another round (in other words, the server doesn't recognize that you actually fired the first time).

Personally, I find the NP mutator to be of minimal use anyway. People don't seem to forgive all that often as it is (which is probably why the servers clog up -- they're keeping track of when this person's going to forgive and if they never do, the server has to keep track of it at least until the victim's next death).

 

[Major von Mauser]

Really?

Seriously.

But anyways, don't use AB as alot hate it, and people who don't know about it will start to download and then quit. Also keep death messages on, as alot of people like to actually know if they killed someone, the "NP" mutator is pointless.

As for maps ahve all the stocks plus a decent assortment of all star customs.

 

[Deeival]

32 players - no more. The stock maps (and most custom maps) are just not made for that many people. Imo even Kriegstadt should not have more than 32.

 

[EvilHobo]

I'm inclined to agree with Deeival, Kriegstadt was actually designed for a 32 player load as during its design any higher was inconceivable and so I worked toward making it large but accessible for 32 players. When the 50-player patch came out, the design had already proceeded far enough that I couldn't change it. Still, it seems to work out well enough on all player counts...

 

[Murphy]

I prefer a lower player-count too. Something between 20 and a max. of 32.

 

[Solo4114]

Big servers can work, you just have to be more selective about your maps. Most of the RO infantry maps aren't well suited to 50 players. They work sometimes, but a lot of the stuff folks have come to seriously dislike (nade spam, too many SMGs/semi-autos, etc.) really shows more on a 50 player map. Nade spam alone can make maps like those a real drag. Although, again, it depends heavily on the map itself.