What game by valve has focused on small groups of players in groups of 4 or 8 that would require many servers. Valve hosting servers seems to just be a natural progression of how the game works. All of valves other games work with 16 or more players.
On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:41 PM, Aaron Rapp <r...@iz3d.com> wrote: > Richard, > > Let me ask you. What game, from Valve, has been run without the need of > server admins? I'm not sure I can name any. > > Then...all of a sudden, when a game developed by Valve, but published by > EA....now they have their own servers? > > It definitely doesn't sound like something Valve would have come up with. > There is no hard evidence that shows that EA is a part of these > shenanigans, > but...let's look at it with common sense. EA is the publisher, and now > there > is no need for server admins. > > 2+2=4 > > Aaron Rapp > > -----Original Message----- > From: hlds-boun...@list.valvesoftware.com > [mailto:hlds-boun...@list.valvesoftware.com] On Behalf Of Richard Eid > Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 3:38 PM > To: Half-Life dedicated Win32 server mailing list > Subject: Re: [hlds] L4D Client Update > > gameadmin, > > I disagree. I can't tell you how many times I started a Lobby, filled it, > let the Lobby being a server search, then ended up on some random, modified > server. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I played on > an official Valve server before this recent change. > > Now I'm not trying to bash every Left 4 Dead server out there, because I > ended up on more good ones than bad ones. But I know for a fact that > official servers were not the default choice of the Lobby system. Not even > from day one. On release day, as soon as the issues with Windows Left 4 > Dead servers were corrected, I fired up two of them and they stayed packed > for a few days straight. > > I believe that before this change, the option of "Best Available Dedicated" > was the default(and only) setting. In this case, you may still end up on a > Valve server, but definitely no guarantees. This is what I experienced > throughout all of my Left 4 Dead playtime. > > Robert, > > I see your point and can definitely attest to running into a lot of > undesirables out there in the random public games. The thing is, unless > you > have your own server and choose to play on it through the use of a > search_key or whatever method you use to get to it, you'll run into this on > any server you go to unless you only and always play games with your > friends. You're never guaranteed to see an admin anywhere. Not in Left 4 > Dead, not in TF2, not anywhere. At least we have the Vote Kick system > available by default, though this is also a well abused feature in public > servers. So it's good that you won't be in public servers because who > needs > a headache like that, right? Play on your own server. That's why you have > it! > > You have to start looking towards the future anyway. The SDK will be out > soon and all sorts of changes will be made to the base gameplay of Left 4 > Dead without anybody ever knowing until they just run into it and declare > Left 4 Dead a horrible game. With the default being Official Dedicated, > you > will at least know that you're getting into a plain old regular game > instead > of possibly(most likely) an ultra-modified game. This is simply a way for > Valve to protect their investment, without really harming anybody in the > process. > > Think about it...who really cares if your Left 4 Dead server sits empty? > If > you got one, it's more than likely that you got it so that you and some > friends could get together and play on it. I don't know what the obsession > is with having your server packed full all the time. Yeah, I noticed it > during release, cool. But if I wanted to actually play on it, I'd have to > kick someone else that may have already invested a bunch of time into a > campaign. Or maybe they were playing with friends. Or whatever. But it > was never really empty so I could start a new game on it. I sometimes > prayed that it would empty out so I didn't have to feel bad about kicking > someone so I could join an in-progress game. > > Seriously, could someone please answer the following question for me? > > What is the obsession with having your server, no matter the game, packed > full all day and all night? Is this that much a measure of your > self-worth? I always thought people started servers so they had their own > place to play with their own rules. What does it matter if people come > around or not? If you don't have enough friends to have a friendly game of > whatever, why did you start one in the first place? > > This is seriously something that's bugging me and I'm trying to find out > why > having a full server is so important. It's been consuming me lately and I > have yet to find an answer. > > Aaron, > > You're going to have to explain to me where EA sits in all this. This is a > Valve game with servers hosted by Valve(and a lot of us). Could you please > provide some linkage to where EA fits into any of this besides distribution > at retail? > > Steve, > > I'm not sure where you got the idea that I, personally, wrote what you > quoted. That's taken directly from the news page on the Steam site. I > merely linked to it. > > And as far as "better", what is your definition of that? Ping? Server > quality(fps)? Because the Valve servers run like butter. Sometimes I'll > have a bit higher ping than I'm used to, but does ping really make *that* > big a difference in Left 4 Dead? Not that I've noticed, but maybe you have > a different opinion. I'd love to hear it, so please respond if you > disagree. > > And again, how is this making any of our servers "second-class"? How much > time do you have to spend administrating an empty server? When you are > ready to play, it will probably be available to you now. When you are > playing, you can do all your administration then. > > Or did you mean administration in terms of setting it up? Because if > that's > the case, then you set it up how YOU wanted to set it up, correct? So when > it's time for you to get a game going, the server will perform as and make > the options available to you that you desire. > > It really seems like a win-win for everyone involved here. The players get > the option to first play on normal servers. I'm not saying that everyone > who runs one modifies it, but with the Lobby system, there's no way to tell > where you're going to end up. So Valve has guaranteed that players get to > play Left 4 Dead. On the flip side, my server is now empty most of the > time, so when I have time to play, I can use it. Hell, I can create a > Lobby, wait for it to fill, then bring all those random people into my > server...MY server. I can do this at will and when I want. I can then run > and administer the server as I like while I'm playing on it. I no longer > have to wait for it to free up, then hope that I'm either free or in the > mood to play. > > Maybe you can answer the question as to why it's so important to have a > server full constantly. Is it because you run more than one? Ten? Why > did > you get ten going? Do you have a community that plays Left 4 Dead? Was > the > amount of servers you got based on how many people would play? Are the > players disappointed that your servers are always free now? Why did you > get > ten going again? If they're all sitting empty now, your community must not > have been the reason you decided to run them. So what exactly is the > reason? > > I don't mean to come off as a jerk, but I am seriously baffled at this > latest craze. I run servers for myself and my friends to play on. I don't > really care if anyone else plays on them. I also know that not everyone > runs servers for the same reason, but then why? Why do you run servers? > Why must they be packed full all day or you'll get rid of them? > Please...someone has to have an answer. I think I know what the real > answer > is, but it hurts me to know that it's where we are at as server operators > today. > > But I'm all ears. > > -Richard Eid > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 3:47 PM, <gamead...@127001.org> wrote: > > > Mike, what region are you in? We are in sv_region 3 (Europe) and, while > > our > > servers were empty just after the last update (all of Friday) they picked > > up > > again on Saturday morning as normal: > > > > http://www.127001.org/mrtg/graph_93.html (The decrease in peak usage in > > the > > past couple of weeks is because we decreased the number of servers from > 12 > > to 8 because of other activity on the box) > > > > Also, to reply to Richard Eid: > > > > "Left 4 Dead players are now going to official servers by default." > > > > What do you mean, "now"? They always _did_ choose to go to official > > servers > > first, there's a thread in the forums about it. There's just the ability > > to > > turn this off now. > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: hlds-boun...@list.valvesoftware.com [mailto:hlds- > > > boun...@list.valvesoftware.com] On Behalf Of Mike Stiehm > > > Sent: 15 March 2009 19:28 > > > To: 'Half-Life dedicated Win32 server mailing list' > > > Subject: Re: [hlds] L4D Client Update > > > > > > Good now I can dump the piece of crap L4D servers and just add more > > > variety > > > to what I have now... (I had some of the most popular L4D servers > > > before > > > this.. Now I get 0 players... Not even one player at all..) > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: hlds-boun...@list.valvesoftware.com > > > [mailto:hlds-boun...@list.valvesoftware.com] On Behalf Of Richard Eid > > > Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 12:02 PM > > > To: Half-Life dedicated Win32 server mailing list > > > Subject: Re: [hlds] L4D Client Update > > > > > > http://store.steampowered.com/news/2349/ > > > > > > That's what is going on. Left 4 Dead players are now going to official > > > servers by default. Since the nature of the lobby system would allow > > > for > > > people to end up on any random server out there, the Left 4 Dead > > > experience > > > was being ruined by modded servers. If you create a lobby and look > > > under > > > Game Settings, you now have the options of Official Dedicated(default), > > > Best > > > Available Dedicated and Local Server. It's now up to the player to > > > decide > > > which type of server he or she wants to end up on. > > > > > > My guess, which can't be all that far off just by noticing what's been > > > mentioned here on HLDS, is that players are using the default of > > > Official > > > Dedicated because it guarantees them the cleanest experience possible. > > > > > > -Richard Eid > > > > > > > > > On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 7:17 AM, Mark Edwards > > > <sixtysixno...@hotmail.com>wrote: > > > > > > > Zero players on our three L4D servers in the 48 hours or so since the > > > > second > > > > update. What is going on? > > > > > > > > >> > From: Admin Bob <admin_...@cox.net> > > > > >> > To: Half-Life dedicated Win32 server mailing list > > > > >> > <hlds@list.valvesoftware.com> > > > > >> > Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 7:48:41 AM > > > > >> > Subject: Re: [hlds] L4D Client Update > > > > >> > > > > > >> > Still empty. Still getting errors: > > > > >> > A2C_print from 68.142.72.250:2701 > > > > >> > Bad challenge > > > > >> > > > > > >> > -----Original Message----- > > > > >> > From: hlds-boun...@list.valvesoftware.com > > > > >> > [mailto:hlds-boun...@list.valvesoftware.com] On Behalf Of Adam > > > > Nowacki > > > > >> > Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 2:09 AM > > > > >> > To: Half-Life dedicated Win32 server mailing list > > > > >> > Subject: Re: [hlds] L4D Client Update > > > > >> > > > > > >> > Blood Letter wrote: > > > > >> > > So did this update fix the empty server issue for anyone? > > > > >> > > Mine is still bone dry. > > > > >> > > > > > >> > Maybe because people want to play on official servers? The > > > search > > > > works > > > > >> > now and will actually fall back to non-official servers thanks > > > to a > > > > >> > longer search timeout. > > > > >> > > > > > >> > _______________________________________________ > > > > >> > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list > > > archives, > > > > >> > please visit: > > > > >> > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list > > > archives, > > > > please visit: > > > > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, > > > please visit: > > > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, > > > please visit: > > > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, > > please visit: > > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds > > > _______________________________________________ > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, > please visit: > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds > > > > _______________________________________________ > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, > please visit: > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds > _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds
