What is it you want/dont want your servers to have?

[somerecluse]

I'm curious what it is people look for in joining or staying in a server. It seems the most popular things are safe zones, indestructible bases, and AI missions. Do people ever look for any of the opposite things? Prefer no safe zones? Bases that can be destroyed? What about server performance? Literally every single server I've joined besides 2 I have around 10-15 fps in cities like cherno and about 20-25 everywhere else and in non epoch servers or the other 2 I mentioned I never go below 30. But in those servers they are not that populated... mostly because lack of scripts to keep performance up. 

 

Do people prefer heavily militarized? I'm strictly speaking epoch btw. Do people enjoy 134 aircrafts and heavily armored ground vehicles? I find them to be a little OP. I ask because most of the highly populated servers have lots of these things but TERRIBLE performance and also very whiny immature player bases. This only refers to the high pop servers I've played in at least (pop 35+). I get in their public TS channels and it's profanity every other word and trash talking non stop and whining in side chat. Also they all have loot pinata AI that are a cakewalk. Like all of them. Very easy AI missions with insane rewards. Joined a server yesterday (that stays over 40 people) where a guy accumulated 100 briefcases by himself soloing missions all day. Kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it?

 

The type of servers I like running scripts I like tend to not have as many players. I would play in the bigger ones just because I love killing people but the performance issues and insane amount of terrible scripts or lack of GOOD addons (ACE sound mod) is a real turn off as well as the player bases. I enjoy pvp but it seemed most of the people who joined the servers I like did not enjoy it so much and eventually quit due to dying a lot. 

 

Also how important are admins to you? A lot of those servers also have no really active admins or don't know how to handle their servers and perform updates or keep them running smoothly. I figured this kind of thing would be the most important. Theyre also rampant with ESP users etc because admins usually wont do some independent research or spectating to catch them and it's almost impossible to otherwise.   

 

 

And since someone might ask. The things I prefer most are (in no particular order of important):

Active Admins (that will do their own research/observing to catch scripters)

No trader safe zones

No OP vehicles (nothing that can be fired while manually piloting/driving besides the Pooks with m60s)

Rules against completely dismantling bases or at least indestructible cinder besides doors

Allowing bases to be built virtually anywhere 

No plot pole requirement

No maintenance requirement

No TWS or hitscan weapons that can destroy any normal vehicle in less than 4-5 shots

A healthy amount of vehicles that are commonly civilian. Preferably a good cleanup/respawning script to keep them near coasts instead of seeing 200 ladas/sedans/tube frames north of stary.

Community that enjoys classy PVP

Good server performance and no extremely huge mission file

 

 

 

 

 

TLDR; What are the MOST important things to keep you in a server. And what makes you leave usually?

[cen]

I want performance. That's it.

[Joeyy]

I like to see servers trying to be different from the others. Whether this is achieved via scripts or custom areas, it always makes the server better (unless poorly done..). I also appreciate if they move traders to the edges of the map, it's absolutely killing the combat areas if you put a trader down in stary sobor or NE airfield. On lingor you also got this problem where there are just too many traders and they are covering whole cities!

 

Besides that I can appreciate a server that has a clean scroll menu (replace self bloodbag with the interactive blood bag) and high view distance. And to top it all of, if the server has great performance you're my hero!

[somerecluse]

Can I ask what servers you two play on? And to anyone else who replies here I'd be curious what servers you play on so I can see a sampling of what people really enjoy or consider good performance. 

 

@Joeyy I totally agree with a simplified context menu. It's the little things like adding the interactive inv blood bag clicking that definitely helps. The server I play on has that too. It's so much better than the scroll wheel version and it's just a very tiny change every server could make and should.

[GhostTown]

As a player you have to be able to give and take. You cant have one thing that conflicts with another.

Not having a plot pole and maintenance would allow stuff to be built ANYWHERE and it will never degrade/despawn. So the database will be getting full and also means more and more stuff on the server which will bring down performance ALOT. So you cant have all that and than want good server performance. And you cant expect a admin to just teleport all over the map and delete stuff cause how will he/she know it don't belong to someone? Teleporting will cause lag/desync and they cant do it from the DB cause with there being no maintenance it wont show when its last been used. So not having those is a horrible idea for servers that want good performance.

 

As for the rest of the stuff I agree. Except I have never heard of the Interactive bloodbag? Anyone have a link to this?

 

Most of this stuff I have implemented on my server and anyone is welcome to join and give it a try:

192.187.112.146:2302

http://chemicalgamers.enjin.com/

[somerecluse]

As a player you have to be able to give and take. You cant have one thing that conflicts with another.

Not having a plot pole and maintenance would allow stuff to be built ANYWHERE and it will never degrade/despawn. So the database will be getting full and also means more and more stuff on the server which will bring down performance ALOT. So you cant have all that and than want good server performance. And you cant expect a admin to just teleport all over the map and delete stuff cause how will he/she know it don't belong to someone? Teleporting will cause lag/desync and they cant do it from the DB cause with there being no maintenance it wont show when its last been used. So not having those is a horrible idea for servers that want good performance.

 

 

The server I play on does have all those things and the admins do remove things (there are multiples of them that are pretty much always around) that are no longer used. It has better FPS than virtually all other epoch servers I've played in besides 1 (which was an official server so very few extras).

 

When someone reports something indestructible blocking of high value loot spawns, they clean it right up. No issues at all. It's in the rules but sometimes people don't read. 

Also it's not that hard for them to tell when people haven't logged in or used their safes etc. I think they usually give them a little over a week before they remove unused structures. There are literally no abandoned structures on the server currently. Maintaining is just tedious and annoying. I don't want to spend all my play time gathering mats, protecting my stuff, replacing plot poles, AND maintaining it. Makes it feel too MMO grindy in that way and for solo players, small groups, or not super active ones it's a hassle if you still want to enjoy basebuilding and those things exist. On other servers I never built stuff because as a solo player it required far too much time and resources, taking away from what I love to do most - PVP. 

[GhostTown]

How is Maintaining tedious? You walk up to your plot pole and pay 2 10oz gold lol.

Thats it. Its easy and with missions and such on my server people have been building bases just fine. My stop dont degrade till 15 days if not touched or used. So the people that dont get on often still have a chance.

 

But each to there own :) There is so many servers out there, That there is something for everyone.

[cen]

I don't play on any servers... I run them.

[Kivuli]

We don't want things that make the game easier like self-bloodbag, auto-refuel, trader safe zones, a million armed vehicles, etc. Nor do we want lots of added buildings or bases. What we do like is AI to fight and a couple quality of life things like Maca's build snap, drinking directly from sources, and the ability to take your clothes off your dead body.

[jrp2125]

I don't play on any servers... I run them.

A friend of mine and I started on your server tonight...good fps, very fair rules, great missions and active and non-abusive admin. Nice to be on a high traffic server that doesn't suffer performance loss. Keep up the good work!!!

[Duglum]

I prefer a Server with sane scripts, active and friendly admins and a friendly player base. Which is why i play where i play. :)

 

Most of the things you listed as your favorite exist there.

There are no lazy-type things like auto-refuel, self-bloodbag etc., instead there are unique cool things like supply drops, a Bunker with loot accessible through an entrance with a 4-digit code and a "Zombie Hunter Trader" with which you can only trade if you have >150 Zombie Kills. Also, all armed and armored vehicles are very expensive.

 

Most people there speak German, but English is accepted as well. :)

If you want to give it a try: 88.190.62.129:2332

[cen]

A friend of mine and I started on your server tonight...good fps, very fair rules, great missions and active and non-abusive admin. Nice to be on a high traffic server that doesn't suffer performance loss. Keep up the good work!!!

 

Thanks jrp, good to hear from players!  B)

[somerecluse]

How is Maintaining tedious? You walk up to your plot pole and pay 2 10oz gold lol.

Thats it. Its easy and with missions and such on my server people have been building bases just fine. My stop dont degrade till 15 days if not touched or used. So the people that dont get on often still have a chance.

 

But each to there own :) There is so many servers out there, That there is something for everyone.

 

truth be told I haven't played on a server that required plot poles since they added that (and it worked). Last time I used that function it only maintained the plot pole. Which I also dislike because arma can't code them to work well. If you didn't have to pick it up and put one back down or tag friendlies after deaths they would be fine. But that is also annoying so I just prefer not using them and like servers that don't require them.

 

Plus I like building random things in LOTS of different places that aren't necessarily bases....so requiring plot poles for that stuff is annoying. Like I enjoy building a tollway over a road coming in or out of stary. Since our server has road building disabled I just build stairways going up and over it with a sandbag nest or some other cover on top. Little things like that. Placing tank traps and wire fencing in areas to mold the surroundings so that only I know it etc (not blocking off loot spots or griefing doors though)

[Mercules]

Things I like:

- Friendly community, but I don't want a server to be PVE. It gets dull and boring and is basically unenforceable.

- Military loot spread out. I don't like it when a server owner drops 4 barracks down in Balota, 3 more at the NWAF, few at NEAF, and a couple here and couple there. Leave the areas that have some military loot with what they have and add in a few smaller spots in out of the way areas. Drop a military tent with some sandbag fortifications in the woods somewhere like it was an outpost. Add a firehall to a smaller town that doesn't have one or one of the "checkpoint" buildings. I don't like people being able to fill a truck with guns from one quick stop at the local barracks cluster. 

- AI. I do like AI Missions especially if they are not horrible difficult but the rewards for them are also not insane. I did a mission on a server recently where we ended up killing 20+ AI but were completely geared at the end of it with DMRs for those that wanted them, Lapua for others, NVGs, Ghillie, and to top it all off a LAV vehicle. That thing was broken. I drove through everything with it. Tree? No problem. Brick wall about 1' thick? No problem. Didn't even take damage. Plus it's amphibious and had a large gun on top. You could literally slam other vehicles off the road destroying them and take no damage. It finally did lose it's tires... blowing up a Merlin by driving through it. Missions should be simple and offer simple rewards. I should have a chance of upgrading if I just spawned and grabbed the first gun I found, but I should not be able to reequip myself with the best gear in the game when I already have solid gear. 

I also dislike dynamic AI. I get that "You never know when..." but it makes the other aspects of Epoch annoying. To get wood you need to have a hatchet or chainsaw. It seems like every single time I put my gun in my backpack AI would spawn about 300 meters away and make a B-Line for me. Trading in a couple guns I had found but didn't need would mean I would be empty handed moving back to my vehicle when the AI spotted me and opened fire. Now I have an SD pistol to fight off 3-4 AI and one has a sniper rifle of some sort. If you do but in roaming "Bandit" AI put in some roaming "Survivor" AI that doesn't shoot at people with high humanity and fights the Bandit AI. I've seen some epic gunfights take place when they meet and then you don't always know if it is a player or AI fighting. 

- Traders. I do not like invulnerable traders. I do like knowing the community and knowing who I can trust around the traders and who I can't. It means a group can raid a trader area and try to catch someone there. I do, however, like more protected traders. I've seen some very nice setups where you don't have to be standing out in the open while trading but are still vulnerable. I think that makes for the best mix.

-I dislike Self Bloodbag. It's rather useless in Epoch too. If you get wounded, bandage, and then fill your hunger & thirst you will regenerate blood. This means you still need to find someone and finish them off in a firefight but it isn't instant health boost back up to full. I know different blood bag scripts offer different drawbacks like infection(big deal), less blood(so you use 2), and slower transfusion(about the only one that matters), but it removes one of the few interactive parts of the game. 

-Refuel. I like refuel scripts but I like them to shut down the vehicle. What would be a good idea for someone to code would be a new item called hand pump or something similar that lets you use a refuel script while near a fuel tank. Without it you can't use fuel tanks but with it it quickly refuels your vehicle while you stand still. 

- I like plot poles. They make a person actually plan a little bit. Otherwise you simply slap up a cinderblock wall across a couple doors and then find yourself the stuff to make a locked door and you have your base. I like that you have to setup and hide the plot pole and protect it. I dislike the fact that if I die I have to reset it. It isn't so bad once your base is "done" or at least you have the basics in, but it is annoying when you die from a building mishap or with things only half done(another reason I hate roaming AI).

- Vehicles. I prefer to have a ton of civilian. I don't like... Okay I like it, but I sigh at the same time... finding 2 really expensive aircraft in about an hour. Because if I am doing that it means everyone else is too and we are on our way to an inflated economy. I prefer that people get money from selling SUVs and the occasional armed chopper instead of several C130s each night. 

- That brings me to economy. I like it to be simple. People should struggle to get everything they want but not always everything they need. You really only need 1-2 vehicles, a safe or two, a small base, complete "kit" and maybe a spare in your safes. Anything else is gravy. Getting to that point should take you a few weeks, not a couple evenings playing. I've been on servers where SOLO I have had a base set up with a safe in it in a day with an Armored SUV parked there and maybe a Little Bird or other chopper. On that server I did 3 missions. Each time I loaded all the expensive guns off the AI and loot boxes into the vehicle that was there and sold the guns and vehicle. By the time I was done I bought the SUV and safe and set up the safe. I then bought a plot pole and they had building supplies so I bought those in bulk. Had a base setup before I went to bed that night with H-Barrier and Metal panels circling it, a small cinder bunker with my safe and a storage shed, and a locked garage door. Then I got a Mozzie for disposable transport and I think the next day was when I saved up for a real chopper. I left that server since I was kinda already set and bored. 

- Bases shouldn't be indestructible but the community should agree not to level each other's bases. I think the basic rule of thumb should be, "Don't be a dick." Breaking through a wall or door and raiding their horde of trail mix and Coke is one thing. Cracking the wall and using a hotwire kit on their vehicle then stealing it is one thing. Blowing up every vehicle in the base, burning their tents down, emptying out their storage sheds or flattening them, leaving them nothing but their safes... that's a dick move. Now, destroying all their ladders to the upper floors... that is a bit funny since they can simply build some more. 

[somerecluse]

Things I like:

- Friendly community, but I don't want a server to be PVE. It gets dull and boring and is basically unenforceable.

- Military loot spread out. I don't like it when a server owner drops 4 barracks down in Balota, 3 more at the NWAF, few at NEAF, and a couple here and couple there. Leave the areas that have some military loot with what they have and add in a few smaller spots in out of the way areas. Drop a military tent with some sandbag fortifications in the woods somewhere like it was an outpost. Add a firehall to a smaller town that doesn't have one or one of the "checkpoint" buildings. I don't like people being able to fill a truck with guns from one quick stop at the local barracks cluster. 

- AI. I do like AI Missions especially if they are not horrible difficult but the rewards for them are also not insane. I did a mission on a server recently where we ended up killing 20+ AI but were completely geared at the end of it with DMRs for those that wanted them, Lapua for others, NVGs, Ghillie, and to top it all off a LAV vehicle. That thing was broken. I drove through everything with it. Tree? No problem. Brick wall about 1' thick? No problem. Didn't even take damage. Plus it's amphibious and had a large gun on top. You could literally slam other vehicles off the road destroying them and take no damage. It finally did lose it's tires... blowing up a Merlin by driving through it. Missions should be simple and offer simple rewards. I should have a chance of upgrading if I just spawned and grabbed the first gun I found, but I should not be able to reequip myself with the best gear in the game when I already have solid gear. 

I also dislike dynamic AI. I get that "You never know when..." but it makes the other aspects of Epoch annoying. To get wood you need to have a hatchet or chainsaw. It seems like every single time I put my gun in my backpack AI would spawn about 300 meters away and make a B-Line for me. Trading in a couple guns I had found but didn't need would mean I would be empty handed moving back to my vehicle when the AI spotted me and opened fire. Now I have an SD pistol to fight off 3-4 AI and one has a sniper rifle of some sort. If you do but in roaming "Bandit" AI put in some roaming "Survivor" AI that doesn't shoot at people with high humanity and fights the Bandit AI. I've seen some epic gunfights take place when they meet and then you don't always know if it is a player or AI fighting. 

- Traders. I do not like invulnerable traders. I do like knowing the community and knowing who I can trust around the traders and who I can't. It means a group can raid a trader area and try to catch someone there. I do, however, like more protected traders. I've seen some very nice setups where you don't have to be standing out in the open while trading but are still vulnerable. I think that makes for the best mix.

-I dislike Self Bloodbag. It's rather useless in Epoch too. If you get wounded, bandage, and then fill your hunger & thirst you will regenerate blood. This means you still need to find someone and finish them off in a firefight but it isn't instant health boost back up to full. I know different blood bag scripts offer different drawbacks like infection(big deal), less blood(so you use 2), and slower transfusion(about the only one that matters), but it removes one of the few interactive parts of the game. 

-Refuel. I like refuel scripts but I like them to shut down the vehicle. What would be a good idea for someone to code would be a new item called hand pump or something similar that lets you use a refuel script while near a fuel tank. Without it you can't use fuel tanks but with it it quickly refuels your vehicle while you stand still. 

- I like plot poles. They make a person actually plan a little bit. Otherwise you simply slap up a cinderblock wall across a couple doors and then find yourself the stuff to make a locked door and you have your base. I like that you have to setup and hide the plot pole and protect it. I dislike the fact that if I die I have to reset it. It isn't so bad once your base is "done" or at least you have the basics in, but it is annoying when you die from a building mishap or with things only half done(another reason I hate roaming AI).

- Vehicles. I prefer to have a ton of civilian. I don't like... Okay I like it, but I sigh at the same time... finding 2 really expensive aircraft in about an hour. Because if I am doing that it means everyone else is too and we are on our way to an inflated economy. I prefer that people get money from selling SUVs and the occasional armed chopper instead of several C130s each night. 

- That brings me to economy. I like it to be simple. People should struggle to get everything they want but not always everything they need. You really only need 1-2 vehicles, a safe or two, a small base, complete "kit" and maybe a spare in your safes. Anything else is gravy. Getting to that point should take you a few weeks, not a couple evenings playing. I've been on servers where SOLO I have had a base set up with a safe in it in a day with an Armored SUV parked there and maybe a Little Bird or other chopper. On that server I did 3 missions. Each time I loaded all the expensive guns off the AI and loot boxes into the vehicle that was there and sold the guns and vehicle. By the time I was done I bought the SUV and safe and set up the safe. I then bought a plot pole and they had building supplies so I bought those in bulk. Had a base setup before I went to bed that night with H-Barrier and Metal panels circling it, a small cinder bunker with my safe and a storage shed, and a locked garage door. Then I got a Mozzie for disposable transport and I think the next day was when I saved up for a real chopper. I left that server since I was kinda already set and bored. 

- Bases shouldn't be indestructible but the community should agree not to level each other's bases. I think the basic rule of thumb should be, "Don't be a dick." Breaking through a wall or door and raiding their horde of trail mix and Coke is one thing. Cracking the wall and using a hotwire kit on their vehicle then stealing it is one thing. Blowing up every vehicle in the base, burning their tents down, emptying out their storage sheds or flattening them, leaving them nothing but their safes... that's a dick move. Now, destroying all their ladders to the upper floors... that is a bit funny since they can simply build some more. 

 

Do you play on the same server as me?! lol Literally all the same things I like other than plot poles.. But only because of the reason you mentioned them being tedious. It seems we could/do play in the same place judging by what we both like and that there aren't many servers with those things... One thing I forgot to mention that I love and hate going to servers that don't have it is ACE sound mod. Everything sounds so much better and terrifying and directional sound is a lot better. I don't know why some servers choose not to run this.... joined one populated server and asked admins if they ever thought of it. They replied it caused lag. -_- lol

[J3T]

What i hate?

Server with 500 Vehicles spawns or whatever. Kinda destroys the whole point right?

Trader prices which will get you your briefcase after a few hours.

Weak AI and overpowered loot.

That's just a few things.

 

What i like?

Look at the server in my signature.

[Mercules]

Do you play on the same server as me?! lol Literally all the same things I like other than plot poles.. But only because of the reason you mentioned them being tedious. It seems we could/do play in the same place judging by what we both like and that there aren't many servers with those things... One thing I forgot to mention that I love and hate going to servers that don't have it is ACE sound mod. Everything sounds so much better and terrifying and directional sound is a lot better. I don't know why some servers choose not to run this.... joined one populated server and asked admins if they ever thought of it. They replied it caused lag. -_- lol

 

Not sure... I haven't found many servers that match what I like. Right now I am waiting for a server to switch over to Lingor. They were waiting for 1.0.4.x to settle down so now maybe they will make the switch. 

 

 

Weak AI and overpowered loot.

I don't mind Weak AI as long as the loot from them isn't powerful. I have no issue with AI using Lee Enfields and Shotguns if players can't loot anything but that off them or earn huge rewards from missions by killing weak AI. 

[Dactyl]

I don't play on any servers... I run them.

 

I have a lan server i am building, already turned plot poles off. How do i turn maintenance off?

[cen]

hiveext.ini cleanup placed objects should be -1

[Fully]

I play with a bigish squad <12 people. What we look at when we look for a place to play, and keep us interested =)

Huge population, you have to spam the join button to get on =)
Good performance -  micro pausing like Carbou was a classic case of this, that is no fun.
No - Mozzies that you can craft.
Good selection of admins - that keep the hackers at bay. If one does tp everyone and kill them. The database is not to far behind =)
PvP squad play is encouraged.
Admin events.
Safe zones - we don't use unless we need another safe =). We would prefer the bandit trader setup, you secure it to use it =)
Armoured vehicles are ok, as long as you need to find the ammo for them. Not being able to buy stops them from being so OP =)
AI - That will kill you at 500meters - Tougher the better =)
Deployable bikes is a must =)

Thats about all I can think of at the moment.   

[Dactyl]

hiveext.ini cleanup placed objects should be -1

 

i have a hiveext.dll but not an .ini am i looking in the wrong place?

 

lol dumbest question ever, sorry.