Will you renew? (part2)

[Gumbo]

usually the answer is it doesn't fit 'The System' nath, it seems 'The System' is (fatally) flawed.

 

[nath]

Yes, like dealing with politicians. Fobbing us off with answers that don't answer anything.

 

[~YuckFou~]

16 player server: 8 slots reserved for subs.

or

limit amount of playing time to 30 minutes for non subs.

Put full sub details in server name, in server loading text and spam on screen occsionally in a less intrusive UK2 way.

Unless people are able to test and use the service then they will not subscribe. Unless there are players on the servers they will not subscribe. Unless people can see that the servers are there in ASE or similar they will not subscribe.

If people have used the servers, seen the service, and get frustrated that they cannot join a game then they will subscribe.


Free until 8:00pm will not work.
Free for x months then pay will not work.
Giving away subs with games will not work.
Advertising in magazines will not work.


Not fucking rocket science, and not technically difficult.
I'd apply for the job you are advertising, but tbh it would be like booking a ticket on the Titanic.

 

[nath]

And you wouldn't get to shag kate winslet either :/

 

[bigfoot]

Having them public for a period of the day has (and is) being considered as a possible method of publicising them, but it is questionable whether or not it would actually lead to more people playing on the servers when they went over to Subs only - most of the current online audience would probably shrug their shoulders and go play on a server elsewhere come 6pm (or whenever the cut off time was).

 

[0nl00ker]

I would like to subscribe to game.net, but according to most users there's never anyone on the servers - so I don't think I'll bother.

 

[nath]

So don't use the cut off time idea. How about using the free for 30mins idea, or certain amount reserved for subs idea.

Either one will get some people on there which will mean there'll be other people for the subs guys to play with. Subs people will be happy, and surely that's all that matters?

 

[old.RedVenom]

I would think the priority would be not so much to get new people, but to stop the current sub's from dropping the service.

Of course, replacing us with cheap replica's who don't know what they're getting into is also another solution.

 

[bigfoot]

16 player server: 8 slots reserved for subs

As far as I can tell this would be nigh on impossible to implement.

limit amount of playing time to 30 minutes for non subs

This might be possible if you setup some kind of temporary access for non-subscribed IPs, or for logged in membership accounts, but if you have a situation where people are just randomly kicked from games every 30 minutes after they join it will not exactly help create an enjoyable public platform, although perhaps that would be better than none at all. It would also be open to abuse and take up time we simply do not have to police it.

 

[~YuckFou~]

Originally posted by bigfoot
As far as I can tell this would be nigh on impossible to implement.



This might be possible if you setup some kind of temporary access for non-subscribed IPs, or for logged in membership accounts, but if you have a situation where people are just randomly kicked from games every 30 minutes after they join it will not exactly help create an enjoyable public platform, although perhaps that would be better than none at all. It would also be open to abuse and take up time we simply do not have to police it.

These answers demonstrate why the whole thing is falling apart.
Allow me to summarise, "It's too hard and we can't be arsed".

/quit

 

[kameleon]

Originally posted by bigfoot
As far as I can tell this would be nigh on impossible to implement.



This might be possible if you setup some kind of temporary access for non-subscribed IPs, or for logged in membership accounts, but if you have a situation where people are just randomly kicked from games every 30 minutes after they join it will not exactly help create an enjoyable public platform, although perhaps that would be better than none at all. It would also be open to abuse and take up time we simply do not have to police it.

Isn't that what liaisons are for?

If people don't know the service exists, then they can't come and see how good the service is. Most online games now have mini versions of gamespy built in. I discovered barrysworld in the first place through gamespy. If the servers don't show up on the mini browser people won't come.

 

[Lester]

Originally posted by bigfoot
Having them public for a period of the day has (and is) being considered as a possible method of publicising them, but it is questionable whether or not it would actually lead to more people playing on the servers when they went over to Subs only - most of the current online audience would probably shrug their shoulders and go play on a server elsewhere come 6pm (or whenever the cut off time was).

Maybe not. Some people I know subscribed specifically because when KEA's server started playing up we all came to Game.net servers and they were sick of missing the fun. People want to play with friends - they will pay to do it.

 

[kanonfodda]

Originally posted by leggy
I wasn't being serious Kanon matey. I know yuck and like him a lot, I was only taking the piss as it were.

People are taking my far too seriously atm

....

pls continue

I really must use more smilies in my posts

 

[bigfoot]

These answers demonstrate why the whole thing is falling apart. Allow me to summarise, "It's too hard and we can't be arsed".

It's not a matter of it being too hard for us to bother spending any time on anything, it is more that it is impossible to do in the case of the first suggestion you made. That very suggestion was discussed at our last team meeting and we could think of perhaps one game where it might be possible to do something like you suggested, other than that it couldn't be done and it would still probably involve hacking the code of the games themselves - surely even someone as blinkered as you can see that isn't a route we can go down?

My second answer did leave room for that suggestion to be looked at further but there are issues with it and whether or not those issues are ones we can get around to actually make it work depends on a lot of things, most of which are technical and way above my level of knowledge.

 

[throdgrain]

Originally posted by bigfoot
Here's a different spin then on the question:

Would you renew if the servers were open to the public all the time, and if that was the case would you have subbed in the first place?

I wouldnt mind if some servers were open to the public and some private, or something like that.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Speaking from the point of view of a liasion and an admin. The idea about the non-subscribed IP's, and the limited time or cut off time yada yada. If it could be implemented from the techy point of view why not?

Atm besides fighting a losing battle with dwindling numbers we have sweet FA to do with the Server side of Game.net.

I understand that this may not help and you have more tricks up your sleeves but isn't it worth trying? Not exactly that idea maybe but something along those lines, i for one will be more then happy to police that idea or what ever idea. Let us do what we want to do ... admin the servers.

 

[throdgrain]

Originally posted by Deadmanwalking.
. Let us do what we want to do ... admin the servers.

Ditto

 

[(Shovel)]

Originally posted by bigfoot
It's not a matter of it being too hard for us to bother spending any time on anything, it is more that it is impossible to do in the case of the first suggestion you made. That very suggestion was discussed at our last team meeting and we could think of perhaps one game where it might be possible to do something like you suggested, other than that it couldn't be done and it would still probably involve hacking the code of the games themselves - surely even someone as blinkered as you can see that isn't a route we can go down?

Woohoo! Proper forum interaction with, like, reasons and stuff.

Can I ask which game *would* support it? And - in simplish terms - how it would be implemented?

 

[(Shovel)]

Originally posted by Deadmanwalking.
Speaking from the point of view of a liasion and an admin. The idea about the non-subscribed IP's, and the limited time or cut off time yada yada. If it could be implemented from the techy point of view why not?

Atm besides fighting a losing battle with dwindling numbers we have sweet FA to do with the Server side of Game.net.

I understand that this may not help and you have more tricks up your sleeves but isn't it worth trying? Not exactly that idea maybe but something along those lines, i for one will be more then happy to police that idea or what ever idea. Let us do what we want to do ... admin the servers.

Indeed. Could it just be implemented int the games where the liasons are hapy for it? You don't have to impose it on volunteers that don't want to take it on, but if there's people willing for even some of the games then it's got to be good?

 

[Will]

Originally posted by (Shovel)
Can I ask which game *would* support it? And - in simplish terms - how it would be implemented?

Halflife would support it, though set up would be manual...

...thinking about it, I can think of an automatic way of doing it too, but I won't go all techie on you here.

 

[(Shovel)]

Would that encompass Counter Strike and Team Fortress Classic then?

 

[Will]

Indeed it would.

Edit : Though what I'm thinking about is limited non-sub slots, though I can see how the system would be altered to do what has been suggested, with time-limited gaming. Then again, you all have to remember that a) I don't work here, and b) this is all theoretical.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

I think you are going off into techy i want to be clever world tbh..

Its not for us to find the way its for them if its possible.

Edit: That sounded a little harsh but lets face it, it doesn't matter if you can find some way to hack some code or rather up.. if they deem its happening, they are going to have ALOT more chance of doing it then any of us.

 

[djpringle]

I'll re-sub because I keep on planning to play Op Flash online and one day will get round to it. Hell I'll also try a few other games....

 

[Lester]

Is that the INCREDIBLY POPULAR counterstrike you are talking about?

 

[Testin da Cable]

it's been dawning on me for the past few hours (while configuring virtual ethernet interfaces on a very recalcitrant v480 sun server) that most people in this thread (and others too) are trying to help. you know, the h word I suspect that a lot of the frustration being vented stems from limiting factors et al, as in "we" can't help "you" properly at all -however much we want to. anyway, for all the harsh words and venting going on what's happening here is slightly positive I think. smile people, for while evil will prevail in the end, something good has reared it's ugly head.

sorry, I'll shut up now

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Originally posted by Testin da Cable
evil will prevail in the end, something good has reared it's ugly head.

leave lester alone

 

[Will]

DMW...I used to run several CS servers, rather than admin them, so I can say that I would be able to do it. And any ideas are better than no ideas.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

What i meant as in, throwing techy based ideas around here are highly unlikely to (If they go ahead with it) help much with there "system".

Edit: Anyway im techophobic

 

[old.RedVenom]

Originally posted by Deadmanwalking.
I think you are going off into techy i want to be clever world tbh..

Its not for us to find the way its for them if its possible.

Good one, lets just sit here and watch it all drain off down the pan then. After all, if they can't find a way to do what they want it to - its not possible.

Perhaps... just perhaps.... Will could actually knock up a solution that GAME can't? Lets infact, just make disparaging comments the whole time, because that'll really help, won't it now.

Yep, you're not doing what we want, so instead of trying to help we're going to stop subscribing.

//Edit: Yes, everyone's posted in the process of writing this - its that 'h' word again.