Will you renew? (part2)

[Wij]

Originally posted by Testin da Cable
that's not too bad actually. a half decent traffic shaper could be configured to put non-subs in a low priority stream or something

Woot - we'll call them AOL'ers

 

[mank!]

I thought one of GAME's marketing ploys was to do with ping speeds? You're not exaclty going to get the chance to try before you buy if you've got a higher ping than the subs.

 

[(Shovel)]

Woot - we'll call them AOL'ers

Yeah, but it's flawed. You want to offer the servers so that people can demo them and go "Wow this is so l33t", if you bump up their ping then they wont want to subscribe to average servers. Although it could be explained, I'd suggest that it would be getting a bit too complex from a user pov.

Remember, GAME sell the service to all and sundry. There's likely to be a good chunk of the subscriber base who simply don't know what ping and lag mean. If you bump it up, then they'll just assume "Crap server" and go elsewhere.

I'd have thought giving people a "true demo" of the service would be a priority?

 

[mank!]

Originally posted by (Shovel)
I'd have thought giving people a "true demo" of the service would be a priority?

Agreed

 

[Jonny_Darko]

I'm often misconstrued in the things that I say. I don't understand the concept of tact (to me, it's "lying") and in my day to day life, stuff I say with the best of intentions tends to be taken as insulting by the recipient. I should have guessed it would be no different on here. In fact, without changes in tone of voice it's harder to make the point you want. More smilies methinks.

 

[kanonfodda]

Originally posted by kameleon
Is there no way of having a barrybar lite ? That has to be connected to a server to function and then at a set time gets cut off?

That sounds like the most universal solution, as the game specifics would not be an issue.

/edit: You could set it up to limit to a certain number of hours per week, or however you wanted to spread the load, maybe onlay available at lower traffic periods or something?

Long live BW

 

[(Shovel)]

OK then:

Is it possible to run a general software filter (a proxy or suchlike, my network terminology is not great I'm afraid), on the servers network that could handle all the "if not subbed kick after 20 minutes" business?

Would it have a big performance hit on the servers themselves, or on the network performance of subscribers?

And:
Is it possible to have individual games provide a different MOTD to non subs with subscription instructions and big letters to remind them that they will be kicked after 20 mins?

 

[(Shovel)]

Originally posted by kanonfodda
That sounds like the most universal solution, as the game specifics would not be an issue.

/edit: You could set it up to limit to a certain number of hours per week, or however you wanted to spread the load, maybe onlay available at lower traffic periods or something?

Long live BW

That doesn't get around the servers not appearing in ASE/Gamespy though?

 

[Testin da Cable]

a 'non-sub' barrybar that lets you connect 5 times? 3 times? methinks a software sollution may be the better path

 

[Lester]

You really want to kick them when a sub wants to come on tbh. If you kick after 20 minutes and they are aware of it, they won't join in the first place. Additionally if it's during a quite period it would be pointless kicking,say, the 4 non-subs, if that's all that's on (= empty server again)

 

[kanonfodda]

Originally posted by (Shovel)
That doesn't get around the servers not appearing in ASE/Gamespy though?

Don't know how you would get around this.

Maybe if they could set them up as requiring authentication to log in (provided by the barrybar) but visible in gayspy etc.

That is where the network bods come in (/me looks at TDC)

 

[(Shovel)]

I still don't know if it's viable cause I've not got a response from the network experts on the forums, but a server side proxy type thing would be able to cater for that? It doesn't seem like much to make it track who is on what server and how many are there?

If you could do the above, It would also be able to boot off non subs if it's full and a subscriber wants in?


/also looks at TDC

 

[Lester]

Password it? Send the password out in weekly emails? Any non-subs who get on could be booted by some software? They would show up then? Oh I dunno...

 

[MYstIC G]

Has everyone else become infected by my "Miserable Bastard" title or something?

What the hell happened to this place, it used to be all *fluffle* and such? Things have changed & don't even try & pin it on "who owns this place" because in reality we do, it's ours. Stop making it shite with 50 different threads for the same old "i don't want to pay" crap, nobody wants to pay, ever, for anything. Thats life.

Can we drop these threads for a while & pay a little more attention to the fact that one half of the pairing that started it all will be leaving in 7 days time?

(P.S. - sorry if this topic gets thrown off by this but I picked one at random)

 

[adams901]

In regards to public servers and subs getting priority, the only way I think this would work is....

To make the servers public 24/7 that way the servers are always full, to encourage subs you make it so a non sub is removed from the server when a paying member tries to join. That way you will get people signing up for 2 reasons, 1) they would be guaranteed a place on a full server, 2) they get to piss the non paying members off by taking their place.

of course it probably isn't doable, but it looks good on paper

 

[kanonfodda]

Originally posted by (Shovel)
If you could do the above, It would also be able to boot off non subs if it's full and a subscriber wants in?

Theoretically, yes, this would be possible, as the barrybar would be able to monitor the connection time.

The configuration should be limitless, if it can be setup at this level.

 

[Jonny_Darko]

Originally posted by MYstIC G
Has everyone else become infected by my "Miserable Bastard" title or something?

What the hell happened to this place, it used to be all *fluffle* and such? Things have changed & don't even try & pin it on "who owns this place" because in reality we do, it's ours. Stop making it shite with 50 different threads for the same old "i don't want to pay" crap, nobody wants to pay, ever, for anything. Thats life.

Can we drop these threads for a while & pay a little more attention to the fact that one half of the pairing that started it all will be leaving in 7 days time?

(P.S. - sorry if this topic gets thrown off by this but I picked one at random)

/me fluffles MYstIC G

 

[leggy]

The thing is Mystic G it isnt all bad in this thread. Some of the guys are trying to come up with a helpful solution. The ones who are complaining are ignored

/edit

I didnt mean you before we start hitting each other with handbags again

 

[mank!]

Originally posted by adams901
In regards to public servers and subs getting priority, the only way I think this would work is....

To make the servers public 24/7 that way the servers are always full, to encourage subs you make it so a non sub is removed from the server when a paying member tries to join. That way you will get people signing up for 2 reasons, 1) they would be guaranteed a place on a full server, 2) they get to piss the non paying members off by taking their place.

of course it probably isn't doable, but it looks good on paper

I like that idea, because frankly nobody wants to wait for people to join to get a game. I'd much rather join a full server whether it was free or not and get into the game immediately.

 

[Testin da Cable]

stop looking at meh, I'm a server person...not an evil (well) network (debatable) device (toys!) person! based on what I know there are several different sollutions that vary greatly in cost. the idea I envision atm is a box you auth against (or not) and based on that you get routed to a server. for each authed connection to a server, a non-auth connex gets dropped.

it's exactly like the bots/players thing in UT: you specify a minimum number of players you require, and the game gets played by that number of bots till a human arrives apon which a bot gets kicked non?

 

[mank!]

Originally posted by leggy
The thing is Mystic G it isnt all bad in this thread. Some of the guys are trying to come up with a helpful solution. The ones who are complaining are ignored

It's the British way!

 

[kanonfodda]

Originally posted by Testin da Cable
stop looking at meh toys!

ahhh

/me fluffles TDC

 

[MYstIC G]

Originally posted by leggy
The thing is Mystic G it isnt all bad in this thread. Some of the guys are trying to come up with a helpful solution. The ones who are complaining are ignored

/edit

I didnt mean you before we start hitting each other with handbags again

But I like your handbag, it feels so smooth against my skin

As for the servers, we had this problem with GamesDomain..... /me awaits being lynched..... the bottom line I always came to personally was that the push for getting games started (i.e. filling a server) _has_ to come from within, i.e. from the GAME.net boys. At the moment I don't really think there is anyone there that can/does do that, but there could be *cough* hint hint *cough*

Anyway, back to my point of view on the universe. Remember some core lessons about people & apply them:
a) they are lazy
b) they are willful
c) they hate spending money on anything

and you get what we've heard:
a) I don't want to subscribe
b) I don't want to play that game
c) I don't want to wait in a server in case nobody turns up

The _only_ solution is to take away the set of excuses. So with starting games you have to stop people being lazy & willful, i.e. they need motivation (or what I guess you'd call "a good reason") to want to play, thats whats missing

PS - all these ideas are mine, all mine & hence belong to me, me me, as only I can give my own point of view on the universe.

Tune in next time for "Why jolt sucks - the facts behind the truth"

 

[(Shovel)]

Originally posted by Testin da Cable
stop looking at meh, I'm a server person...not an evil (well) network (debatable) device (toys!) person! based on what I know there are several different sollutions that vary greatly in cost. the idea I envision atm is a box you auth against (or not) and based on that you get routed to a server. for each authed connection to a server, a non-auth connex gets dropped.

it's exactly like the bots/players thing in UT: you specify a minimum number of players you require, and the game gets played by that number of bots till a human arrives apon which a bot gets kicked non?

We need to be careful here. In the space of 3 hours we've heading toward something that is viable...

I recon that both BarryLite and and server side solution would work - though there is the element of maybe integrating with the games? So that reasons are given and suchlike. However, that is far less a priority.

My preference would be towards something server side on the grounds that:
o It doesn't require custom software
o It allows greater control over who is and who isn't allowed on servers
o Servers can still by accessed by the most popular server tools - and that, for me, is the clincher.

Can I ask a question about console commands in games?

I know that an admin inside the game can kick players. Is it possible to pass admin commands to the executable from outside? e.g. the above server side solution can send a kick message to the server with a nice, polite, sensible reasoning, and stick in the game.net web address. Otherwise they would just be reported as "Disconnected" yes?

 

[kanonfodda]

Originally posted by (Shovel)
We need to be careful here In the space of 3 hours we've heading toward something that is viable...

I know that an admin inside the game can kick players. Is it possible to pass admin commands to the executable from outside? e.g. the above server side solution can send a kick message to the server with a nice, polite, sensible reasoning, and stick in the game.net web address. Otherwise they would just be reported as "Disconnected" yes?

As far as I know, this should be possible to do, thus allowing nice fluffy, messages.

"If you enjoyed your time on this server, please visit www.game.net to subscribe for unlimited time" or similar

 

[kameleon]

If we could go down the barrylite route, it would be easy to attach a sticker or something on the games in the stores too.

 

[mank!]

Originally posted by kameleon
attach a sticker or something on the games in the stores too.

YELLOW SMILEY! None of that purple crud.

 

[(Shovel)]

That's almost a whole other issue really. In that respect, there are two types of people that need to be attracted. There are hundreds of exisitng gamers, who currently play free on other services, who don't know GAME.net exists because you can't access it in ASE/GSpy. They need to be catered for, and they wont download proprietry software to do it.

In turn, a BarryLite, given away with games you buy attracts the other target, new gamers.

I can't see how making BarryLite will be hard? I mean, you just disable a load of features in the full BarryBar?

I don't think you can compromise on which target audience you attract though, you need both. And there's little way that GAME will be a complete sucess with only one of those targets catered for.

 

[.Cask]

Hmm someone has probably mentioned this already but there doesn't seem to be enough players to fill up all of the free servers around these days. When I first started playing Quake there were 2 or 3 good servers and they'd be packed out, but now it seems every man and his dog have set up a server for something.

Just look at the top of my ASE list for BF1942.

Ok they'll fill up a bit more as it gets a bit later in the day but even so there's a hell of a lot of unused hardware there.

With so many servers around and so few players I doubt it's even possible to cover your costs with P2P.

 

[(Shovel)]

P2P - and getting there early - the way I see it will only become an advantage when the other major suppliers - Jolt & Blueyonder, also establish their own models.

Barrysworld/GAME has an advantage there though, in that, as has been said, the servers are shit hot. BarryServers will be at the top of that list and that will help shift people onto them.

i'm not sure there's much else that can be done, apart from making sure that people buying from GAME get some ability to play a little bit without signing up, thereby encouraging new players into this wonderful world of ours.

EDIT:// In fact, looking more closely at the pick, there's a good group of BarryServers/GAME.NET servers there - albeit private clan ones/bookables.