Clans vs Server the debacle


(Ads913) #1

Wolfenstein had it, Quake wars had it and Brink had it, Servers that is.

Something troubling our community (OCB)and I am not the first to notice this but there seems to be a lack of information around servers.

Private, dedicated, rentable servers are invaluable part of the Clan Mechanic it allows any clan to manage their own servers that’s the biggest social element in any game. Current issues with hackers and guys screaming obscenities down their mic can quickly be resolved with minor tools with past binaries. Mods in the game, map making are also key elements to server availability however this topic constantly gets avoided.

I watched the dev streams and it coming more apparent that Clan servers could be missing from Dirty Bomb that there might be an alternative .I hope I am wrong.
The Pug scene is nice feature and it’s nice for comp players however I get the feeling this is a trade-off but it’s not the same as a good old clan server.

Reading the Dirty Bomb Philosophy, business model, the road Map threads and watching Know your heritage Videos all say social clan element is very important and that dedicated servers are in the plans so what’s changed?

Please can we possibly have a definitive answer before we have to protest outside you base in Bromley?


(Rémy Cabresin) #2

“Dedicated servers aren’t on the same line as the Free2Play model”

I think SD as the dev is trying to push dedicated servers as they know how valuable it is to a good environment, but personally I think Nexon is being the choker here because allow people to have their own servers means that they can ‘bar themselves out’ of the free2play model.

Still think that’s a poor excuse, Nexon could easily accomodate server hosting and have people rent from them directly. That way any revenue still stays in doors and in their hands. Obviously that means balancing the scale between profit and maintenance for them but it’s pretty much a fact that most(if not all) current competitive teams(assuming Nexon will 100% keep public play in their own system, not allowing communities or public teams to host their own stuff) would be more than willing to pay a fair price for their own server(even if that means that things like updating/maintenance etc stay in Nexon’s hands, as long as they have their own place to practise/scrim/arrange). With the publics and private servers so far they are taking things down and adding more servers all the time so if they balance the amount of servers with the amount of demand I doubt it’s a real gamble for them :confused:

That said, personally I have very little faith left that we will get full control over servers. I’d be happy with any form of rental for my team and for competitive play.


(Nail) #3

where is that quote from, link please


(Rémy Cabresin) #4

Dev stream from this monday, cba to look up the time :stuck_out_tongue:


(Mustang) #5

Urr wow, I can’t believe this is true, it’s the opposite of what we’ve been told this entire time, like not even a little bit different, but the complete opposite.

But then again this is Nexon, and they don’t even know the game is classless yet… so I wouldn’t put too much faith in them saying the right thing.


(Beermachine) #6

Clan servers would completely solve the issue I highlighted here http://forums.warchest.com/showthread.php/44482-High-Level-Specifically-named-skilled-servers. With a place to go where your guaranteed to find players of a similar mind set and play style, with a community spirit forming between regular players.

The problem is that I can’t imagine Nexon allowing too many tools which a lot of clans find essential to customise settings to their specific tastes, due to the conflicts with the F2P and credit earning mechanics, and bans being easily bypassed with a new steam account.

Still, hopefully it will happen, and I can find a home on some well managed clan servers whose philosophies I agree with, like I did with RtCW, W:ET, ETQW, Brink and a lot of other FPS.


(Nail) #7

well, that’s sad to hear
how unfortunate


(Rémy Cabresin) #8

[QUOTE=Mustang;530991]Urr wow, I can’t believe this is true, it’s the opposite of what we’ve been told this entire time, like not even a little bit different, but the complete opposite.

But then again this is Nexon, and they don’t even know the game is classless yet… so I wouldn’t put too much faith in them saying the right thing.[/QUOTE]

Well they didn’t say this 100% means that there won’t be private servers, just the chances of it seem to be really, really slim.


(ailmanki) #9

I don’t get the problem, renting out servers - where is. The problem with that? it’s a damn win-win for all sides… anybody care to explain? It’s not like having to release server binaries, or an sdk or ranked/unranked… Just private server… fear from xp farmers - they already do that on public ones…


(BioSnark) #10

On Wednesday’s stream at ~31mins, Ming and Shoe basically give an evasion that indicates they don’t understand the role clan/private servers have among the fanbase of their previous games or that they’re simply dodging a straight “no” or “yes”.

There’s some SDK talk in that video at ~1h 55mins.

I can only hope that isn’t the final word on the subject since that would also be the final word on the SDK SD has said they want to develop and also hugely detrimental to keeping clans/communities interested in the game.


(ToonBE) #11

No private servers, binaries and SDK? Well… That equals a big fail… Nothing worth to keep playing dirty bomb then. Simple as that.

If they care about competitive/clans/community this is a no brainer. They made a wrong decision with going free to play. I don’t know why they chose it? Maybe they were afraid nobody would play/buy it? I think that is a wrong mind set. I would have def bought db even at 50euro’s. Imagine all the mercs being available with all of there load out cards? Add to that the money for merc skins and weapon skins you can separately buy (like in csgo), private servers and server binaries an SDK, a lot less cheaters, no nexon bs anti cheat and servers, etc etc… This game would have sold itself because it offered something unique and special… The free to play model doesnt work. Everybody hates it. This game is oriented to skilled competitive players which makes the choice even more questionable.

Third time lucky? Lets see what the future brings after dirty bomb… There is a huge potential for a paced paced competitive fps.


(Szakalot) #12

[QUOTE=ToonBE;531032]No private servers, binaries and SDK? Well… That equals a big fail… Nothing worth to keep playing dirty bomb then. Simple as that.

If they care about competitive/clans/community this is a no brainer. They made a wrong decision with going free to play. I don’t know why they chose it? Maybe they were afraid nobody would play/buy it? I think that is a wrong mind set. I would have def bought db even at 50euro’s. Imagine all the mercs being available with all of there load out cards? Add to that the money for merc skins and weapon skins you can separately buy (like in csgo), private servers and server binaries an SDK, a lot less cheaters, no nexon bs anti cheat and servers, etc etc… This game would have sold itself because it offered something unique and special… The free to play model doesnt work. Everybody hates it. This game is oriented to skilled competitive players which makes the choice even more questionable.

Third time lucky? Lets see what the future brings after dirty bomb… There is a huge potential for a paced paced competitive fps.[/QUOTE]

F2P was a good choice imo. This is a type of game that a lot of people would dismiss with a handwave, but would actually have a blast if they tried. Provided that the unbalanced teams, and hardcore veterans vs. newbies problems get fixed. And stability. And getting rid of XIGNCODE.

I’ve seen plenty of thumbs up from people basically saying: ‘i thought i’d hate it, but damn this game is awesome, best FPS ive ever played’.

Regarding dedicated servers, so far SD has been pretty forthcoming regarding comp community, and yup I know about all the screwups with Evaczone, etc. etc… Disregarding all that drama, there has been many moves from the devs that seemed to cater to what the community wants, in opposition to what their initial plans were.

Even if we don’t have dedicated servers at game launch, enough cry from the community and I’m certain they will step up.


(Ads913) #13

To try and explain, I can only share how the OCB clan servers were managed and what we experienced as a clan ,other clans would have their own take on the situation.
We managed initially Quake Wars servers rented from a well know game server provider that enabled us to manage our own server.
Kicked hackers and players who misbehaved i.e swearing, team killing, and glitchers. We were able to manage teams by switching players with their approval and offer a better gaming experience.
From that we gained respect. Regular players and new Clan members, build up a good relationship within our community and outside the community.
From that we ran the Quake Wars World Cup around dedicated servers and TV servers.
Since then we have ran numerous other game type servers.
So to remove element we would never be able to do the things we do best.
New clans would have a difficult route to start up.
Then SDK and map makers would have no platform to work.
This is not about F2p, the model they have in place works so I have no issue with F2p.Thats a different argument that’s on other threads
I believe SD are listening, they have clearly demonstrated they care about player base by taken on-board community ideas and issues .it about making enough noise so they know we are concerned.


(BomBaKlaK) #14

[QUOTE=Ads913;531035]To try and explain, I can only share how the OCB clan servers were managed and what we experienced as a clan ,other clans would have their own take on the situation.
We managed initially Quake Wars servers rented from a well know game server provider that enabled us to manage our own server.
Kicked hackers and players who misbehaved i.e swearing, team killing, and glitchers. We were able to manage teams by switching players with their approval and offer a better gaming experience.
From that we gained respect. Regular players and new Clan members, build up a good relationship within our community and outside the community.
From that we ran the Quake Wars World Cup around dedicated servers and TV servers.
Since then we have ran numerous other game type servers.
So to remove element we would never be able to do the things we do best.
New clans would have a difficult route to start up.
Then SDK and map makers would have no platform to work.
This is not about F2p, the model they have in place works so I have no issue with F2p.Thats a different argument that’s on other threads
I believe SD are listening, they have clearly demonstrated they care about player base by taken on-board community ideas and issues .it about making enough noise so they know we are concerned.[/QUOTE]

We ask for this since the beginning, anti cheat is a joke like in every game. Without private server & admin this game is out of control, and you can’t do nothing.


(Volcano) #15

needs more maps it was already stale now its open to the public its only a matter of time they get bored of these maps


(MoonOnAStick) #16

It’s great what SD has done with the dirtycups servers so I don’t understand why they wouldn’t consider other people (who perhaps aren’t as good at the game) paying money for a similar experience. I guess there’s no halo effect, no front page twitch streams gained from renting a server to clanX .


(Beermachine) #17

[QUOTE=Ads913;531035]To try and explain, I can only share how the OCB clan servers were managed and what we experienced as a clan ,other clans would have their own take on the situation.
We managed initially Quake Wars servers rented from a well know game server provider that enabled us to manage our own server.
Kicked hackers and players who misbehaved i.e swearing, team killing, and glitchers. We were able to manage teams by switching players with their approval and offer a better gaming experience.[/QUOTE]

Remember the OCB servers well, though not a regular as QW didn’t hold my attention anywhere near as long as W:ET did. Having a server with admins who balanced teams and even more importantly kicked all the glitchers who got under the map killing everyone ruining the game when it was first released made me stay a lot long longer than I would have otherwise. Thanks for providing this very valuable service!


(Nail) #18

pretty certain Nexon controls nearly all server aspects and they don’t see it as profitable


(Szakalot) #19

lol, i even forgot about that; yeah those were ‘funny’ people


(fubar) #20

I think you guys overreact a little too. From what I gather they want a similar setup as to Quake Live had (which wasn’t that bad, really. I quite liked it even.)
In short: You pay for a “pro” or “premium” package monthly/quarterly/yearly whatever your poison, and get to “create” servers in predefined locations with a multitude of settings to go with. Your account is automatically tied to it as ref/rcon and you get full control over said server, for as long as you use it. Any server you created you could setup for a specific “skill rating” or even as simple as pub/private.
Mind you, it doesn’t give us the benefits of hosting it locally, or running mods/alterations/map packs/whatever, which is a bummer, but if they’re anywhere near as in-depth as QL, i don’t expect too much complain/issues with the idea.