[Answered] Suggestions for Servers/Community

[frosty]

I have compiled a list of suggestions I think would benefit SG as a whole. Some of these suggestions have been suggested before but I believe SG needs to evolve and adapt if it's to succeed further.

 

Discord

Discord is the go to chat/voice program for gamers now, that's a fact. Most places are using it now, a quick look at GFLs ZE Discord server (Just for ZE, not their main community one) they have over 40 people online at this current time. That's more than our TeamSpeak has during peak time. Discord you can either use in browser, download or use on your phone. TeamSpeak is limited due to the fact you have to download it and then get approved by someone who might not be online. Also the text channels are so much better than using TeamSpeak chat.

 

Quick overview of Discord features vs Vent and TeamSpeak - https://discordapp.com/features

 

VIP

GFL and MAPEADORES both have a VIP rank, MAPEADORES is based on playtime and benefits for players who play more (50 hours on server, 250 hours on server etc...)

 

GFLs is basically two payment systems - One for Supporters and One for VIP, VIP cost a little more. http://i.imgur.com/XjmTEEl.png

MORE SKINS basically and other in-game benefits.

 

Zombie Specific Skins for Subscribers and VIPs

Basically just zombie skins for subscribers and VIPs if we get VIPs. @Black Rain pls

 

 

Other Game's

Garry's Mod is still a highly popular game and a good opportunity to bring in newer players. There are a tonne of popular game modes that can be used, it doesn't have to be specifically TTT.

The reason we don't try other games is because servers die quickly, the problem is no one can be bothered to populate them because they get little to no recognition for doing so, so what's the point?

 

 

It's really not my choice what happens to the community but I think these are steps in the right direction.

[Black Rain]

I'm pretty sure they still prefer to keep TeamSpeak instead of Discord and for the same following reasons

 

We won't be switching to Discord.

 

Reasons why:

• The hassle of convincing the entirety of our TS3 users to download and use a new application most of them have never interacted with before.
  
• The servers are not permanently fixed, and anyone can make their own private one with ease. Instead of joining and being in separate channels with friends, they would most likely just make their own Discord server, which isolates people more.
  
• It's in Alpha, and it's free. This is probably the biggest reason. There are far too many things that could cause it to shut down in the near future despite constant updates currently. Not enough funding can lead to worse service in the long run, also they most likely will in fact switch to a paid service once it's out of Alpha and there's no telling how much they'll charge. Either one of those circumstances alone is cause not to switch due to unpredictable future sustainability of either the service, or a server on it. Also while it's in Alpha there's guarantee to be bugs or disruptions/exploits people will find to shut servers down, mess with things, and overall cause unstable service to users.
  

TeamSpeak3 has been around for years and is proven to be stable, reliable, and provide everything we need. Whether Discord looks nicer or not doesn't really matter until they prove to be as reliable (or more) and significantly more worthwhile than TeamSpeak3.

 

While I won't deny it looks nice and it has a promising future if they keep it going, I find it to be more akin to trying to run our communities external voice server using only Curse Voice or a constantly running Skype call from a dedicated computer.

 

Not to mention, while somewhat funny, all of the constant references to memes and cat pictures give off an incredibly immature/unprofessional vibe from the people who are developing it. It's like parents who try to say they're hip with the hop music to relate to kids.

 

I use both and I still don't mind being on TeamSpeak.

 

The problem with adding VIP is that it's another rank I don't think they want o create. It doesn't hold that much of a purpose for us, it might be considered a clutter to add as a rank to the forums and the price tag for Subscriber is way better and offers much more. GFL has a much bigger player base than us because they've expanded to multiple gaming platforms (css, csgo, gmod and tf2) while we're heavily focused only on csgo so that's why they have a Supporter and VIP system. I already told you Vick and I have plans for new models for ZE but he's been pretty busy irl with things so we haven't gotten to testing together atm. We also have went over ways to reward and give recognition to dedicated players for ZE but there are tweaks we need to work on

 

Other Game's

Garry's Mod is still a highly popular game and a good opportunity to bring in newer players. There are a tonne of popular game modes that can be used, it doesn't have to be specifically TTT.

The reason we don't try other games is because servers die quickly, the problem is no one can be bothered to populate them because they get little to no recognition for doing so, so what's the point?

 

 

It's really not my choice what happens to the community but I think these are steps in the right direction.

 

You're right. When we had GMod again before it was taken down, it was completely struggling to maintain a population because no one was interested enough to play it. We had it populated a few times here and there but most of our community still played on csgo. But like you said, if servers quickly die then what is the point of keeping the server? How does it make a step in the right direction if the BDs are throwing money on a server that fails to be successful because people won't play on it? It's seems more like a step backwards instead of forward where it will take away people's time and we lose money instead of it benefiting us. Just using GMod TTT as an example, the same could apply to other game modes.

[Inception]

We shouldnt copy mapeadores VIP system because its basically a pay to win system and youre creating a disparity between those who play a lot/pay and those who dont play as much and not willing to play. Also those VIP perks are pretty insane with bonus hp,no fall damage, hp regenration, slightly faster movement (i think higher capped velocity/walking speed). Someone without perks who can go head to head with the people that have these perks wouldnt mind but new people would find it unfair.

[SpikedRocker]

BR copied and pasted the reason we won't do an official discord server.

 

As far as VIP, pretty much as close as we'll get is subscriber. Yeah you can play here a crap ton, but its not what keeps the doors open here. That's why any and all special benefits go into that rank. As far as other in-game perks, while we've entertained that, we feel we do not want to be a pay to win in any type.

 

New skins are coming, just need patience.

 

New servers, here's the thing, you mentioned specifically Gmod. We used to have GMod. It was nice. Lasted quite a while. Problem is that it is probably the most pain in the ass game when it came to updates. I've never seen a game break so much when updates were applied. Its been my biggest complaint of the game itself. It claims to be sandbox and moddable, but when they push an update something usually breaks. It is a modder's and server managers biggest nightmare. Also, when CS:GO came around (granted about a year after its release), our Gmod servers started to die as everyone seemed to migrate there. There were not enough GMod players left to reasonably keep things open.

 

Currenty, we offer a Rust and Minecraft server. Both don't do well on population, however, they are independently ran outside our main servers. We are currently looking to do a 7 Days to Die server (hope to have a survey out to get the starting specs here soon). We are always looking for other kinds of servers, its just not always right for us to do.