TF2 and Vent server donation drive
primesuspect
Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
Hey kids, it's that time again.
The way it stands, there's less than a month left on the TF2 and Vent servers.
I'm not sure that the TF2 server gets used enough to justify continuing the $80/month cost.
On top of that, the people that DO use it (and the Vent server) the most are the ones who aren't really donating.
The servers have remained up due to the massive generosity of a few people. In fact, one person in particular has donated the largest amount of money to keep these servers running, and he doesn't even play TF2 or use Vent. He's just that kind of guy.
We, as a community, have a couple of options here:
1) The people who actually play and benefit from these servers can kick it up a notch and start donating
2) We downgrade or eliminate the TF2 server and just keep Vent running, and the people who use Vent on a daily basis start chipping in.
3) We just forget the whole thing
So let's discuss. If you want to donate, here's the link:
<a href="http://www.gameservers.com/clanpay/?clanid=e95b3c39f0a8c2bb5469b5bb7887e30e"><img src="http://www.gameservers.com/images/clanpay/clanpaybutton.png" alt="" border="0"/></a>
The way it stands, there's less than a month left on the TF2 and Vent servers.
I'm not sure that the TF2 server gets used enough to justify continuing the $80/month cost.
On top of that, the people that DO use it (and the Vent server) the most are the ones who aren't really donating.
The servers have remained up due to the massive generosity of a few people. In fact, one person in particular has donated the largest amount of money to keep these servers running, and he doesn't even play TF2 or use Vent. He's just that kind of guy.
We, as a community, have a couple of options here:
1) The people who actually play and benefit from these servers can kick it up a notch and start donating
2) We downgrade or eliminate the TF2 server and just keep Vent running, and the people who use Vent on a daily basis start chipping in.
3) We just forget the whole thing
So let's discuss. If you want to donate, here's the link:
<a href="http://www.gameservers.com/clanpay/?clanid=e95b3c39f0a8c2bb5469b5bb7887e30e"><img src="http://www.gameservers.com/images/clanpay/clanpaybutton.png" alt="" border="0"/></a>
![http://www.gameservers.com/images/clanpay/clanpaybutton.png"](http://www.gameservers.com/images/clanpay/clanpaybutton.png"){kind=link}
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Comments
Amazing generosity. Thank you, on behalf of us all.
Think about it: Many of us met, hell MOST of us met through TF2. My life has been immeasurably improved because of TF2. Bobby Miller, Gnome Queen, the whole freaking Missouri crew, Preacher and Rex, I mean, seriously, almost all of you are here because of this damned game.
And now none of us play any more. Why? Not because we've "moved on" or "grew up", it's because the damned game is completely unrecognizable anymore. Matt and I have something like a thousand hours each into TF2. A THOUSAND. The last time either of us fired it up, it was just incomprehensible with the weapons loadouts.
I'm not even going to blame hats or crafting. That stuff doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that I don't know how to play demo anymore, and that I don't know how to face off against a sword-wielding scout or whatever. The balance is just gone. It's gone from a simple, amazing, fun experience to a complicated mish-mash of loadouts, crafting, and craziness.
The few people who do still play TF2 can be arsed to play on public servers elsewhere, I think. I don't think it's difficult to find an empty public server, so the only thing they really give up is the ability to kick people, but I'm not sure most of the current players are even admins on the server.
We also don't need the Vent server. Or, at the very least, it doesn't need to be 'the official IC Vent server' with the bill going to ICHQ each month. If the people who still use it (WoW players, maybe?) still want it, they can organize one for themselves.
There are free solutions, however. Skype works well. I know it's not exactly the same, but it's a free alternative.
Different loadouts can help combat a specific play style, which means you no longer have demos that keep things on lock down constantly. I think the core gameplay is very much still the same but the general tactics have changed dramatically.
That said, I think keeping the server up for the random times we actually do play (I haven't played in about a month) seems excessive.
Also, Steve DID set up a vent server for us ex-WoW folks some time ago that we've been using for the last few months. Now that we're mostly done, is it time to re-integrate?
The server was just a backup for when the official Vent server was having its (many) lag/connectivity issues. I, for example, have just been too lazy to switch back.
QFT. I stopped playing the instant the game because weighted away from the casual player. Playing once a week, I just got left behind, because I didn't have the stats to earn the more powerful weapons. That was years ago, and I likely wouldn't recognize the game now.
I play TF2 all the time. I have kept up on all the weaponry and trade on a regular basis. I collect the Hats (It's a cheap hobby). If you care for a visual of my addicti... collection, check My Backpack. (Side note: anyone not play anymore want to give me any/all their stuff?)
I rarely play on the IC server because there is rarely people on it. It is not easy to get it going as not a lot of IC people play anymore. It is much easier to find a close to full server and hop on that. That said I do not believe the IC server gets used enough to justify the $80 /mo.
Vent I use on a regular basis and will gladly throw in a couple months worth, but would like it to go towards vent and not a deserted TF2 server.
all good things (come to an end)
Tragic...but educational.
For obvious reasons.
1. We should not be paying close to 71 for a game server, especially one from Gameservers, they are just not a good company.
I suggest we buy a much cheaper server I suggest one from Multiplay They have a pretty good reputation, they are one of the biggest gameserver companies in Europe and are breaking into the American market so they are crazy cheap. A 24 man server costs under $15 a month. Plus the way they have it setup where they retain most of the control through updates and fixing bugs and stuff, which is definitely helpful and needed for a group like ours. I've done a few trials on their servers and didn't really have any issues. It sure is better value the 71 dollars a month one currently.
I'd also install a hatless mod. It may turn off some people but people who really care that much about hats I don't want to play with anyways, I'd rather stick around for the game play than hat talk. It's also very possible to go pretty much vanilla but keep things like the equalizer and th kritzkrieg as they've been around long enough where they are pretty much vanilla weapons and the game would just be weird without them. I highly suggest doing that.
Eliminating the vast amounts of variance in weapons and hats will allow the game to run smoother and less visual clutter will definitely be a bonus for everyone, I can't stand people who think painting camera bear hot pink or lime green is a good idea. It's also very easy to switch back to allowing hats if we feel the need to do so.
That's my two cents. Oh if we do switch I'll take the time and the set the server up.
In defense of Gameservers, however, I will say that they've served us very well for the three years we've been with them. The few times we have had a problem, their support system has been very quick to resolve the issue.
The reason it's expensive is because we have a 500 tick/100fps server. We have the top-tier service, which was important when we had a full server every night.
Like I said, I can look into lowering the price, but I really don't agree with the assessment that Gameservers is "just not a good company". They've done just fine by us.
I've worked with 3 separate servers through them and have had issues out the pooper with them. I've had pings well over 80 than it should be, I've had mad registry errors. Many mod problems. Whenever I tried to get some service from them I was not even given the time of day. It just seems like we have had very different experiences, mine being all bad.
Just a couple thoughts...
1. On a whim, I joined the IC TF2 server and sent a Steam announcement today and yesterday. It quickly filled up both days with about half IC regulars (mostly newer generation, but some old timers) and half pubs, and ran full for hours. We still got that mojo!
2. I agree that we should look into a cheaper server. 70$ is a lot of money to pay for a server that is really only used to host pickup games, not competitions. I am hardly an expert in being an admin for a TF2 server, but the people I talk to (including Karma) seem to have an average or below average opinion of Gameservers.com. I find their website hard to use, but that may be the same for every company. However, I still suggest we try another company as Karma recommends, mostly based on price/performance.
3. I also like the idea of rolling back the server mods to get more people to play, particularly the old timers. People come to IC, because we have a very low amount of ass hats and always engage in crazy, stimulating conversation, not because we have an uber-awesome ping, elite players, and the latest mods. When Beartato, tiberiuslazarus, and others stopped doing most of the server admin, the server just seemed to stagnate.
Overall, it would be a TOTAL shame to not have one game where we all can get together and frag. Without TF2, IC would be a much more boring and less interesting place. It's a damn shame that we collectively can't come to some decision to play together on TF2 or on another game. I miss Piggie's arrows in my eye, Rex's knife in my back, Lincoln's gatling riddling me with bullets, Prime's expert engineering with caustic commentary, Ampersand's owning of me regardless of Snow White pocket medicing him, Blackhawk and GnomeQueen burning everything in sight, etc, etc. Old skool TF2 was the reason why I re-discovered so many great classic (Doc, Prime, Lincoln, BobbyDigi, PigFlipper, tiberiuslazarus, Blackhawk, GnomeQueen, Mikoulos, Magic, the UPS clan, Spencer, Cliff, Zebbie, mas0n, BuddyJ, Bandrik, annes, Pragtastic) and new Icrontians (Sir Candle, Yantor, Zadok, Roostah Cogburn, cola, the Turnips, Beartato, Kryptic, Dr. Giggles, Waba, Kushint, Amakiro, Myr, CF, Mikeysboy, Adolf Oliver Nipples, A Duck, csjones, Caffran, Idiot Slayer, Karma199, Eisenadler, Magic Murder Bag, FISH, Nick D, Ampersand, Notezee, uyaaathesmiley, the titz fellas, and the distinguished list goes on and on). Sorry, if my middle age mind forgot you?!
I will be sadface if it goes away...:(