Server Size

[SexuallyAbusedPanda]

Bah dunno how to start or word this properly but here goes.

Yesterday with the server cap temperarily raised to 32 the server really did flurrish (number size for most the day) and i have to say i really enjoyed it. Now i did see a few drawbacks ie the "close feel" of the community was diluted a bit but due to TS it stayed pritty much the same ), along with the odd bit of minidelay (like a second at most) but overall i have to say i really really enjoyed playing with more people and the server stayed more full from early on and when a map came on that "kills the server" we still had 16-20 people staying.

What would it take to make the server perma 32 player and how much more would it cost to have a slightly upgraded server ? (simply to try and counter the mini delay with zooming in and stuff) and most importantly, how did other people find the server with a higher player cap?

Remember this is just a query on what it would take. Its not WE SHOULD BE 32 MAN SERVER!!!!111281!! its just a simple question

[Paranoia]

The hardware should be fine for 32 players, and if there was any lag it could be client side (32 players tends to max CPUs a lot easier than 24) or some server side rate setting.

For me, anyway, I found it all a bit of a spam fest.

[Humbug]

i looked at the server while it was on 32 man and everything was fine..this is with the others servers on the box being used aswell..Yes it did hold the player numbers quite easily compared to 24 slots

the whole box cpu usage never went above 60% and it had 1GB mem available.  So from a server perspective there isnt an issue.  I never got any lag on my side, however player count does have an effect on client side with all the extra stuff per client to process.

[SexuallyAbusedPanda]

oh, think it might be time to upgrade my comp then

[DevilsRefugee]

Yeah snipers are never near the spam  

I see ya points panda, it did seem to stay full...for longer, which is good. However i am not a fan of it myself. It (to me) feels to much of a game breaker (the part of dusty with ALL those SGs) that kind of thing is more common on 32 man.

[Humbug]

welll.. there are class limits that can be implemented to get round a gazillion sg's..

[LooseCannon]

Good question to ask Panda.  It seems peeps like 32 players servers in general.  Not sure why.

How about having one 32 player and one 16-20 player server?  The latter instead of or as well as the current arena server.  If it's extra cost, let's see what it is please.

Take the big maps off the smaller server.  Maybe just have standard maps on it.  And have class limits on it.  Leave the 32 players server to free-for-all.

[djsilt]

imo, i prefer 24 players for TF2 (not for onslaught obviously ^^), i always felt that 32 players make maps a bit overcrowded but anyway if the server is now 32p it will not make me play elsewhere
and i know if it was a 32p server effect but we had a few games with some serious stupid whinning players yesterday ...

[ekay]

Could it be variable? During the day/overnight it could be 32p (off-peak times), then during the evening/weekends (peak times) back to 24p. Or is that too much manual intervention to be worth it?

I can see the appeal of 32p, but perma 32p here won't be too far off before the server is filled with numpties demanding for instaspawn too.

[DevilsRefugee]

Good question to ask Panda.  It seems peeps like 32 players servers in general.  Not sure why.

How about having one 32 player and one 16-20 player server?  The latter instead of or as well as the current arena server.  If it's extra cost, let's see what it is please.

Take the big maps off the smaller server.  Maybe just have standard maps on it.  And have class limits on it.  Leave the 32 players server to free-for-all.

I dont know if that would work tbh. I like a vanilla server, as do much of the general tf community, and to have two servers, one with Class Limits and one with Increased slots, means we dont have one vanilla server. If anything it would probably work better to have one vanilla, and the other server increased max players and maybe some other vairants, of which i have no idea yet :p

I would play on the vanilla more than the increased slots.

Side note:
We have to be cautious here, as we dont want to seperate our small community to quickly.

Side note 2:
Also some players get severe fps loss on increased max players servers. This is also something we have to consider.

[SexuallyAbusedPanda]

I have been checking out a few 32 player servers and it does seem that people mostly like them for the sheer run in spam get a few kills respawn and repeat. Not sure i like the idea of a 32 player server anymore

If there is a proper place on the forums for this discussion then im sorry i didnt post there

[LooseCannon]

3. Side order: chips + mayo.

Ok, I'm with ya.  The 'small' server = vanilla.  How small?  20?

Ref the whiners that lurk on 32p servers: I think that us admins would get slicker at being politely and tactfully forceful.

Edit: Above typed before seeing Panda's post.

@Panda - you are never ever allowed to change your mind on anything...  

[stoned_llama]

32 player servers certainly have a different gameplay dynamic. And maybe it's worth bearing in mind most of the maps out there are designed for 24players at most.
Having said that, I don't know that it's a bad thing per say to have a 32man server - I'm quite pro giving it a week or two and seeing how we all feel about it then. It's definately the case that a 32man server seems to be more likely to attract .... jackasses. But, as long as admins take quick and decisive (and fair) action, it's a problem that can be easily dealt with (some of us talked about this in irc yesterday, as the problem did occur). (Silencing a player can be used to great effect in these instances I think... though it doesn't prevent the player returning and being just as annoying - unless a perma silence ability is available )

Most peeps seem to be anti-class limits - though I definately like the idea (even for 24 man servers) - nothing worse than 10 SGs or 10 demomen etc etc in places. If it's possible to keep some semblance of gameplay balance by avoiding too many of any particular class it certainly improves the '32 man experience'. Having sensible/reasonable 'gameplay rules and restrictions' in place might also help to avoid attracting the wrong kind of people.

I'm not too fussed either way tbh; I think we can make 32 man work if we wanted to.