21 replies to this topic

[Pastorius]

Ok so potentially we have 100 private servers coming online soon and people will want to advertise what they are doing on them. It's very exciting that people want create spaces for the community to play HAWKEN in new ways. I hope that this is going to be a positive move for the game as it goes forward.

 

So my suggestion is that we have one more sub-forum for these lucky Private Server owners to advertise what they are planning to offer the community with their own spaces.

 

I do not think that the Clan Hall is the appropriate sub-forum for this unless these server owners are launching new clans too. 

Edited by Pastorius, 24 April 2015 - 02:08 AM.

[Amidatelion]

Ok so potentially we have 100 private servers coming online soon...

 

I don't think we will. 100 private servers have always struck me as way too many to be supported by a population this low, and sure enough, 18 tickets have been sold. Sure, that number will go up in the next week, but I see it as incredibly unlikely that that number will rise much.

 

Is 18 enough to warrant another section in the forums? That's up for debate, but I don't think so.

[Tankman95]

We won't have tons of new servers within the next weeks, but I guess we will have more private server at a later point, so another sub-forum for them is a nice idea.

[Pastorius]

Yes, I know that there are only a few that have been sold and that's why I used the word 'potentially'.

 

Those servers that have sold will be going online very soon and the owners of these will want to have somewhere to discuss what they are doing. Potentially, more will come online thereafter. The future plan is for private servers to be available to the general population. The general population is now growing again.

 

So, this is going to have to be dealt with sooner rather than later. We have already had one post in the Clan Hall today that only related to a private server and had nothing to do with clans. That's not the place. In fact, there is no place suitable. So, we need to make a place sooner rather than later.  

[WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW]

Great idea. It would also provide a reference point for the server admin's development of the server, including description, server mods, and so forth.

[LadyTiggs]

I like the idea, are you thinking a private forum just for those that have purchased the pack or are admin of an existing private server? Or an open group to all?

[teeth_03]

How about both? One for internal testing and issues, and another for the public

[Pastorius]

I like the idea, are you thinking a private forum just for those that have purchased the pack or are admin of an existing private server? Or an open group to all?

Thanks Tiggs, actually I was thinking about another sub-forum just under Clan Hall & above Art & Media. A place, open to the whole community, for private server owners to advertise their servers and discuss what they are trying to achieve with them.

 

Maybe, this could be split further into developer announcements, owner discussions about optimal set-ups and straight forward advertising threads.  I don't think it should be separate from this forum though and I don't think it should be locked. The whole private server initiative should have transparency.  

 

I just think it needs addressing so we don't get server threads appearing in all the different sub-forums because there is no set place for them to go. 

Edited by Pastorius, 24 April 2015 - 09:35 AM.

[crockrocket]

A dedicated thread would probably suffice for now, but this is a good idea to keep in mind as the game's population grows.

[CaliberMengsk]

I agree that there should be a sub forum. It may not be required at the moment, but a place for people to report issues, give suggestions and feedback, whatever might be good for a specific renter of the server.

 

I'd also like to add that I'm thinking about buying this package. It really depends on the customization of it, but I guess if I get the package, I have a lot of say into things I want with it.

 

Either way, sub-forum would be great, to promote our servers, set forth the rules, be able to set aside times for tournaments and such if wanted, get help with things that we don't know about with regards to them, etc. At the moment, the best place for things like this is probably the general discussion forums, and I'd personally rather not see it flooded with private server stuffs.

 

I have a few suggestions that may not be in place in regards to private servers, so it'd be nice to have a place to post about them.

[Pastorius]

I think it needs more than one thread really. All the owners are going to want to post their own threads about their own servers. It needs at least one 'room' to start with. 

[Amidatelion]

I like the idea, are you thinking a private forum just for those that have purchased the pack or are admin of an existing private server? Or an open group to all?

 

One subforum for the whole thing should be sufficient. People who want to discuss things in private should have the means to do so.

[Pastorius]

People who want to discuss things in private should have the means to do so.

I think that this whole private server initiative must be absolutely transparent. ADH took a 'privileged few' and gave them a locked down forum once before and all that did was drive a wedge through the community. If people want to discuss things in private then they should utilise other means such as the PM system or Support Tickets.

The HAWKEN forum is for the general population and should absolutely stay that way.

Edited by Pastorius, 24 April 2015 - 09:59 PM.

[teeth_03]

I'm not saying its absolutely necessary, but considering the high price tag of the pioneer program, I think at least during the initial beta testing phase (read:before the masses get to rent servers), those server admins could have a private forum to exclusively discuss the servers then at which point that it comes out of beta, it turns public.

I'm not trying to sound like an elitist DB, but should Joe Schmo with a 3 post count be able to have an opinion on something that he didn't shell out $130 for? The people who invested in this should be the ones who get to shape it. If the forum is public, then its really going to muddy the waters with a bunch of people asking off the wall requests and other nonsense.

It sounds like Josh and the team are really going to focus on this so its possible that it might not be in beta for very long anyway.

[Pastorius]

Ok, firstly, there is absolutely nothing elite about spending $130 on a server. Joe Schmo has as much right as anyone to post on any topic in this forum. Segregating the community on this would be a disaster. Especially as the only thing that sets these server owners apart from the rest is that they chose to spend money. (not including those that have been trusted with them of course) The normal forum rules would apply just as everywhere else.

Also, I'm not sure what needs to be discussed in private anyway? Any, individual security issues should be addressed through other means as I said above. Again, the idea of a small group of people that have money to buy a server being given some kind of notoriety and access to a secret club is absolutely abhorrent to me and simply should not happen. That stands against everything that is the HAWKEN community.

Foot Note: There is a large part of the Organised/Competitive community that lets say; "Didn't entirely agree with this role out." I do feel very lucky to have a couple of servers as I simply couldn't run KDR successfully without them and I am very grateful to Reloaded for allowing that to continue. Some other groups have been testing private servers for a while now too. However, a lot of the Clan/Event organisers that have a real vested interest in private servers don't have a server yet and are simply not interested in all the add-ons like mice, stickers and in-game packages. They are just waiting for a realistic rental agreement for a product that works. Those people are not currently lucky enough to be testing servers as I said and cannot or don't want to buy into this scheme yet.

 

In my opinion, those people should absolutely be allowed to express their opinions relating to the development of the private server system. 

Edited by Pastorius, 25 April 2015 - 12:36 AM.

[teeth_03]

Well, I'm not married to the idea, just posting my 2 cents worth.

That being said, the devs made it a point to put the the first batch of servers behind a higher than normal pay wall. If they wanted everyone to access them, than they wouldn't have done it that way. In my mind, they should be able to get specific feedback from those who invested in that package, whether its a private forum, PMs or support tickets, it doesn't matter.

What I don't want to happen, is our feedback getting buried under dozens of other topics asking things like "when can I get one?" Or "How much will they cost?" Or "What can I do with these?". These are of course important questions, but not pertinant to the server Pioneers.

How about a compromise? Everyone can see the forum but only Pioneers can post there?

[Pastorius]

Actually, the current list of owners is pretty good. There are some very trusted names on that list.
 

feedback getting buried under dozens of other topics asking things like "when can I get one?" Or "How much will they cost?" Or "What can I do with these?".

I do get this point. It's not going to be easy and It does need managing carefully.
 
If I'm perfectly honest, I originally posted this idea because I did not want to see the rest of the forum littered with posts about this topic in inappropriate places. Private server owners and trustees are going to need a place to post (including myself of-course).
 

How about a compromise? Everyone can see the forum but only Pioneers can post there?

What if there was a sub-forum under Clan Hall as suggested that was purely about the advertisement of privately owned servers for the community (just like Clan Hall with clans).
Then, maybe, a second sub-forum in the Med Bay could be for owners/trustees and dev's to post discussion topics in.

To be clear, I still think that absolutely any member of the community should be able to join in the discussions. We just, like you said, only let Dev's, Private Owners & Trustees post Topics.
 
Thanks for the discussion teeth, you make good points. indeed.

Edited by Pastorius, 25 April 2015 - 03:58 AM.

[Lioot]

Are there any known features of these private servers? Or are they similar to the already existing ones

[Pastorius]

The new ones are not online yet. April 30th I think? The current ones just have console commands but they are very usable. Apparently there is a lot more functionality coming with these new servers that will be passed on to current trustees at the same time.  

Edited by Pastorius, 25 April 2015 - 04:04 AM.

[Lioot]

The new ones are not online yet. April 30th I think? The current ones just have console commands but they are very usable. Apparently there is a lot more functionality coming with these new servers that will be passed on to current trustees at the same time.  

 

Seeing as there are no private servers in Asia-Oceania or more specifically, Sydney, I have no ideas what these commands are. Do some include like map changing and increasing player slots? Or are player slots a physical server thing.

 

Hopefully the new private servers will have these commands and more (commands I don't even know about)

 

And will the private servers be based in the US? Or if I am to purchase it from Australia, it will physically be in Sydney?

[Pastorius]

Hi Loot, this wasn't supposed to be a thread about the private server system itself (which rather ironically proves teeth's point a little) I'm happy to discuss what is going on with you though so if you want me to explain, send me a PM through the forum and we can talk there  .

 

It may be a little later today before I can respond though.

Edited by Pastorius, 25 April 2015 - 04:52 AM.

[teeth_03]

I agree that we could use a board for advertising servers, but there should be a seperate one for tech support for the servers that (maybe) only server operators can post in for now.