autohosts

[sasper]

stop hosting 2t. there is never enough players for 2t autohost. it's 2-4 players dredging the bottom of the barrel for games. ffa only please

[jason_ac]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm looking for people to give feedback. Though ideally I'd like to have it all in 1 spot (here: http://tain.totalcodex.net/forum/viewto ... f=2&t=6546)

For myself...out of 22 entries on my autohost (full list here http://tain.totalcodex.net/forum/viewto ... f=2&t=6546), I have 1 2-team CTF in there. People have played it 1v1, 2v1, 2v2, 3v2, etc. Some have requested it. Been very few complaints so far, but if I get enough of them, I'll remove it.

I wanted some CTF on my autohost, and people seem to dislike FFA CTF with few players more than they dislike 2-team CTF with few players. If I got different feedback I'd be happy to have FFA CTF in there. Obviously I only want to autohost what people want to play

Separately, I do want 1 "team" game on my autohost, so even if I put FFA CTF in, I still want 1 team game of some sort.

[adrenaline]

Here's some feedback for you. Assassin is a shit gametype... stop autohosting it. Stick to LMOTH, FR, or TERRIES. CTF only works with even numbers, so best to avoid. BC is fine with 4+ players, but any less and it is pointless.

[jason_ac]

Here's some feedback for you. Assassin is a shit gametype... stop autohosting it. Stick to LMOTH, FR, or TERRIES. CTF only works with even numbers, so best to avoid. BC is fine with 4+ players, but any less and it is pointless.

Maybe I'll remove Assassin. It's 1 of the 22 games. I get a few complaints, others seem to have fun with it. It goes worst with too few players. But Terries seems to drive people away more than Assassin (Captures even worse, so I removed it). Terries is also 1 of my 22. I get FR complaints too (1 of my 22).

The autohost has had between 2-6 players. If I wanted to be sure every game "worked" no matter the player count, the only thing I could autohost would be LMOTH I've had strong complaints about all different gametypes with "too few" players, or an odd # of players. And others who play the exact same thing without complaint.

Everyone's got a different complaint, impossible to please everyone Especially in an autohost. So I'll keep watching trends, including your comment. Though I've never noticed you in my autohost, so your comments may not carry as much weight.

Of the games you listed, based on the trends of complaints I've seen, players seem to rank:
(better) LMOTH > Assassin > FR > CTF > TERRIES (worse)
Of course, that rank might change if I changed the frequency of the games. LMOTH is there like 5-6 times (& never gets complaints), the other 4 only once out of 22 (& all have had some complaints).

BC (1 of my 22) hasn't been in my list long enough to have any idea.

Thanks for the feedback.

[par73]

in my other post:

less 3rd party maps (host gets stuck on these maps when no one has them. for example: twister 1.3)
more demo maps (more gimble/desert picks)

[jason_ac]

I saw your post in my Tain thread (thanks). I replied there.

[adrenaline]

Just took a look at your autohost list... First off, a suggestion: K.I.S.S... keep it simple, stupid. Like Par said, 3rd party maps will work against you... and you really have altogether too many maps on the list. Personally, I'd cut that list in half... 10 max, and perhaps change it up each week or something if you want to include others in the rotation. Also, big 2 team maps are pointless, as you will never have enough ppl to play them... so if you have 4 players in the game, they are likely to bail and probably log off when it rotates to a big map. Your best bet would be to limit the maps to standard bungie maps and perhaps maps in the Magma TFL multipack (almost everyone should have this anyways). Also, limit the gametypes to those that will work with any number of players... LMOTH, KOTH*, KOTM, STB, FR, TERRIES. And trust me... assassin is a shit gametype for most maps. For example, I played on your host last week and it rotated to FCAW light assassin... everyone left except me and some other dude. It became a camp/roam with puss bomb... BORING AS SHIT.

*note: limit KOTH to flat, open maps like PG and KG... many maps only have a certain number of access points to mid (i.e. gimble, chest)... so it takes a certain # of players for it to be balanced... not something you can control in an autohost. Also, avoid koth on maps with a ball as flag (i.e. demise).

[jason_ac]

you really have altogether too many maps on the list. Personally, I'd cut that list in half... 10 max, and perhaps change it up each week or something if you want to include others in the rotation.

Thanks for the feedback. Some of it I really like & will definitely use. Others I'm thinking about. I'll respond to more of this later (in case you care )...but, 1 question...why is fewer maps (10) better? I would've thought that if people stay on the server (& some have through more than a full rotation), they'd like less repeats, rather than more. And for people only coming on sometimes, at least when they come it will often be different.

[jason_ac]

assassin is a shit gametype for most maps

A 2nd question...what maps is it good on? Or is it entirely too dependent on having "enough" players?

[adrenaline]

It really is dependent on having enough players. You really need a full game for it to be decent. It is used more in 2-team games, but in FFA... Dead Man's Chest and Float are traditionally the only maps you see people playing assassin on. And really only with 6+ players.

As for fewer maps... there really are only a handful of poplar map/game combos... i.e. PG BC/Koth, Gimble CTF/STB/koth, Grave lmoth, web lmoth, venice FR, KG koth, etc... y'know... games that people are more inclined to join and stick around because they are familiar with the maps/games. I'm not saying obscure maps and gametypes can't be fun... it's just really a luxury you can't afford as autohost with such a small player base. If you want to keep your host populated, play to the crowd.

Personally, I'd stick to these maps/games:

Proving Grounds/Killing Grounds - LMOTH, KOTH
Gimble/Gyre - LMOTH, STB, FR
Venice - LMOTH, FR
Demise - LMOTH, FR
Untamed Lands/Badlands - KOTH, FR
Grave/Web - LMOTH, STB, TERRIES
Chest/Float - LMOTH, STB, TERRIES, FR
Mudpit Massacre (light/dark) - LMOTH, TERRIES, FR
For Carnage Apply Within (light/dark) - LMOTH, TERRIES

and maybe a few others...

keep it to gametypes that can be played properly with 2+ people... stick to LMOTH, Flag Rally, STB... KOTH only on maps that aren't limited by access points to mid...i.e. Chest has 3 beaches mid... which is fine for 2,3 or 6 players, but sucks for 4 or 5 players. Likewise, CTF will be terrible for an odd number of players on virtually any map.

If you knew for a fact that you were going to have a full game each time, then by all means, host anything... but that is not the reality of the situation.

[jason_ac]

there really are only a handful of poplar map/game combos

Do you have a preferred length of time for games? I take the default of 10min for any game type except LMOTH 5 min, and 7 min for STB, KOTH, & Terries.

[adrenaline]

6 min for LMOTH
7 min for KOTH or STB
8-9 MIN for TERRIES, FR, CTF, etc... though I'd stick with 8 for most maps, as you aren't likely to have full games.

[Pogue]

What Adren really means is makes every game 9 min PG BC.

[jason_ac]

games that people are more inclined to join and stick around because they are familiar with the maps/games.

Adrenaline, do you have feedback on good 3rd party maps?

I've taken most of your advice (I think) & updated the hosting list. It's still long, & it still has extra plugins in there, but I've revised things heavily along the lines of your suggestions (lined-up some popular map/gametype combos, no Assassin, no CTF...although I did have people play Creep CTF a few times, etc). What do you think of Stampede? One problem is, sometimes FR, Terries, and KotM are driving some people away.

I've been running TFL & the 3 extra Bungie maps since the beginning, and have had good traffic. I don't think it's cost me many players. But now I want to try to broaden the play on GoS.

Since there are other hosts, if my attempts fail, people can play on another host. And if there are no other hosts...then people will be more motivated to download maps! I've already gotten a few people to play "Heroes of Haxors 2" Of course, if enough people say they can't download & want to play and want me to vanilla-ize my host, I will.

To help people know what the host needs, the name of my host is now "Info @tinyurl.com/JAMHost".

I was planning to promote 1 different Myth-y plugin every week or 2 (i.e.--not AvA!). I was going to pick from the most downloaded ones, figuring there's a better chance a few of the remaining players still have it, and figuring they have some play value.

Anything you suggest (whether heavily downloaded or not)? My "next up" short list, from the top downloads, is Heroes of Haxors 2, The Seventh God, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Shattered Visage, and, because I've already had a couple of requests for them, FFALeague (although it's big!) & The Zak Pack. Do you rate any of those good/bad?

[adrenaline]

I'd rather chew my own nutsack off than play Heroes of Haxors, TSG, etc... but there are definitely some good 3rd party FFA maps out there. Most are in the FFALeauge pack, yes... but it's a huge DL for those that don't have it.

[jason_ac]

I'd rather chew my own nutsack off than play Heroes of Haxors, TSG, etc... but there are definitely some good 3rd party FFA maps out there. Most are in the FFALeauge pack, yes... but it's a huge DL for those that don't have it.

So the only name that comes to mind is FFALeague? Hmm. Any particular maps from there? Someone was asking me for the Bungie-ish Gothic yesterday (small download).

[adrenaline]

Hmm... been a while since I played any of these, but this should be a good start:

Titus Groan
Belly of the Beast
Tallow Abbey
Green Acres/Green Hell
Boil and Bubble/Toil and Trouble
Sleepy Hollow
Red Sand Black Blood
Piled Higher and Deeper
Moonshadow Cave
Gravediggers
Leagues from Nowhere
A Shattered Visage
Let Wyrd Sort 'em Out
Hills of the Crow
Picket Fences