GitP/ChHa Server Thread IV: For Science. You Monster.

[Flechair]

I just spent the last 3 hours playing by myself in offline mode with no bots whatsoever. Why you ask, my Chocolate Hammer/Giant in the Playground friends? Because I have been watching Rocket Jumping videos, and I am wanting to get (alot) better. Surprisingly enough, I was doing a lot better than I thought I would, so yay.

And thank you Drolkcal for the videos and the inspiration, I suppose. :P

Goodnight I say as I can barely think straight enough to form these sentences.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

In any case, I still don't believe a bunch of people who aren't admins on the server should be able to declare a gimmick round. First of all, as far as I understand it, by the "letter of the law" as Djinn put it down, gimmick rules are only to be initiated by admins. Why? Isn't it so there's some kind of veto power over stupid gimmick rounds that are ultimately unfun, the mob rule that forces people who don't honestly want to play it to play it, and to keep gimmick rounds from happening too often and making the game stale. Veto'ing gimmick rounds on these bases happens all the time (such as when Nightclaw suggests over and over again that we play gimmick rounds).

Yep. That's exactly right. Without an admin around, a gimmick round cannot be properly enforced, so it's pointless to try enforcing one.

With an admin, a gimmick round should be prefaced by the command sm_vote "Should we do ??? next round?" Yes No, where ??? is the gimmick in question. I tend to say no except in 80%+ majorities.

[Valaqil]

and admins don't always speak in their green voice,

I may be mistaken, but, as far as I know, admins will always enter chat in the green text. You may not know a mod or admin by their voice, but if one types, you'll see green. (I, for one, have no idea how to avoid typing in green. It's okay though, I like green.)

I want to offer a counterpoint to you, something to consider. You appear to have thought this through, so you've probably thought of what I'm going to write already. However, maybe not.

Can the server force you to do anything? Nope. Not even an admin can. And without a mod around, you can't even be kicked if you decide to not follow the server's rules or wishes. But, really, is it fun to play against what the others want to do, potentially spoiling their fun? Your point about someone bringing their buddies to coerce/create a "majority" is well made. But, if many people (most?) want to play something, are you really going to have fun messing up their fun? I can't, and wouldn't try, to disagree with any point you made. I do agree with you! But if I found that most of the server wanted to do something I didn't want, and there wasn't a mod around, then I'd hunt for another server, or find something else to do. It's not worth my time to buck the trend and annoy people, possibly including myself.

Oh, and one other thought: When I see only three or five people on the server declaring something, I'd be more likely to think they found the server empty and decided to take advantage of it. I might not follow the "gimmick". If I encountered 15-20 and all but one or two were following gimmick rules without a mod, I'd definitely play or leave. I found that exact situation last month, midday on a Saturday. Almost a full server, and they had _one_ person not following their rules, with no mod. Could they enforce it? Nope. But it's obvious what would have happened if there _had_ been a vote: A success and a kick for the other person.

EDIT: Following Djinn and Dis' examples, my threshold is usually 70%, drawing from the ideas above. If there are other mods on the server at that moment, I usually ask at least one what s/he thinks so we have some consensus.

[The Valiant Turtle]

I left a comment on the general GitP L4D2 steam group, not sure if Valiant Turtle has implemented it yet since there was no response, but it should give access to the server from the L4D2 server browser in the main menu.

This needs to be placed in the server.cfg ;

// Attach server to STEAM group
sv_steamgroup "(Mtg_Player_Zach should have it - it's the number for the aforementioned GitP L4D2 steam group.)"

// Set this to 1 if you want it to be exclusive to your STEAM group only
//sv_steamgroup_exclusive 1

On the right most side in L4D2, it shows two GitP servers, one for campaign, one for versus. That should make it work without having to call from bind.

I just switched the server over to the L4D2 group. It was in the general GitP group previously. I meant to ask if that was the plan when the L4D2 group was created but forgot.

If you have problems using the server please send me a PM here, that is the most reliable way of reaching me. I actually haven't played L4D2 in about 2 weeks (Mass Effect sale), so I'm not generally going to know if there are problems.

Unless you think you'd ever want to start a game on another server I recommend not using a bind and just hardcoding mm_dedicated_force_servers in your config. That's what I have done. If you want to use a bind remember that it must be a function key. Other keys apparently don't bind properly in the lobby.

I think we probably need a few more admins with ability to reboot the server and sm_admin access. It appears that Zach, Scorp and Byrnbot would be logical choices. I'll create gameservers accounts for you guys tonight and if you'll send me your Steam ID's I'll add you to sm_admins.

I'll be away again this weekend, but probably online often enough. I'll try to make sure the server gets the Steam update though.

[Dispozition]

EDIT: Following Djinn and Dis' examples, my threshold is usually 70%, drawing from the ideas above. If there are other mods on the server at that moment, I usually ask at least one what s/he thinks so we have some consensus.

I believe a while back Djinn and Potato both said at least 75%, I go higher just to make sure, especially with music. I also think if three or more admins are on and they all seem to agree it's a good idea, it should probably go ahead.

[Byrnbot08]

I think we probably need a few more admins with ability to reboot the server and sm_admin access. It appears that Zach, Scorp and Byrnbot would be logical choices. I'll create gameservers accounts for you guys tonight and if you'll send me your Steam ID's I'll add you to sm_admins.

HOLEE DOOLEE!

/snoipah

I really can has admin?! Awesome.

[Scorpionica]

I just switched the server over to the L4D2 group. It was in the general GitP group previously. I meant to ask if that was the plan when the L4D2 group was created but forgot.

…

I think we probably need a few more admins with ability to reboot the server and sm_admin access. It appears that Zach, Scorp and Byrnbot would be logical choices. I'll create gameservers accounts for you guys tonight and if you'll send me your Steam ID's I'll add you to sm_admins.

I'll be away again this weekend, but probably online often enough. I'll try to make sure the server gets the Steam update though.

There was a faint notice that something had happened since the GitP showed up in steam servers, but wasn't sure if it was working properly due to lack of asking the right questions on my part. Thank you for addressing all this, clearing things up and making us admins.

Now it should be apparent for everyone that the server is in working condition, with reliable access if there'll be a need. Custom maps should be operational too (or will be soon).

In addition, I'll PM you my Steam ID.

[The Valiant Turtle]

I just made the gameservers accounts, but I'll have to wait until tonight to add you guys to sm_admin.

Sometime next week I'll try to look into SourceMod addons for game type and map control for people who have trouble connecting from a lobby. I also need to get the modified L4D1 campaigns back up and see if I can get mutations working.

[Azimer the Mad]

Spend at least $20 on it, or about $40 if you're getting a headset. The really cheap ones pick up poorly and tend to result in very bad quality voice.

YES.THIS A THOUSAND TIMES.

[Emlyn]

Turtle I'd also recommend reinstalling sourcemod, unless you can figure out why I can't access sm_admin. I'd do it myself, but I can't launch L4D2 at the moment, thank you video drivers.

[Scorpionica]

Turtle I'd also recommend reinstalling sourcemod, unless you can figure out why I can't access sm_admin. I'd do it myself, but I can't launch L4D2 at the moment, thank you video drivers.

You don't seem to be listed in the necessary config files, and SourceMod seems to be working. Turtle could reattach you, or you could PM me the required details so I can add you in.

[watsyurname529]

Speaking of servers...

Both AlterForm and I were getting connection errors when we tried to connect to the GitP Killing Floor server.

I think it needs to be updated because of the recent patch.

[Emlyn]

You don't seem to be listed in the necessary config files, and SourceMod seems to be working. Turtle could reattach you, or you could PM me the required details so I can add you in.

Huh, thought I'd checked that. Thanks for picking up on tha.

[Vitruviansquid]

I may be mistaken, but, as far as I know, admins will always enter chat in the green text. You may not know a mod or admin by their voice, but if one types, you'll see green. (I, for one, have no idea how to avoid typing in green. It's okay though, I like green.)

I want to offer a counterpoint to you, something to consider. You appear to have thought this through, so you've probably thought of what I'm going to write already. However, maybe not.

Can the server force you to do anything? Nope. Not even an admin can. And without a mod around, you can't even be kicked if you decide to not follow the server's rules or wishes. But, really, is it fun to play against what the others want to do, potentially spoiling their fun? Your point about someone bringing their buddies to coerce/create a "majority" is well made. But, if many people (most?) want to play something, are you really going to have fun messing up their fun? I can't, and wouldn't try, to disagree with any point you made. I do agree with you! But if I found that most of the server wanted to do something I didn't want, and there wasn't a mod around, then I'd hunt for another server, or find something else to do. It's not worth my time to buck the trend and annoy people, possibly including myself.

Oh, and one other thought: When I see only three or five people on the server declaring something, I'd be more likely to think they found the server empty and decided to take advantage of it. I might not follow the "gimmick". If I encountered 15-20 and all but one or two were following gimmick rules without a mod, I'd definitely play or leave. I found that exact situation last month, midday on a Saturday. Almost a full server, and they had _one_ person not following their rules, with no mod. Could they enforce it? Nope. But it's obvious what would have happened if there _had_ been a vote: A success and a kick for the other person.

EDIT: Following Djinn and Dis' examples, my threshold is usually 70%, drawing from the ideas above. If there are other mods on the server at that moment, I usually ask at least one what s/he thinks so we have some consensus.

I'm not gonna lie. Getting into fights isn't fun for most people, but they do it anyways when they lose their cool.

[Dread Cthulhu]

A while ago I was in a bad state and decided to play ChHa TF2 to try and pick myself up.

That worked for a few minutes, then someone started to sing. Then someone else started playing a ukelele. Then everyone started singing.

I can't remember having felt quite so isolated, my cries of protest ignored, as everyone else waxed lyrical about how epic it was.

So my policy is that gimmick rounds or anything like that needs a 100% approval rating to go through. Because it's such an alienating experience for the losers.

[Mtg_player_zach]

A while ago I was in a bad state and decided to play ChHa TF2 to try and pick myself up.

That worked for a few minutes, then someone started to sing. Then someone else started playing a ukelele. Then everyone started singing.

I can't remember having felt quite so isolated, my cries of protest ignored, as everyone else waxed lyrical about how epic it was.

So my policy is that gimmick rounds or anything like that needs a 100% approval rating to go through. Because it's such an alienating experience for the losers.

Ya know, there are mute functions.....
Just sayin.

[memnarch]

Seems like a bit of a hassle to mute everyone else in the server and then unmute them 10 minutes later once they've stopped.

[watsyurname529]

Seems like a bit of a hassle to mute everyone else in the server and then unmute them 10 minutes later once they've stopped.

Options and Voice tab. Turn Voice/Mic Receive to zero. Then you can't hear any mic's at all and you can just return the slider to original position when you're done.

[Byrnbot08]

Twas Sing-along/Kareoke Thursday lads. Try not to think too badly of it all.

[mightymonarch]

It appears that there is a TF2 update. Can someone who has access update the server?

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

It appears that there is a TF2 update. Can someone who has access update the server?

It should be updating right now, actually.

Also, Dr. Girlfriend? Turns out I can do the Badlands jumps, and thus am more competent than I originally feared. Nobody told me I had to hold down crouch the whole time until Zach did today, and I just had about a 70% success rate trying it for 5 minutes after that. Huzzah!

[Sleverin]

YES.THIS A THOUSAND TIMES.

You too should follow this Bob Freeman. I hope to see you on the server, with a clearer mic, although know those teacher salaries and failed attempt at a movie do grind a hole into the wallet. Too bad, I was hoping to see Full Life: The One Free Fight too.

[Phantom123]

http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/98491

May I request we try this map on the next map-test night? It's No mercy; basically a redux of the No Mercy Finale from L4D1. Surprisingly good as a TF2 map, my old favorite server had it and it was a crowd-pleaser. I'd like my NEW favorite server to try it :D While the idea of this may sound gimmicky (being as it's a stylized port), allow me to assure you, it doesn't PLAY like one; it's a very interesting round to play. Perhaps Djinn or Potato wants to try it next time (hint hint)? ;)

[Impnemo]

It should be updating right now, actually.

Snappy title and update still pending.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/98491

May I request we try this map on the next map-test night? It's No mercy; basically a redux of the No Mercy Finale from L4D1. Surprisingly good as a TF2 map, my old favorite server had it and it was a crowd-pleaser. I'd like my NEW favorite server to try it :D While the idea of this may sound gimmicky (being as it's a stylized port), allow me to assure you, it doesn't PLAY like one; it's a very interesting round to play. Perhaps Djinn or Potato wants to try it next time (hint hint)? ;)

I'll be honest...this looks amazing.

Snappy title and update still pending.

Huh. I wonder what went wrong...

We'll need to put Potato on it. He's better at the non-coding side of server workings than I am, as he bought the damned thing. I tried the way I know how, and it didn't update, so I'm lost.

[Valaqil]

http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/98491

May I request we try this map on the next map-test night? It's No mercy; basically a redux of the No Mercy Finale from L4D1. Surprisingly good as a TF2 map, my old favorite server had it and it was a crowd-pleaser. I'd like my NEW favorite server to try it :D While the idea of this may sound gimmicky (being as it's a stylized port), allow me to assure you, it doesn't PLAY like one; it's a very interesting round to play. Perhaps Djinn or Potato wants to try it next time (hint hint)? ;)

I always got knocked off that roof by a tank. Now? I'd be exploded off the roof. Repeatedly.

[Mtg_player_zach]

It should be updating right now, actually.

Also, Dr. Girlfriend? Turns out I can do the Badlands jumps, and thus am more competent than I originally feared. Nobody told me I had to hold down crouch the whole time until Zach did today, and I just had about a 70% success rate trying it for 5 minutes after that. Huzzah!

I was a bit suprised you didn't know to hold crouch. It works for all jumping...scout, demo, soldier.

[Phase]

http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/98491

May I request we try this map on the next map-test night? It's No mercy; basically a redux of the No Mercy Finale from L4D1. Surprisingly good as a TF2 map, my old favorite server had it and it was a crowd-pleaser. I'd like my NEW favorite server to try it :D While the idea of this may sound gimmicky (being as it's a stylized port), allow me to assure you, it doesn't PLAY like one; it's a very interesting round to play. Perhaps Djinn or Potato wants to try it next time (hint hint)? ;)

That actually does look very good. The only things that seem to be possible problems are the numerous ladders (which never work well in TF2) and the possibility of overpowered Pyros and Demomen what with the enclosed spaces and high drops.

[Emlyn]

That actually does look very good. The only things that seem to be possible problems are the numerous ladders (which never work well in TF2) and the possibility of overpowered Pyros and Demomen what with the enclosed spaces and high drops.

Phase, remember which class you are talking about. Its not nice to tease them.

[mightymonarch]

Huh. I wonder what went wrong...

We'll need to put Potato on it. He's better at the non-coding side of server workings than I am, as he bought the damned thing. I tried the way I know how, and it didn't update, so I'm lost.

Has anyone tried just restarting it?