Thoughts on a server?

[niteowl84]

hey guys, being i dont actually have a server just yet i figured i might ask here and see what you guys think. I been wanting to toss up a legit play server for a while now, no silly admin commands that make anyone more powerful then the other, just straight legit play.

Was thinking maybe a full survival type server where you fight to survive, forge alliances, build ships...etc
Wanted to see what the community thought or would like to see? Build ships in the game or prebuild and upload to purchase?

Go with a set theme or just wing it? In any case i really enjoy this game so far and would like to put together a little community of people to play with as a few servers that i did test out, the admin was all powerful and just spawned in and cheated anything and everything and the rest of us had to roam and scavenge. But if i were to throw up a server i would like to play legit and the same as everyone else. What are your guys thoughts on this? suggestions, ideas...anything....

 

[LeHitGuy100]

Personally, I like servers where I can upload stuff, y'know?

Also, I also personally like servers with nice and plentiful resources, yet few systems, y'know? like tiny galaxies, but each has plenty of credits to go around, y'know? I just can't manage big multi-galaxy empires if each galaxy is super-massive. Also, I'm totes fine with themes, as long as it isn't too specific. Heh, little "Events" would be cool too, that kind of tie together into a story? that'd be awesome, actually.

Also, a suggestion, it'd be best to set up pirates beforehand, custom ones, maybe multiple "fleet-types" made out of 3 or more ships, each "group" with their own little flavor, y'know?

Anyway, I'd love to do that stuff with ya, hit me up if you need anything, designing a ship, station to spawn, making unique little areas if you want, whatevs. Not much to do anyway.

 

[Lecic]

There aren't enough hardcore survival servers.

I would allow blueprints, but make it buy with blocks, so people still have to get the blocks to build things. Now that there are multislots, people not having enough space to BwBs is a lot less likely.

 

[niteowl84]

I agree there certainly arent alot of those server around, i couldnt find many at all. I kind alike the survival aspect of it. I like the idea of working towards something. Please keep the feedback comming guys. I want to put up a server that best appeals to everyone so we can form a nice group/community of players to populate the server and have some fun at the same time.

 

[Majorfatboy]

Just personal taste / opinion here, certainly not requirements, but here's what I've been looking for in a server:

Uploads allowed:
Doesn't have to be a lot, even just three to five blue prints per player would be fine. I get that some admins are concerned about players bringing in massive super ships or resource block BPs, or that some admins want to keep a certain flavor to their server,but in a game like this where player creativity is such a massive selling point, it's kind of a bummer to not be able to bring Your favorite ship with You.
Server administration can always wipe out a BP if They find it disagreeable in some way (Preferably after talking with the player that owns it first).
Buy with blocks would be acceptable if necessary.

Top speed:
I know the game's code may not be able to handle crazy speeds like 1,000 kph online, but I've seen plenty of servers pull off up to 300 kph with no issue.
I've also been on servers running at 50 kph that lagged like a mofo...

Vanilla / mostly vanilla:
It seems the bulk of the servers out there are either running RP / Lore specific servers with strict rules, or heavily modified economies, or heavily modified block behavior configs, or are relying on all sorts of heavy server-specific rules. All of this is perfectly cool and adds flavor, but it'd be nice to have a plain old vanilla server. Some place where players can show up and do what They do and fly what They fly (within reason) just like in SP, but with other players in a world filled with things outside Their control.

I love playing legit PVE survival, but so many servers are trying too hard (In My opinion) to be "hardcore", and do things like making everything rare/expensive/dangerous. Again I get that the admins are trying to deliver a good challenge, but dude, a little slack would be nice. You want to tweek the economy / item availability a little? That's cool. Just don't be a masochist about it. I was on one server, where there were no mobs to be found, because Their spawnrate was altered, and out of three pirate stations I rolled (In a 240 mass fighter no less), not one of them had anything in their storage boxes, by intention of the admins...

PvE:
PvP's cool, got no problem with it. Even though I'm not a PvP guy, I actually like PvP servers, as I know I'm clear to defend Myself, if a situation calls for it. (I've been on servers that forbade PvP, which left the players no choice but to put up with harassers / trolls with no recourse)
We've already got a few servers that are popular PvP spots for the competitive teams out there, it'd be nice to have a server with more of a focus on PvE, or to be more precise, no focus on any one thing.
Lot's of custom mobs, maybe with the admins manually spawning in a few really nasty mobs in a specific spot every now and then as a event or something. Or if it were Me, tell the players I've spawned in something epic to fight in X,Y,Z, and when the players show up, BAM! Giant spongebobs EVERYWEHERE...
PvP by agreement. Gentleman's duels with no hard feeling. Keeps the drama down.

Big sectors:
It looks great, and cuts down on some of the oddities that occur when crossing from one sector to another. I've got My SP running 10km sectors..... It's soooooooooooo roomy.

Firm but fair administration.
Fascist admins may drive players away, but admins that are to scared to act can do just as much damage. Trolls love these kinds of admins, as They're never quite willing to step in and act.
Again, You don't have to be a jack-booted thug of an admin, but You've gotta be willing to wield the mighty pimp hand when the need arises.

...OH GOD WHY DO I ALWAYS DO THESE WALLS OF TEXT!?!
My post s are bad, and I feel bad...

 

[niteowl84]

the wall of text i kinda enjoy reading man, i really like your suggestions... If this keeps up i think i will have a server idea ready to roll very soon and would love it if you guys shared your oppinion about what kinda server that i will toss up once i get everything organized. I will post some ideas in this thread and try to put together one kick ass server that everyone can be happy with and enjoy... Thanks for the feedback and the effort put in to give me these responses. If anyone else has anytihng else to add then please feel free to do so, ill keep checking this thread for another day or so and then once i gather all the input i can ill post the server stuff in here for you guys to review before bringing it all online. thanks again and please keep the feed back coming!

 

[Majorfatboy]

Additional thoughts on survival profit and difficulty:

As I said above, being too strict with survival sucks, but with that said, things could be made a bit more difficult from the stock server.cfg settings:

AI loot drop multiplier:
This is a value the ranges from 0 to 1, with higher values equaling higher loot amounts upon destruction. The default setting is 0.9. I hate to say it, but this is a lot of loot. beating up a few small isanths will make You a rich man. Killing anything bigger will basically make You a made man.
Perhaps drop this value down to something like 0.3. Players can still profit from pirate hunting (especially if They salvage the ship itself), but there'll be no more "I spent two hours killing isanths, and now I'm set for life" situations.

Pirate base chest loot drop multiplier:
Like the above, this also works with a range of 0 to 1. Pirate bases are harder to take down now, as They now call in reinforcements if You hit them with cannons (Not with missiles, though... weird), but They're still pretty easy to beat. Maybe move this loot drop to something like 0.5. Still a lot of loot, but again, nothing to put You on easy street as soon as You join the server.

Build most mobs out of simple parts:
Basic or standard armor, simple cannon, laser, or dumb missile systems, low shielding, cheap stuff. Beating and salvaging a little pirate ship should be profitable, but only a little. Only build a few ships out of the good stuff, like advanced hull and heavy shielding. Or if You build a mob with advanced armor, make it really small, so it's loot drop will suck, as balance.

---On the flip side, a few things to maybe avoid, for the sake of not being too difficult:---

AI's and seeker missiles:
Perhaps avoid giving pirate mobs seeker missiles. Or at least only give one mob out of several designs seekers. Pirates already spawn in groups, and as above, pirate bases can spawn in even more. With that, the AI in this game isn't very lifelike; Mobs are always facing You, Their aim can be freaky fast, They don't seem to need to wait for a lock to occur before launching smart missiles, Etc. Encountering a full squadron of AI pirates, all belching out seekers, feels kind of cheap.

Small build block advanced mode sizes:
I've heard some admins have Their advanced mode max sizes set to stuff like 3x3x3, to keep players from build block stripping a planet or station for easy resources. It's an understandable idea, but it really sucks. It punishes players who just want to work on Their station or ship. If You want, You can make "No build block strip mining" a server rule, and enforce it when You manage to catch someone, but seriously, munchkins gonna munch, let'm. Don't punish the legit players who just want to quickly slap some new floors on Their station,
or lay down a new power generator line in Their frigate.