A Plan for a better Server and a better Gaming Experience
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Hello everyone.
*DISCLAIMER: This post is strictly my opinion, and is in no way affiliated with any other members or groups of the community*
May I start by stating that this will be a long post. If you won't take the time to read it, I urge you not to make assumptions or spam it, and to browse something else.
If you've made it this far may I would like to stress that this is not a mere complaint thread. Rather, I aim for it to be a comprehensive analysis into the current player experience and my plan to improve it.
Now, onto the analysis.
There is no denying that the server at the current time is an issue. Be it slight jitters, to erratic shaking to just plain dropping out, the server is the reason for the recent miserable experience gamers are having. Anyone who has played TacticalGamer recently can attest to this - the only lag you will suffer is ping based lag, such as shaking hit registration. We cannot hide or run from this fact, and as much as everyone tries to blame maps and players and whatnot, it is pretty clear that the hosting itself is just plain bad.
I haven't been in this community for all that long. From what I have gathered though, BigD was once sponsored by GamingSA, whose servers were excellent and very reliable. Once GSA went down, it was soon converted to a GamingAU server, and BigD followed suit. Unfortunately, the quality of the server didn't follow, and this leads us to the situation we have today.
As most would know, there are currently 2 BigD GamingAU servers running.
Mixed Maps and Random Maps.
I'd like to quickly point out two important graphs, which can be found with a quick search at http://www.gamemonitor.com
This is the player count for Server number two in the last month, which is considerably more popular.
http://module.game-monitor.com/113.212.96.207:16568/graph/tz:11/player.png?key=3dd0b966edebc75d33a8ba80d67d0f95&d=1m&42918642
As you can see, the average player count hovers around 40-60 people, which has obviously picked up in the last week.
And this is server number one.
http://module.game-monitor.com/113.212.96.206:16567/graph/tz:11/player.png?key=30531fe68983885a62ae4e8823f76fa5&d=1m&42918642
As you can see, this server hovers at around 15-20 people, which is pretty pathetic for a PR server. In the past month it has risen to around 40 people per night, but this is constantly dropping. Prior to the patch it was dead empty. The server is also prone to constant crashing and the same lag we are now experiencing.
Which brings me to my first suggestion.
BigD should only utilize one 64 player server
The main purpose of this is to save money. Money that will be utilized for my next suggestion, which is a big one.
Most people won't have looked at server prices in recent years.
If we go to GamingAU's website here, we are able to discern some really interesting information:
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/7716/serverprice1.jpg
For every slot on a GAU BF2 Modded server, it is $5.50 a month.
For 64 players, it's $352 a server. Each. Times that by two and add in a $35 a month Teamspeak server, and you are looking at a whopping $739
EVERY MONTH.
I've whipped up a quick Pro's and Cons for GAU.
Pros:
-Long standing history with BigD.
-Already established.
Cons:
-Pricey
-Poor Quality Servers
Now, obviously this is not the case for BigD. From what I understand, GAU provides their servers for free, and BigD donates the money they receive from the community. This varies in amount, but from what I have seen, it usually above $150 a month.
I say $150 because it brings me to my next suggestion....
BigD cuts their ties with GamingAU as their sponsor
Why should the community constantly donate to inferior servers? They constantly crash and are on hardware that prohibits complete gameplay and things such as BattleRecorder.
Another look on Game Monitor here shows that the server has an uptime rate of just 93%. That may sound decent, but when you calculate it, this means that on an average of 1 hour and 40 minutes every day, the second server is down. (Do note that the accuracy of this stat is somewhat questionable)
Here are some alternatives that I feel should definitely be considered.
Hypernia
Probably the biggest server provider in the world, Hyperina's voice servers are dead cheap. BigD currently runs a Teamspeak of 100 slots, which on GamingAU costs $33 a month (source). On the other hand, Hypernia's 100 slot Teamspeak servers cost just $25 USD per month (Which is around the same for the AUD, given the exchange rate). This is obviously a saving of $8 per month.
I am not entirely sure as to whether their servers can be modded, but for a 64 slot server, it would put the community back $1.99 a slot, for a price of $128
A Pro's and Con's for Hypernia would be:
Pros:
-Reliable
-Good Quality Servers
-Cheap
Cons:
-Possiby don't allow modded servers
-Could be too large to allow constant PR fixes and patches to be applied.
The other suggestion for a Game/Voice Server Provider is Gamearena. They're very well established, reliable (their servers average just a 2-3% downtime rate, compared to 7% for BigD), but more importantly, they have a long standing relationship with the Battlefield 2 Community. A deal could potentially be struck up with them, but regardless, they have some strong deals on their servers.
Their Teamspeak servers are running at $35 for 100 slots. Yes this is more expensive that GAU, but if a deal could be arranged for a Game Server / TS combo, the overall cost may turn out lower.
My focus on Gamearena is for their Battlefield servers. Most people who have played on them know they don't lag or go down often. They have cheap prices on their game servers, and are more likely easier to negotiate with than Hypernia.
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/7103/serverprice2.png
A Pro's and Con's for Gamearena would be:
Pros:
-Cheap
-Reliable
-Established with the Australian Battlefield Community
Cons:
-Possibly don't allow modded BF2 servers.
No matter how it works out, with one server, BigD is very likely to attain both cheaper prices in addition to better quality servers. A Hypernia TS and Gamerarena Server combo would be cheapest at just $145 per month.
Web Hosting
Web Hosting is another issue, but is likely the least worrying of the three issues. It would be very easy to host a site like this, and could be done by a community member with a small server box. Alternatively, the community could rent one out, and no matter what, it will not cost any more than the remaining $55 of the budget per month.
Summary/ TLDR Version
By switching to just one game server, the community is able to save money that is generally wasted every month. Furthermore, by cutting BigD's ties with GamingAU, we should generally find not only will the average cost every month will fall, but both gameplay quality and donations should go up. I know personally, I refuse to donate to a server that is of poor quality and constantly crashes. I, amongst others, would feel more motivated to donate if the server was of better quality. Regardless of whether or not we are able to strike up a deal, money can be saved and the community should benefit. There are a ton of server providers out there, and so our options are obviously not limited to just GA and Hypernia.
Thankyou for taking the time to read this post. Once again, I stress that it is my personal opinion, and that I am merely exploring the possibility of another server/teamspeak host. If you have any other suggestions or information that I am unaware of, please let me know.
Regards,
Jestar
"I consider myself to be charismatic, rambunctious and hip, to be square.
Most of the community and the admins however found you to be highly irritating .