Hi,

I've been a part of the Halo CE community for a long time but I feel I never really contribute, so I decided I would help in a way I can, since I don't have any skill in map making anymore. I have access to several Windows dedicated servers in the US which have massive amounts of storage and bandwidth that are, for the most part, sitting idle. I'm knowledgeable in hosting servers, which I have been doing for many games, including Halo.

My question is; what would get you to play on a server?
Maps? Custom? Stock?
Gamemodes?
Server mods?

I could host anywhere from 1 server to 100 servers, 24/7.

People that are active on the server. Nowadays I see maybe 6 people on 1 server. Also Good maps.

Actual custom maps that are designed well and have proven to do so.

Actually, let me just give you a list of good playing maps.

Abandonment - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=4759
Anxiety - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1276
Augurer - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=3575
Burialmounds Classic - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=4858
Claustrophobia - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=213
Cliffhanger - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=209
Coagulation Classic - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1261
Desolate Keep - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=3610
Fissure Fall - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=233
Gallows Pole - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=229
Helix Canyon - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1854
Immure 2 - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=2248
Mudslide - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=528
Nightcamp CE - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=350
No Remorse - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1759
(HCEL) Orion Final - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=4867
Paradise Lost - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1191
Peril - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=4096
Garden CE - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=4863
Requiem - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=6155
Sneak - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1243
Snowcast - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=4162
Solitude - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1562
Tactics - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=3152
Tempo - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=3603
TLS Stonghold - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=3201
Twist - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=2987
Valis - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1476
Vendetta - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=596
Z Coagulation - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=3108
Zanzibar Classic - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=826
Casualty Isle - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1861
CMT Snow Grove - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=2731
Division Falls - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1294
Fragment v2 - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1447
Grove Final - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=2015
Launch Bay - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=563
Launch Bay X - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=934
Lost Cove - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=393
Municipality - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1700
New Mombasa Classic - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=341
Portent - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1796
Prime T3 - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1991
Wartorn Cove - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=414
Vestige - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=3590
Wartorn Cove 3 - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=414
Yoyorast Island - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=1144
Revelations - http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=4992

Abandonment

Really fun with rocket launchers. Trust me.

I completely agree with Higuy's list when it comes to a choice of custom maps. They are all great maps.

Other than custom maps, you also need to have a good ruleset and enough admins to maintain the server to an actually decent standard. (main culprit for a lot of servers being inactive is that they only have a few barely active admins and they end up being plagued with aimbots, until everyone leaves)
Oh and the admins need to be mature. The other culprit for some servers losing players is admins who ban anyone that so much as flinches without being told that they can, or who cheat in the middle of competitive matches.

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Edited by Jaz on Oct 13, 2013 at 12:32 PM

I'm liking the list of maps so far, keep them coming.

About the server platform, do you guys prefer Gandanur or SAPP? I've used Gandanur a lot in the past and I like it, however there's a few features that are lack luster (map votes can't be used with maps that have spaces in the name), however it's supported by HaloRank which a lot of people like. Though it seems SAPP has far more customization options.

Depends on what you're trying to do.

SAPP(sehe's version at least) has some features that have a lot of potential, such as the recent area scripts thing.
(Can't remember the exact name, but it lets you set areas and have commands occur when a player enters them, so, for example, you could have players gain speed when they're in a large area, which may be handy for massive maps like Coldsnap, where otherwise you have to compromise between being able to walk safely within bases without zooming off the edge and being able to get across the exterior without extreme boredom)

If you don't care for such features or don't have the patience/knowledge to set them up properly, Gandanur's the obvious choice, since it's more basic features have been coded a bit more efficiently, plus yeah, it works with HaloRank, which is a cool plus.

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Edited by Jaz on Oct 13, 2013 at 03:14 PM

EXACTLY!

That's somewhat the problem I'd like to solve. I'd like to create a server, or a series of servers, that the CE community would enjoy playing on.


I tried it, I tried several methods, it seems the server mod strips any characters that should not be in a map name. I've posted a bug report on his forum about it a while back but he never fixed it.

I think I'm going to experiment with SAPP and see if its features are worth switching from Gandanur. Keep any ideas flowing.

I thought that was the whole point of this thread...

And I'd certainly start playing more if there was a decent server, and I'm sure there's a good number of people who would do the same.
(Though not sure how well the Realworld servers are maintained these days? They used to be run quite well)

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Edited by Jaz on Oct 13, 2013 at 06:10 PM

create torrent with hac included.
most players dont know where or how to dload maps.

I always see the same people playing at the same time in two of those servers. Besides that, it's empty.

Personally, i don't like playing slayer on large maps
i hate when people on your team nade each others vehicles while the enemy captures the flag, but what can you do about it....
would be interesting to see a map with AI on it that when the number of active players dwindles, they are replaced with AI.

No one start this argument, keep on topic.

I have an idea that I'm not sure would work because I don't mess with UI, but how does the server filter work. I'm not talking about netcode, but how does the ui organize the servers. If someone were to figure out how the server filter works, couldn't you create a new filter to replace the default server filter where it is the "official" servers, stock maps, and lastly custom. If that were to happen, there could be a possibility to filter all of your servers to the top of the list. It could be an update for universal ui or something (also I do realize that everything I said could be impossible so I'm sorry for any mistakes).

+1, also use the maps Higuy listed, with GOOD gametypes

Good gametypes is a list I'd like to have. Let's assume further in this thread that the server will run a votemap of all the maps listed in Higuy's post and a few more. What gametypes should be assigned to what maps, etc.

Divide the servers into these categories possibly.

Server Type: Gametype~player limit

Team Slayer: Team Slayer with team balancing~8
Team Objective: Oddball, KOTH, Juggernaut, and Elimination~12
Lone Wolves: Slayer, Crazy King, Juggernaut, Oddball, and Elimination~8
Capture the Flag: Capture the Flag and Invasion (reverse capture the flag)~12
Party: All Race Gametypes, Rocket Slayer, Team Snipers, Phantoms, Fiesta Slayer, Fiesta Oddball, Infection, and Fiesta KOTH~8
Big Team Battle: Capture the Flag, Team Slayer, and Invasion~16

Map Size Guidelines
Large Maps=12-16 players
Medium Maps=8-12 players
Small Maps=2-8 players

Some of this should be self explanatory, but if you organize your servers like the above, your servers will be non-random, organized, and users will know the consistency of your servers quality because your gametypes and maps won't create problems with each other (i.e. Bloodgulch 1v1 on KOTH).

Falujah 1.2

I might be remembering wrongly, but I think when I asked Btcc about it as a potential feature for HAC, he said that it's possible but would be a lot of work, or something along those lines.

what would make me play on a server? a better net code that's what.

you still have to deal with other players warping and your shots not registering.

I have good internet as well but I hate when there are other players that keep warping around the map.