Server Hopping Master Thread to End All Threads

[Spockrock 18]

people claim this topic "has been done to death", and yet there are no active threads about it in this forum. but there needs to be one, because this is the kind of thing that makes or breaks games.

 

so, I would love for this thread to stay on the first page for as long as it takes the devs to grace it with a detailed answer. until then I will be posting my crazy suggestions on how to fix it here, and I encourage you to do the same.

 

before I post my first suggestion, I did read some other posts on this issue in various threads, and a lot of ideas people suggest are overly complicated and mostly try build up on current implementation (login delay), which is far from perfect itself (I'd say it's complete shit but I doubt it's final, so let's cut the poor devs some slack)

 

anyway, the best solutions are the simplest. and delaying players from joining servers doesn't fix anything. no matter how you tweak it it will never solve the issue at hand completely. so how can we solve it then?

 

here's idea #1: MAKE SPAWNING INTO THE WORLD IMPOSSIBLE AT AREAS WITH RARE LOOT. 

 

actually, I'd go as far as making characters spawn randomly in forests all over Cherno, every time players log in. would spice things up.

 

logged out at NW Airfield? logged back in and found himself at Skalisty. will you run back to the airfield now? I seriously doubt that. you had your chance to loot it, now let the others have their turn if they made the effort of running there all the way from their spawn.

 

this game is all about running across empty spaces (not for all of us, though, some prefer to sit near their spawn points and attack new spawns), this should be rewarded.

 

right now server hoppers are the only ones who get rewarded for their "efforts". when they should be punished.

 

so, making airfields a no-spawning-in zone with a, say, 1 kilometer radius could be the first step to solving this problem. if you're cheeky or stupid enough to log out inside one of those, the server will gently spawn you back in in an open field or on top of a hill. now you have to spend some time running to it, risking getting shot etc. etc.

 

one argument against this would be: it's an easy way off the airfield, exiting those safely is a task in itself, so why make things easier on people? whelp, that's where random spawns come into play. you never know where you'll get spawned, could fuck you over, server hopper, will you risk everything you have just to speed things up a bit? 

 

I'll be back. and you, my friends, fire away!

[BL1P 252]

here is a picture of how simple it would be to place non spawn zones around each loot area then have the players only be able to login :-

 

If player login is in a Red move anywhere inside that Reds Blue as long as not on another Red or 500m from player and is on land.

 

Simple example using arma2 map not DayZ but gives the wanted example.

http://i.imgur.com/34z1ojc.jpg

[skyline-gtr 130]

What would happen in the case of a group of players and one is accidentaly disconnected ?

[Max beans 2]

I say this over and over, I think people should die when logging off except if they are in a safe zone.

[skyline-gtr 130]

Max, dont you think this is slighty unfair in the case of a server problem or similar ?

[Max beans 2]

If the server loses connection, you survive. If you lose connection, you die.

[Sonic-NKT 38]

well completly random spawns would be really annoying... just imagine playing with a friend and you always have to walk 15-20 minutes until you meet again even tho you logged out at the same location.

 

but i think no logout zones are a good idea... logging out is resting! you wouldnt do this in a dangerous area... if forcequit or server crash -> random spawn near the no logout zone.

 

this would fix the really annoying backstabbing after you leave are just looted area.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Sonic-NKT

[skyline-gtr 130]

If the server loses connection, you survive. If you lose connection, you die.

 

Not sure you understand how connection works.

 

Would you care to explain, how to determine what exactly happened ?

[Max beans 2]

I've studied connection orientated communication, I think I know better than you.

[djporternz 644]

people claim this topic "has been done to death", and yet there are no active threads about it in this forum. but there needs to be one, because this is the kind of thing that makes or breaks games.

Okay, you didn't look very hard did you?

 

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/169526-pending-changelog-experimental-branch-033114782/?hl=%20combat%20%20log

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/170647-timer/?hl=%2Bcombat+%2Blog#entry1736655

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/170673-server-hopping-combat-loging-ghost/?hl=%2Bcombat+%2Blog

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/170449-the-current-implementation-of-the-logout-timer-is-trollish/?hl=%2Bcombat+%2Blog

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/170546-well-done-combat-loggers-and-server-hoppers/?hl=%2Bcombat+%2Blog

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/170637-i-have-a-question-about-the-new-log-out-timer-mechanic/?hl=%2Bcombat+%2Blog#entry1736313

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/169789-logging-out-expermimental-branch-114782/?hl=%20combat%20%20log

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/169789-logging-out-expermimental-branch-114782/?hl=%20combat%20%20log

 

These are just the threads relating to this from today and yesterday!

[skyline-gtr 130]

I've studied connection orientated communication, I think I know better than you.

 

To what level have you studied this ?

I have studied Networking.

So I think to presume that you know more then me, and based on what you have suggested previously, might be a little short sighted.

 

And would you care to answer the relevant question, which is:

Would you care to explain, how to determine what exactly happened ?

[djporternz 644]

here's idea #1: MAKE SPAWNING INTO THE WORLD IMPOSSIBLE AT AREAS WITH RARE LOOT. 

 

actually, I'd go as far as making characters spawn randomly in forests all over Cherno, every time players log in. would spice things up.

 

1. Log out
2. Log in
3. Don't like spawn - Log Out
4. goto 2 until you like spawn

 

Yeah, there's no exploit there!

[boneboys 7988]

Eight pages of Server Hopping (titles only).

Use the Search Function.

[Spockrock 18]

I did, I don't know, maybe your admin search is more powerful than mine, but there is only one active thread in my search results dedicated to server hopping right now (last active on Jan. 29th), and two others that discuss other issues, only touching on server hopping. hence my decision to make a single thread only about server hopping that I wanted to keep active. but if you insist, I will not update this thread anymore

 

What would happen in the case of a group of players and one is accidentaly disconnected ?

the group then would have an adventure: find their friend before someone else does. like a side-quest. 

 

in all seriousness though, and I only speak from personal experience, I end up running to my friends every time even with the current system, because we rarely manage to log back into the game together: work, school, family take up a lot of our time, so we have different playing schedules. from my perspective this wouldn't be that big of a sacrifice if it actually fixed server hopping

Edited February 4, 2014 by Spockrock

[skyline-gtr 130]

I did, I don't know, maybe your admin search is more powerful than mine, but there is only one active thread in my search results dedicated to server hopping right now (last active on Jan. 29th), and two others that discuss other issues, only touching on server hopping. hence my decision to make a single thread only about server hopping that I wanted to keep active. but if you insist, I will not update this thread anymore

 

the group then would have an adventure: find their friend before someone else does. like a side-quest. 

 

in all seriousness though, and I only speak from personal experience, I end up running to my friends every time even with the current system, because we rarely manage to log back into the game together: work, school, family take up a lot of our time, so we have different playing schedules. from my perspective this wouldn't be that big of a sacrifice if it actually fixed server hopping

 

 

Unacceptable imo.

[Mystatement 1]

I'd say, for the spawn- delay to actually work it has to be way more intimidating. A couple of hundred seconds won't stop nobody from server- hopping. One way to actually make it a bit more intimidating (though, far from a proper solution) would be to increase the timer each time a player logs off, starting at 250 seconds, and doubling itself each time. First log off: 250, second: 500, third: 1000

 

Also, to counter that, an in-game timer would have to be implemented, where a first offence would take, say, 15 minutes to be set to zero. A second offence would then take 30 minutes in-game before you could log out and back in without delay, and so on.

 

This might piss off some players, having to wait a couple of hundred seconds before being able to switch to a server your friends play on, but i'd say it's worth it. At least until they have come up with a proper solution.

 

Another soloution, which someone mentioned above, would be to have no-log off -zones, where you simply can't log off, and if you forcequit or lose connection in such a zone, apply a spawn-timer set to, say, 15 minutes. It might not STOP the server hopping, but it would at least make it a fuckload more time-consuming.

 

Edit: spellcheck

Edited February 19, 2014 by Mystatement

[mithrawndo 166]

Server hopping is a result of the current method used to spawn loot (loot only spawning when the server first starts & certain spawn locations having better loot tables) and this problem will disappear when these two issues are addressed: Until then this discussion is moot.Look at games like Diablo 2 where certain bosses would be farmed to death because they had specific items on their loot table and you'll see that this is not a problem you can easily fix by trying prevent server hopping.

 

Treat the cause, not the symptoms.

[Sum Ting Wong 45]

Using retards as one of the keywords kinda put you in the gamer-kid-with-one-page-dictonary corner for me, since "retards" is currently very popular on the interwebz. After popular waves of words like noob, epic, fail and troll.

I don't think people who disagree with me or do not act like me, are all retards... do you?

 

But anyway, I like the safezone bit.... but not in this game, after some thought. Because a safezone would give problems on its own: safezone camping, and people running for cover to such a zone. Maybe could be countered, although i don't know how, but surely would break immersion / the general idea of the game.

 

I don't like the rest you suggest. I don't want to get punished when i lose connection, which at this stage happens quite a lot to me. (i think due to server restarts, but not sure)

 

Like Mithrawndo already said, this will be addressed in time. Gameplay will be much different when new mechanics are introduced.

I would not worry about it.

[Brim 1]

I'm not a fan of the feature that when you log out in these places, you'll be randomly spawned in the map. I can imagine that causing a lot of problems, easy method for teleportation' (even with the current spawn delay). I highly doubt the developers would adhere to such features. However, saying that; the idea that you'd not be able to log out in high loot spawns is absolutely fantastic, and it would put an end to a plethora of problems concerning high loot spawns. One example would be you move into the radio station in the airfield, search the whole thing and there's nothing in it. Then, you get shot from there because a server hopper has just logged in and spotted you whilst having a loot session (one has even spawned in the same room as a friend of mine before and shot him). 

 

But yes, no spawning in or logging out in high loot/rare loot areas such as airfields, military camps, bases, etc. It's a genuine simple solution. (It would also force players to "leave" the airfield and risk the dangers of confrontation instead of logging into a empty server and skipping out). The idea could certainly be worked on! Nice one.

[Chaingunfighter 917]

I'm not a fan of the feature that when you log out in these places, you'll be randomly spawned in the map. I can imagine that causing a lot of problems, easy method for teleportation' (even with the current spawn delay). I highly doubt the developers would adhere to such features. However, saying that; the idea that you'd not be able to log out in high loot spawns is absolutely fantastic, and it would put an end to a plethora of problems concerning high loot spawns. One example would be you move into the radio station in the airfield, search the whole thing and there's nothing in it. Then, you get shot from there because a server hopper has just logged in and spotted you whilst having a loot session (one has even spawned in the same room as a friend of mine before and shot him). 

 

But yes, no spawning in or logging out in high loot/rare loot areas such as airfields, military camps, bases, etc. It's a genuine simple solution. (It would also force players to "leave" the airfield and risk the dangers of confrontation instead of logging into a empty server and skipping out). The idea could certainly be worked on! Nice one.

They can still just travel 3 minute outside of the zone and join an empty server to head back there. The only server hoppers who are still around at this point are people who do not care about time limits and are willing to do a little extra work to get free stuff.

 

The problem with a lot of these so-called "easy fixes" is that they have been discussed before and there are obvious flaws to all of them.

[Martmital 436]

Fuck all wrong with how it is now...

[Lupine 14]

Yeah... sorry, doesn't matter what you put in to "stop" server hopping, you will never stop it, and neither should you. Nothing wrong with jumping around servers to gather loot when you have respawned, have no weapon, starving and have endless zombies to deal with, its only fair that you find something to drink and eat, a back pack of some sort, some rags and something to belt the crap out of the Zeek's.. Only once have i had "everything" i needed after dying and respawning, the last respawn. I found a damaged ax right away, tore up my tshirt and had killed all 7 zombies in town (used up both bandages from the tshirt) but i got enough to eat and headed off to the nearest pond.

 

If i hadn't , i would have respawned onto an empty server and kept it up until i got a weapon and a backpack and enough food. Its hard enough to survive at the begining of a respawn without it. when i first started playing i never understood why i couldnt take 20 steps before being attacked.. i spent the first 7 hours of game playing dying, figuring out gear spawns near player spawns and how close could i sneak near a Z before it spotted me... before i figured out that i should just log out, and then log back in and loot the same houses over till i had the gear i needed.. (mainly a melee weapon). I went all the way to Polana one spawn WITHOUT A WEAPON.. just sneaking and watching for Z's. is it dooable? yes. is it advisable.. No..

 

  Am i using server jumping to hunt and player kill/ambush? No.. attacking other players doesn't interest me. are others using it like that? yes they are.. and the counter being used at the moment is enough of a trip-up to stop Player hunters ghosting through another server and respawning to player kill  on their old one. the question is.. why are you still there? Sniping protocol dictates.. take shot (or two) then change position, change cover, dont move in straight lines, follow cover stay below ridges, use natural formations to mask your shape. Stop being butt-hurt about it.. everyone paid for the game, so they get to play it the way they like. Heck.. i have been killed more from falling than other players.. if anything needs to be adressed its that.

 

Besides, a lot of players (who paid ) suffer from lag and connection issues, are still penalized for changing off unstable servers, because of the actions of player hunters. No more penalties please. "safe logout zones" should be implemented until the server restarts are addressed either. I have dropped out a couple of times in the middle of doing things. My best drop out was in the middle of 4 zombie spawns.. I had to get ready for full on Zeek blood bath when i logged back into another server..

 

;) *gripe program complete* 

[infiltrator 275]

Server hoppers aren't rewarded. Unless of course, by rewarded you mean shot in the head and relinquished of their possessions by me. My daily toll is 10 minimum. So much fun when they get taken out when looking at that shiny loot pile I planted by the window.. conveniently, exactly where I want them.

 

I can actually hear them swear as I loot their bodies. Actually, I'm pretty sure I've killed a lot of users who frequent this forum, I typically come over and say something like "Hi friend, do you mind if I take it from here? What's that? No? Why, thank you!".

Edited February 20, 2014 by Infiltrator

[jamiereid_wow@hotmail.co.uk 46]

I'm sorry but this seems like a very unhelpful approach to me. You've just taken away a persons choice to log out where they choose. As mentioned, what happens to a player that gets disconnected at airfield or other military area? Perhaps you have all the time in the world to play the game and don't mind running from skalisty island to anywhere up north; but most of us have jobs, families, our health and other leisure activities we like to do outside the game. I don't think the majority of people like the idea of having to invest even more time into traveling from A to B as you seem you do. You haven't thought this one through at all; sorry dude. 

[Spockrock 18]

Well, the only real solution to server hopping is really having separate databases for each server - problem solved. And, hopefully, private hives will make their appearance soon, so we can all forget about this server hopping business, find a server that suits us and only play there, make new friends and enemies you'll likely to meet again etc.

 

Server hopping is a result of the current method used to spawn loot

not entirely true, server hopping has been around since the first version of the mod came out. changing loot spawning patterns won't solve it, I'm afraid

 

I don't think people who disagree with me or do not act like me, are all retards... do you?

You misinterpreted my intention, I don't have the will to explain myself to you, let's just say it served its purpose