LOCKED server characters (once persistent items and player storage are working properly)

[Baklavah 12]

Greetings!

 

So, I have an issue with the upcoming persistent player storage function. It is going to promote douchebaggery galore unless characters are specifically locked to servers. Go to a new server, get a new character for that server. Otherwise you're just going to have KoS CoD Kiddies and TONS of bandits server hopping every time a server resets (they keep tabs... most of us do) just to go loot guns/ammo/clips, go back to the server they're trolling on, stockpile like mad and then just kill without consequences... even if they get killed themselves. They will have so much firepower that the entire concept of the game will just go out the window.

 

So, Devs, here's a thought. LOCK CHARACTERS TO SERVERS! If you don't, this issue will spiral out of control, I assure you. And I'm fairly certain that every person who votes against this concept is either a KoS CoD Kiddie or a Bandit and they don't want their upcoming advantage to vanish. As a person and player who believes in fair play, this option is the only way to prevent this kind of nonsense.

 

~Baklavah

Edited August 8, 2014 by Baklavah

[King Raptor 191]

I thought the topic was locked!

 

So, Devs, here's a thought. LOCK CHARACTERS TO SERVERS

 

 

Obviously beats the point behind DayZ. They want people to be able to server hop and the people want it like that as well.

 

And I'm fairly certain that every person who votes against this concept is either a KoS CoD Kiddie or a Bandit and they don't want their upcoming advantage to vanish.

 

You might be fairly certain but I'm certain that you're fairly wrong!

 

ONS of bandits server hopping every time a server resets (they keep tabs... most of us do)

 

What's that about tab-keeping??

[Elle 562]

you shoulda used the search function dude, this has been brought up and shot down many times already.

[Baklavah 12]

Of course it's been shot down many times... By the very people who don't want their advantage of obscene amounts of firepower to disappear. If that's the case, then they need to release dedicated server support. Because that will be the only way to prevent this kind of ridiculous loot hoarding that will just piss everyone off.

[Elle 562]

dude use the search function and read up on why it gets shot down every time instead of making idiotic assumptions about the reasons of other people.

[Max Planck 7174]

Private shards should make this possible.

 

 

Over the next few weeks we will be working with our game server provider partners to begin the final steps required for the central hive, and their respective back ends to support renting private shards of the DayZ central hive, which will enable dedicated communities to create their own private DayZ worlds.

It is important to understand what private shards entail for DayZ, and why they are different from "private hives" so well known from the Arma 2 mod.

Can:

• Password protect the server
• Operate a white list (using BEC)
• Ban/Kick trouble makers
• Define and enforce server gameplay rules (eg: DayZRP, PvE only, etc)

Can not:

• Access or modify the base game configuration (amount of loot, amount of dynamic server events, vehicles (when they are implemented), etc)
• Violate the naming convention declared in the hosting rules (these will be updated to reflect the new private shard capabilities)
• Have access to the database itself
• Operate any 3rd party “Admin tools” aside from the approved BEC (BattlEye Extended Controls)
• Access debug logs (currently these are unavailable for both user privacy, and performance)
• Exceed current maximum player limits per instance (40, as of the time of the writing of this status report)

Source: http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/206651-status-report-week-of-august-4-2014/

Edited August 8, 2014 by Max Planck

[leviathanapsu 94]

Of course it's been shot down many times... By the very people who don't want their advantage of obscene amounts of firepower to disappear. If that's the case, then they need to release dedicated server support. Because that will be the only way to prevent this kind of ridiculous loot hoarding that will just piss everyone off.

 

I very rarely KoS and when I do, it is because there is too much risk (for example NWAF inside a building when someone suddenly turns a corner. I've been shot every single time I tried to talk first out there unless the person had their hands empty, so I don't risk it any more). I generally don't server hop either since that isn't particularly fun for me. I do however have frame-rate issues from time to time. More than once a server that is normally a good ping ends up going through the roof for a while. This is especially frustrating after playing in it for a while and then suddenly having my frames drop down to a flip book in slow motion. So when this happens, I just find a safe spot, log out and look for a server with a reasonable and stable ping again. I don't want to have to try figuring out what I was doing or where I was every single server. Several of my favorite servers have identical names, making it impossible to know on the opening screen which is which. If I play a console game and have to restart from square one every single time I log in, it isn't fun. If I am constantly dropped in new locations with random gear and no idea what I was doing, that isn't fun either. That is without taking into account my Trader group RP going on.

 

I get it, I really do. I don't really like the idea of insane looting from server jumpers or people using private servers as loot safehouses. The solution to the loot storage on locked servers by balancing out that option with storage not going between locked and unlocked servers. Locking the server controls who gets to play there, but also keeps you from looting all the other servers and then hiding it in your own. With the transfer of items between open servers though, I don't see a solution that doesn't heavily interrupt the ability to play for casual players. Accusing everyone who doesn't agree with you of being cheaters is pretty childish and doesn't offer a viable solution to those who disagree. It just puts up a wall of hostility between you and anyone who reads it. That won't convince people, it just makes them feel like you're butthurt over something and ranting about ways to make sure you never have to get butthurt the same way. Is that true? Maybe, maybe not, but that is how it comes across. Instead of shooting down anyone with a different opinion, try formulating a solution to the problem that resolves their on concerns.

[HIHBGaming 14]

With persistence and loot respawning, isn't spawning loot on server restart done away with? Afaik this is how it works.

 

So, to wait for a server restart and hop to a freshly restarted server for fresh loot is meaningless because it doesn't happen.

Edited August 8, 2014 by R.Neville

[trev186 389]

I enjoy having a range of servers to play on.

I am noneof the things u say I am.

There will be private shards for those who want characters locked sneak central hive for those who like havingthe flexibility.

I play on the west coast of US....5 of my favorite servers which had a decent ping and decent player count have all shut down here....rarely can I find a server with decent ping and am often forced to play on an east coast or UK server with 100-200 ping.

Having to restart my character cause there are no decent servers here 5 times or being forced to always play at a disadvantage due to ping would be horrible.

At least now if there is a high pop west coast server up and going I can join and play it.

[Evil Minion 943]

Same here - I like to play on different servers with the same character. Thats because a server can be full (I can't join it for obvious reasons) or low population (boring). With persistent storage people who use this will probably join the same server again and loot respawn might make it worthwhile staying on high population servers for gearing up.

 

Switching between servers should be possible in my opinion. HOWEVER it should not be as fast as it is now. A significant switch time would prevent this from happening and make it worthwhile searching the server you are on instead. Right now you basically "sidestep" and change dimension almost instantly when there should be a significant travel time. No problem playing on one server today and on another tomorrow but for playing on two different servers (that share one character) you better bring some time. 30-60min would probably suffice, not applying on server restart/crash and when dead. This way you can't easily jump from one server to the other searching for that AK drum mag but you can log out, do something else and when you come back you can join another server. Maybe also limit the number of server switches (only if the same character is used) within 24 hours to a set number to prevent abuse (~5 times).

[King Raptor 191]

You should just be allowed to switch server whenever you feel like it. No ridiculously high countdown timers.

What if the server isn't full enough or someone is cheating/abusing admin powers?

The loot farming will have to be fixed some other way.

[Evil Minion 943]

You should just be allowed to switch server whenever you feel like it. No ridiculously high countdown timers.

Thats why I suggested 30-60min switch time. Because you should not be allowed to switch server whenever you feel like it. Thats like saying you should be allowed to teleport to any town whenever you feel like it. I get what you are saying - you join a server that looked nice but turns out to be utter crap so you don't want to play on it. Whats the probability of this happening? I think this particular problem could be solved by giving players one or two "free" switches per day (with only a few minutes of switch time) and applying the penalty afterwards or increase the server switch time based on the number of times you switched (e.g. first switch takes 5min and if you switch again within a set number of  hours the switch time will be double the last value).

The loot farming will have to be fixed some other way.

As long as you have the option to move from one high-yield loot area to another high-yield loot area with almost no effort, people will use this. People will keep teleporting from one military base to the next in search of loot (because thats exactly what server hopping is) and this really hurts the game overall. Possible solutions are:

• limiting characters to one server
• significantly increasing switch time
• allowing only a set number of switches within a certain time frame
• making people respawn at the coast after switching

Things that don't solve the issue but might help:

• loot respawn instead of server resets
• global loot management (maybe with spawn bias towards populated servers)
• spawn safe zones around specific places and/or players

However you should be able to switch instantly in case of:

• character death
• getting kicked/banned from a server
• server crash
• switching character (hive or shard switch)
• being completely naked (you don't bring any items with you, might work fine as "emergency option")

[King Raptor 191]

Thats why I suggested 30-60min switch time. Because you should not be allowed to switch server whenever you feel like it.

 

Yeah and that's where you and Bohemia don't see eye to eye. I should be allowed to switch server whenever I feel like it because I might have a very valid reason to do so.

I don't server hop for loot, btw. I couldn't care less. I want full servers and I want to run into people when I look for new items so the fuller the better. If a server falls below a certain amount of players, I leave and join a fuller one.

 

 

ats like saying you should be allowed to teleport to any town whenever you feel like it.

 

 

Uh, no it's not. Switching a server puts you in the exact same spot you were before for better or worse. So switching server is now cheating? Are you one of those people who think EVERYTHING is cheating? Using DayZ maps, using Teamspeak?

 

Whats the probability of this happening?

 

High enough if the server turns out to not fill up after a server restart or it turns out to be a gigantic lagfest.. Going to make me wait 60 minutes before I can play on another server?

 

You don't get it: people play games for fun, they don't play it to get a second job. Making someone wait for 60 minutes to do something as basic as switching server is just a type of sadomasochism to many. I don't know why you would even suggest it, it shows to me that you have no idea what constitutes good game design.

 

 

As long as you have the option to move from one high-yield loot area to another high-yield loot area with almost no effort, people will use this. People will keep teleporting from one military base to the next in search of loot (because thats exactly what server hopping is) and this really hurts the game overall. Possible solutions are:

 

 

With a dynamic loot system most of the good loot will be taken and even if you server hop, there is a good chance you will only run into junk because that's all there is left until that junk is taken and refilled.

You're still thinking in 2-hour-reset-random-loot-piles mode which is an outdated train of thought with .47 and it'll become even more outdated as they work on it.

 

Things that don't solve the issue but might help:

• loot respawn instead of server resets

 

 

Uuuuh ... Do you even play DayZ at the moment?

 

[BEWARE-OF-ME 2]

That's been around since the existence of dayz!?!?! It's just not implemented into SA yet, because of obvious networking and client issues.

 

I should be able to switch a server when and if i feel like it. Persistent loot will not fix farming!

[Hicks_206 (DayZ) 4297]

Server restarts do not spawn fresh loot. With persistent items, and loot respawning this is done throughout the life cycle of the server. When a server restarts, no more loot respawns then when it is operational.

 

Public server characters remain accessible on all public servers. If you want a character locked to a specific server, play on a private server that is the only server linked to its shard.

[Evil Minion 943]

Uuuuh ... Do you even play DayZ at the moment?

On stable which does not work this way yet. I know its the plan for the near future - the point is it helps but doesn't entirely solve the issue. Maybe it turns out my 30-60min are overkill with loot respawns and ~10-20min would be enough - but 100 seconds for all server switches is simply too short.

And no, switching servers is not cheating. If anything rapid and frequent change of server is abusal of game mechanics. Especially if you jump between high value loot areas on empty/low pop servers. Compared to playing on a single server its high reward for low effort - increasing the switch time would increase the effort (I know people don't want to wait for 60 minutes - thats the goddamn point!) making actually moving around the map worthwhile.

An ideal solution would only hit "rabid hopping" while not affecting the "normal hopping" you described at all. The problem is the distinction. For example a "light" version of my suggestion had 5 minutes server switch time for the first five times and then increases by five minutes for each switch within two hours. In the end you should switch server for meta reasons and not for an easier gameplay.

[fg45rr1 16]

If you're against server hopping and gear stashing like you speak about there already is a perfect solution for you guys: Private shards go join one it totally eliminates server hopping and mass gear hoarding like you speak about although that's not even really a problem it seems like you just get upset when you try to talk to people and they just spray a drum mag at you well.. thats just dayz

[Evil Minion 943]

perfect solution

Far from it. It forces players to start a new character every time their previous server is unavailable, makes it impossible to meet up with the characters of friends who played separately for some time, makes servers easily dominated by a specific clan, shrinks down the loot economy significantly, reduces the number of different players that can be met, replaces "it's out there somewhere" with "it's most likely not here", makes it hard for casual players to reach any stage but early game, etc.

Fix server hopping instead of needlessly limiting the game. How? Greatly increase the cost for switching servers but include a "private hive-ish" option where you can start a new character instead.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Evil Minion