Will server swapping be removed?

[DevilDog (DayZ) 455]

Just wondering if you will be able to switch servers for ever? This is probably going to stick around unless DayZ becomes a stand alone. It is more of a FPS thing than a MMO thing. The reason I ask is because I like the accountability and revenge factors of sticking to 1 server. I know a lot of people complain about the PVP, not me; and I don't want to change the PvP. But with sticking to one server you get to know people and know who the dirt bags are and who the trust worthy people are. More importantly (imo) though you get to hold people accountable. Some guy attacks you and takes your stuff, you get to try and find him and take him out and get some revenge plus your stuff back.

This is not really a suggestion, just a question.

[peliluola@gmail.com 28]

I've noticed a lot of players playing on same servers too and agree with the revenge factor. Also some servers seem to work better than others so when I find a good server I usually stick to it. Don't like hopping too much.

[chaz gelf 15]

I kind of like the server persistence for a few reasons. Primarily because it means that if the server I usually log onto is full or down for maintenance, I can just log on to another server and continue my game without losing too much progress.

I do think there needs to be a reasonable limit put on server-swapping, mostly to discourage or punish players who log out just to avoid dying on one server. Maybe a "You can't log out now, you're in combat", or a tweak to how the Shock status effect works might work.

[SystemiK 366]

I kind of expect this to happen in the future at some point given the amount of exploits going on but then again, the ability to join other servers is a huge design feature of the mod and is partly responsible for it's popularity.

The one reservation I have about being locked to a single server is what happens when a server you have a character on suddenly is taken down? I've already lost fully stocked tents on two servers when the admin decided he could no longer afford them. With servers tied to players, I would have been stuck in limbo with a character which I could no longer log in.

[DevilDog (DayZ) 455]

I kind of like the server persistence for a few reasons. Primarily because it means that if the server I usually log onto is full or down for maintenance' date=' I can just log on to another server and continue my game without losing too much progress.

I do think there needs to be a reasonable limit put on server-swapping, mostly to discourage or punish players who log out just to avoid dying on one server. Maybe a "You can't log out now, you're in combat", or a tweak to how the Shock status effect works might work.

[/quote']

Honestly I am not too familiar with the inner workings of servers. But I notice this works just like an FPS; where as MMOs I have played you choose 1 server build a character and that is where that character stays. I agree with wanting to be on a stable server ect though.

There definitely needs to be a "move to the beach someplace" if you switch servers though. So that I can't go to a great loot spot, get the loot, log out, log in on different server, get loot, log out ect.

[zorisx 7]

Maybe we can designate a top-3 servers list for ourselves. With the solution that Rocket is putting forward of having Server-Side Logging Detection for Dcers, Swappers and Hackers...it would make logging a lot easier and catching these exploiters much more effective.

Your thoughts forum?

[chaz gelf 15]

A top-3 servers list sounds good. I'd also still want to be able to log into different servers and just have a different character on each server/top-3 server range. So for instance if I have a character locked to EN1, EN2 and UK1 (I don't get why EN and UK are two different server types but hey), and decide to log onto, say, EN6, I'd have to create a new character for EN6 but my character on EN1 is still there and can be accessed from EN2 and UK1 as well? I'd definitely be able to live with a system like that.

[zorisx 7]

For example, my friends and I play on US 29, Atlanta 5....a Seattle server and thats about it. I know we don't represent everyone playing but honestly if you find a working server thats local and up to date for yourself and all of your friends...then why not?

I would also suggest that clan servers should be privatized to prevent a whole clan bombing a server with logins lol.

[Kharne 2]

Watch for a guy named [CRA]Paul, he is the king at server hopping.

[daze23 549]

my main issue with them now is they're constantly cleaning out all the good loot spots. it didn't seem like a big deal before, but it seems they've been getting more methodical and thorough, and it really is effecting the game

[dagg929 20]

Last three deaths have been from server hoppers. It's beyond frustrating, 450kills and domed by someone who logged in behind me, killed, looted, bailed. NW airfield barracks.

[dominance 0]

Server swapping shouldn't be removed because there is stupid shit like people wiring up entire buildings and if you spawn inside and can't change server then your fucked.

On so many servers everything is wired.

And then on other servers there is desync problems for some reason and you can't find the guys your playing with or just seem them running on the spot, so you have to change server to fix it.

[zorisx 7]

Thats true that they may be affecting gameplay but to be honest I don't really hover around those areas and wait for spawns. Just get my loot in cherno/elektro/balota and go north :)

[Tuggo 25]

I'd like to see a single persistant server. Kinda like EvE, as long as the map were alot bigger with more areas.

[SystemiK 366]

I'd like to see a single persistant server. Kinda like EvE' date=' as long as the map were alot bigger with more areas.

[/quote']

Problem is that with over 90,000 (and rising) players logging in during any given day, there is no way to have a single game world support them all (unless.....earth was the map ;P). It works so well in EVE because the map spans galaxies. Not sure they will ever pull this off in a land based game without using instanced gameplay, and that would not be much of a sandbox...

[Zeromentor 169]

I like it how it is (being able to change servers), and due to the small population size and number of servers I doubt they'll try to make a server based save. More information would have to be saved to each and every server, and with a max pop of 25-75 (differs from server to server) not everyone can play at the same time. I would hate to have to restart every freaking day (or when I go to eat, watch a movie, take a dump) because my server filled up while I was gone.

Just make it where loot doesn't spawn if you log in on top of it (200 meter area of effect) and doesn't spawn until either someone else enters the area, or the spawner runs off and comes back.

[zorisx 7]

Just wait until all the bugs are fixed. Rocket wants 150-200 per server which is the vision for the ArmA 3 DayZ

[Penguinman401 2]

I didn't really care if people server hopped before maybe an hour ago. Me and my two friends got into a gun fight with a couple guys in the Berezino apartments. My two friends died, I killed one and wounded another. The wounded guy disconnected, went to another server to bandage up and moved onto the roof, then connected back to my server and waited for me to pass in front of the door he could see through from the roof access and one shot with some gun.

I've learned not to get too overly attached to my gear in this game. Death is inevitable. But being killed like THAT just rubs me the wrong way.

[s0ulassassin 11]

I'd like to see a single persistant server. Kinda like EvE' date=' as long as the map were alot bigger with more areas.

[/quote']

Problem is that with over 90,000 (and rising) players logging in during any given day, there is no way to have a single game world support them all (unless.....earth was the map ;P). It works so well in EVE because the map spans galaxies. Not sure they will ever pull this off in a land based game without using instanced gameplay, and that would not be much of a sandbox...

It's really not an issue actually.. Look at Eve Online. It's one single persistent world/universe. Just takes a lot of servers linked or something.. I honestly don't know how its done but they do it XD

[Techercizer 82]

I'd like to see a single persistant server. Kinda like EvE' date=' as long as the map were alot bigger with more areas.

[/quote']

Problem is that with over 90,000 (and rising) players logging in during any given day, there is no way to have a single game world support them all (unless.....earth was the map ;P). It works so well in EVE because the map spans galaxies. Not sure they will ever pull this off in a land based game without using instanced gameplay, and that would not be much of a sandbox...

It's really not an issue actually.. Look at Eve Online. It's one single persistent world/universe. Just takes a lot of servers linked or something.. I honestly don't know how its done but they do it XD

So you want to take 90,000+ players and cram them into a single map the size of Cheranus, and your solution to the inevitable horrifying unending overcrowded bloodbath that will instantaneously erupt is "linking servers or something".

Did you not read the part where he says this only works for EVE because it spans galaxies, or did you just decide to pretend it wasn't an issue?

[Kolchak (DayZ) 5]

Server side persistence is probably never going to happen. If they even considered it a possibility they would have already implemented it, mainly because it's so much easier to do than working with HIVE. They're more likely to make their own engine for the game than go with server side persistence.

You can't really count EVE in the same group as DayZ in lots of ways. One of the reasons they can have so much going on at the same time is cause it takes place in space. Rendering space is rendering nothing, and calculating space's effect on things is also nothing. there is no uphill/downhill (not that makes a difference anyway), no actual ballistics, lighting makes no difference, so it frees up alot of resources for things like predictive movement and networking optimization.

[lockpwnage 2]

I've been killed by server hoppers before been sniping killed one guy. He logs. Gets back on the server and just HAPPENS to be behind me.

[SystemiK 366]

It's really not an issue actually.. Look at Eve Online. It's one single persistent world/universe. Just takes a lot of servers linked or something.. I honestly don't know how its done but they do it XD

Yes. A very powerful server architecture such as EVE has, can do amazing things when it comes to player count online together in a gameworld. Dayz on the other hand has some limitations. Primarily, that it is limited by landmass. Chenaurus is a massive landmass for 50 people to play on. It's even a large landmass for 250 people to play on, but it's an impossibly small landmass for 25,000 people to play on, do you see the difference?

It's not a matter of server capacity how many people can play together, it's a matter of engine limitations on how big it can be vs. how many clients. Can you FIT 25,000 players on chernaurus and have something worth playing? No. Can you even manage 25,000 players on the Arma2 engine? Hell no. Well, then you need many servers "instancing" the game world within a HIVE to give us an illusion of a seamless and persistant gameworld. You don't have the luxury in a landmass based game of providing a MASSIVE gameworld, you can only provide a landmass as big as your engine is capable of providing.

I think the arma 2 engine has proven itself to be very capable of providing massive terrains, but it can never provide the kind of space a single non instanced Dayz world would require. It was never designed to operate on that scale. There are ways to offer an illusion such as instances within a common world but in my experience they are the antithesis to sandbox gameplay. The solution for this may well exist, but the server structure of EVE is not the answer. Super Computing on a residential level on the other hand....

Kolchak obviously has a very good understanding of this, you should re-read his post...

[LumberBack 43]

they should make it so if you join a server and play 5 min on it, then you will be bound to that server for 10-20 min after disconnecting. meaning you cant dc to go scavage or snipe on another server in those 10-20 min, you are stuck with the server you picked...

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

Here is one of the essential contradictions in Dayz's design.

You have the ability to server hop, but at the same time the game tries to lock you to one server by giving tents and vehicles that only exist where you find or place them.

Server hopping can be very convenient, being able to leave one server and quickly join a server with your mates is really great.The server my group play on is about to be shut down, without server hopping we are screwed!

BUT

It will almost certainly have to go. It creates too many problems in the long run I think. The HIVE system is already geared towards persistence on one server. I'd imagine one day in the far future Dayz will have bigger servers with bigger maps and have many shards.

I think we have to be left with one player only though, if you allow players to have a player on each different server you lose that investment in your character that makes Dayz so great. It also allows people to have "alt" characters they can use to grief on other servers.