Idea to get more use from servers???

POST REVIVED AFTER A FEW MONTHS - SKIP TO PAGE 4 (Post 39) - OR SEE BRAMS STICKIES ON THE TWO NEW CASUAL SERVERS FOR RACE CLUB MEMBERS AT THE TOP OF THE FORUM - THE SERVERS ARE THERE FOR YOUR USE - ANYTIME FOR RACES WITH OTHER CLUB MEMBERS - PLEASE USE AND MAKE THEM A SUCCESS!!!


Original Post -
I have noticed that very often servers are up and running for club events for (often) hours and hours before and after events. Last night after getting a disconnect at Watkins Glen I asked on the thread if its ok to use the servers if there still up? Of course the answer came back, yes its ok.

My suggestion is this - Why not unlock the server for All or at least a wider selection of cars, until the actual event start, the server would still be passworded, but any RD member wanting to join and have a go on that track is free to do so and can see before clicking join, or checking the forum that the Server is not in an organised event. This could help us all get time in on different tracks, in different cars, in servers with other like minded players - which is what most of us are here for. If at first this seems impractical think about it a little more - we want servers full, we all want to race with non-wreckers and opening the range of cars up for these 'extended practice sessions' can help with that - it could also help to level the playing field by stopping the practice of people doing 200 laps before the event practice even starts because more people would be there utilising the server, in different cars slower or faster..

A final word of warning, and just to prove I have thought about this a bit, different car classes on the same track mean you have to be extra mindful and aware of slower traffic and different handling characteristics or this might happen - the first is an in car video I found, the second some amazing quality photos from the event, the actual accident, and lower down the wreckage back in the pits, Evo's and Small Pugs on the same track, combind with overexhuberant right foot of an overly focused (on cars in the same class) driver.....
 
Heh heh ... poor old Dave seems to take a right royal bashing in this thread eh?
Poor bloke he's only trying to throw ideas into the mix ... just seems he is missing having done some proper research before making his suggestion :wink2:

My tuppence worth to this ... what happened to the RD passworded "pickup race" type servers?

They seemed to get binned before they got chance to catch on?

Just one rather than several fairly permanent servers would be good IMO with a reasonable selection of cars and tracks, 30 mins of praccy, superpole and then maybe 2 x short races (eg. 10 laps each).

This should require a minimal admin effort ... once a week quickly select a few tracks, add some likely candidates for cars and start the server, maybe posting into a thread what is on offer that week.

Has a slightly different dynamic to it than practicing for a club event ... ie people are not there to prepare, they are there either just to hang out, or race if they want to.

Prolly gonna get gunned down now by the admins, and sorry, I don't mean to cause hassle, but I think this would be good for the "community spirit", a central RD meeting place for banter and racing 7 days a week, 24/7 ... pity chat is gone too - I always found that really helped get to know ppl, and to set up a race together when a few ppl were hanging out with nowt better to do.

Edit: I only skimmed the rest of the posts, so if this is covered, sorry :D
 
Heh heh ... poor old Dave seems to take a right royal bashing in this thread eh?
Poor bloke he's only trying to throw ideas into the mix ... just seems he is missing having done some proper research before making his suggestion :wink2:

My tuppence worth to this ... what happened to the RD passworded "pickup race" type servers?

They seemed to get binned before they got chance to catch on?

Just one rather than several fairly permanent servers would be good IMO with a reasonable selection of cars and tracks, 30 mins of praccy, superpole and then maybe 2 x short races (eg. 10 laps each).

This should require a minimal admin effort ... once a week quickly select a few tracks, add some likely candidates for cars and start the server, maybe posting into a thread what is on offer that week.

Has a slightly different dynamic to it than practicing for a club event ... ie people are not there to prepare, they are there either just to hang out, or race if they want to.

Prolly gonna get gunned down now by the admins, and sorry, I don't mean to cause hassle, but I think this would be good for the "community spirit", a central RD meeting place for banter and racing 7 days a week, 24/7 ... pity chat is gone too - I always found that really helped get to know ppl, and to set up a race together when a few ppl were hanging out with nowt better to do.

Edit: I only skimmed the rest of the posts, so if this is covered, sorry :D

There was a sniff that a race session could be added tothe STATS server, don't know where or if that got to discussion-wise.
 
i like the sound of that would be nice to race away from the crasher's and also nice to meet rd members on track in a relaxed enviroment (relaxed till first corner ):sinister:
the problem i see is how many events can a server hold with all the leagues going, how much hassle time it would take to keep it running?
 
  • leahcim

First, a permanent public server is out of the question unless we finally get an ingame admin option like in rfactor. As long as that isnt implemented in the game it wont happen on permanent basis.

Just a thought. Can you admin servers from a web page?

If so, steam lets you navigate to any website now from the ingame stuff you get if you press shift-tab.
 
Why not alt-tab and use remote desktop connection?
Because you make the mistake thinking that i have the time to monitor a server 24/7 :) As long as simbin doesnt include an ingame admin public server racing is out of the question.
Perfect scenario, put the racing club password on the server so every members can turn admin and remove dangerous driving idiots from the server, but that is now technically still not possible in 2009 it seems :D
 
  • leahcim

Because you make the mistake thinking that i have the time to monitor a server 24/7 :)

You've only just expressed the actual problem rather than stating that one possible solution to it doesn't exist, so I had to guess / assume what the problem actually was.

I see now what you want is a secure way for anyone you want to permit to admin the server remotely. Yes? If so I'll look at it...anything is possible.
 
I see now what you want is a secure way for anyone you want to permit to admin the server remotely. Yes?

Ehm no, thats not what i mean. No way we are opening the server for everybody :)
But ingame admin like in rfactor where everybody that has the password can login and change from racer to administrator would be ace.
 
i like the sound of that would be nice to race away from the crasher's and also nice to meet rd members on track in a relaxed enviroment (relaxed till first corner ):sinister:
the problem i see is how many events can a server hold with all the leagues going, how much hassle time it would take to keep it running?

... if the server is needed it can be dropped and used for leagues very easily, so that should not be an issue, and the management should be like I said - a few mins once a week setting this up and its good clean praccy and racing for a whole week with a whole host of variations ... :good:

EDIT: sorry missed the other bit of this discussion that went on as I wrote this :D
 
BTW: if such a server were to exist ... we would just have to "administer" the driving on it ourselves - we are all big boys and if someone gets proper out of hand then maybe it can be reported, but in all other cases ... sort it out between ourselves nice and politely :wink2:
 
  • leahcim

Ehm no, thats not what i mean. No way we are opening the server for everybody :)

How did what I wrote say anything about opening a server for everybody?

"I see now what you want is a secure way for anyone you want to permit to admin the server remotely"

secure way == uses passwords etc, yes?
anyone you want to permit == anyone you want to ban you'd give them the password

admin the server remotely == kick & ban etc without being on the server.

But you read "You want to open the server to everybody" ?

LOL
 
@ Leahcim:

I see now what you want is a secure way for anyone you want to permit to admin the server remotely. Yes?

What i mean, or maybe we mean the same :) Is that we dont want to give everybody physical access to the server (not even with remote desktop) but from ingame administration. Thats what i ment :) Sorry for the confusion
 
BTW: if such a server were to exist ... we would just have to "administer" the driving on it ourselves - we are all big boys and if someone gets proper out of hand then maybe it can be reported, but in all other cases ... sort it out between ourselves nice and politely :wink2:

Lee we had such servers in the past (even with live display of people being on it) and still nobody joined.

The biggest problems always seems to be that people do not join an empty server (sheep :dance2:)

But yesterdays racing club event over 40 guys joined without having to sign up... Why? Because somebody was the first to join and posted it :)
 
Your choice mate ... I just think one server like this might be nice to have around ... it does not have to be full 24/7, but if it gets 2 or 3 good pickup races per week, or a few people training together, getting to know one another and such, then surely its done its job ...

If you were ever to consider running it, and as we don't have the chatbox any more, then you might also create a thread for people to post up that they are heading on to this server, or that they are looking to organise a quick race, or do some training or whatever.

You even said it yourself ... if people know something is happening, they are gaggin for it and will jump all over it!

As I said ... your choice ... and it will not the first time I have made a golden suggestion and been ignored in my life :p :D

EDIT:
BTW: "Live display of people being on it"???
I missed that totally ... where and when? I asked about this ages back, but never saw it implemented :moneymouth:
 
  • leahcim

What i mean, or maybe we mean the same :) Is that we dont want to give everybody physical access to the server (not even with remote desktop) but from ingame administration. Thats what i ment :) Sorry for the confusion

Physical access with remote desktop?

You're not a techie are you? :)
 
Just happened to find this thread again whilst looking at my profile - ok so I accept some of my early posts were a little niaeve and didn't necessarily fit it with what would work for either Admins or RD...

I thought I would reveive it and ask does anyone else out there have ideas to increase the utilisation of the servers, Bram's post about peopel NOT joining an empty server is totally correct, I do sometimes look at the RD servers and don't join because they are empty (Baaa Baaa).

Current ideas - what if?

1. We had a RD Chill out server? Members only but it IS used for races?

2. What if we all agreed that at certain times, even the practice servers would be allowed into race? For example we could agree that if a server had MORE than say 6 people in it at HALF PAST the hour it would be allowed to go to Race? So we would all know that if we joined an RD server at HALF PAST any hour we would be likely to get a race - IF MORE than say 6 people also join? The problem I see with any idea is that we NEED to make sure people are NOT joining events that they are not entered for and this remains a problem - could the server name include details so people know to leave that server alone on a particular day? For example the SNSC server includes SNSC in its name if a server set up for an event had a day or date reference others would know NOT to join on that day - for example the Porsche Cup Server - which is racing tonight could include MON for Monday or 0911 for todays date, or 1109 if we use american format - either way its important to communicate when its safe to join or not join RD servers and I think this limitation alone is what causes RD Servers to be sat empty for most of the time..

I know people will say go to the forums, post that you want to meet in server, or DON'T race on RD servers - the fact is RD has servers up thats it is paying for, that few of its members utilise, and in turn even fewer pay for....

The fact is when I fire up Steam and want to race, I am there just for that - I want to go race with other people ASAP - not visit the forum, check if a server is in use and whats available, not post do you want to meet on RD server xyz for a race - I just want to go in game find a server (with people in it) and race and I think many others here do too - The choice is more often than not public servers, which I know some hate but I don't particularly mind, now if I could enter 'RACED' in my filter and be easily able to see which RD Server I was ok to join for a Race then I would be far more likely to join even an empty server in the hope others would follow - If I also knew that others might be looking at HALF PAST every hour then I would be even more likely to join, and I think many others would too - I think it could help with getting new members and increasing donation rates too in the longer term..

Finally, after yet another marathon post (babble), please don't knock me down for my ideas if you don't agree - I post because although RD and its Staff do a fantastic job and are a success, I do feel if the servers we utilised more RD could enjoy even more success. Also the more we talk and debate ideas the more we all move forwards.
 

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