A source of new players that will surprise you.

[ShadowRunner]

These are normal DXMP players.

I'll stop you right there and laugh. You have kids playing an adult game, against adults behaving like kids. Not normal, not healthy, in it is fact very abnormal.

Find me another 10 year old online adult PC game that has kids running around, adults aliasing and has more than 10 players a day? If there is one, I'm sure there is a lesson to be learned from it, something we don't do.

You want ten thousand prisoners in DXMP with fucked up psyche?

My conservative estimate is that with a concerted PR effort, you could probably double the server list of 15 people.

No, enough psychological issues already, which is why I think communities like the prisoners, different disabilities, the people who may have no choice to use PC, people who already play other 10 year old PC games, might be the first place to start looking. When it's your only choice you don't tend to rock the boat or cause that privilege to be removed and you tend to appreciate a little more, play a little more regularly, these are all the qualities in players that are needed. Also the teamwork between prisoners is phenomenal, they live with each other.

You need to solve a problem. The problem is that Chinny can't publish a newsletter without one of you complaining. I can't make a suggestion without one of you making a personal insult. Atrey can't make a helicopter without some negative bull. Player can't enter server without seeing aliasing, language, ranting, people looking for a punchbag or victim. That's f****d up psyche. The game needs a certain rebranding, security issues addressed and an effort by the adults to be adults and less anti-social.

Also you can't sit there and laugh at suggestions, if you make none of your own. It's just a suggestion. Same with aug maps, try making one and then you will see it's not a "hit and miss" business, that it takes more than one map, that it takes time and above all, it needs the involvement, encouragement and support of the auggers themselves.

I'm not trying to argue the case for prisoners playing, I'm merely trying to show you how it is difficult in this environment to actually be creative or have a discussion.

With more people like Blindrun, who knows, things could change, the DX3 crowd could be slowly drawn in. Until then I think it's worth discussing ideas in an adult fashion.

[DejaVu]

sr, what has to be done to get this running?

and my previous post was a joke, I though you would get it :p

[ShadowRunner]

Oh I see, because some people are seriously saying that of modders sometimes. Never mind.

I do think it's not unreasonable to say "what's the point in hard work, time and money if the audience are spiteful to any change or improvement in current game format". You can't change people, but you can change the game a little, in order to change the people playing it, if you see what I mean. Endless discussion about technical stuff doesn't solve what is ultimately a people problem, which doesn't seem to exist in registration-only or pay-online games. Calling each other nigga and trolling/boycotting new releases and being ludicrously competitive, doesn't really work. Can't stop a noob putting his server top of the list with cheating admins, useless maps and huge amounts of lag either.

My personal feeling is, it's an uphill battle to try to fix something that has this level of conflict going on, but instead create a new version of DXMP, which isn't accessible to all, either via registration or some other method, effectively market it and compete with the public servers until the public servers are forced to whip themselves into shape. This is basically what FT will do when it arrives, it's not Face's plan but that is the effect it is going to have on the community, it's going to render public servers pretty much pointless, unless public servers can address a wider range of issues than just pure technical ones.

[synthetic]

These are normal DXMP players.

I'll stop you right there and laugh. You have kids playing an adult game, against adults behaving like kids. Not normal, not healthy, in it is fact very abnormal.

I said 'normal DXMP players' not 'normal players'.

Also, let me know when this project is met with some success, so I know when to move to another game. I kind of expect such a thread to be posted on April 1st..

Edit: suggestions? You want suggestions? How about making one *loving* good map for classic DXMP? Have you seen what Smuggles looks like?? That (along with Ste's latest map) is the pinnacle of DXMP mapping! Its advanced version of Nochanc's Sniper Box! If you want more players, start using your *loving* head and think why nobody is playing this game, AND what to do to get them to play! Sims City on an engine older than half the players of this game is not the answer (hint fuckity hint).

Edit 2: Best solution is to recreate DXMP on new engine. I have spent hours if not days talking about this very subject with some of the community members, and there are several significant issues involved (lot of players having mixed opinions of what DXMP even is, for one; how the *love* can one improve game if he doesnt know what the game is ).

Second best solution is to recreate DXMP on new*er* engine. UT99 is/was almost all set to port their metabolic end product to UE2, pending on Epic's go ahead (which is unlikely to come, they already have UT for that engine, called UT2k4).

But to even double our player numbers we have to make the game playable. We have some 20-30 active players playing daily, over an average month that number is probably 2x higher, as not everybody plays every day. Over an average year that number is even higher as some veterans play extremely sporadically.
DOUBLING that number is no big accomplishment. Make couple good maps, screw your head on the right way (or pull it out of ass, what ever may be the case), and poke your friendly neighbourhood coder to patch the ESSENTIAL things.

Instead of being able to provide constructive criticizm, I often find myself in pointless arguments with noobs on topics such as: are augs part of Deus Ex, is fast-fire a cheat, should cheater be banned on a server, etc. By the time I quit this game my hair will be all white! Where do they grow such potatoes?!

Edit 3: also, bringing 20 players to a new mod does not make the game more active, it just extends it with yet another mod. See it like this: your game has 20 players. You make a mod and get 20 players for some months. You think you now have 40 players? No, you have 20 players.
Only way these numbers affect any given DXMP player is by showing up in server list as populated servers. Too bad they don't populate the classic game, or even your favourite mod. Through that it'll effectively fail to affect *your* actual game. The occasional player migration between game types is marginal nitpicking.

[ShadowRunner]

You're such the expert Ken, good luck with your expertise. Let's see your solutions then.

I've already stated this is not a plan, but merely I am trying to show you guys how you're missing the bigger picture and need to think outside the box. You're all wrapped up debating quality of maps and technical issues, but the main issue, lack of fun, you are failing to address completely. You will sooner or later need to recruit players. You will also sooner or later, need to realize that you've removed spawnrooms, removed lams, removed a lot of things from the game, while you turn to bitch other mappers and modders, that aren't doing that.

As long as you remove things from the game, sit there like "experts" arguing about small technical issues, you're missing the bigger picture, which is that you have totally destroyed the concepts of lams, spawnrooms, shadows, exploration, alot of elements of SP gameplay have just been wiped out. You've created a game that is unplayable as a MP game for beginners.

Also if you do create private registration-only servers, the worst that can happen is multi-accounting. It's still better than the trollfest and abuse-fest you currently see in servers.

[RedDynasty]

You're such the expert Ken, good luck with your expertise. Let's see your solutions then.

I've already stated this is not a plan, but merely I am trying to show you guys how you're missing the bigger picture and need to think outside the box. You're all wrapped up debating quality of maps and technical issues, but the main issue, lack of fun, you are failing to address completely. You will sooner or later need to recruit players. You will also sooner or later, need to realize that you've removed spawnrooms, removed lams, removed a lot of things from the game, while you turn to bitch other mappers and modders, that aren't doing that.

As long as you remove things from the game, sit there like "experts" arguing about small technical issues, you're missing the bigger picture, which is that you have totally destroyed the concepts of lams, spawnrooms, shadows, exploration, alot of elements of SP gameplay have just been wiped out. You've created a game that is unplayable as a MP game for beginners.

Also if you do create private registration-only servers, the worst that can happen is multi-accounting. It's still better than the trollfest and abuse-fest you currently see in servers.

A-*loving*-men

[Alvind]

[Psycho]

What useful have you contributed Alvind?

[Hey]

You're such the expert Ken, good luck with your expertise. Let's see your solutions then.

I've already stated this is not a plan, but merely I am trying to show you guys how you're missing the bigger picture and need to think outside the box. You're all wrapped up debating quality of maps and technical issues, but the main issue, lack of fun, you are failing to address completely. You will sooner or later need to recruit players. You will also sooner or later, need to realize that you've removed spawnrooms, removed lams, removed a lot of things from the game, while you turn to bitch other mappers and modders, that aren't doing that.

As long as you remove things from the game, sit there like "experts" arguing about small technical issues, you're missing the bigger picture, which is that you have totally destroyed the concepts of lams, spawnrooms, shadows, exploration, alot of elements of SP gameplay have just been wiped out. You've created a game that is unplayable as a MP game for beginners.

Also if you do create private registration-only servers, the worst that can happen is multi-accounting. It's still better than the trollfest and abuse-fest you currently see in servers.

Fun servers are the answer, my server has players in it constantly - hosting the Cozmo RPG map, whilst the 0 aug and ATDM servers are most of the time empty, must be hard for new players to play gamemodes that we've played for years, and practised against higher skilled players.

[Alvind]

off the top of my head the LAW, GEPgun, flamethrower, stealth pistol, prod gun for HDTP.

[RedDynasty]

I loved the HDTP stealth pistol, its one of my favourites.

[Alvind]

Looking back at it now I wish I could have made it better

[Psycho]

A lot more than you psycho off the top of my head the LAW, GEPgun, flamethrower, stealth pistol, prod gun for HDTP.

Ah a great DXMP mod that is..

[Friedman]

As long as you remove things from the game, sit there like "experts" arguing about small technical issues, you're missing the bigger picture, which is that you have totally destroyed the concepts of lams, spawnrooms, shadows, exploration, alot of elements of SP gameplay have just been wiped out. You've created a game that is unplayable as a MP game for beginners.

no augs gameplay with planted LAM traps all over the place, HE shells, skill points (same skill point system as ATDM), and default weapons is ridiculously fun

[atrey65789]

It's my opinion, but what I think is what people want... is.... Just... SOMETHING NEW!