I've recently bought a 16 slot 66Tick server which I set up for build, so it has all the usual addons (PHX3, Wire, PewPew, Evolve Admin mod, a set of useful build tools).
I don't know how to get people playing on my server, I've added a few maps to make it a little more unique because let's face it, there are a lot of empty build servers on gm_flatgrass.
I really need some ideas on how to get this server populated. A few friends have told me to 'make it different than the other servers', but how? It's a build server, it can't really be that unique; should make it specialized with certain contraptions? (Eg: Water build, etc) Should I start a clan and begin hosting forums?
What should I do? And what would you like from a build server to make you, as a player, become a regular visitor?
I'd really appreciate some ideas!
Thanks.
By chance are you looking for any admins because i have been looking for a server where me and my friend can build at without a limit on most of the tools we can use?
[QUOTE=Stickguy7;25572513]By chance are you looking for any admins because i have been looking for a server where me and my friend can build at without a limit on most of the tools we can use?[/QUOTE]
Yes ofcourse, anyone is welcome to join and I am looking for admins. I'm still looking for tips / tricks to increase the population however.
If you'd like to join, here's the IP address: 89.238.160.232:27016
What's the name of it?
You would want to clearly advertise it as a build server. Even putting 'X's build server' as the title will normally attract more users, as it's simple and advertises it as what they want.
You should play on it as well if you don't a lot. People will much prefer a server with players than an empty one. Get some friends on it.
[QUOTE=nath2009uk;25572566]What's the name of it?
You would want to clearly advertise it as a build server. Even putting 'X's build server' as the title will normally attract more users, as it's simple and advertises it as what they want.
You should play on it as well if you don't a lot. People will much prefer a server with players than an empty one. Get some friends on it.[/QUOTE]
It's called 'KillSlim's UK Build [PHX3/Wire/Evolve/+OtherbuildTools/66Tick]
I play on it as much as my imagination lets me.
Server sounds nice. Players will join eventually as long as you don't overload it with add-ons.
I can help you get it populated by making and designing a forum for you.
[QUOTE=Mr.Macintosh;25574064]I can help you get it populated by making and designing a forum for you.[/QUOTE]
That's very nice of you, but I think I'll decline the offer as it may prove to be too much of a hasstle.
[QUOTE=KillSlim;25571548]I've recently bought a 16 slot 66Tick server which I set up for build, so it has all the usual addons (PHX3, Wire, PewPew, Evolve Admin mod, a set of useful build tools).
I don't know how to get people playing on my server, I've added a few maps to make it a little more unique because let's face it, there are a lot of empty build servers on gm_flatgrass.
I really need some ideas on how to get this server populated. A few friends have told me to 'make it different than the other servers', but how? It's a build server, it can't really be that unique; should make it specialized with certain contraptions? (Eg: Water build, etc) Should I start a clan and begin hosting forums?
What should I do? And what would you like from a build server to make you, as a player, become a regular visitor?
I'd really appreciate some ideas!
Thanks.[/QUOTE]
I would say just post the IP below and some people might join, Im running a server right now and I get lots of people to join. But I have a Dark rp sooooo yeah. really cant help you there
[QUOTE=Mr.Macintosh;25574064]I can help you get it populated by making and designing a forum for you.[/QUOTE]
have a heart
By the way....I am working on a new map and probably spent about the last 4 hours working on it.
Edit: This map may have a chance of being on the server.
Honestly I'd remove Wire altogether.
Do you know how much of a burden it is to make everyone who joins your server download Wire? Half of the people who join your server likely don't even know how to use it or find it annoying like me.
For members, you can do this:
Make a clan/group/cult/whatever and invite a bunch of your friends at once.
If you don't have any, go out and meet. There are a lot of friendlies on STEAM servers (I've found a lot on Team Fortress 2, but an occasional few on GMod servers) who will add you because they often like making friends.
Invite, and then play. If people join your group and your server gains activity, it means you've done it right.
Also, many people like to roleplay, so you can get that if you're willing to accept the flame you will get for it.
Wouldn't be much of a hassle for me... But I'll tell my friends about the server, we don't have enough good 'ol build servers these days...
[QUOTE=Spy Crab Q;25591119]Honestly I'd remove Wire altogether.
Do you know how much of a burden it is to make everyone who joins your server download Wire? Half of the people who join your server likely don't even know how to use it or find it annoying like me.
For members, you can do this:
Make a clan/group/cult/whatever and invite a bunch of your friends at once.
If you don't have any, go out and meet. There are a lot of friendlies on STEAM servers (I've found a lot on Team Fortress 2, but an occasional few on GMod servers) who will add you because they often like making friends.
Invite, and then play. If people join your group and your server gains activity, it means you've done it right.
Also, many people like to roleplay, so you can get that if you're willing to accept the flame you will get for it.[/QUOTE]
There is no burden at all if the people joining have wiremod installed on their computers. There is no way I am uninstalling Wire from my build server.
I've made a Steam group, however I dislike going into other people's servers (Who could possibly be in the same position as me) and then advertise my own.
RP? No. Just no.
This servers great, good admin, good choice of maps, hardly lags. All it needs is members !
I'll play on it as long as it's online KillSlim, and that fun with Pew Pew earlier was great until Charles ruined it :)
Zipit
[QUOTE=Leestons;25623057]This servers great, good admin, good choice of maps, hardly lags. All it needs is members !
I'll play on it as long as it's online KillSlim, and that fun with Pew Pew earlier was great until Charles ruined it :)
Zipit[/QUOTE]
This is the kind of person you need to attract to your server, you'll gain popularity by word of mouth. Don't expect your server to be full right away, you just need to build a name for yourself first :)
Good luck.
When I get home to my main PC, I will give your server a try.
Good luck.
Play the server. Invite your friends. Eventually you'll pick up regulars. Once you have regulars, you can get more players. More players, more regulars.
Give something to keep people interested. Saving time and whatnot, gaining extra privileges for time spent on your server (Nothing like admin though, pick admins yourself)
You don't need to make it new and different. Instead, make it a place where everyone knows your name, that's what people want:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD8ljNobUys[/media]
My build server is generally empty too. The only regulars I have all came from a friends server where I played. There are about eight of us, weve known eachother for about a year. The whole reason I bought a server was our previous server went down. After about a month I decided that I needed to pick up the slack and buy one. Very few new people end up regulars. For whatever reason we seem to get a lot of noobs and Rpers. The server being strict build with the occasional killing zombies/eachother with what we built, there isnt any tolerance for RP. We're all very experianced with Wire and Expression 2, not very many new players stick around. Since my server opened (July), our group gained no more then 2 or 3 regular members. I think the fact is, its a slow process. A lot of people will come, not very many will stick around. However, eventually someone will. It just doesnt happen very quickly. For speeding the process, I suggest using a map other then flatgrass, though one that is still practical, as your primary map, and then have a large repetuar of other maps to change to. I would also suggest that you set the name of the server to something eye catching. Standard tags are easy to overlook. Even then, the process is slow. As I stated, my regular group consists of about eight people. That group accumulated over a period of a year and a half. It just doesnt happen very quickly. In my experiance, build servers become very close knit. Thus out of my eight regulars, I have 5 admins and 2 owners besides myself(by rank anyway).
I wish you the best of luck in your build server. They can be quite rewarding.
Could you try higher limitations? That would be interesting since most servers only allow you to make like 5 thrusters, one balloon. And all that kind of crap.
[QUOTE=KillSlim;25622759]There is no burden at all if the people joining have wiremod installed on their computers. There is no way I am uninstalling Wire from my build server.
I've made a Steam group, however I dislike going into other people's servers (Who could possibly be in the same position as me) and then advertise my own.
RP? No. Just no.[/QUOTE]
Just saying. Wire lags my computer to Hell.
RP - It's a preference. You don't have to like it, I don't care. It's just a recommendation.
install voidy's real fake player module and make people think theres alot of people on , and more join , dissable the module when there are enough players on
[url]http://azuisleet.gayluadad.net/mms/realfake.zip[/url]
you need metamod
put in title of server "recruiting admins"
and treat the players you got like gods and give them anything they want keeping it in the limits :P
I had the same problem as you with my build server. To get players, I used a fairly popular map that only has a few servers running it, eg. Bigcity. I also have a steam group which allows people to suggest anything they want for the server.
The most important thing I've found is to have trustable admins. THey wont bring clients in but they'll help make sure you keep the ones you get. Nobody want to join a server with abusive admins.
My build server, namely xP// used to always be empty. It regularly has about 8/16 players when it's online, sometimes more sometimes less.
The key is to not have many downloads, only have the necessary addons, and have a LOT of good friends who play GMod.
The name is everything. I named mine "Scarlet Devil Mansion". Suddenly, flocks of players came in. (Mostly Touhou fans, the rest just followed into this mysterious popular server)
From my experience hosting servers, I would say get some good admins, not power hungry admins who will be a jerk to your users, try to find some admins who get along well with your users (and try to find admins who know the basics of garrysmod at least). FastDL will be a very big help, most users hate sitting through long downloads unless they can get them very quickly and will allow you to run your server on more maps and not have to worry about loosing people. If you don't know how to setup FastDL there are many tutorials and its good practice. Don't overload your server with annoying addons and admin SWEPS, stick to the needed addons first then add in some fun ones. Aside from that being its a new server the only other thing you can do is wait, it may take along time before your server kicks off. If you are doing things correctly you will know.
If you are able, get a domain name and make a small website for your server or community. It will help make everything more "permanent" and will give your users a chance to be more involved and will give them a place to find server updates etc. If you are unable to pay for web hosting there are free web hosts out there, I do free web hosting as well. Or you can set up your own web server.
FastDL Tutorials
[url]http://wiki.garrysmod.com/?title=Setting_up_sv_downloadurl[/url]
[url]http://forums.srcds.com/viewtopic/1077[/url]
These are just a few things I would recommend. Over time you will improve things and in turn your servers will grow. Its fun at times but its also stressful so beware ;P
I was debating whether or not to include this but why not - Another good idea would be to find a trust worthy friend and promote him to "co-owner" and give him access to FTP and your control panel (if your on a paid server) or give him some limited access on remote desktop or something. Having another person to help is a nice, if you are gone for any reason you still have one other person who can keep the servers updated and in check and you never know they may have some good ideas for the server as well.
[QUOTE=Stickguy7;25572513]By chance are you looking for any admins because i have been looking for a server where me and my friend can build at without a limit on most of the tools we can use?[/QUOTE]
Fuck off
[editline]28th October 2010[/editline]
Also, why is everyone in this thread retarded?
Be very careful in your admin choices. If you dont know them like a close friend, keep an eye on them. I can fully trust my admins, but I've known each very well for over a year, from back on a friends server well before mine existed. Also, be careful about your limits. A high prop limit usually isnt too bad, but be wary of balloons and hoverballs. Noobs building excessive noob contraptions drive away other players. Also, I highly reccomend making "no thruster sounds" a server rule.
However, one of the key aspects is getting more players to make that cruital first click, is the name. You need a non generic name. My server is called: The WolfPack, of course baring referance to Balto. It is not a furry server, though it does attract them and is pretty furry tolerant aside from giving a few of our furry friends a hard time, unless of course the furry in question is also a minge... I degress. Anyway, two things have to do with that first click, one being the name, and the second the playercount. My server always held that name, and got intermittant activity, though its dropped as it seems interest in build has gone down among gmod's playerbase recently, however thats almost certainly temporary. It does that from time to time. I can, however, tell you that a name change made a dramatic increase in players for my friend, who was using generic server tags until changing the server name to "The Rookery" which bore referance to something. I dont remember what. Anyway, hits there increased greatly. It makes a really big differance.
Another note worthy of well... note, is the balance of the players on the server. More isnt always better. My server has 10 slots. The comfortable range is about 2-6 people. 7-10 is fun, but can be a bit crowded for building (the lag adds up), and thus becomes predominantly a show between regulars of already built contraptions. Anyway, the player count will appeal differantly to each player. More seasoned builders tend to go for a more confortable count in an unfamiliar server, at least thats my personal experiance. Of course, no one wants to join an empty server. Noobs seem to tend to be more attracted to larger playercounts.
[QUOTE=Balto-the-Wolf-Dog;25716175]
Note worthy of well... note, is the balance of the players on the server. More isnt always better. My server has 10 slots. The comfortable range is about 2-6 people. 7-10 is fun, but can be a bit crowded for building (the lag adds up), and thus becomes a show of already built contraptions. Anyway, the player count will appeal differantly to each player. More seasoned builders tend to go for a more confortable count in an unfamiliar server, at least thats my personal experiance. Of course, no one wants to join an empty server. Noobs tend to be more attracted to larger playercounts. At least that has been my observation.[/QUOTE]
Very good point, For a build server keep the player limit lower, most people avoid larger servers due to the fact they can get out of control VERY quickly. To save yourself from going crazy trying to control a server that will act like a 1st grade classroom (unless your lucky and get a good group of people). Keep the player limit around 8-12 .. those may even be high but.. some days it can be fun to have a full server.. other days not so much xD
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