Hi, for the first time in my life I decided I was going to own a gmod server. I recently finished developing it, but am having some trouble populating it. And YES, it is a DarkRP server, but please dont reply with: 'nah m8 your fuked wit darkrp get TTT or perp or somethin'. I have no desire to change gamemode. The name of it is: Maximum Gaming DarkRP | Heists | TDM | 30+ Jobs | Friendly |. Everyone that I have asked about this has said the same thing, that I need to get a 'Playerbase' (Regulars). Does anyone who owns/owned a DarkRP server have any tips/tricks on how to do that? Thanks in advance.
If you want to retain a nice playerbase, then there has to be something that makes your DarkRP server different than the hundreds of others; why should players play on your server? What's unique about it?
run with the regular dark rp gamemode with no special privileges purchasable or attainable by regular players, recruit admins you absolutely know you can trust to not be a cock even when they're having a bad day, use default classes, change the server name to "Maximum Gaming DarkRP" without the extra fluff, run rp_downtown_v2 because v4 is absolutely shit, but v2 is still something people are familiar with, and make sure an admin is on in regular enough intervals that if a shitfest begins, they can alleviate it in 1-2 hours tops, with exception to the server's lowest traffic hours
if at all possible, remove durgzmod. bonus points if wiremod is installed and up to date.
do not strive to be unique, be reliable and consistent. a server's unique attributes when amongst many servers running the same game mechanics are emergent, not intentionally imposed.
if at all possible, keep administrative interaction with the playerbase to a minimum. intervention should purely be for the sake of maintaining an exploit/griefing free server environment
this does not mean an admin should not be able to play regularly on a server, merely that they should primarily be seen by other players as a fellow player rather than some kind of manhandler
these are hard to maintain but ideal conditions for a perfectly enjoyable vanilla dark rp server that is bound to get regular players if the server is stable and up around the clock
[QUOTE=Magman77;44602478]run with the regular dark rp gamemode with no special privileges purchasable or attainable by regular players, recruit admins you absolutely know you can trust to not be a cock even when they're having a bad day, use default classes, change the server name to "Maximum Gaming DarkRP" without the extra fluff, run rp_downtown_v2 because v4 is absolutely shit, but v2 is still something people are familiar with, and make sure an admin is on in regular enough intervals that if a shitfest begins, they can alleviate it in 1-2 hours tops, with exception to the server's lowest traffic hours
if at all possible, remove durgzmod. bonus points if wiremod is installed and up to date.
do not be unique, be reliable and consistent
if at all possible, keep administrative interaction with the playerbase to a minimum. intervention should purely be for the sake of maintaining an exploit/griefing free server environment
this does not mean an admin should not be able to play regularly on a server, merely that they should primarily be seen by other players as a fellow player rather than some kind of manhandler
these are hard to maintain but ideal conditions for a perfectly enjoyable vanilla dark rp server that is bound to get regular players if the server is stable up around the clock[/QUOTE]
Don't know what server list you've been looking at but vanilla DarkRP servers always fail
I'ld play on a Vanilla server over a crappy customized overly generic 100 million player models for donators server any-day.
This is the IP of the server if anybody would like to have a look: 50.31.23.82:27015 (I don't mean to advertise, I will remove this if needed)
Host events. That's my biggest thing. If a holiday is right around the corner, get some decorations going as well as maybe some stuff happening. Christmas soon? Snowy map, trees/presents and NPCs that you can talk to (maybe give gifts). Just make the server seem alive and give people a reason to look forward to playing.
Even do small weekend events every once in awhile, up to you to decide but competitions seem to get people excited. Doing that will make your community more enthusiastic to be on during free-time and even contribute.
Thanks guys, all the feedback really helped.
[QUOTE=Nookyava;44602879]Host events. That's my biggest thing. If a holiday is right around the corner, get some decorations going as well as maybe some stuff happening. Christmas soon? Snowy map, trees/presents and NPCs that you can talk to (maybe give gifts). Just make the server seem alive and give people a reason to look forward to playing.[/QUOTE]
That is the exact thing you need to do if you are looking for a healthy and active player base.
Make donations optional, without giving any benefits but the feeling that he is contributing to something he likes. You could also give rewards to the first players, and so they will be happy and invite other friends of theirs to your server.
This is very easy to accomplish.
1 - Make a friendly, not complicated interaction with the player and server.
2 - Be sure that the player is feeling welcome, because if he is treated this way, he will treat others this way.
3 - Events, make the server feel alive and fresh.
4 - Always try to be innovative.
These are good tips! I was planning on making my own with my brother.
[QUOTE=JordanDoughty;44607374]These are good tips! I was planning on making my own with my brother.[/QUOTE]
Creating a server is very easy as long as the owners are disciplined and know how to deal with people of all personalities. Also, remember not to make rules too harsh, always keeping the fun.
A good thing to do would be to make a group, and in there, a forums for the players to suggest plugins and such.
The customer is always right.
Good luck.
[QUOTE=Meemcopter;44609095]The customer is always right.[/QUOTE]
Except when they're wrong.
That's a totally wrong statement to stand by. It makes your staff feel like they aren't appreciated because if the customer is always right then their actions will be undermined when a customer isn't satisfied.
Whoever's right is right. Don't make your players entitled, and don't make your staff work harder than they should. Make both groups feel appreciated, and both groups will help each other to function properly.
[QUOTE=Meemcopter;44609095]
The customer is always right.
[/QUOTE]
The words of somebody who has never worked in retail. The customer is not always right. I can't tell you how many suggestions that I get on my DarkRP server that I simply have to shoot down. They want massive downloads, they want /advert *something that excuses the RDM that they're about to commit*, they want game breaking addons, they want the rate on printers jacked up, they want raid restrictions removed and base building rules changed to the point that they can have a damn labyrinth of fake fading doors, they want self supply to be okay, it goes on and on. Not all players know how to facilitate good gameplay or know why some rules need to be in place. They simply are not always right.
Good admins are the only thing you need.
I know diddly squat about DarkRP but I've had a few servers that have been met with varying degrees of success; my advice would be start small - keep downloads small and just provide a friendly and enjoyable environment. Not only is it nice to have friendly people on the server players seem to love having a friendly owner on the server - make sure to play, even if you have to sit and populate it yourself.
In terms of content I have no idea what DarkRP people like because I've never gone near it but KingOfBeast knows his stuff.
Hey Max, tried sending you a PM, but it looks like you've got those disabled.
Shoot me a message on steam sometime.
Old thread but, I started playing Dark RP roughly 6 months ago and the thing I looked for was a very solid, clean and enjoyable environment. What I mean by that is things are where they belong, it's not an RDM fest, the admins know their stuff and overall just a solid server. Another thing is reliability, the server doesn't appear like it's in bad shape, just a place where you know you will definitely stay.
I would agree with most of the players above;
You need to keep your admins in order, this is one of your top priorities. If a player, (such as myself), joins a server where admins act like they have total authority and are even the slightest bit rude, I leave and find another one.
You should also keep the community friendly as a whole, have a community site by chance. If you increase your interactions with members, they will become more friendly to you and perhaps be online more often.
If you're looking to get some quick players, possibly invite 3 of your friends to enter the game with you so it says 4/** players in-game. People like to join servers that have at least some people in-game.
I also suggest this: Let them be creative.
When I first started playing DarkRP after a huge move to where I currently live I found a server. It was a decent server, admins minged/trolled and didn't really follow the rules, but it had a healthy player base. What I found as my favorite though was Wire. They allowed E2's to be made by anyone. Now, I'm not saying go and use this but the fact remained that people could be extremely creative with their designs (even though it is so easily abused).
Try to figure out ways to let people do things their own way and make an impact in the server. Give them the tools and 9/10 they will surprise you.
I think if you offer those types of things that other servers don't have, then you will be golden in retaining a respectable player base. Just remember: Think outside of the box, don't be afraid to give them a little leeway (as long as it's on a leash you can quickly yank back) and do everything for the players. Keep feedback they give in mind, if there's a major decision ask them.
Other than that, just have fun and flow with it.
I do realize also I had posted earlier, just like giving feedback is all.
I would reserve E2 for sandbox servers, it's simply too big a dominant strategy enabler in an RP environment.
[QUOTE=Magman77;44683209]I would reserve E2 for sandbox servers, it's simply too big a dominant strategy enabler in an RP environment.[/QUOTE]
I wish there was a way you could restrict certain functions. I like using E2 for if then and what not because it'd be a pain in the ass to do with gates.
Friendly staff is key. Your staff represents your community. Also try keeping download times under 7 unless it's really worth it.
[QUOTE=TheMrFailz;44684403]I wish there was a way you could restrict certain functions. I like using E2 for if then and what not because it'd be a pain in the ass to do with gates.[/QUOTE]
It's not that hard. I can help you with restricting every individual function you want to be restricted.
[QUOTE=Cyberuben;44684731]It's not that hard. I can help you with restricting every individual function you want to be restricted.[/QUOTE]
Oh eh, I was just saying that it'd be nice to restrict some functions because it'd perhaps make some server owners more inclined to allow e2.
[QUOTE=TheMrFailz;44687622]Oh eh, I was just saying that it'd be nice to restrict some functions because it'd perhaps make some server owners more inclined to allow e2.[/QUOTE]
My server allows E2, but restricted Holo, EGP (because of wallhacks), applyTorque, applyForce, setMaterial, setAlpha and functions that could be abused (not many more than what I've listed here). Holo and EGP are available for donators though, since I doubt people would pay money to abuse a feature, to get it taken away.
Restricting EGP is not that much of "Pay 2 win" in my opinion. People can still make the automatic gunshops they like, using a console screen at least.
Reason for my approach:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/YU0Nash.png[/img]
People tend to join using E2s from the internet and fool around with it. And to be honest, nothing is more amusing to see people spawn E2s that turn red because the function they are trying to use is giving an error. I literally once had a guy who spawned over 200 different E2s in a hour time, failing every time because what he tried to do was restricted. In the end he just left without saying anything. I succeeded.
It's usually amusing to sit there and code an E2, and have random people sit by and watch what you're doing. I remember once I had a few friends that would base with me and we would just sit and code, a couple pay-for-admins would fly in and steal them occasionally, so we came up with a way to destroy the chip if duped.
Point being, you get a few people with the right mindset and aren't abusing, and you have players who will stay.
My main point is this though: Don't just rely on E2 and Wire, as fun as they can be. Try to create your own systems. Make it memorable to play on your server.
E2 is useful, nobody is saying it's not, but people will do something if they can. So, by that logic, somebody who can abuse E2's functions, will. An honor system just isn't good enough to allow it.
Thats why you block bad functions for regular users and for donators they can use all ^.^
If you had read the thread, I think you can see that everybody is pretty much in agreement that the playerbase should be on equal ground. No privileged ranks.
[QUOTE=Cyberuben;44688003]My server allows E2, but restricted Holo, EGP (because of wallhacks),[/QUOTE]
you do know you can just restrict 3D trackers? which is what the egp 'wallhack' uses?
[QUOTE]Restricting EGP is not that much of "Pay 2 win" in my opinion. People can still make the automatic gunshops they like, using a console screen at least.[/QUOTE]
Console Screens are a pain in the ass.
And restricting certain functions or tools as a whole to a higher rank that you have to pay for is complete BS. and with what you listed as your restrictions, your basically just turning E2 into a basic math chip than an advanced scripting tool.
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