Well another month has past and it was quicker than I thought. More dribble time!
Counting down to the LAN in auckland, it's almost a month away, can't wait to meet some of you there. It's looking like a great line up of guests, and will also be worth going to see some new tech and gadgets on show. A reminder to register for the lan on our website, www.getsome.co.nz. There will be everything you need to know, including links to purchase tickets.
The LAN also signals the start of the next school holidays. For those of you that get a break, make the most of your time and play some TF2!!!
Now down to some business...
As the event is coming up, we wont be getting some things done on the server front, so any basic modifications to be done, will be on the waiting list.
I mentioned in the last newsletter that the '!call' command will be working for all servers, this is not the case, it only works for Trade servers at the moment. But we are getting there. Please use it to get our attention, if there is no response after X minutes, find someone that's on the CURRENT ADMINISTRATORS OF TF2 list. Add them and let them know. Some people seem to think that when there is an issue, and think an admin is not on the server, goes and bothers another admin, makes them stop what they are doing, gets them on, to deal with it, when there may be another admin that is already aware or is dealing with the situation. Wasting time and causing more frustration to the admin that had to drop everything for nothing.
I also highlighted some basic rules in the last newsletter. Things have been slightly better, but still can be a nuisance. Mic spam is one of the biggest issues and most probably always will be. Admins act on these spammers, but seem to get themselves banned, when they evade the mute/gag/silence by reconnecting. When we are asked to unban, we do not until the time for the ban is up. Bans are set for a reason.
This leads me onto bans.. There have been some users who have been permanently banned for various reasons. These people continually try to join the server, thinking they will be removed. We also get people asking when they will be removed. The general response is "never..". Some users just don't understand when they get banned a few times for the same issue, enough is enough.
The MvM servers have been getting some great usage lately, its fantastic to see. We have some random issues that are being addressed and will/should be fixed at some stage over the next couple of months. Map changing seems to have some issues and the servers keep defaulting to decoy. When im online, and see that this has happened, I would manually change the map to something else. That way decoy is not being overused. I am doing a stage 3 revamp of the Easy and Hard getsome waves. As there has been various feedback on the current ones. The next stage could see some slight changes and possible fixes to problematic waves.
The trade servers are still going well. Quite often I see a question popup, "How do I trade with people on the other server?". Currently you need to jump into the other server by typing '!servers' and selecting the other trade server from the menu, then pressing F3 to accept the request. We are looking at organising a plugin that allows you to trade between servers. This may take some time to sort out, but could be a great tool to have.
All the other servers are doing well, over the next few months some changes are going to be rolled out. So keep your eyes peeled for whenever that happens!
We have noticed some new applications for admin as of late, but these applications have been from users all under our required age. PLEASE is you wish to apply, read the ADMIN APPLICATIONS thread. There have been people that wish to apply, but have no idea on where it goes. These users are not aware on how getsome operate, or even who getsome are. These users get a no by default.
Right stats time again, things should be smoothed out now as the stats have been seperated for a couple of months.
WOW, considering there have been no holidays or public holidays to influence the numbers, they are quite staggering.
Back to admins. We have made some slight alterations to the team. We now have assigned a senior role to some of the lads. This is so they can deal with some situations when Dumpy or myself are not available.
Lastly, I would like to mention the new comers to our admin team. Bluehomzee and Viklok. Both are from NZ. Blue has been a regular with our trade servers and is very well known around the traps. Viklok is a regular to our hale servers and has been dominating the leaderboard for some time.
Thanks again for allowing me to waste some of your time. Until next month, GETSOME!
Welcome to my monthly dribble on whats going on around the GetSome TF2 traps.
To begin with, I would like to remind you that there is a LAN event on at the end of september that you should attend, if you can't, try and get there! Check out the "It's LAN Time!" thread in the general forums on the website.
We are at the end of the school holidays once again. This one hasn't been so bad as the last one in relation to annoyance from young players, but we have had the odd few problems. In saying that, I would like to point out a few things to some of our new comers.
# Get used to the younger ones playing the game, and the fact they have a voice too. The game has a mute button for a reason, feel free to use it.
# When it comes to trading, a lot of them don't know values, don't know how to use the checking system, and/or don't know they are even on a trading server. They may see a full'ish server and jump in for a shoot'em'up kill all game.
# As the young ones play the game, they appear to talk about it in their schools and in doing so, it brings more interest to the game.
# When it comes to versing players that have more experience than you, you need to understand that there is nothing you can do about it. Making a complaint will not get you anywhere. Unless of course there's a big issue and you can prove they have some kind of aim-bot or hack.
Mic/chat spamming is a nuisance and we like to keep control on it, but we are not always around to be able to stop it.
We are working on putting systems in place to have a permanent call for help command available to all players, '!call <reason>'. This will help with some problematic servers. Hopefully this will be implemented by this time next month.
On to the Hale servers, things seem to be going well here. I have a short list of maps that need to be taken out of the rotation, as requested by some of our admins. You would of noticed freak fortress didn't go as planned, so we put on a second hale instead. It is generating good usage now that its been up for a couple of weeks. With the same maps, settings and rotation are on that server as Hale #1. If you have any new map suggestions feel free to mention it on our forums.
The Trade servers have still been ticking along nicely. The '!kson' script appears to be in use more and more. which is great to see. If you are unfamiliar with it, it is used to put your kill-streak at full setting to enable your effects, this helps when it comes to the sale/trade of your pro kill streak items.
I still see spamming of trade adverts, but people get the message and learn to stop. We advise a once in 30 second trade message.
It is usually the new comers to the servers that don't read or know the rules. Even if it is stated when they have joined. The reason we want to stop spamming, is simply because we have both trade servers linked with Interchat, so the spam/flooding of a notice is directed at 2 potentially full servers (64 players). It's not just one person getting annoyed at it.
As the guys at valve focus on releasing updates to their new maps we are trying to make them available to you as well. At random times, you will see that either the KOTH or PLCP servers will be running the 2 new maps for your viewing in the public arena. Robot Destruction has undergone 2 big changes over the last couple of weeks, and the gameplay is noticeably different. I have also heard random comments about INSTASPAWN running on RD. I have left this on for a reason, the server isn't always full, when it is, its really pushing the map to the limits, and we know where issues are. I have trialed turning it off and using the maps config spawn time, and it ends up dropping clients. INSTASPAWN is written in the server hostname title so you are aware it is running. If you don't like playing on the server with it, find another server that's running a standard mode.
PL_CactusCanyon, has gone through some slight changes also. But not enough to warrant the map being part of a rotation, not yet anyway. You will see the changes to these new maps and mode when your TF2 is updated. click on "view news" when you see your TF2 is downloading or downloaded the update.
You may have also noticed the 2fort server is running a rotation. We have decided to try and mix it up a little, and add a little difference to 2fort so its not the same old thing over and over. New additions like Payload, CP, KOTH, Xmas, Snow, and Thunderstorms. Even some changes that make it more easier and challenging to attack/defend the intel. The maps don't take that long to download to your computer, and they are quite neat additions to the 2fort collection. It is still 24/7 2fort, just with slight changes to gameplay and condition.
It's stats time, lets see what the numbers are at a month on from the last ones. General: 600ish new Players (17679) MVM: 8721 new Players (9731) Trade: 7838 new Players (10838) Hale: 3877 Players (4878)
Not bad numbers, even if the school holidays increase things a little.
Last thing, to those that attended the Winter Warmers event, a big thank you for participating in such a small event. I know many of you may of had families to be with over the holidays, but you ended up sacrificing some time to have a bit of a challenging competition as well. Thank you. Congrats to Nexoit for taking out the number one spot. I'm looking forward to planning another one later in the year.
Just seeing if getsome have any virtual farmers around?
There's dedicated server software that a couple of my friends and I are thinking of getting, and hosting a farm to muck around on.
Checking to see if there's any interest and maybe having a getsome farming community...
The game is massive, still has some quirks but its better than most half mast simulators out there. The up and coming 2015 version looks neat, but the preview trailer doesn't show much.
I thought I would fill you in on whats been going on around here.
First I would like to say the MvM servers are done with the wave setups for now. Everything is fixed in terms of numbers and times. I appreciate all players patience while we tested the first lot of easy and hard waves. As I noticed alot of various issues. The only problem we have now is fixing the nextmap problem. reguardless of what map is next, decoy takes over as the next map. It could be the server crashing, but not sure. I have got the boss onto it and he will work on it over the next few days.
As for the Freak Fortress 2 server, this mod is turning out to be a difficult install. So some things wont work and others do. Bear with us on that one. Models show for some people and not others. they are on the fastdl server so it should all work. I have heard people have random issues with it. If its going get to a point where its shit and wont be used we will move on from it and find something else for it.
The trade servers have been packed out since the new update, witch is fantastic! There are a lot of new users coming to trade, but seem to not understand some basic rules. It would be great if our regulars could help us out a little and point out some of the general rules to these users if they seem to be a problem.
You may of noticed the PL and CP servers got a slight overhaul too. Thanks to Bioxide, he has come up with a stock rotation and a radical change to the servers that could mix things up a little to general server gameplay. PL and CP are now one server, while the other is KOTH and Attack-Defend. Check them out, have a go and let us know what you think!
You will also be aware that we have stats for all our servers. This seems to have started a bit of a competition to the top. Its very interesting to see how much time users spend on the servers. Since the stats went up a week ago, the recent changes and the latest TF2 update, we have had the following traffic to the new stats servers: Main servers: approx 300 new users MVM: 1008 users Trade servers: just about 3000 users Hale: 1001 users
It's great to see these numbers, now we have stats on all servers. Of course some of those numbers could be the same player on all 4 areas, but it's still counted as a seperate user. I have yet to work out a good time to reset stats, this could happen around every 3 months.
Now with all that out of the way, I would like to welcome Hyperace and Maddog to the admin team. Hyper is from Southland, NZ. Maddog is from Auckland, NZ. While they will both be allround admins, Maddog will admin the Hale server more than the others. Welcome fellas!
That concludes this report for the month. If you would like to place any feedback about the servers, we would appreciate it. You are all part of our awesome community so anything that you have to say, that could help us in any way, let us know.
Rugby 15 will be released for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita and Windows PC this autumn, Bigben Interactive has announced.
The first next generation Rugby title is in development at Canadian-based HB Studios, which previously created Rugby World Cup 2011.
Rugby 15 will exclusively feature the official licences for the TOP 14 and PRO D2 professional rugby leagues.
"With this new sport simulation we are pursuing our strategy of moving upmarket with strong licences and quality partnerships, as with HB Studios," declared Alain Falc, CEO of Bigben Interactive. "Today it gives us great pleasure to announce the very first rugby game on new generation consoles with the TOP 14 and the PRO D2, thanks to the support of the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (French Rugby Association). We are certain that fans of the sport will enjoy it!"
The game will feature teams from the 2014/2015 season.
We are currently looking at getting a few more admins on board.
We're wanting a couple of Saxton Hale server only admins and a couple of general all round admins.
If you feel you fit the role, view the ADMIN APPLICATIONS thread, and go from there.
When you apply, please put either HALE or ALLROUND at the top of the application. Failure to do this means you cannot read instructions. Once you have applied, we do not need your friends to recommend your application. They do not have an influence on it whatsoever.
You are welcome to make any suggestions or comments regarding the servers, maps, users, etc. Please note them in this thread.
2FORT Set to 24 players. 2Fort has been around for over 18 years and is still going strong. That is why we have a 24/7 server. This server has instaspawn, so there is a challenge with both attack and defence. No general changes happen to this server.
KOTH HARVEST Set to 32 players. A koth harvest server has been put up, to address general demands of another challenge server. This server has instaspawn.
There may be some slight changes to the server as time goes on.
KARTING BONANZA Set to 32 players. This server runs a 15 minutes rotation of karting maps. It could be possible that this server may get changed to warioware.
If you have spotted something a miss or just not right, you are welcome to make any suggestions or comments regarding the servers, maps, users, etc. Please note them in this thread.
Feedback is an important part of our community.
Saxton Hale #1 Running the latest version of VSH (Versus Saxton Hale). The server runs a map cycle of around 110 maps. This cycle is shuffled everyone few months. There are a mixture of VSH, Arena and PropHunt maps. Standard bosses
Saxton Hale #2 Running the latest version of FF2 (Freak Fortress 2). The server runs a map cycle of around 110 maps. This cycle is shuffled everyone few months. There are a mixture of VSH, Arena and PropHunt maps. There is a different gameplay and style. Altered bosses. VIEW RULES
The 3 GetSome Trade servers are quite popular. We don't have that many issues with them, but sometimes there could be something that can help us or something new we do not know about.
We don't mind that you come onto the server to have some fun, but the basis is about trading, so if you are asked to move on, don't take offence.
You are welcome to make any suggestions or comments regarding the servers, maps, users, etc. Please note them in this thread.
Feedback is an important part of our community.
TRADE 1 Running a 24/7 map, plaza.
TRADE 2 Running a 24/7 map, plaza.
TRADE 3 Running mainly minecraft maps, and sometimes a random trade map.
At Get Some we try and have our servers updated as fast as possible, but there are times where we cannot get there as we are sleeping in, working, or just too busy to get online.
Head admins get notifications there is an update coming, then a following email saying its released. So there is no need to notify them about it. There is also no need to generate various amounts of threads in other forums saying if/or asking when they are going to be updated.