*AuthorTopic: NS2 Server Shutting Down Soon  (Read 11849 times)

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Plasma

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NS2 Server Shutting Down Soon
« on: November 22, 2013, 12:50:57 AM »
Update:
On April 3rd, the *New* NS2 server will disappear. I don't think many of you will even notice. Natural Selection 2 is a great game (with a poorly optimized engine sadly), but the devs took too long to get the game out, and haven't been able to keep/increase their player base.

It's actually pretty amazing how Valve still keeps TF2 relevant, even though the game is a lot older than NS2. Then again, TF2 is F2P and has a "thriving hats economy".
--

The other NS2 server (the old one) might remain for a bit longer, but not for long either. The *New* NS2 server was actually a separate cost from our TF2 servers, while the old one is already included, so running the old NS2 server doesn't actually cost more. Still, if nobody is playing on it, keeping it running is useless.

I'll let you guys know when the old server will be shut down as well.

OLD POST:

Sad news for some of you (not that many, but still):
I'll be closing down the 2nd NS2 server in a few days.

Server will survive based on player traffic. We'll keep checking every month and consider if it's worth it to keep paying for it or not. Original post below:
--

I had some great plans for Natural Selection 2, unfortunately, the game never got enough support from its developers and the player base is just too small. With NS2: Combat coming soon, I'm afraid we're going to see even more NS2 servers closing down, the same way NS:CO killed the original NS mod back then.

I'll still keep the original (and yes, far less capable) NS2 server running, since it doesn't cost us anything more (it runs on the same machine as the TF2 servers), so we'll still be supporting NS2 for a bit longer. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll get to work on a donor program like I planned.

I'm sorry again if you've been playing on this server a lot, but there's just not much interest left, especially in the US. It's unfortunate because I still believe NS2 is a great multiplayer game. I just got a very late and bad start, and a poor payment model. They should have gone F2P maybe.

The official shutdown date for this NS2 server is November 3rd.


OLD POST:

HyperionGaming.org *NEW* | NS2 | West Coast
IP: 74.91.118.234:27015


You should notice a big performance improvement compared to our first NS2 server.
Please give it a try, and let us what you think.
--
Plans:
We're planning on including Donor benefits, such as access to reserved slots and unique in-game badges for $5 a month. Donor membership would include access to all our game servers, which means our 2 NS2 servers and 2 TF2 servers.

Donor program for NS2 is NOT live yet!
We will let you guys know in this forum when we're ready.

Feel free to add your suggestions!
We're looking for feedback regarding the new server's performance and future Donor program.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2015, 11:22:27 PM by Plasma »
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Twisted_Shadow

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2013, 12:55:46 PM »
Hoping to Try the new Server out.... once I can get in :)

Though, I must ask, Is this going to be a replacement server (If goes well) To the other NS2 Server?

ApatheticMango

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2013, 04:41:26 PM »
It seems like it's a second server. During the free week a while ago for NS2, I was never able to get into the server since it was full every time I tried. Granted, it was during the weekend so traffic would be high.
Hopefully this server will be as successful as the first.

Twisted_Shadow

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2013, 07:30:01 PM »
Hopefully, But We'll have to see has time goes by. :)

At the time of this post, BOTH Servers are Maxed out at 20/20 Players
Well Done Hyperion
« Last Edit: November 23, 2013, 07:35:23 PM by Twisted_Shadow »

Twisted_Shadow

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #4 on: November 26, 2013, 06:39:22 PM »
New Server is going Great the past few days. Ive had no issues myself :)

Plasma

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2013, 05:09:32 PM »
Awesome! And yes, both servers are pretty busy especially in the evening, so it's a bit difficult to join.
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Twisted_Shadow

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2013, 05:42:02 PM »
May be just me, or the certain times Ive joined, But the Old NS2 Server seems to have better performance over time ever since the new server has come up.

Edit: Its not as good as the new one, But its not as Bad as it was before (to me)
« Last Edit: November 27, 2013, 05:44:01 PM by Twisted_Shadow »

inveigle

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2014, 12:13:55 PM »
I am itching to become a donor so I can support your great servers and have a reserved slot. When do you anticipate this service?

Plasma

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #8 on: February 25, 2014, 10:18:35 PM »
Hey inveigle (I've already replied to your PM with this exact post, but I'll post it here again for everyone else to see):

As you may be aware, we made a post a couple months ago saying that we were planning to add reserved slots to our NS2 servers, among other small donor benefits such as a special in-game badge etc...

This is still something we want to do. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find the right way to do reserved slots. We have two servers, one is running older hardware and suffers from poor performance when its full and we feel it wouldn't be fair to ask for donations knowing that. Our 2nd server (the newest one) should definitely be up to par however. At first, we thought we would close down the old server, but it turns out it's still quite popular, so we've left it running.

Another issue is we haven't decided how to manage these donations. For our TF2 servers, we're asking for $5 a month to have access to our Donor membership. We're still debating whether a $5/month donation would also give our donors access to our NS2 servers as well; basically $5 a month would give Donor membership to all our current servers. The issue is that there's currently no "easy" way to add SteamIDs to reserved slots and other benefits in-game like in TF2. It just requires quite a lot of manual editing compared to how we do things in TF2. Thus, we would probably require donors to specifically ask to have access to our NS2 slots, and by default would only have TF2 donor access.

A second solution would be to ask for a separate $5 donation just for NS2 servers. From what we've noticed so far, it seems our community is divided. Not many TF2 regulars play NS2, and not many NS2 regulars play TF2. I can be wrong obviously. I feel it would be a bit more fair to pick the first option and give all our donors access to all our servers and community features.

We still want to add reserved slots and other donor benefits though. And we'll figure out a way to do all the above. We've also been busy with our TF2 servers lately, and since we're actually receiving donations for these, it felt more important to focus on that game first. This is still a small gaming community, most of our staff is actually dedicated to TF2, so we're usually adding features slowly compared to big NS2 websites. We'll get there though, and depending on how many regulars/donors are interested in our future NS2 donor program, we'll upgrade our current old server, and maybe keep adding features.

--
Sorry for the long post, but in short, there is no exact "launch date" yet. This is something I'd like to at least have a "beta" version ready some time in March. We will let all our players and community members know about our future donor program once it's ready. We'll post about it on our website, forums and in-game.

I'll post additional information, especially about possible in-game benefits (in addition to reserved slots access) and servers configuration (18 + 2 reserved, etc...), in these forums next month.
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Florp

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2014, 09:51:27 PM »
Hello,

Is a donor resslot program for the new NS2 server still in the pipeline?

I used to run the OldF Geriatric Ward server, and speaking from (albeit rusty) experience, setting up reserved slots is not complicated. There is a formula for converting SteamIDs to NS2IDs for the config files. There are also tools to do mass-conversions spreadsheet style.

My wallet throbs with the desire to disgorge it's wealth toward your server fees.

- Florp

Plasma

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2014, 01:47:23 AM »
Hey Florp,

Reserved slots for donor were planned... I'm not 100% now to be honest. I'm looking at the NS2 playerbase decreasing everyday, the devs relying on the community to fix/improve their game and there has been daily server crashes that I can't figure out. This is just not looking good. Still, so far, our two NS2 servers are doing well traffic-wise, so I don't think I'll shut them down.

The reserved slots configuration isn't really the issue. I feel it's not honest/fair to ask for donations if I'm not optimistic about the game's future myself.

I'm also focusing a lot more on the TF2 servers than NS2 (for a lot of reasons)... Still, I'd like to offer the same kind of Donor membership for our NS2 players.

Anyway, that's the current situation for our NS2 servers. In short: I expect to keep the 2 servers running for at least a few more months (as long as there are players connecting basically); I do want to get a Donor membership going, but I don't have an ETA (but probably not before September).

Let me know if you have more questions :)
See you in-game!

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Re: New 20 Slot NS2 Server
« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2014, 10:15:19 PM »
Sad news for some of you (not that many, but still):
I'll be closing down the 2nd NS2 server in a few days.
--

I had some great plans for Natural Selection 2, unfortunately, the game never got enough support from its developers and the player base is just too small. With NS2: Combat coming soon, I'm afraid we're going to see even more NS2 servers closing down, the same way NS:CO killed the original NS mod back then.

I'll still keep the original (and yes, far less capable) NS2 server running, since it doesn't cost us anything more (it runs on the same machine as the TF2 servers), so we'll still be supporting NS2 for a bit longer. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll get to work on a donor program like I planned.

I'm sorry again if you've been playing on this server a lot, but there's just not much interest left, especially in the US. It's unfortunate because I still believe NS2 is a great multiplayer game. I just got a very late and bad start, and a poor payment model. They should have gone F2P maybe.

The official shutdown date for this NS2 server is November 3rd.
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Re: NS2 Server Shutting Down Soon
« Reply #12 on: November 02, 2014, 10:43:00 AM »
Well, change of plans. The 2nd NS2 server will be continuing for another month; it will all depend on player traffic.
And... maybe we'll turn one of these two servers into a Combat server. Though I still don't have the "mod" yet. I'm not sure how I feel about paying $15 for a mod.
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Re: NS2 Server Shutting Down Soon
« Reply #13 on: April 01, 2015, 11:20:37 PM »
It's finally time to shut the NS2 servers down.

On April 3rd, the *New* NS2 server will disappear. I don't think many of you will even notice. Natural Selection 2 is a great game (with a poorly optimized engine sadly), but the devs took too long to get the game out, and haven't been able to keep/increase their player base.

It's actually pretty amazing how Valve still keeps TF2 relevant, even though the game is a lot older than NS2. Then again, TF2 is F2P and has a "thriving hats economy".
--

The other NS2 server (the old one) might remain for a bit longer, but not for long either. The *New* NS2 server was actually a separate cost from our TF2 servers, while the old one is already included, so running the old NS2 server doesn't actually cost more. Still, if nobody is playing on it, keeping it running is useless.

I'll let you guys know when the old server will be shut down as well.
--

Now for some good news:
With the NS2 servers going away, it means we're cutting down our monthly costs by $50 or so. That means we'll need less money from you guys to keep the TF2 servers running :) (and as usual, if we get more $ than we need, we'll keep making giveaways!)
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Re: NS2 Server Shutting Down Soon
« Reply #14 on: April 03, 2015, 11:45:31 AM »
That's it. The 2nd NS2 server is gone.
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