Pitfighter

EVGATech_ChristianB

WackyWRZ
They wouldn't be running around actively though if AFK...

Agreed. This would be against the rules.

Out of curiosity, what is the rationale for this rule?

Is it to discourage players from racking up time for prizes or rewards?

We have seen players using script to keep their characters moving in order to not have to play to get time. It is not fair to the people that are actually playing the game to get their time in. Seeding is one thing, AFK while your character runs in circles for 4 hours is another thing entirely.

Pitfighter

sinned.

Pitfighter

EVGATech_ChristianB

WackyWRZ
They wouldn't be running around actively though if AFK...

Agreed. This would be against the rules.

Out of curiosity, what is the rationale for this rule?

Is it to discourage players from racking up time for prizes or rewards?

We have seen players using script to keep their characters moving in order to not have to play to get time. It is not fair to the people that are actually playing the game to get their time in. Seeding is one thing, AFK while your character runs in circles for 4 hours is another thing entirely.

Ok, so it is then to discourage racking up undeserved server time.

I was trying to view EVGA's server rules (sorry, don't know it) but my " smartphone" wasn't cooperating.

Anyway, server seeding has importance and implications beyond just getting the server initially populated.

Is EVGA open to modifying and making its rules more flexible in order to allow for SUSTAINED server populating?

You need to be very clear about what you mean with this phrase. There is a difference between server seeding and AFKing in a populated server. Why dont we start by asking the obvious question? What is the point of buying a game if you are going to be AFK not once, not twice but more than multiple times? If that is the case, stick to Single player mode then, you can AFK as much as you want and you are not occupying a server slot, specially for someone who is waiting and eager to play the game accordingly. If I am not mistaken, the purpose of a game server is for players to play the game and not to idle or be afk all the time.  Lastly, there are rules implemented for a reason, if you dont like the rules of a certain server, you can move on to a server that is acceptable to your standards, just be sure not to complaint if the plug-in or the Admin in the server kicked you off the server for AFKing.
IMO, I do not like players who AFK in a game because i consider them an annoyance not just for me but for other players in the server as well. It is not fair that others are putting their efforts in playing the game while you are just standing there doing completely the opposite.

Pitfighter

atfrico

Pitfighter

sinned.

Pitfighter

EVGATech_ChristianB

WackyWRZ
They wouldn't be running around actively though if AFK...

Agreed. This would be against the rules.

Out of curiosity, what is the rationale for this rule?

Is it to discourage players from racking up time for prizes or rewards?

We have seen players using script to keep their characters moving in order to not have to play to get time. It is not fair to the people that are actually playing the game to get their time in. Seeding is one thing, AFK while your character runs in circles for 4 hours is another thing entirely.

Ok, so it is then to discourage racking up undeserved server time.

I was trying to view EVGA's server rules (sorry, don't know it) but my " smartphone" wasn't cooperating.

Anyway, server seeding has importance and implications beyond just getting the server initially populated.

Is EVGA open to modifying and making its rules more flexible in order to allow for SUSTAINED server populating?

You need to be very clear about what you mean with this phrase. There is a difference between server seeding and AFKing in a populated server. Why dont we start by asking the obvious question? What is the point of buying a game if you are going to be AFK not once, not twice but more than multiple times? If that is the case, stick to Single player mode then, you can AFK as much as you want and you are not occupying a server slot, specially for someone who is waiting and eager to play the game accordingly. If I am not mistaken, the purpose of a game server is for players to play the game and not to idle or be afk all the time.  Lastly, there are rules implemented for a reason, if you dont like the rules of a certain server, you can move on to a server that is acceptable to your standards, just be sure not to complaint if the plug-in or the Admin in the server kicked you off the server for AFKing.
IMO, I do not like players who AFK in a game because i consider them an annoyance not just for me but for other players in the server as well. It is not fair that others are putting their efforts in playing the game while you are just standing there doing completely the opposite.

You ask a very valid question.

What can be perceived as an annoyance, in fact does serve a useful purpose. And although I ask if EVGA is open to modifying its rules, the reason is not a dislike of the rules. Rather, it is to enable EVGA's server to become populated more easily and for longer periods of time.

I am not asking to throw out current rules. I am asking EVGA to be more flexible.

The problem is during events people abuse the rule.
So do we let people seed and just hang out during down time and kick during events? I am not sure what you mean by this.

I think hes talking about outside events, but i don't think that would help with traffic on older games. How many times have people tried getting the servers going by running around in them for a few hours, only to see no one else join.
 
Very hard to get people to care about a game server, when they don't have any skin in it.

sinned.
 
Yeah , thats what I figured he was but we dont have the people running macros when events arent going on so thats not an issue. I can see where it would help lifting the time out during non event times.

Yep agreed - pretty sure he is trying to figure out how to get get people on the servers when there aren't events going on.
 

atfrico
Why are you keep insisting on modifying the rules?  If you make certain statements such as: "It does serve a useful purpose" you need to explain yourself better, specially debating on a rule most servers have implemented in the servers. You think is not an annoyance or fair to have someone idle to rack hours and win prizes? 
 
I am going to explain in brief detail why i find AFK players annoying:
 
Afkers are:
 
1.  Waste of Server Slot:  You are not participating in the game instead you are preventing someone who wants to come in and play with others/friends/fellow Admins, etc. Pretty much you are dead weight.
2.  Lack of Game Etiquette:  Servers are rented for everyone to play not just idle/AFK. Showing the lack of respect towards the game/server rules and players who come to play into a server is not acceptable. You must respect the rules, time of others, the same way they respect yours.
3.  Bringing Unfair Disadvantage to your Team: The moment you stop playing, you are giving the other team the advantage to win. Instead of a full 24 vs 24 match up, it is down 23 vs 24. 
 
Please tell me the name of the servers where i Afking and idling is allowed where I can win prizes.

I think he is making valid suggestions to increase server population during NON EVENTS.  At least he's trying!  I agree that don't fix it unless it's broken - but I think here something is obviously not working.  Yes BF4 is an older game but there are still a ton of people online playing it.  Maybe some of these suggestions could be taken into consideration if/when there are BF1 servers.  Also to your points 1-3 (and again assuming NOT during an event) those points are really irrelevant when there are 0 people on the servers to begin with...  Entire servers are going to waste here at this point (not just a slot).

WackyWRZ

sinned.
 
Yeah , thats what I figured he was but we dont have the people running macros when events arent going on so thats not an issue. I can see where it would help lifting the time out during non event times.

Yep agreed - pretty sure he is trying to figure out how to get get people on the servers when there aren't events going on.
 

atfrico
Why are you keep insisting on modifying the rules?  If you make certain statements such as: "It does serve a useful purpose" you need to explain yourself better, specially debating on a rule most servers have implemented in the servers. You think is not an annoyance or fair to have someone idle to rack hours and win prizes? 
 
I am going to explain in brief detail why i find AFK players annoying:
 
Afkers are:
 
1.  Waste of Server Slot:  You are not participating in the game instead you are preventing someone who wants to come in and play with others/friends/fellow Admins, etc. Pretty much you are dead weight.
2.  Lack of Game Etiquette:  Servers are rented for everyone to play not just idle/AFK. Showing the lack of respect towards the game/server rules and players who come to play into a server is not acceptable. You must respect the rules, time of others, the same way they respect yours.
3.  Bringing Unfair Disadvantage to your Team: The moment you stop playing, you are giving the other team the advantage to win. Instead of a full 24 vs 24 match up, it is down 23 vs 24. 
 
Please tell me the name of the servers where i Afking and idling is allowed where I can win prizes.

I think he is making valid suggestions to increase server population during NON EVENTS.  At least he's trying!  I agree that don't fix it unless it's broken - but I think here something is obviously not working.  Yes BF4 is an older game but there are still a ton of people online playing it.  Maybe some of these suggestions could be taken into consideration if/when there are BF1 servers.  Also to your points 1-3 (and again assuming NOT during an event) those points are really irrelevant when there are 0 people on the servers to begin with...  Entire servers are going to waste here at this point (not just a slot).

This.

I deliberately kept my previous reply short, as I didn't want to bore and irritate readers.

First off, I am uninterested in gaining prizes or rewards. I used to seed servers that I paid for, out of my own pocket, so I am accustomed to donating time to a gaming community.

To address Atfrico's questions:

1. Waste of server slot - it would only be a waste if the server is full or near full. Imagine a 64-slot BF4 server with only 24 players in it. In my experience, having an AFK on each team does not hamper gameplay at all. But they are deadweight if the server is full.

2. Lack of game etiquette - yes, it would be lack of etiquette if the AFKer is just there to rack up server time to get rewards or prizes. But what I am proposing is having AFKers specifically to initially populate the server, then disengage them at a certain level, like when the server reaches 20 - 30 players.
We used to do this every day. We would then have AFKers go back in later in the evening when the server population starts to diminish.
WHY? To recover and increase the server population.

3. Bringing unfair advantage to your team - yes, this does happen in the case of odd numbered AFKers. However, in my old servers, I always made it a point to have even numbered AFKers in the server, one for each team, in order to avoid disadvantaging either team.

Finally, unlike conventional wisdom, my seeding ideas focused not only on the gaming cycles in the U.S., but took account of gaming cycles in Asia and Europe. We specifically seeded our servers in the morning, the afternoon, and overnight, to capture as many players as possible from various time zones.

It was not unusual for my server to run fully populated from Friday morning until late Sunday night. Not quite like as long as a top ten BF4 server runs, but I've gotten close a few times.

I am certainly not saying that EVGA should do these things; I am merely explaining my rationale for these ideas.

atfrico

Pitfighter
I am certainly not saying that EVGA should do these things; I am merely explaining my rationale for these ideas.

My point about Afkers is when the server is populated by half or full slots of the server and not when it is empty.
 
This is the flaw i always see and has become a pattern for most people walking this earth: "Just because it works on your end, does not mean it will always work on someone else's" This is my rationale on things. 
 
There is a reason the rule about AFkers was implemented recently and that is due to the complaints about Forum members/players playing in the servers (event or not).
I understand you allow that in your servers, but if EVGA try your idea, i think is a step backwards since there is a rule already in place. 
 
IMO, The only way you can fill up a server is when you build a healthy morale about the rules and Admins patrolling the servers, aside from having good players coming in and play the game. The only way i have fun playing a multiplayer game is when everyone is in the same page every night, that means showing the same level of respect/effort towards your fellow players, friends, Admins and follow the rules of the server, but if you are going against that, i make sure i don't play with you again or in that server, just my .02 cents.

I agree about the health and morale about the rules and admins in the server. However, that is up to EVGA management to address. But, part of raising morale is helping to revive the game servers (in this case, BF4).

Who gets excited about dead servers? And since EVGA's US servers sit idle 24/7, what is the harm in trying something different for a few days? And no one here has been able to explain how harmful it is to seed a server until half-full.

I believe EVGA gaming's BF4 servers can be brought back to life, with the same set of rules and with the same set of personnel. EVGA just need to
be less rigid and less stifling.

EVGA also needs to see the perspective of outsiders looking. If all everyone sees here is retreaded opinions by the same cast of characters, then old differences and animosities come into play again.

And that is why, as MSim puts it, there is an "impasse".