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Kurgan's Meatgrinder (JA Server Status)

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 Kurgan
10-06-2003, 5:19 AM
#1
CURRENT STATUS: UP (April 2007, Enhanced)

4/20 - The server has been up for awhile now and it appears to be running smoothly. It's currently just running enhanced, and without bots (because apparently the bots in the latest version of Enhanced are buggy).
Enjoy! I'm going to be busy for the next few weeks with finals/work, report any problems to RazorAce...


3/22 - For the last month or so the server has been down, due to a server move and then some complications with the settings. We have to fix the settings and re-upload all our old files (or new ones) onto the server. I'm really busy these days and don't have all the files on hand, so I'll need help with that. But hopefully we should be getting it up soon, since the server thing is supposed to be all straightened out.

We apologize for the down time!



--------------

72.5.248.212:29070

7/01/06 - We're back at a new IP!
Have fun blasting and slicing away on the Meatgrinder this summer!

=================================

EscapedTurkey is back and apparently faster than before, so Meatgrinder is back at full steam, hooray!

There is now a Downloads Page on Strategic Academy that has all the mods we ever use or recommend. You can view the server status and link to the download page from here (http://strategy.jediknight.net/jka/downloads.shtml). We now run OJP "Enhanced" (gameplay changes with a new saber system, ledge grabbing and other interesting changes) on Fridays, which OJP Basic (same gameplay as basejka, plus fixes, tweaks and new game mode options) the rest of the week.

--------------------------
OJP (Open Jedi Project Mod) and I have joined forces!

Meatgrinder OJP Server is now the place to go!

RazorAce, who recieved a server from EscapedTurkey in gratitude for his tireless work on the mod has generously agreed to let me admin his server, and the new name reflects this change.

So expect the same kind of hassle free gameplay you've come to expect, plus the speed and freshness of a regularly updated mod that acts as an unofficial patch to JA!

This 26 man server is fast! So come on over and have some fun!

The server rotates the basejka maps... CTF, Siege, Holocron and Jedi Master, with other modes available on request, including the JA Bonus Pack maps and Siege Destroyer. Jawa MP Mod supported! Runs the latest Beta of the OJP Basic Mod (nothing required to download!). Help test this great and useful mod while having fun.


***

Keep in mind this is a BETA mod (though it has come a long way), so there may be some bugs in it. So far though I see it as an improvement over basejka, and unlike some other mods, it doesn't contain anything abusive or gameplay changing that would ruin the "purist" gameplay you've come to expect from my server (it is NOT an abusive admin mod like so many others).


---------------------
The latest IP is also shown in my signature.

I'm using:

-Custom Bots
-Debugmelee (grapples/kicks w/ melee)
-Idle Saber Damage (realism)
-Saberdamagescale 2 (useful & balanced against guns)
-Full Dismemberment (as long as you have it turned on client-side as well! cg_dismember <#>).
-Bot challenges (turn off one blade to challenge a bot in FFA)
-NO RULES! (Except killtrackers must be set to silent or off & teams must be as balanced as possible!)

Special OJP Settings* (when using this mod):

-Autoteambalancer (teams are forced to be balanced every 30 seconds, meaning people will get switched if they don't switch)
-Tab Bots (Bots play Siege, use different player classes, completing objectives and play other gametypes more intelligently and a bit more human-like)
-"Gibs" from Explosions When you nail someone with an explosive or say the primary Flechette or secondary Concussion Rifle, they get dismembered, often into multiple bits. Long falls can also "gib." Looks a bit funny sometimes, but kinda cool other times.

-Teamvotekick Using:

\callteamvote kick <name>

in the console you can kick teammates who are screwing around and not helping (vote Yes or No like you normally would right in the menu). This prevents vote-kick abuse, while allowing the game to flow better.

-Holocron FFA Just like the classic Jedi Outcast game mode. Works on all the FFA maps in basejka.
-Jedi Master Just like the classic Jedi Outcast game mode. This one works on ANY map, including addon maps, due to some auto-magic ness that RazorAce built in. Very cool.
-Exploit fixes Now people can't screw up Siege games so easily using known bug exploits. Much more balanced now.

Note: Not all OJP features are always in use, sometimes they get changed for testing purpose or stability due to bug fixing.
 Kurgan
10-06-2003, 6:19 AM
#2
Edit (May 13, 2006): The only "required" files we run on the server typically are the OJP Basic files, occasionally the JA Bonus Map Pack, and that's usually about it, though it will help to have any of the files featured on this (new) page:

http://strategy.jediknight.net/jka/downloads.shtml)

(the below information is outdated, but feel free to try any of those if you wish!)

----------
Full list of current mods (all obtainable from pcgamemods.com, lucasfiles.com or elsewhere such as jk3files.com that MAY be in use on the server (none most of the time):

(removed "Wampa Joust" and "Arena of the Rancor" since I haven't used them in ages, and removed "KOTOR Flight School" since I hear there's a newer, better version anyway)

-Asteroids Mod (Created with the help of Raven, advanced ship combat in space! Includes improved edition of Siege Destroyer Assault!)
http://www.lucasfiles.com/index.php?s=&action=file&id=464)

-Siege Destroyer (An older version of the map, not as good as Destroyer2 in Asteroids, but will be used in its place until I can get the latest OJP linux which includes the Asteroids code!)http://lucasfiles.com/?s=&action=file&id=439)

-JA Bonus Mappack (Adds 4 new FFA maps, 1 new CTF and 1 new Duel map to the rotation. An early Xmas present from Raven Software!)
http://www.lucasfiles.com/index.php?s=&action=file&id=381)

-JKII_voices_3.0.pk3 (UPDATE. gives the unique taunts back to JK2 characters and gives multiple taunts in Duel/PowerDuel)
http://www.pcgamemods.com/3043/)

-JKII_ffa.pk3 (JK2 FFA converted map pack)
http://www.pcgamemods.com/2320/)

-JKII_duel.pk3 (JK2 Duel converted map pack)
http://www.pcgamemods.com/2315/)

-JKII_ctf.pk3 (JK2 CTF converted map pack)
http://www.pcgamemods.com/2319/)

-ithorian.pk3 (Ithorian MP skin)
http://www.jk2files.com/file.info?ID=16530)

-OJP (OpenJediProject) Basic (various tweaks and fun features like RGB sliders for custom Jedi)
http://ojp.jediknight.net/)

-DDS Ibots Smarter, Faster, Angrier bots!
http://www.lucasfiles.com/index.php?action=file&id=376)

-DDS Re-routed Bots navigate the FFA and CTF maps much more intelligently and are therefore more challenging.
http://www.lucasfiles.com/index.php?action=file&id=375)

-Jawa team skins Makes the Jawa skin selectable in the Profile menu with icons, and gives him red and blue skins for TFFA and CTF. Never get confused again!
http://www.pcgamemods.com/2363/)
 |GG|Carl
10-06-2003, 6:46 AM
#3
Originally posted by Kurgan
-JKII_voices.pk3 (gives the unique taunts back to certain JK2 characters)

-wampajoust.pk3 ("fun" small map with ridable wampas)

Those two seems interesting...

The JKII voices one, if I play MP, can only I hear the voices?
 Kurgan
10-07-2003, 1:34 AM
#4
I have the voices patch going, so *I* can hear it. You won't hear them unless you have it installed as well.

But if you connect you can try to download it if I have sv_allowdownload 1 on.

I may turn it off sometimes due to lag though, sorry. Get it from pcgamemods.com
 |GG|Carl
10-07-2003, 7:29 PM
#5
I visited your server a few minutes ago!:D

It was nice! Especilly the "KOTOR flight school" map.
 Kurgan
10-08-2003, 3:18 AM
#6
Glad you had fun! I tried that tweak that InsaneSith posted, but it didn't seem to help me any (though Darth Vader said it helped him a great deal).

So undecided if I'm going to keep it up when I use that map.

Anyway, updated this thread with links to all those mods.

Too bad there isn't an easy way to put the URL of this thread into my MOTD!
 Crow_Nest
10-08-2003, 11:15 AM
#7
Your server has bots now. lol.

I'll join tomorrow.:)
 Kurgan
10-08-2003, 4:03 PM
#8
See that's the thing, why do people never want to join a server that has only bots in it?

If nobody ever does this, then there will never be any players in a server (think about it). And I can reasonably only spend so many hours a day sitting in my server hoping to attract people to use it.

A person should join, play for awhile, and if others see them and join, etc. Consider it a warm-up. But it seems like some people only want to join a game that is already 15/16 (meaning that full servers will always stay full and nobody will ever join an empty server).

My logs are full of people who join, then leave seconds later (not even enough time to say anything to them). They could save themselves a lot of time simply by clicking on "server info" before they join.


LoL... anyway, pet peeve of mine, not aimed at you per se. This isn't a problem just with JA, but all online games I've ever played.
 Kurgan
10-09-2003, 5:18 AM
#9
Added Rancormad (Arena of the Rancor) that was recently posted on LucasFiles.com to the list of mods I may use on my server!
 Crow_Nest
10-09-2003, 9:37 AM
#10
Before i join your server, i always check if theres anyone inside, if not. I'll go join other servers.:D

Its not fun playing with bots.
 |GG|Carl
10-09-2003, 2:26 PM
#11
Hey, kurgan, how did you debug melee on your server?


And I think you were right about the flying patch. Even if it wasn't a big change.
 Kurgan
10-10-2003, 12:50 AM
#12
Before i join your server, i always check if theres anyone inside, if not. I'll go join other servers.

Its not fun playing with bots.

I know if you're playing on the internet, you'd rather play humans, so would I, so would most people, BUT, as I've said...

By that logic nobody will EVER join my server, because somebody HAS to be the first one to join and patiently wait for others.

So if you really want to play somebody on my server, you may have to wait a bit.

At least you click server info though and don't just join and immediately leave.. that bugs me when people do that. ; p


About half the time I'm running a server I'm also sitting here at the computer doing something else. If I see somebody join, I will usually say hi to them (from the console) and try to join the game to play with them. But it takes a little while for JA to load up for me, so if they immediately leave they missed their chance to play with at least one person (myself). So if people would be a little more patient... ; )


The other thing is, people don't need to complain about "lag" within the first 30 seconds of a person joining. That is normal...
After a bit it clears up.

To use debugmelee do this:

seta g_debugmelee "1" (put that in your server cfg file).

To USE it on a server that has it enabled, simply don't assign any force points to Saber Attack (Saber Offense) in your profile.
 Crow_Nest
10-10-2003, 12:56 AM
#13
Before i play JO or JA, i always refresh the server list using all seeing eye.

But now, jk2 is history. Very few people plays it.:(
 Kurgan
10-10-2003, 9:33 AM
#14
I don't know about that, at least as many people have been connecting to the JK2 master server in the last month as have done so for JA, assuming those stats are accurate.

I fired up a server (For the first time) a few days ago and one guy joined fairly quickly.
 |GG|Carl
10-10-2003, 1:21 PM
#15
Originally posted by Kurgan
To use debugmelee do this:

seta g_debugmelee "1" (put that in your server cfg file).

To USE it on a server that has it enabled, simply don't assign any force points to Saber Attack (Saber Offense) in your profile.
Thaks a lot! Now my server has debugged melee! But it also has sabers.
 Kurgan
10-11-2003, 9:46 AM
#16
No problem. ; )


I updated one of the links to the vehicle steering tweak (I got a new one sent to me that I have yet to try but it may be easier for you).

See my post above with the list of mods.

Great games btw, thanks to all who joined in the last few days!
 |GG|Carl
10-11-2003, 9:50 AM
#17
Originally posted by Kurgan
I updated one of the links to the vehicle steering tweak (I got a new one sent to me that I have yet to try but it may be easier for you).
Well, is it better?
 Crow_Nest
10-11-2003, 3:14 PM
#18
Kurgan, can you disable the grip, lightning and drain?

Just now at during a duel map some stupid gh3y n00b always lame and spam teh throw, drain + attack while chatting.:mad: :mad: :mad:

And always repeat of force powers. like grip and drain.

if i were the admin, i'd kick him out and ban him from the server.
 El Sitherino
10-11-2003, 4:07 PM
#19
>_>
if anyone wants it, it'd be nice if you had it so that you could see me and so that i have the option of using it. my skin for my character
http://www.boomspeed.com/insanesith/Qi_Na.pk3)
 acdcfanbill
10-11-2003, 4:46 PM
#20
you need to edit yoru server.cfg file a bit kurg :p 30 min duel limits with bots is horrible, cause it takes 30 min, they loose each other on some maps, plus regular players get kicked when new players join, and the bots stay in some cases :)
 |GG|Carl
10-11-2003, 8:09 PM
#21
Originally posted by InsaneSith
>_>
if anyone wants it, it'd be nice if you had it so that you could see me and so that i have the option of using it. my skin for my character
http://www.boomspeed.com/insanesith/Qi_Na.pk3)
Your link is wierd...
 Kurgan
10-12-2003, 12:10 AM
#22
you need to edit yoru server.cfg file a bit kurg 30 min duel limits with bots is horrible, cause it takes 30 min, they loose each other on some maps, plus regular players get kicked when new players join, and the bots stay in some cases

That shouldn't be right, there are always 2 slots free for humans to join and bots should always be kicked when new people come in.

I'll double the time limit for duels and only use two bots (or remove them entirely) for that gametype. Thanks for pointing this out!

------------------------------------
|GG|Crow_Nest:

Kurgan, can you disable the grip, lightning and drain?

If I did that, I'd have to disable heal, mind trick and absorb as well...

Just use Absorb and you won't be affected by those powers.

while chatting.

If it's a duel, you should be fighting, not chatting during the battle, no offense.


And always repeat of force powers. like grip and drain.


Absorb and he will just waste his mana.


if i were the admin, i'd kick him out and ban him from the server.

But this is my server, and I say that's fair. You just have to adapt to his tactics. Trust me, it can be done.
 El Sitherino
10-12-2003, 1:11 AM
#23
Originally posted by |GG|Carl
Your link is wierd... what makes my link weird?
 Crow_Nest
10-12-2003, 2:19 AM
#24
Sometimes i just want to tell him something but keeps on laming me.:mad:
 SkinWalker
10-12-2003, 5:49 AM
#25
Here's a couple of screenies and an attachment with a demo of Kurgan's server:

Gotha!
http://home.earthlink.net/~ctfeagans/KurganAarrgh.jpg)

Iowa you said?
http://home.earthlink.net/~ctfeagans/KurganConnection.jpg)

It was a bit chilly, but loads of fun... watch the demo in the attachment!
http://home.earthlink.net/~ctfeagans/KurganHoth.jpg)
 SkinWalker
10-12-2003, 5:53 AM
#26
Oh.. the attachment... This is Kurgan's server on Hoth.. riding Taun Tauns.
 Crow_Nest
10-12-2003, 5:57 AM
#27
What do i do to teh file?
 SkinWalker
10-12-2003, 6:07 AM
#28
Unzip it to the c:\program files\LucasArts\Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy\GameData\base\demos directory... or whatever close approximation you have. Either way, your \base\demos dir.

Then in the mulitplayer menu, select play demo, choose KurganHoth... and enjoy your popcorn ;)
 Kurgan
10-12-2003, 6:37 AM
#29
Thanks for posting that SW, was great. ; )

You can see we got some lag towards the end there when Genesis tried to connect. Loads of fun though...
 Crow_Nest
10-12-2003, 1:03 PM
#30
Originally posted by SkinWalker
Unzip it to the c:\program files\LucasArts\Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy\GameData\base\demos directory... or whatever close approximation you have. Either way, your \base\demos dir.

Then in the mulitplayer menu, select play demo, choose KurganHoth... and enjoy your popcorn ;)

o i see. thx


hey Kurg, maybe next time we should play Coop together?
 |GG|Carl
10-12-2003, 4:23 PM
#31
Originally posted by InsaneSith
what makes my link weird?
It doesn't work...
 SkinWalker
10-12-2003, 4:29 PM
#32
It might be your connection between you and he.. I tried and it worked for me...

Of course, Insane and I are like 20 miles from each other at most. ;)
 El Sitherino
10-13-2003, 6:04 PM
#33
Originally posted by SkinWalker
It might be your connection between you and he.. I tried and it worked for me...

Of course, Insane and I are like 20 miles from each other at most. ;) :). something that makes me think is we might have seen eachother somewhere like without knowing it :p

I was wondering if anyone is having a problem with the taunts on the file, It's been acting up with me, I think it's because i used mp3pro
 Kurgan
10-13-2003, 8:16 PM
#34
Okay two of the files in my list of mods have been updated (voices and the better vehicle thing) so grab those if you need them!
 Crow_Nest
10-14-2003, 5:32 AM
#35
If your server enables auto downloading then i dont have to download them.:)


But if u use too many of those mods, other players wont be able to join. This may be the reason why not much players come to your server.
 El Sitherino
10-14-2003, 10:27 PM
#36
Originally posted by Buffy
did you add new speeder bike & stap too ??
in kotor_flight_school map ...
this bikes Turbo can fly over to othere side of base so we can play CTF now... here is pics
http://www.hostmysig.com/data/buffy/Speeder&Stap.jpg)
http://www.hostmysig.com/data/buffy/shot0007.jpg)
http://www.hostmysig.com/data/buffy/shot0005.jpg)
http://www.hostmysig.com/data/buffy/shot0000.jpg)
http://www.hostmysig.com/data/buffy/shot0003.jpg)

Please spwn this bike for your server ... thank you
BTW
when I join your server it always you guys sleeping so only play with bot...:(
I really hate sometimes liveing in Hawaii....:mad:
also if my ping is bad please kick me anytime thank you
Buffy;)

ps Mr' InsaneSith
your link is ok for me and I really like your model !!! he is so hot !
can you make more base on Obiwan models.. ? I like brown or blond hair is better..... not green ... sorry face is Amazing ! i'm going to be making a padawan version of when my character was a padawan soon. when he had brown hair.


anyway. kurgan what times are you on at i want to be able to play against you :p
 Kurgan
10-15-2003, 11:24 AM
#37
It all depends, sometimes I'm really busy, other times I have lots of spare hours to play.

Usually you'll want to try me on weekends. I have class on Monday and Wednesday so those are usually the busiest days (but not always).

When in doubt, just stop on by and see... (click on server info, and if you're really curious just say hi, Kurgan, etc and maybe I'll see it.
 Kurgan
10-20-2003, 9:21 PM
#38
The server's back (at a different IP), join up!

65.103.61.98:29070
 Tesla
10-20-2003, 9:37 PM
#39
Ah, so thats where i haven't been in a while, Kurgan's Server :D
Must join sometime soon, play a bit Siege :p
 Kurgan
10-21-2003, 11:48 AM
#40
I also added my server to JK3servers.com hope it's displaying correctly!
 SkinWalker
10-22-2003, 3:27 AM
#41
The only way I can see your server in the browser is if I enter the IP as a "Favorite."

The ping isn't great, but there are a lot of others listed with much higher pings.

But the same is for OC-3 server... However, I get an inordinately low ping (under 50 sometimes). If I don't enter it in the "favs," I don't see it.

I'm convinced that there is a flaw in whatever protocol is allowing servers to be listed in the browser. After doing a list and then opening the console, there is a prompt that says something about X# of servers not listed because of packet drops or something or other... I'll have to pay closer attention next time.
 Kurgan
10-24-2003, 9:27 PM
#42
Ton of people joined today (and still there), had some great fun playing Siege and CTF. ; )
 Crow_Nest
10-26-2003, 11:13 AM
#43
I can't join ur server, i need to download the "botroutes" thingy. Any idea where i can get it??
 Kurgan
10-26-2003, 1:23 PM
#44
Sorry, you shouldn't need to download it to join (others have joined without downloading it), and I realized this so I turned downloads off.

You should be able to join fine now.


But if you're interested, Admidala from Chop Chop sent it to me, it's an improved version of bot routes for FFA1 (Vjun) so the bots don't get stuck anymore!

See attachment below (just unzip and put in your base folder to use it with mp/ffa1):
 SkinWalker
10-26-2003, 3:02 PM
#45
I would think that the bot routes is a server side modification and wouldn't need to be placed in the client side folder. At least... it seemed to run very efficiently on me last night!

Those bots kicked butt... The bad thing about bots is theres no human failings... like overlooking a hiding spot. If you can see the bot, the bot sees you.

If it was saber-only, I would kicked those gunwhore bots butts though :D
 Akshara
10-27-2003, 9:53 AM
#46
Hey Kurgan... decided to move this discussion from the "Open Letter to Raven/LucasArts" thread over here regarding bots on your server...

Why would you rather sit in spectator mode or run around in an empty level than play with a few bots?

I don't mind warming up with a bot while I'm waiting for someone to join, but the last thing I want to do when going online is to join a server with a 100+ ping and play against three other master class bots with no ping. And when another player joins it's a total drag having two other bots to deal with.

To me, going online is about interacting with other people. I'd be completely fine simply practicing moves by myself until someone shows up if it's a server where I want to play, because I know someone will show up eventually and that I'll likely have a really great time while I'm there.

I've joined your server once, Kurgan... it was the only time I checked it when there was only people playing. I have it in my favorites folder and always check the player list when firing up QT or ASE to see if anybody's there (especially you). Several times I've seen one person with three other bots on there, and I've almost talked myself into joining but didn't. Now if when I did join the other two bots disappeared as well, then I would definitely stop in and challenge that person until someone else showed up.

I don't need there to be 6+ people... I've had awesome experiences with only one or two others. It's just that at any given time there are 50+ other servers with one or two people and no bots that I can join - so why would I want to play bots? It's not fun.

Your server is pretty well known around here... I'd have to suggest that one of the reasons you don't see more traffic is because half of the slots are taken up by bots. Just my personal feeling though. Drop it to two and see what happens.

----

btw... do you use other names when you play? I look for you everytime I fire up QT or ASE, but maybe we're just on different time schedules.
 Kurgan
10-27-2003, 2:06 PM
#47
I don't mind warming up with a bot while I'm waiting for someone to join, but the last thing I want to do when going online is to join a server with a 100+ ping and play against three other master class bots with no ping. And when another player joins it's a total drag having two other bots to deal with.


So does this mean you don't want to play bots because you're afraid of losing?

Bots will always have zero ping and you know what? Playing an admin is "just as unfair" because we'll always have pings way lower than people joining (not zero, but say 5 is not unusual).

And again, having no bots just means that the one person
who joins to wait for others is just going to get bored that
much faster and leave.


To me, going online is about interacting with other people.

Of course, multiplayer is about fragging other characters controled by humans. But why did they put bots into the MP game?

Simple, because not every game is going to be full all the time.

If you just want to practice, Solo Game is there for you.


I'd be completely fine simply practicing moves by myself until someone shows up if it's a server where I want to play, because I know someone will show up eventually and that I'll likely have a really great time while I'm there.


Which is exactly why I have them. Practicing moves on walls or health pacs isn't very useful. Rather practicing on moving targets that are trying to kill you is very useful. ; )


I've joined your server once, Kurgan... it was the only time I checked it when there was only people playing. I have it in my favorites folder and always check the player list when firing up QT or ASE to see if anybody's there (especially you). Several times I've seen one person with three other bots on there, and I've almost talked myself into joining but didn't. Now if when I did join the other two bots disappeared as well, then I would definitely stop in and challenge that person until someone else showed up.


Glad to hear it, but you didn't catch me at a good time. Usually I have 0-2 players in there, but other times I've had 4-6. On "good days" (days when the in-game browser is actually displaying my game) I get a steady stream of players all day long.

And I always have bots, so those people are able to join, play and have fun fine, even if I'm not there.


I don't need there to be 6+ people... I've had awesome experiences with only one or two others. It's just that at any given time there are 50+ other servers with one or two people and no bots that I can join - so why would I want to play bots? It's not fun.


Your time, your choice, I'm just pointing out why avoiding servers that have bots is not as productive as you say.

I said it before, I'll say it again, SOMEBODY has to join a server to start the "waiting game." Otherwise every server will always be empty, forever. Is the admin of the server just supposed to sit there and wait in an empty game for people to join?

People are just too impatient. If a game lags for a fifth of a second they scream "lag!" if they lose one point they yell "lame!" if anything isn't perfectly how they want it they leave. If you're running a mod they don't want to download they'll disconnect. If a player is beating them they'll callvote/kick. ; p

That's their choice but it just gets annoying when you're putting up a server for others to use. So I'm happy for the feedback, I just think I have a right to respond here as well.

9 times out of 10 the admin is not there, because it's a dedicated server. The point is to run it with all the resources so that others can use the game. That's why they put in automated stuff like map cycles and voting. It's because the admin is not expected to sit there and wait for people and beg them to join.

I'm not a doctor of JA who is "on call" 24/7, though I do make an effort to join my own game if I happen to see somebody in there or at least say "hi" so they know I'm around. Just the friendly thing to do. But other times even when I'm watching the console I have better things to do, and sometimes I'll load up JA but by the time I get there they'll have left already.

Besides, there are times even when bots can't help you, in Siege for example. But let's say FFA... bots provide a way to keep people occupied while they wait. You don't have to participate, but if no one does, no one plays, the entire system falls apart.

And I don't know about you, but if I'm going to play bots, I'll take on a group of them, not just one (since you can't really private duel bots) in a FFA. So who would want to go one on one with a bot in FFA? Due to the sheer size of most of the maps you'll just be playing hide 'n' seek with him anyway.


Your server is pretty well known around here... I'd have to suggest that one of the reasons you don't see more traffic is because half of the slots are taken up by bots. Just my personal feeling though. Drop it to two and see what happens.


No, I think the primary reason is that my game isn't displayed most of the time (others have this problem).

I get plenty of players on the days that it gets posted, bots or no bots, and nobody ever complains about bots except on the forums (3 people so far).

Also, if you join up, I'm using improved bots and bot routes (the latter thanks to Amidala) so you'll be getting more than you bargained for anyway, and unless you have the same tweaks I do, it'll be a new experience for you, guarenteed.

See Skinwalker's rave reviews above. ; )


----
btw... do you use other names when you play? I look for you everytime I fire up QT or ASE, but maybe we're just on different time schedules.

Once or twice, but 99.99% of the time I go simply as "Kurgan."

If you don't see me, chances are you're on a different time table than me and you're simply missing all the action (no offense).
 Akshara
10-28-2003, 1:52 AM
#48
whOa... down boy. Now don't go getting the wrong idea. I got nothing against you or your server, and was simply sharing an alternate point of view - you did ask why I prefer not to connect to a server with bots...

So does this mean you don't want to play bots because you're afraid of losing?
I'm not afraid of losing... I actually do it quite a bit. I consider losing as a healthy way of improving. One of the reasons we see so much spamming of katas and "red stance only" single saberists is because people are afraid to lose. If there were more people willing to lose, we'd see a lot more interesting and varied matches.

A bot doesn't make mistakes, and takes away some of the thrill and challenge. No spontaneity, and no accidents. I think SkinWalker was trying to say that as well, wasn't he?

Playing an admin is "just as unfair" because we'll always have pings way lower than people joining
Hmmm... that's the third time now you've read something into my post that I didn't say... "you assume too much."

:p

"All is fair in love and war," and this game elicits both from me. Rarely if ever do I feel that anything that happens online is unfair. I'm also not someone who needs a full house to have a good time, nor am I someone who joins a server and then immediately leaves. Very often I'll join either an empty server or one with a single person and try to start something. And I'm well aware of the admin advantage... won't save you though.

If you just want to practice, Solo Game is there for you.
Creating a local server with different game styles using lots of practice bots is how I prepare for going online. I did that nonstop for an entire week practicing with your information from Strategic Academy before logging a single hour online - which I greatly appreciated by the way. So when I finally do go online, I want to interact with people and have a real competitive match to tryout my skills. Bots aren't susceptible to taunts, accidents, mistakes, or emotions - which leads to an unrealistic playing experience.

Practicing moves on walls or health pacs isn't very useful.
One can't work on repetition of keystrokes and timing technique with a bot constantly attacking you. Ragnos is a great solo map because the center fire cauldron makes a good point of reference for practicing spins. What would be really great is to have a training map that has dummies and objects in different locations to practice stirke coordination and combo stringing. Several maps offer jumping platforms, but none have immobile targets to practice aiming.

If you're running a mod they don't want to download they'll disconnect.
I disconnect because the mod is going to take 59 minutes to auto download, when I could go get it from pcgamemods in about 50 seconds and come right back. I really don't understand why auto download has to take so long... I'm on a 1Mbps broadband connection and it takes like an hour or more to auto download a 4Mb saber hilt mod on most servers. I can only imagine what it must be like for 56k or cable broadband users.

But in the case of your server, I've downloaded all of the mods you listed here ahead of time so I'd be prepared when I joined. I've been looking forward to challenging you online because I know it will be fun... but I always wait for other people to show first because I don't want to waste my time for thirty minutes playing bots when I could be playing with others somewhere else.

But next time I see a person on there with a bunch of bots, I'll go ahead and join and see what it's like ok? And if you happen to jump on too, well all the better big boy.

;)
 Kurgan
10-28-2003, 2:38 PM
#49
Cool. ; )

Thanks for your feedback!

Update (Tuesday Oct 28th): Congrats to all, last night was our biggest night of JA ever!

7-8 people constantly for most of the day/night playing tons of Siege. Fun. ; )
 Akshara
10-29-2003, 5:11 PM
#50
Ok Kurgan... just spent the last hour or so on the Meatgrinder. A few people dropped in and it was a lot of fun; but honey... you're bots suck.

:p
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