Multiplayer not popular still?

[Pulstar]

I enjoy the map, despite the barrenness of the landscape outside the Las Vegas area. But the MP doesn't see much activity even on weekends. I reinstalled DCS 1.5 beta because of this, even though I got tired flying over the Caucasus. Any reason for such a lack of activity?

[DoomEngine]

I'd say everyone's waiting for the next big thing. Plus, it's spring here in the States- everyone is outside 8)

[doodenkoff]

Except us. We're here, on this forum.

[Oceandar]

I'm interested to buy the NTTR but I'm waiting for the merge of 1.5 and 2.0. I don't want the hassle having 2 install.

 

Cheers

[pyromaniac4002]

I couldn't tell you if it's an issue of people not buying NTTR or installing the 2.0 alpha version of DCS you're required to use for it, but we're burning virtual JP5 in Nevada every day in F99th. I don't know what time zone you're in, but during regular stateside hours we've always got activity on our server.

 

My guess would be that most people don't enjoy maintaining 2 DCS installations, because NTTR is fantastic but it shouldn't come at the expense of not being able to fly in the Caucasus map. 2.5 will bring a lot more people to Nevada I'm sure.

[cichlidfan]

Server owners also need to purchase a copy of Nevada for their server.

[*Rage*]

Im surprised by NTTRs lack of popularity. I wish more servers would host there but the number of users is a drop in the ocean compared to the Caucusus region.

[Decibel dB]

I couldn't tell you if it's an issue of people not buying NTTR or installing the 2.0 alpha version of DCS you're required to use for it, but we're burning virtual JP5 in Nevada every day in F99th. I don't know what time zone you're in, but during regular stateside hours we've always got activity on our server.

 

My guess would be that most people don't enjoy maintaining 2 DCS installations, because NTTR is fantastic but it shouldn't come at the expense of not being able to fly in the Caucasus map. 2.5 will bring a lot more people to Nevada I'm sure.

 

 

Can't get to their server for a little while now, DCS launcher crash when the mission load all the time

[QuiGon]

I can only speak for myself, but I stick to 1.5, because I don't want to have 2 installations of DCS on my computer. I even pre-ordered NTTR back in the day, but I haven't played on it so far. I'm waiting for the merge to do that.

[wash_hoban]

Server owners also need to purchase a copy of Nevada for their server.

 

^ THIS

 

Unlike all other (cannot even think of an instance) games that have

multiplayer facilities , DCS World wants you to pay for content so you

can host game servers ..... which helps to promote their software????

Content that if you are hosting a dedicated (non playing client) will

not even use

 

Personally I think it is a bad idea, no one else does this (having the source code means they could choose NOT to do this but sadly do not)

 

I only hope that sometime soon they will see the light and reverse their decision

 

[shonist]

i usually play on 2.0 and thats all, theres a server 79th or something that has 10-20~ sometimes so i jump on them. remember if you see a good server with 2 ppl, join it, maybe being 3, other guy see it and say... well i join, and then 4... andthe story goes on.

[CrashO]

only hope that sometime soon they will see the light and reverse their decision

Don't count on it. With the release of Normandy it's even expanding into having to buy the Asset pack if you want to host the asset items.

 

So if a mission designer sticks a Jeep Willy in a mission, you not only are required to buy the asset pack if you want to fly on the server (whole separate discussion). But also to host a mission containing 1 or more items from a pack.

[firmek]

I think it's more essential problem than just the fact that the map is a paid module, even including the necessity to purchase a server copy.

Nevada is a really specific area - meant for red flag like scenarios, trainings, equipment and weapon testing. Might be a personal thing but It's hard for me to get an immersion feeling when flying on it with any other purpose and even then it feels off seeing an eastern bloc units, especially a vintage ones and actually shooting them with live ammo. Anyway, it comes to the mind-set but I just can't get rid of a question "how to hell did the Russians get to the Nevada" out of my mind every time I join the map. Aside of that NTTR is set in a modern times which in result kind of makes it to feel right when flying an F-15 or A-10C (and maybe Mirage).

It's always better to have something rather than nothing and while being aware about the history of the NTTR map I tend to have an opinion that the whole idea about it is a bit missed. I'm quite sure that despite of having to purchase a server copy maps like Normandy or another potential ones like the Vietnam or a Fulda Gap would get more interest, more MP servers and higher player numbers.

[OnlyforDCS]

I enjoy the map, despite the barrenness of the landscape outside the Las Vegas area. But the MP doesn't see much activity even on weekends. I reinstalled DCS 1.5 beta because of this, even though I got tired flying over the Caucasus. Any reason for such a lack of activity?

 

It's an alpha version. We have three different versions, and most servers are on the stable release version, as are most players. One more reason that the merge 2.5 needs to happen ASAP.

[BSS_Sniper]

I think it's more essential problem than just the fact that the map is a paid module, even including the necessity to purchase a server copy.

Nevada is a really specific area - meant for red flag like scenarios, trainings, equipment and weapon testing. Might be a personal thing but It's hard for me to get an immersion feeling when flying on it with any other purpose and even then it feels off seeing an eastern bloc units, especially a vintage ones and actually shooting them with live ammo. Anyway, it comes to the mind-set but I just can't get rid of a question "how to hell did the Russians get to the Nevada" out of my mind every time I join the map. Aside of that NTTR is set in a modern times which in result kind of makes it to feel right when flying an F-15 or A-10C (and maybe Mirage).

It's always better to have something rather than nothing and while being aware about the history of the NTTR map I tend to have an opinion that the whole idea about it is a bit missed. I'm quite sure that despite of having to purchase a server copy maps like Normandy or another potential ones like the Vietnam or a Fulda Gap would get more interest, more MP servers and higher player numbers.

 

 

 

This. I have no interest in buying a military training area for DCS. It would be like buying Ft Benning for ARMA. It never made sense to me, why they'd want to put so much time and effort into a map that is a military base and training area instead of an actual theater of operation.

[71st_AH Rob]

^ THIS

 

Unlike all other (cannot even think of an instance) games that have

multiplayer facilities , DCS World wants you to pay for content so you

can host game servers ..... which helps to promote their software????

Content that if you are hosting a dedicated (non playing client) will

not even use

 

Personally I think it is a bad idea, no one else does this (having the source code means they could choose NOT to do this but sadly do not)

 

I only hope that sometime soon they will see the light and reverse their decision

 

 

Precisely, I would run a training server based on the NTTR map if I didn't need to purchase a second copy and the same will hold for Normandy, I am not likely to run a server on that map as long as I need to purchase a second copy plus the asset pack and I expect that the number of 24/7 dedicated servers will remain low and the Caucuses will remain the most popular.

 

I am looking forward to that map being updated more than any of the others that have been discussed so far.

[Zimmerdylan]

I think it's more essential problem than just the fact that the map is a paid module, even including the necessity to purchase a server copy.

Nevada is a really specific area - meant for red flag like scenarios, trainings, equipment and weapon testing. Might be a personal thing but It's hard for me to get an immersion feeling when flying on it with any other purpose and even then it feels off seeing an eastern bloc units, especially a vintage ones and actually shooting them with live ammo. Anyway, it comes to the mind-set but I just can't get rid of a question "how to hell did the Russians get to the Nevada" out of my mind every time I join the map. Aside of that NTTR is set in a modern times which in result kind of makes it to feel right when flying an F-15 or A-10C (and maybe Mirage).

It's always better to have something rather than nothing and while being aware about the history of the NTTR map I tend to have an opinion that the whole idea about it is a bit missed. I'm quite sure that despite of having to purchase a server copy maps like Normandy or another potential ones like the Vietnam or a Fulda Gap would get more interest, more MP servers and higher player numbers.

 

This is an interesting take on the Nevada map. I'm kind of stumped by it. That's kind of like saying that you cannot imagine WWII planes flying over modern Georgia and shooting one another down, or having modern planes on the new WWII map will be unrealistic. This (or any sim) is all pretty much about imagination. None of the situations that 99% of us fly are anywhere near reality in DCS. When I'm flying the NTTR map, the last thing in my mind is that I'm flying on a training map. And unless I'm actually flying over Las Vegas itself (Still a lot of fun to be flying over an American city) I don't really think at all about the fact that this is NTTR. It could be Iraq, Afghanistan, or Africa for all I know or care. The geography resembles any number of places all over the globe. The same goes for Georgia, and I'm sure Normandy. On NTTR, Vegas is such a small part of the map that you really don't ever have to see it if you don't want to. But you'll want to see it because it looks a lot better than anything on 1.5. I don't go back to 1.5 often because it just doesn't look all that great after flying 2.0. Night and day difference.

So my mindset is that it doesn't matter what the location or theme of the map is, It's what you make of it and how you use your imagination. When I set up missions in NTTR, I'm usually thinking along the lines of the middle east. When I'm flying WWII planes and setting up missions, I pick light armor BTR80 or something like that to use as Panzer, Shermans, or Tiger substitutes as there are currently no WWII vehicles in DCS. But these issues never sway me from having a good time or using my imagination to set up scenarios. You work with what you got in this case. And truthfully.....I don't spend a ton of time staring at the object I am shooting, I am usually more focused on lining my plane up on them, or whatever to think too much about what they look like.

I'm not saying that you are wrong in your thinking, but in my opinion you are slighting yourself out of a whole lot of enjoyment by closing off NTTR.

 

Could you please elaborate on your comment about purchasing a server copy. I have never run a server and don't know if I understand what you are saying. If I am reading correctly, you are saying that you have to purchase a second copy of the map to run it on a server?

Edited April 27, 2017 by Zimmerdylan

[Zimmerdylan]

^ THIS

 

Unlike all other (cannot even think of an instance) games that have

multiplayer facilities , DCS World wants you to pay for content so you

can host game servers ..... which helps to promote their software????

Content that if you are hosting a dedicated (non playing client) will

not even use

 

Personally I think it is a bad idea, no one else does this (having the source code means they could choose NOT to do this but sadly do not)

 

I only hope that sometime soon they will see the light and reverse their decision

 

 

 

Could someone explain this to me please? I'm sorry but I'm not sure that I understand. You have to buy a second copy of the map to run it on a server????

[doodenkoff]

If I am reading correctly, you are saying that you have to purchase a second copy of the map to run it on a server?

 

It's possible to run a "server" from your personal pc. In that case, you would use the DCS installation and maps installed there, for both versions 1.5 and 2.0. For more robust performance, a dedicated computer--physically separate from your pc--is often used to run a mission as a "server". For 1.5 and Caucasus, it's all freely downloaded software. For 2.0, a separate purchase and keys are needed to run NTTR.

[wash_hoban]

Could someone explain this to me please? I'm sorry but I'm not sure that I understand. You have to buy a second copy of the map to run it on a server????

 

 

Yes if you want to host a "dedicated" server

By dedicated I mean running the game ONLY to host in multiplayer

for other to connect to

 

So to host NTTR (neveda) server for others to connect to you have to buy NTTR map .... or Normandy or Assets pack

 

NO ONE else out there does this, they allow you to host a game server WITHOUT having to buy the DLC for the server

[dabomb]

NO ONE else out there does this, they allow you to host a game server WITHOUT having to buy the DLC for the server

 

That's because ED doesn't have a true, dedicated server binary/.exe. (yet)

 

Right now, DCS World has no way to distinguish whether the box is hosting a "dedicated" server with no actual players on it vs. a player hosting a multiplayer session. Until they come out with a binary that can run *just* a dedicated server (and hopefully not require a DX11 compatible GPU), that's the way it has to be.

[Deezle]

Server owners also need to purchase a copy of Nevada for their server.

Probably the biggest reason right here. Nobody wants to purchase two copies to run a "dedicated" server and be able to play on it at the same time, and with true dedicated server functionality still nowhere close to being a priority, it's going to stay that way with any paid maps.

[Zimmerdylan]

Probably the biggest reason right here. Nobody wants to purchase two copies to run a "dedicated" server and be able to play on it at the same time, and with true dedicated server functionality still nowhere close to being a priority, it's going to stay that way with any paid maps.

 

 

Yeah....That explains a lot to me too. Now I get why the NTTR map has so few servers and 1.5 has so many. It seems counter intuitive.

[wash_hoban]

That's because ED doesn't have a true, dedicated server binary/.exe. (yet)

 

Right now, DCS World has no way to distinguish whether the box is hosting a "dedicated" server with no actual players on it vs. a player hosting a multiplayer session. Until they come out with a binary that can run *just* a dedicated server (and hopefully not require a DX11 compatible GPU), that's the way it has to be.

 

Yes I am painfully aware that after 8+ years they still have not given us a proper dedicated server

 

 

Errrrrr , they wrote the software so YES it can distingush

 

If host does not click on a plane slot it is a server

 

Pretty simple eh ?

 

Probably a few lines of code to implement this

 

Thats all that would have to be done to work out if it is a player or just a server hosting but not playing

 

A command line startup option of for example -server

 

could just lock any player slots and stop them being clicked on

[dabomb]

Errrrrr , they wrote the software so YES it can distingush

 

If host does not click on a plane slot it is a server

 

Perhaps I should worded it differently. Right now, DCS World does not incorporate a way to prohibit the host from also playing. How's that? Better? Jesus, the pedantry in these forums...