Hi all,
I know that there are a fair few PC gamers on here, and DJNY and I were discussing if it would be viable to set up a LPF gaming server. The poll is self-explanatory. Ideally we would rent a small server for Source-based games (maybe one evening of L4D, one for CS:S, another for HL Deathmatch and so on, or maybe a few games at a time), but any servers that run on a Linux platform would be fine. The aim of this is to provide a fast server for all the members on here, and offer a place for us to unwind and get to know each other as a community.

If you are interested, I'd like to know your ping times to bluesquaredata.com (UK-based datacenter, but not far from the fiber link to the US, so ping times should be reasonable for most members worldwide). If ping times are too high for many members then we can try for a better location instead.

To find out this time, if you don't already know how (I'm guessing that, if you don't know how, you'll be using XP, Vista or Win7):
Go Start -> (run if on XP, if not then just type in the search box) -> type "cmd" then hit enter. A black box should appear. Type "ping bluesquaredata.com" and hit enter. The ping time will be given at the end, it will be a value in milliseconds (ms) - there should be a Minimum, Maximum, and Average value. Average is the one you want on most occasions.


The greater the interest, the better the server can be. To run a decent server in Blue Square, then I'd need about 6-8 donations of $5 per month to cover hosting costs, depending on the number of users we'd have. That would have 384 to 512mb ram and 2 IPs (2 Source-based games simultaneously if necessary) - I'd guess that would allow us to have about 24 players concurrently across the 2 games.


NOTE: Any proceeds after the monthly costs were met would go straight to Avery, or saved in case donations dry up, unless people consider it fair that I take a proportion for the time and effort involved. This is not aimed to generate profit - the best server will be chosen given the funds available, with any excess distributed as we decide. This is not directly affiliated with LPF in any way, other than the shared userbase.

Please tick ALL the options that apply to you - I'd also welcome any other comments or questions, along with ping times below!

is there a site tool for ping? would be fine for me anyway since im in uk and site loads ~instantly. i'd donate 10$ a month if the server was good quality. i'd also suggest considering TF2 and killing floor, some of my favourite games at the moment. L4D is a good idea, which one though? i think more people will have the first 1, i like it more than second personally.

ping 36m/s
start --> cmd --> type in ping bluesquaredata.com --> wait for the time and tell us

To work out the ping times, go Start -> (run if on XP, if not then just type in the search box) -> type "cmd" then hit enter. A black box should appear. Type "ping bluesquaredata.com" and hit enter. The ping time will be given at the end, it will be a value in milliseconds (ms) - there should be a Minimum, Maximum, and Average value. Average is the one you want on most occasions.

If the maintenance and upkeep of the server takes a significant amount of time and effort on my part, would anyone object to me taking a percentage of any excess money, with the rest going to Avery in donations, and/or kept for a "rainy day" when donations are slower?

Over the summer my time is spare so I can afford to do stuff like this in my own time, but in school term-time I'll have less free time so maintenance may take longer (when and where necessary). Operation of this can also be split between a couple of technically minded people, if you're familiar with Linux and server technology.

The only thing I dont like about the idea is virus uploads. Is there a way to guard against this?

45ms
it might be a good idea to have the server quality as first priority in terms of donations, if the quality may be affected by investing a smaller percentage of the donations in it. but yeah your main idea in moderation sounds fine to me

No user uploads would be used - we would be playing "vanilla" files straight from Valve without any custom skins, modifications (except for admin plugins or game modes) or executables. Any files at risk of infection would be read-only, and served straight from the game server, which is kept secure. As far as I know there are no major issues playing this way, as long as you trust the file source - the only file source would be the game server.

EDIT: Your signature gave me a good chuckle, Google Translate can't do irony it seems

I can probably get it hosted for free.

If you could definitely do that, then that would be very useful indeed. Care to share any details?

My friend owns purgehosting.com i can probably ask him.

I believe i got a rune server still on... lol been a while since i ever played.

You should also do a poll for other games such as bc2, tf2, cod4 would be awesome everyone loves the classics. Also a mw2 private lobby of mike myers or snipe only and other modes would probably be good. (just turn off your hacks please)

Lane

TF2 is run on Source and I would be able to do the other games you mentioned provided they run on Linux. We can poll the specific game(s) chosen once we've worked out if there is definitely enough interest.

I'd be happy to pitch in more if we had a nice cod4 server going. Also a ventrillo server would be needed so we can communicate cross game. If we made it a private server and started out with 10 slots 7.90 and have it were if you payed for .79 a month then you had a gauranteed spot in the server so there would be more incentive to donate.
Lane

cod2 is so much better than cod4, at least everyone i know who plays them both agrees. if you havent tried it you should.

I guess I might have to try it then.
Lane

If you could ask him then that would be good - it looks like his site is geared towards webhosting, but if he has hosted an RSPS for you before then I guess he may be able to help out.

I haven't played much CoD4 (don't have a copy, never played online) but if there's demand for it then I can probably pick a copy up. I thought Source-based games would be slightly more popular based on what I've heard discussed on the forum, but we can see, depending on how much interest there is in general, and whether or not Ranged's friend can help.

I've played CoD4 SP but never CoD2 or MP on either. I used to be into counter-strike but over the last year I haven't been playing as much as I used to. I'm sure I could pick the hobby up again though

It's funny now everyone plays the older games on PC, because of all the hackers which is why it would be fun to play hack infested games in a private match.
All of the hackers finally migrated to mw2 and bc2 and have stopped getting banned on cod 4 . Also with the source games do you guys plan on getting a vent server as there will be no way to communicate cross game. (unless steam)
Happy gaming,
Lane

Ventrilo and Teamspeak are a pain because of licensing agreements, especially when Steam, MSN and in-game chat are available, but they are also an option to consider.

Vent requires non-profit, and limit of 8 concurrent users.
Teamspeak requires non-profit unless registered (IDK if free or not) with 1k user limit.

What do you mean by non-profit? All you do is pay for a server and you can have as many as you pay for.
Lane

I meant if we were hosting the Ventrilo server on our own machine. If we rented an external Vent server then obviously we avoid those issues.

So far, it doesn't look like there's a huge amount of interest - if there are enough people who say that they'd be committed in a few days time, we can open a second thread to discuss games, donation information, whether or not we use Vent/TS, and where the best hosting location is for everyone involved, and eventually we can get the ball rolling on this, so to speak.

EDIT: Post 1400!

People should need some time until the Arctic hype is over

YES! This is an awesome idea! I'd definately play on the servers, even donate a little.

Also, need a server in Team fortress 2! I know a few LPF'ers that plays it, and it's a great game. Much ratherTF2 than L4D f.ex. (L4D doesn't even work for me, can only connect to servers 5% of the time, and if I do get in, I time out within a minute..)

Also: an idea to get more donaters: Every LPF member (or vet?) that donates regularly can have mod powers on the servers.

Hmm...regularly donate and I can troll the server. Might be worth it.

I have a ping of 30m/s

I don't play very often and the only games I play online are COD: MW1&2 and CS:S

I got 94m/s I dont get it, I have a 54mb connection.