=VG= SemlerPDX
-
Posts
4,848 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Downloads
Gallery
Articles
AVCS Bug Reports (automated)
AVCS Bug Reports (manual)
VG Wiki
Blogs
Store
Everything posted by =VG= SemlerPDX
-
again, it's not only about recruits - it's not even 50% about recruits - more like 30%. There are players and player cliques run amok when no admins online, etc. and I have little energy to list the ways regular players dick with the server when they think no admins are online - you all know. etc. etc. etc.
-
Then get that private list of admins from TEDF, don't share it, learn who the names are, and be cool - don't rely on the !admins command to tell you who is online, check your in-game player list, know who is who. Also, an undercover admin would not fall under any category that you'd have to worry about - they'd appear blue, the actual person may or may not be in ts3 with their regular name, they'd likely be among other regular players, and it would be a rare occasion if they were even there. It's not an everyday practice (or is it?!?!?!?) j/k - couldn't help myself. Hope you understand why we need this tool, if you need anything just ask.
-
For starters, it is not only about policing the police -- at times, a Head Admin may need to investigate issues of players behaviors on the server when no admins are present, and to do so at times when another admin may pop on as well, while the other is checking out some issue, he may wish to remain hidden for such reasons. There are times when we have dealt with issues regarding admins by not removing them, but by helping them to be better admins - if we kicked good admins who were making mistakes or still learning the best ways to admin, we'd never have any good admins around. We want to provide all you awesome PR Admins with all the tools you need to do your task properly. As it has been stated, the admins who have been around awhile know who each other are. There was a time when certain people even knew certain other people's aliases, some of these people have come and gone over the years - but this is a system that has worked before, and again I do not mind if you recriminate me over the idea of keeping this one command offline. I have tried to make sure you can get a list of admins if you wish, so you can again have all the tools you need to do the great deeds you all do - and I hope you understand no one is peering at good people through a microscope, watching their every little tic and judging them. That is the last thing any of us want to do, but the tools exist if we have to, and that is what we need in our toolbox to do our dirty deeds. On a personal note, the higher up the responsibility chain ya go, the more painful and heavy the tasks become - they are done with grumbles and procrastination and double and triple checking the options because managing brother on brother issues or accusations against our brothers is something we all hate. I'd rather deal with obvious or even mistaken in-game infractions like kicking or banning a teamkiller any day of the week - but I also have a passion and drive to do what I do, so I do what I do, and I hope you can understand why we need this tool in our toolbox, and I hope the compromise with the private admin list on request is enough to keep your toolbox's filled with what you need to do what you do.
-
Double_13 brought up the idea of using identifiers in TeamSpeak to show who PR Admins are so players can know who to message if there is a problem, instead of going to any channel with a VG Tag TS3 client - good for discussion, the only counter point I had was that it again singled out people in TS3 (some of these guys who cant' get an admin get downright ANGRY!) and it could end up that AFK PR Admins in TS3 might get a lot of grief (read: multiple pokes and messages) over an incident while they are away at lunch, for example.
-
No. This is for Head Admins to monitor their "staff" - - including specific server managers such as TEDF et al.
-
TEDF made some good points about why it should remain private, so any admins who need to see that list, please keep it safe and private, do not share it with anyone so as to not single out admins to players. Again using the "police" analogy, off duty cop's do not advertise that they are indeed off duty cops - not that our admins are off duty when they play - but player admins moreso than VG PR Admins don't need to be needlessly singled out or named on a public list. Thanks for understanding!
-
I am the one who asked for that command to remain off. Feel free to throw your hate at me. I would be more than happy to provide a public list of names of all our PR Admins -- this would resolve 90% of the issues posted above. I will speak with TEDF about it, and get a list up very soon. But I am not willing to make the !admins command available to all at this time. Without any measure to "police the police" we could easily be screwed by an admin (we have many non-VG Admins in PR) having his way when we are not online, causing serious trust issues between PR Admins and the public. It has happened before, it will happen again, and this is our only way to ensure that VG is protected at all times. For players and admins alike to assume that any random "blueberry" player is actually a VG Head Admin undercover, watching players and admins alike to see how things flow, is an indispensable tool that we cannot ignore. I cannot think of a better way to safeguard against a "wolf in sheeps clothing" or to enforce integrity.
-
Issues getting on and staying on the minecraft server
=VG= SemlerPDX replied to =VG= Renainn's topic in Minecraft
CCCode may be able to make sense of that. I should really sit down with you sometime in a teamviewer session where I can move your mouse while you watch and we can try to find maybe something that was overlooked. Wish I could help more **Poke me in TS3 next time you see me, I'll drop what I'm doing and we'll do a teamviewer session and troubleshoot your error together. 2 heads better than 1 -
Thanks to much effort from Brakegamer, we are currently testing the standalone game called "Insurgency", found on steam for around $10. The server is currently set to COOP mode with the standard maximum of 8 human players vs. 24 bots -- we are still working with different configuration options and settings, but for now the server is up and open to the Public. During this test, which may last until next weekend, we have shut down the Arma 2 Insurgency COOP server to use it's CPU cores for the test. Once we have a baseline for the server's CPU usage, we will find a place on the server for it to persist and we will turn the A2 Insurgency server back on. I still have some challenges to get the server accessible to admins through TCAdmin, I'm using a batch file to launch it at present, so the server may have periods of downtime as I continue to configure it - but I will be in the TS3 Insurgency Standalone channel when this is happening, and will inform all players there before I begin, and I don't mind waiting until the end of a game to do so. Standard VG Game Server rules apply, as applicable - we don't expect much traffic on this test server, but don't push the boundaries of acceptable gameplay as we are testing, you won't last long here if you do. VG Arma 2 Insurgency Server is Back Online
-
*inflammatory or 'peanut gallery' posts have and will be deleted.
-
Bad server rep and Lack of communication
=VG= SemlerPDX replied to =VG= Acro1's topic in General Forum
For the record, I am working on an area of the server, not PR, still waiting for help from others to fix Mumble -- but wanted to add that as I am working with the server I see the PR service running that server using between 3% and 5% total CPU usage, and it's on it's own CPU core, player count is 28 of 40 at the time of this writing. Hardware is more than sufficient for PR, and did not even stutter during my installation of another separate server. -
um... it's right here -- it's in the rules list, it's not new, I remember writing that rule, years ago. Don't try to come in here telling me what is and is not on our rule list. Also, improper use of assets applies to Choppers, too -- and applies to asset waste. I was not there, I only have the reports to go by, but if you operate that CAS Chopper the way you operate mortars, as an attack asset instead of a support asset, I can see how the admin(s) deemed you as wasting assets. This is a cooperation server, not a "solo the CAS for max points" server. If you or your pilot require additional training to operate that aircraft, you must do so offline or somewhere other than this server. This is not a training server.
-
The missing details are mentioned in another post here: Good server - bad PR software The company we are currently with is one of those that offer the greatest uptime and specs for the most reasonable price (less than $100 US monthly) -- and we also would experience wait times with a fully managed server which would cost tons more. But I will be minimizing the tech support wait times on our own server for certain things as I am able since some of the others are less available than I am at present. I will learn what I have to, at times even I will have to wait for a reply to a question from one of the others, or learn it myself online, which will take time -- time I am willing to devote to VG to keep the power in our hands to run our own servers and to do so in a fiscally responsible manner at the same time. *also, we are not overloading our available CPU cores, though we cannot open any other servers if we want to keep respecting that capacity. PR has it's own dedicated cores on the i7 - and the rest of the server does not run near 100%. The new server we will eventually get from the same company (intel Skylake CPU, same price/month!!) will increase that capacity, but cannot be expected to fix bugs or issues within the PR software itself. Stability issues are noted to be software (PR) and not server hardware. Please don't confuse the two, it's a common mistake. No worries. I've just returned from a week vacation, and it is one of those times when one realizes how much they actually do - several areas of VG needed some love. And I love VG, so I'll be doing more and more. But I cannot fix core engine code issues in PR COOP -- again, read that other post linked above. Thx
-
Bad server rep and Lack of communication
=VG= SemlerPDX replied to =VG= Acro1's topic in General Forum
I usually keep things running in the background, and often do not tell people when server population is zero and a restart is needed. Or I may cause TS3 to go down for several minutes or restart a few times in a row as was the case today: I had no idea it would happen, I understand why it happened, and I set things up so it doesn't happen again when I go to do server maintenance. The PR Mumble issue was not resolved in my efforts today and I will be contacting Poff and Savage to help this weekend. The server itself is as stable as the maps that the admins run -- as I understand it, running maps not in the official rotation will cause trouble, also, certain maps cause trouble period. I have not had any reports of the server crashing each time it gets to the second map, that is news to me. If it is still happening, it's something we can fix -- if it was a past occurrence, it was likely resolved. I just got back from a week vacation in the mountains. The PR server was down and TCAdmin had an issue possibly causing it. It was no minor issue, hence me being the only one able to fix it fast. I did, things are running now (except the aforementioned Mumble, which will get fixed this weekend). We are not yet working on a more stable server, and we will announce it when we do, hence the lack of reports on that. It has not happened yet. The PR Server is not being worked on, or we would post in the forums. It is experiencing the same level of crashes that PR COOP always enjoys, it itself being the unstable element -- it's a software issue, not a hardware issue. Most of the time, we are running the BF2 PR COOP Mod at it's peak level and crashes are a result of minor issues inside the game that happen at random times, such as a bot picking up the wrong kit and BOOM... server crash. Now, it is setup to restart itself in most cases, and in other cases, a restart through the TCAdmin panel (which many PR admins have access to) resolves it. These cannot be avoided, it's a PR code issue. When TCAdmin is not responsive as was the issue yesterday, of course it's going to need to be addressed first. And of course, once it was resolved the server came back online as always. In the end, PR is no more or less stable than most any software, and we are running it as best as it can be run - there is little we could do to fix core engine issues in PR that cause these instabilities. Finally, I post up in the chatbox (where crash reports often appear first) once the server is restarted in these cases as a reply. When I am visible in TS3, I am available to poke - this is the fastest way to get my attention, if I am away or AFK, I will see the poke when I return and immediately address it. As the others are busier lately, I will be stepping up to help with the technical support around here more often, and I want people to feel free to contact me if something needs fixing. Thanks! -
There is a tanker dedicated to the server - it's package number changes when I restart the server to a different save file. Currently, it is package 2208. Deleting it may have unknown consequences.
-
Self defense and target practice - no hunting in designated camping areas and vice versa. Went up to the gravel pit for target shooting with the Glock as well as my 45 Colt Henry Repeater, the Mossberg 500A 12g and the little S&W .38 hammerless backup (model 642-2). Lost a $20 magazine... I thought one of my 6 Glock mags fell under the passenger seat in my car, packed to the roof with gear and impossible to retrieve, but it must have fell under the car. Oh well. (dammit!) Went through several hundred rounds, tons of fun. The .38 special needs some work tho, trigger pull is way too heavy but is likely because it's a hammerless J-Frame revolver designed to come out of a pocket, not a holster, and the heavy trigger pull may be for safety. Since I have an inside-the-pants concealment holster for it, I'm thinking of taking it to a gun smith and having them give it more of a hair trigger. With a 1.8 inch barrel, round can be far off target with just a little sway in that heavy ass trigger pull (not that this thing is meant to hit something farther than you can spit, but still... accuracy is important). -
Automatic recording of rounds on BASED EU server
=VG= SemlerPDX replied to =VG= keed's topic in PR Deployment
Looks like it will be available to the public later this year. If it's not PR Prism based, we'll likely be able to run it. Prism did lag the hell out of the server, way too many checks to be usable. Reminds me of the LoS mod for Arma to make the bots not see through bushes and the one that worked on Suppression -- every single bullet had checks, could grind the server to a halt firing a mini-gun off a HMMWV. Will def keep an eye on this one. Very cool! -
I'm here, too. I'll be doing what I can to catch up and help out with these things. I am rusty, but as these guys are a bit busier with life right now, I will dedicate my time to learn what I need to in order to help maintain the health of the server. Don't change the server to some other system or even I won't be able to help. I've resolved the issues with the PR Server and the TCAdmin web panel. Please keep things as they are - the server is powerful, affordable, and stable - and I will step up and help with tech support.
-
Here's a few more pics from the trip:
-
Back from camping for a week on the Upper Clackamas River in Mt. Hood Nat'l Forest here in Oregon. Got our old spot, used to camp there all summer long - was like coming home again. Weather was good, 2 days of light rain, all in all, great trip. My 2nd cousin John is 75 now, still whips my ass at dominos and backgammon (actually we play acey deucey) -- and still hikes like a mountain goat!
© SemlerPDX
-
holy shit is right! wow!
-
I wish I knew what to say -- I have no idea how this works normally, I assume it works just the way you are trying... then again, could it be that we aren't able to frag Tankers and stuck with rendezvous at the location of one of the AI Tankers already in the air? If anyone knows how we can fix or adjust this, please advise. Thanks!
-
On the subject, I know I'm not the only one using VoiceAttack for my AI comms - I may be one of the first to use the new "wildcards" that allow any sentence ending with "*request picture;*requesting picture" for example - but this past time, before the stream I did a few hours of testing and found that "recording" the keystroke actions made VA control BMS just fine it seemed... then when I was flying the 2nd and 3rd missions, VA was trying to send the macro or command T pause 1 pause 1 or just Numpad1 and not only did the commands not go through, but the Windows focus was changed from BMS to ??? Any pointers are greatly appreciated, this one bit of troubleshooting makes me pull out my hair!! If I had this much trouble with other games (Elite Dangerous for example) I'd have never started relying so heavily on VA. Hell, my Modules Menu Control for ED in VA is over 20 functional controls linked to as many commands, some menu trees near 400 lines in notepad++, and they all work exactly as I wrote them, just like a small program. But BMS and VA do not play nicely on my machine! Of course, I play in a sort of "borderless windowed mode" the way I have cockpit display extraction active, the Main window is just a window made to fit on the first monitor, unlike any game in my library (except perhaps DCS). Again, any tips are more than welcome, even if I may have tried them, no worries.
-
I need a little practice, I was going to make BMS a weekend stream thing, maybe Fridays and Saturdays, but after some of the technical issues I had and some of the tumbleweed issues ( ) I'm gonna do a wee bit more offline re-training before next weekend. I may not have shown it in the video, Cobalt says he didn't notice anything, but I was STEAMING on the inside. I can do better. I feel like no experienced BMS pilots would enjoy watching me flounder in the air each week, and any new players might pick up bad habits -- lol! Only ways to counter the couple issues I had... "practice, practice, practice". At least offline, no one else is waiting on me and I can pause and read a line from the manual as needed. Luckily, the training materials and missions are well made enough that I often "remember" something after going over it again and don't need to refer to the Dash1 and Dash34, just gotta go through the motions once more to refresh. Thanks for your interest! I can't wait to do this again (with less tumbleweed).... (and in the stream I used "furball" twice when I meant "tumbleweed"... i even need to brush up on my brevity lol )
-
Cool video - I like the spectator cam idea for the event!
