Messages

1

/dev/random / Re: The Christmas 2017 thread

« on: January 10, 2018, 07:50:42 AM »

Re: standing rib roasts

This is as close to foolproof as it gets; I have never had one turn out anything other than excellent using this method:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015803-beef-rib-roast

2

vanilla / Re: A Plea for More Balance on Vanilla

« on: June 05, 2017, 07:24:41 AM »

On second look, there are some real vanilla maps that real server-clearers that I think had been removed from the rotation at some point: mine1, jail 1, train, and space are the ones that spring immediately to mind.

It's a bit of an experiment, now that we've got the minclients capability.

For example, it will skip train unless there are 10 active players. I'm curious how that will work out. (If it still manages to clear a full server, then, we can remove it again. Same with maps like fact2, hangar2, etc.)

Sounds great--thanks!

3

vanilla / Re: A Plea for More Balance on Vanilla

« on: May 29, 2017, 06:02:10 AM »

OK, here's an attempt a new Vanilla rotation:

base1 base2 japang base3 stellar bunk1 ware1 ware2 aerowalk jail1 jail2 campcity jail3 hardange jail4 jail5 security campgrounds mintro mine1 mine2 ztn2dm3 mine3 mine4 fact1 tastydm2 fact2 corn2 power1 power2 frdm3 cool1 waste1 knuckledm1 waste2 ztn2dm2 waste3 biggun hangar1 corn3 hangar2 torment lab command strike rene24 city1 city2 dmpak2_3 city3 grunt boss1 boss2 train grom_dm3 fact3 space q2rdm13

This is the classic single player maps rotation, with a couple categories of custom maps interleaved:

Fallback maps for when player count is low: stellar aerowalk hardange campgrounds ztn2dm3 tastydm2 frdm3 ztn2dm2 torment rene24 grunt grom_dm3

Plus a few larger customs, if player count is high enough: japang campcity corn2 corn3 knuckledm1 dmpak2_3 q2rdm13

I guess we can see how this plays, in practice. (Feedback welcome.)

On second look, there are some real vanilla maps that real server-clearers that I think had been removed from the rotation at some point: mine1, jail 1, train, and space are the ones that spring immediately to mind.

Any chance of pulling those out for request only?

Thanks!

4

vanilla / Re: A Plea for More Balance on Vanilla

« on: May 28, 2017, 02:02:40 PM »

Thank you so much! I really like what you have come up with, and I hope it translates into more vanilla activity.

Also, thanks for clearing up my misconception re: "active" status.

And of course, thanks for all the hard work you put into providing a place for us all to play!

5

vanilla / A Plea for More Balance on Vanilla

« on: May 27, 2017, 10:28:05 AM »

I'm making this plea not just in my own interest but also in behalf of the regulars (what few are left) on vanilla.

I think it's fair to say that things a bit out of hand with the addition of maps to the rotation, to such an extent that vanilla maps--or those that were added way back when and could therefore be considered, on tastyspleen anyway, to be vanilla maps--are now in the minority on this server. I was just on there when the map changed to colour; I typed "nextmap" and saw that the next 10 (TEN!) maps--and possibly more, but 10 was all that was shown--were maps that have were added last year, presumably in the interest of making vanilla more attractive and to get some mutant maps a bit of exposure to players who might enjoy them but who don't know anything about them because mutant is for all intents and purposes dead.

The addition of these maps has done nothing to attract people to vanilla; indeed, I would argue that it has driven people away. And if you think about it, adding maps from mutant doesn't seem like a very good idea: few people play at mutant anymore, perhaps because of the maps? (I don't know, but there's some reason it is so underutilized.) I don't see how adding those maps (that people apparently don't want to play)--and other non-vanilla maps--would attract people to the (ahem) VANILLA server.

Another problem is the requirement for a certain number of active players for certain maps to come up. While I think it was a good effort to prevent very large maps from coming up when there few players on the server, it has further skewed the map rotation toward non-vanilla maps. Here's just one of many examples: The other day I was playing on vanilla with about five other players. I saw that an old favorite of mine, mine3 (yes, I know others hate it), was due up next. But when the map change came, it wasn't mine3 because there weren't enough "active" players (more on that in a sec). Which I guess would be okay but for the fact that the map that did come up (non-vanilla) was every bit as large, if not larger, than mine3.

About the "active" player requirement: I gather that "active" is defined as a player who has scored a frag in the past minute or two (I know it's something like that). That seems a bit harsh, especially for newbs like me, who might go several minutes without getting a frag, and I am hardly the sole newb on vanilla.  Also, it doesn't take into account a player who has just joined or who has had to step away from the game for a minute or two. As much as I appreciate the effort to prevent unsuitable maps from coming up, I would like to ask that the "active player" requirement be either done away with or modified to make it less draconian. And while I'm at it, I hasten to add I appreciate everything you do, even if it is merely to read this post and decide to blow it off. 

I have no problem with many of these maps; some have been a welcome addition. But could we perhaps relegate them to being available on request rather than being part of the rotation? Or at least some of them to restore more of a balance between vanilla and non-vanilla maps? (A poll would likely be in order here, though if such a poll were undertaken, greater weight should be given to vanilla regulars or former vanilla regulars. I must say that the people requesting the addition of those maps are scarcely to be seen on vanilla.) Again, I think adding that many "new" maps to the rotation has not had its intended effect--quite the contrary.

Failing that, could vanilla2 be set up be like the vanilla server of, say, 18 months ago, with the same map rotation, same maps available for mymapping, same time limit, same frag limit?

Finally, thanks again for all you do, and please feel free to ignore this request!

Cheers,

johnny

P.S. Sorry for the shitty composition/typos/etc. here, but I'm doing this on my phone on a truncated lunch hour!

6

Quake / Re: Open letter to Quake 2 fam (servers dying fast)

« on: December 13, 2016, 07:36:04 AM »

Thanks, quadz!

 

I love the DM server, but playing Q2DM1-8 can get boring fast. Would it out of the the question to add some of the vanilla server maps to the DM one? I noticed there is a group of regulars that play on the vanilla server but mostly during the daytime. Later in the day the vanilla server is empty with the exception of a few lurkers here and there. Would be nice to merge those vanilla server players with the
DM ones.

So it was discussed but never implemented and tested? Do the majority of DM players frequent the forums? I doubt it.. that's why I think an in-game voting system would be useful.

The DM server's original charter was to play DM1-8 maps only. The server was created because people specifically requested that configuration. And it became popular.

Of course, some players who frequent the server would prefer adding some custom maps. But others prefer it says DM1-8. It's indeed been discussed from multiple points of view over the years.

As a compromise, there are a number of custom maps available on the server, but WallFly spaces them out so that a minimum of five DM maps play between custom maps.

The current 'mymap' list for DM is: aerowalk bloodrun campgrounds dkshaft frdm3 fury grom_dm3 grunt hammer match1 ohmdm3 q2rdm13 rene24 rvndm1 tastydm2 torment trdm04a ven_dm2 ztn2dm2 ztn2dm3 ztn2dm4

I know some vanilla/campaign maps are not ideal for DM but a lot are great for it. Perhaps another possibility is a voting system for maps? One time I 'mymap'ed jail1 on the vanilla server and and few guys hated the map. I felt bad for picking it despite the fact that it was a popular DM map back in the day and still enjoyable (to me) today. But having a voting system would help avoid people clearing out a server.  Another example was when we played FACT3 and there were too many players for such a small map according to some guys which pissed them off.

These days, WallFly skips playing some larger maps if it can't detect enough active players on the server. This was mainly added to help stop some maps from emptying out the server.

On the other hand, two days ago we were like 8 ppl playing in vanilla, and after few maps  Q2dm4 came, and suddenly the server got empty! I think im not the only one voting to remove the q2dm maps from vanilla rotation.. everyone complains about it there.

And yeah , the only q2dm map the vanilla server should have on rotation is q2dm8 IMHO..  Hehe

I suspect it might be fine to remove the DM maps from the default vanilla rotation.

Done.

(They're still available via 'mymap'.)


Regards,

quadz

7

/dev/random / Re: Lava hopping, the new craze?

« on: December 17, 2012, 11:39:08 AM »

It is at least as fun as "hu-hu-hu-ing"!

8

/dev/random / Re: shame shame shame

« on: July 28, 2011, 05:42:01 AM »

I could say it to your face anyways bitch
you dont even know how i be in reality
i hustle, i carry heat, not no internet-gangster or a reality one
its just the ghetto thats the way it is
so think again before i bust your shit up wide open you punk

Don't know about the rest of you, but I'm quivering in terror.

9

/dev/random / Re: insane baseball catch

« on: May 18, 2011, 07:05:30 AM »

Any other experienced ball players in our community to reply to this ?

Yes, right here. 

I played for many, many years, first baseball and then softball (but I'm not sure what that has to do with this being fake or real). I'm also an inveterate skeptic, so when I see something like this, which looks as suspiciously amazing as the "amazing ballgirl catch" from a couple of years ago, so I start poking around to find out rather than relying solely on my impression.

It's fake, and indeed as Reflex says, it was done by Gillette  and indeed is apparently part of the same series of ads as the amazing ballgirl catch. Funny thing about the latter: people were posting it like mad on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, usually with a caption like "Girl Power" or "This makes me proud to be a woman" or some such. Apparently we now have the same memory capacity that goldfish are reputed to have.

10

Jokes / Re: funny names

« on: January 14, 2011, 11:42:13 AM »

I always get a kick out of names that form simple sentences. For example, there was such a name in the paper here the other day: Matt Smelser.

11

tastyspleen.net / Re: lame vanilla maps

« on: January 06, 2011, 07:51:44 AM »

Well.... what the hell... train and space are removed from the rotation now (but still in mymap.)

Huzzah for you!

Thanks!!

12

/dev/random / Re: Ghost Hunting

« on: May 18, 2010, 06:37:47 PM »

Occam's razor:

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/occam.html

Applied in this case, since the "orbs" can be explained  by lens flare and other  optical phenomena that are easily reproducible, then that is the most likely explanation, as opposed to the one involving metaphysics and the vagaries of human psychology (referring to the "creeped out" feeling here).

Plenty of debunking info can be found at www.randi.org. A good starting point would be to type "orbs,"  "lens flare," or simply "ghosts" into that site's search engine.

13

vanilla / Re: Major glitch on vanilla.. WEIRD!

« on: May 10, 2010, 10:53:36 AM »

This same thing happened to me a few months back when playing security on vanilla. Very strange--wish I could repeat it. 

14

/dev/random / Re: The last movie you saw....

« on: December 17, 2009, 03:36:34 PM »

The Road.

I was stunned that it wasn't destroyed by Hollywood b.s.--they stuck pretty faithfully to the book. In fact, I can't think of anything they soft-pedalled or altered, really, though it's been a couple of years since I read it.

But there's no way that any movie could reproduce the horrific images seared into my mind by the book, so in that respect I found it wanting through no fault of its own.

I actually think people who haven't read the book might enjoy (if that's even the word for such a bleak film) it more than those who have.

15

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha listening to?

« on: June 19, 2009, 01:38:06 PM »

Wow, Robin Trower!

Takes me back to early stoner days in the late 70s. Thanks for the memories! 

pretty random playlist tonight

Little Child Runnin' Wild (LP Version) - Curtis Mayfield
Freddie's Dead (Theme From 'Superfly') - Curtis Mayfield
God Save The Queen (Album Version) - Sex Pistols
The Guns Of Brixton - The Clash
London Calling - The Clash
Peek-A-Boo - Siouxsie And The Banshees
Southern Man (Album Version) - Neil Young
Valentine - Justice
Caledonia (2008 Digital Remaster) - Robin Trower
A Song For Our Fathers - Explosions In The Sky
Someone Else's Tomorrow - Patty Griffin
This Godless Endeavor - Nevermore
The Queen's Rebuke / The Crossing - The Decemberists
Hang You From The Heavens (Album Version) - The Dead Weather
Personal Jesus (Remastered Version) - Depeche Mode