10% of maps being played 90% of time

[riidom]

Part of the problem is the voting system, I think.
If you take your time to think about a good map, it often happens that someone came up with a default vote (insta-bb dutility, insta ghost, team-jet-arena center etc) that gains the required number of clicks and that's it.

There could be a creation phase, maybe 30 seconds, where no voting is allowed and just suggestions are created. The F2 menu spawns for every player, and there is a "I dont want to create a vote" button as well. If each player has reacted by either "I'm not making a vote" or putting up some, or the time limit is reached, it goes to voting phase, that is maybe 5 seconds or so. If a vote passes, it doesnt get executed immediately, but maybe highlighted and a countdown goes from 3 to 1. That is more for the smooth feeling, since screens zap around a bit too harsh for my taste in general.

(Same countdown could also appear when a vote gets accepted during gameplay, echoed in chat, so people playing dont get confronted with a loading screen while in battle - if it is an ingame vote, the countdown could start at 10. But that is not exactly the topic here.)

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A single vote must contain at least three maps - people pick one of these maps then. Not sure if this actually helps, but I guess people will pick the map they actually wanna play plus two more or less random ones. Also, the order of the maps should be randomized, when it displays in F3 menu, so people dont just assume "pick first one always".

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The less people have to take care about gamemode and mutators, the more time they have to think about maps, so there could be a list of "favorite presets". And yes, I know probably one can script it somehow and set a nifty cfg up for that, but that is not the point imo. Players care up to a certain point for these things, and then it gets just too much. So, I think there should be a default list of gamemode/mutator combinations provided, plus an option to add own ones. The default list can be created by harvesting server info, what people actually play, so it is a true "most popular" list, or just a handcrafted "developer's choice", or by forum poll or however.
(I might clarify my point on the cfg and vars - I mean, the mass of people playing dont really dive into that, and if there should be something available to the "usual player" who enjoys fragging more than bringing up the console, it needs to be presented in a GUI-way)


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ok, 3 suggestions to start it, feel free to add more, discuss existing ones, dont feel free to troll or get off-topic

[Ulukai]

I like the first suggestion the most. It doesn't change the system people are familiar with too much. Randomizing the order of votes is a good idea as well.

[ballist1c]

I like the first suggestion the most. It doesn't change the system people are familiar with too much. Randomizing the order of votes is a good idea as well.

+1

I'm sick and tired of ghost, center, and echo OVER and OVER again. Why not bath, tower, and canals for a change? I don't know. Maybe this system can help.

[Spiney]

Seems like the ideal time to band together and form Occupy Red Eclipse!

[TristamK]

Ruby.

will be a better if it will writed on cubescript i think... or this code can work with server ? 0_0

[TristamK]

Pk , this mean that you can use also a different variable settings (i am about some my mods)?

[Barsook]

Is possible to add a code where you disable voting for the map but not the mode, in order for people just focus on what mode they want to play for that map/round? Or this for another topic?

Edited to add: Or have an option where you loop through the maps (either random or in order) and just vote on the mode. I think I have seen this used in the game F.E.A.R. (just with looping maps).

Edited to clarify: Of course the maps will be based on the modes.

[ballist1c]

There is an option to have the server automatically choose maps from a set number of maps/modes/muts; used on the Insta FFA server.

[Barsook]

Okay, so it's a sever option but it's used in all of the severs? If so, maybe add a code that prevents one map used more than once per hour. Or is that used too?

[ballist1c]

Okay, so it's a sever option but it's used in all of the severs? If so, maybe add a code that prevents one map used more than once per hour. Or is that used too?

It is only used on the Insta FFA server AFAIK and it is the only one which uses it; using this option means players cannot cast votes at the end of a match though. There is no code that exists that prevents repeated maps however this rarely happens, and if the script is nessecary we have quite a few who know CS and would be willing to do it

[Barsook]

Okay, I see now. I guess it's on the wishlist already?

[qreeves]

Okay, I've fixed this as of r4335.

[Barsook]

Also, can you also add a way to sort out the maps by size? Some of the maps are meant for bomber-ball and the two flag modes rather than for a plain old deathmatch. I feel like playing deathmacthes on the smaller ones causes some chaos and it seems that most of the fight gets spent on one side of the map. I want to suggest a system to sort the maps out like in Nexuiz and lengthening the voting time or have it two stages: the first stage is to vote on what mode and the second on what map.

Edited to add: This could be a voting mode if the players care about what map they want to play on. Or you just have them to vote on the mode and the map will be random.

Edited to add #2: riidom's way could work for this too. The first one with the creation stage.

Edited to add #3: I see a problem with this idea. The sever owners need to figure what type of voting system they need for their sever. Or this can be decided by the players before each game with a option to vote for the kind of system.