Distension discussion

[Viruk]

Uh, running the bot for one session without a recycle doesn't mean that he fixed the recycle problem.

Good point.

But isn't testing it when it is populated the only way we can ever prove it works? Surely the more we test it after a bot death (without a recycle) the better an idea qan will have on how much to tweak it and the faster we will get a reasonably safe, stable and fun Distension with minimal disruption to the rest of the zone?

Making it so the bot suicides to prevent a server recycle seems more than just another small fix to me. I would hope that qan tweaks it cautiously and we have plenty of testing time to see whether it works.

I see no better time to test it than the normal scheduled Distension times when there are most likely to be enough players around willing to help test it. Any really critical events can then be scheduled around it just in case it does cause a recycle.

Comparing the mostly lacklustre basing in the timed pub game with even the most underwhelming recent Distension game has only strengthened my conviction that even a flawed Distension is still worth playing. It makes sense to try and make the best use of an unstable but fun bot if the server is safe.

[Stabwound]

You're talking like I haven't been trying to run it. For the past few days I have been trying to run it during peak hours, and the bot continues to die moments after being loaded, and it just did it again. What the bot is supposed to do is kick itself offline after not receiving data for what I believe is currently set for 2.5 seconds (easily changeable by qan), but there is apparently too much server load during this time of the day and the bot boots itself right away, or within a few minutes at most.

I wish I had access to change this setting, because it takes all of 15 seconds to do, yet only people with twcore access can modify it. Maybe qan could make it into a bot command, which would make this a lot easier to test.

[Stabwound]

Note: this post is just for linking to for a MessageBot announcement.

We're currently testing Distension with an update made by qan, and so it is not running on any regular schedule at this point.

Which this update is meant to do is kick the bot offline if it's lagging, instead of sending all packets at once after the lag ends, which is what has been causing recycles. The amount of time the bot can lag before disconnecting is based on a config setting, and unfortunately it's quite fickle and has been kicking the bot offline quickly. It will take some trial and error before we can find exactly which setting will work best to keep the game running and also prevent recycles, which means the game will be run sporadically as currently only qan can change this setting.

Thanks for your patience. Well, most of you, anyway. :fear:

[Stabwound]

Third post in a row? Sure.

Anyway, qan updated the bot so that Ops can change the setting that dictates how long the bot will go without receiving data before disconnecting, which means we don't have to wait for him to change it.

Thanks to this update, Distension will be running daily at 9pm EST for testing. It might be kind of clunky at first, but hopefully we can find a setting that works. I'm sorry if this time doesn't work well for you, but if you've been to the earlier sessions you know that hardly anyone shows up to them.

Anyway, see you there.

[Peace_Maker]

Will it auto-save before going offline? I hope so.

[TagMor]

Funny how quickly interest in distension has declined..
It kept high numbers all through Beta, I would have thought even more people would be wanting to participate since it has been public. This atleast seemed the case when HMS was Mod and numbers continued to grow dispite technical problems... Maybe it is due to the incompetent Mod, namely: Stabwound.



Look I made a nerd-friendly graph so you can all see for yourselves.

[Stabwound]

Will it auto-save before going offline? I hope so.

No.

And Tagmor, yes, I know that you getting banned twice for breaking the rules makes me quite the abuser, but could you please go swim in some stingray infested waters? I'd appreciate it.

[roxxkatt]

yes, tagmor was banned twice.

good thing everyone who did the exact same thing werent banned, right?

[D1st0rt]

Keep up the good work, Stab

[Liquid Blue]

Uh, running the bot for one session without a recycle doesn't mean that he fixed the recycle problem. You play Distension enough to know that it doesn't recycle every single time it runs, not to mention the countless times qan has unsuccessfully tried to fix the problem with a solution that was supposed to fix it for good.

Frankly, I'm pretty annoyed by the whining and complaining about how I haven't been running the game lately. I'm sorry, but it would be irresponsible to just keep running it when it's been causing server recycles so often lately. You guys know how many times it's recycled, yet we continued to run it in hopes that it was a fluke, or that qan's small fixes would remedy it, but this was never the case. No matter what you think, the fact is that it's completely unacceptable to have a single subarena disrupt the rest of the zone.

glad to see this, hope it turns out for the best Stabwound!

[Jeenyuss]

hmm, tagmor, i'm not sure that popularity has went downhill because of stab. i've played a couple times in the past few months or so, but it hasn't seemed that bad. i played in the beta all the god damn time, and then quit before the full release. why? i got bored of it, as i'm sure plenty of other people did. it's a fun event for every now and then but it's just not my thing and i think the test of time proved that more than anything.

[Stabwound]

I think the biggest problem is that the game has been run too much. 4 hours a day, 7 days a week is a lot of time. Distension isn't really a game you can play forever; anyone that's played Distension daily has reached the limit of how far they can upgrade their ship in any reasonable amount of time. Having to play for 2 weeks to gain +1 energy isn't very appealing. During beta there was a 9x RP multiplier, which means it was much faster going than it is now. Even if you were rank 60 you could still gain another rank within a few hours rather than a few weeks. Maybe the game would have been better suited for long-term play if the rank limit was much higher, but gave much smaller amounts of UP per rank and less energy/recharge per level.

[dako]

Stingrays are actually quite gentle animals. I found one that didn't have a tail the other day while in the ocean and I named it "TagMor". It swam in circles, didn't really do much of anything, and seemed to only confuse/frustrate. the other stingrays that concerned itself with it.

Anyways. Distension doesn't get enough for a 2 base game anymore

Is there any chance we could get a couple ads / weekend event slot? Maybe do something like host trivia / acro while distension goes on with a robobot in the arena? Exposure is the key. That and banning all of the assholes who drive the new guys away

[Lizard Fuel]

Considering 95% of the problems we are having with Distension now were not issues in Beta....I say we put this BACK into beta, and everything that goes with BETA status. I'll try my best to recall how it used to be...

Beta Multiplier...This grind totally blows....Would also allow lowbies to catch up rather quickly...instead of not bothering cuz they are so far behind

Have the bot PM everybody in the zone that has registered for distension letting them know that the module has been loaded. Why did we stop doing this anyways....I as well as 7 squadmates left distension chat because tagmor doesnt ever shut the fuck up.

Not to diss stab, because I dont believe he has anything to do with the recent suckage....but find a staffmember that actually gives a flying fuck about the survival of Distension. Get a mod that cares about how successful this game is, not one that does just barely enough to be recognized. I mean...he doesnt even play flag games anymore.

Heres the point....RESTART THE PUBLIC RELEASE WHEN ALL THE PROBLEMS ARE FIXED. When the recycles are no longer an issue, when lag limits can be discussed and agreed upon, when all the little things are nerfed for the final time (Lanc Leech, Wzl Bricks, etc) When the GRIND issues are discussed and fixed, when distension finally gets its own server....THEN reset everybodys ships, and call it Public Release 2.0 or something.

I should probably have Everett double check my grammar before posting, but...nvm he sucks at English.

[D1st0rt]

find a staffmember that actually gives a flying fuck about the survival of Distension. Get a mod that cares about how successful this game is, not one that does just barely enough to be recognized. I mean...he doesnt even play flag games anymore.

Stab is doing a good job prioritizing correctly. Everyone should get off his case for not always being in line with their personal desires.

Also, if you add the beta multiplier back in what happens when people start hitting the cap? You're also going to run into all of the same problems when you eventually take the multiplier out again.