26 replies to this topic

[Catfish]

With our recent Core meeting behind us we have agreed a major concern going into the new year is the current balance sheet of MoonGamers and how it will affect the servers we can continue to offer the community. In order to bring balance back to the balance sheet, we needed to find a way to go about cutting some of the monthly expenditures that were justified when we entered into them but are no longer cost effective. As it stands now we cannot maintain the current number of servers with the amount of contributions coming in. We do not want to be in a situation where we have to drop servers on short notice because we could not pay the hosting bill for the month. In order to avoid that situation, we have chosen to be proactive on cutting costs now instead of having to be reactive and potentially axe servers in the future.

The biggest changes involve the server we use for Steam games. This is a dedicated server we have used for hosting CS:S, DoD:S, TF2, and all the other variations and mods associated with them. This server costs us approximately $250/month. The donations coming in are only paying for about half of that.

Team Fortress 2 has failed to gather a following at MoonGamers. While I personally find this unfortunate as it is an excellent game, it is also a little different from the rest of our offerings and just wasn’t our thing. Life will go on without a Moon TF2 server.

The DoD:S server is empty, it has been for some time, if and when we do get a gathering of players it never reaches capacity. There are a few dedicated fans of the game who support it monetarily and pave the way for others to play. That will have to stop. If this server is to stay open it will need the support of those who play it, it's that simple...consider this your wake up call.

The CS:S Deathmatch server stays reasonably well populated but brings in very few donations. The small amount it does bring in does not justify keeping this box just to continue offering a deathmatch server. However, this server does have a regular following, some players donate regularly, and we have some loyal members who want to keep playing deathmatch at Moon. We want to accommodate these players as well as reach our goal of reducing expenses.

A decision has been made to drop the Texas box and move CS:S and DoD:S to a pay per slot basis. In so doing we will save money and be one step closer to our financial goals, as well as accommodate those members of the community that want to keep these server offerings under a MoonGamers banner. This will also have the added benefit of allowing the Admins access to some server controls through Wolf’s GCP application. We will be able to keep our current IPs, so this should be an uneventful transition.

There you have it, instead of deleting the servers from our selection we have made an effort to keep them going for those who enjoy what they have to offer. The rest is up to you!

We'll keep you informed as we progress forward with this change.

Thank you.

[Fulcrum]

[Comet]

Perhaps you need to read that again...

[Fulcrum]

I read it
all of it
and asked Seth a few questions
just makes me sad...

[AnonymousFlash]

I read it
all of it
just makes me sad...

Aye...I know it's the right decision financially, but it does make me sad.

[Noir]

how much will per slot cost?
What is the amount your going to start with?
will these be reserved slots, or just open to the public slots?

those are all the questions i've got for now, to be honest I'm shocked it's lasted this long. sad to see it go, but I agree with the reasoning for this.

Is cod4 involved with this seeming it's a steam games also or is it on a different box?

[WTBass]

What must happen must happen, and I agree that sadness is a fitting description.

I knew this was coming and it makes sense as three or four people can not support three game servers by themselves.

Even with sadness I still think "Moon Rocks!"

<3

[Catfish]

how much will per slot cost?
What is the amount your going to start with?
will these be reserved slots, or just open to the public slots?

those are all the questions i've got for now, to be honest I'm shocked it's lasted this long. sad to see it go, but I agree with the reasoning for this.

Is cod4 involved with this seeming it's a steam games also or is it on a different box?

CoD4 has its own server and will not be affected. Both CS:S DM and DoD:S will be 24 slots, 66 tic. At $1.50/slot this means that each server will drop to about $36/month. We can certainly explore donating for a reserved slot, although to start they will be open to the public. There may be a few hiccups along the way but for the most part you shouldn't notice much, if any change.

[Noir]

good on the public slots thats what I was hopping for, will the ip's change at all that might hurt the dm if so.

[AnonymousFlash]

good on the public slots thats what I was hopping for, will the ip's change at all that might hurt the dm if so.

DM attracts random players. Unless they are in the forums, I never see the same face twice. I don't think it would matter TBH.

[Fulcrum]

there are a few CAL guys who come into the server to warm up
and guys like Spider

[Comet]

I'm confused, why be sad, it's not going away...not yet anyway. You should be happy knowing we're going to slots at a reduced cost to this community. You can be sad in a month when we decide to pull the game all together like we have Crysis, and more than likely TF2 due to a lack of support and interest. Even at $36/month I will not waste what little disposable cash I have on an empty server.

Sad, perhaps that time will come...that's up to you.

It's quite apparent few if any really want to play this game with any regularity. We cannot afford to go on like this, it's that simple. This change enables those who truly make an effort to play and support the server a place to play. It was either that or scrap the server all together.

[k-12]

the source dm server has a large group of regulars. I see alot of the same people on everyday.

[Comet]

the source dm server has a large group of regulars. I see alot of the same people on everyday.

Agreed. My post pertains to this area of forum, that being DoD:S.

-----------

CS:S...


The DM server has done well as of late in terms of player base, however it has put a strain on us financially. Month after month after month it has not paid for itself...it is surplus funding from other communities that has paid CS:S way. Going to slots is the only way to keep it going without pulling it out from under the community.

[AnonymousFlash]

the source dm server has a large group of regulars. I see alot of the same people on everyday.

My mistake. I haven't been on too much, so I shouldn't have said that with no basis.

more than likely TF2 due to a lack of support and interest

You mean we still have one? I thought it was brought down. If we can get some of the bugs worked out(weapons not showing up, etc.), I would be glad to try to ignite a seeding frenzy.

[Comet]

I check server traffic daily, TF2 was three quarters full early today so I would say it's still operational. For how long I do not know.

Here is the bottom line, it's based on what's best for MoonGamers...

Well populated servers that do not pay their way are not an option. As much as we would like to offer a server for that populous we can't afford to. It is up to that populous to pay its way. On the other hand an almost empty server that pays it's way is doable, it doesn't bear a burden on the community as a whole financially.

[AnonymousFlash]

Well populated servers that do not pay their way are not an option. As much as we would like to offer a server for that populous we can't afford to. It is up to that populous to pay its way. On the other hand an almost empty server that pays it's way is doable, it doesn't bear a burden on the community as a whole financially.

Roger.

[WTBass]

Sever still out of date.... no Moon pwnage tonight...

[Lin]

I tried to update and ran into an error, I will likely need to get into the box to fix. Right now my priority is learning how to get the Sr Admins into the CSS and DoDS servers to get them up and running appropriately.

[WTBass]

I tried to update and ran into an error, I will likely need to get into the box to fix. Right now my priority is learning how to get the Sr Admins into the CSS and DoDS servers to get them up and running appropriately.

Your good darlin... not complaining just sending out the word....