NS2 Managed Linux?

[stickz]

I was wondering how managed Linux support for Natural Selection 2 is coming along. IIRC, something was mentioned about doing this months ago. An attempt was made to activate this on a dedicated machine running managed Linux today, but there was a message saying it wasn't supported.

[Edge100x]

I have not worked on it yet -- other tasks have been demanding my time. I have not yet heard a request from another customer for it, it's not security-related, not time-sensitive, and optional (since the game can be run in other ways), so I have to assign it a lower priority than some other development work.

[stickz]

Honestly, I don't see why you can't just have one of your multiple staff members do it. If they're providing support to customers and don't know how to setup a server, there's definitely something wrong there. If you try to do everything yourself, nothing will get done.

[Vanderburg]

It's not about knowing how to setup a game server manually, but actually integrating the server software setup, and its automation into the code/database/back end of the system, which is very different. No support tech (Which is a customer service position) has or needs to have that level of access to the core of the system.

[$atanic $pirit]

No support tech (Which is a customer service position) has or needs to have that level of access to the core of the system.

In other words, John has to do everything of high importance, but just him working on it makes the process slower.

NFO managed can offer up a lot more game servers than it currently does. The reason that is given all the time is that there is a low demand for the game. Yet, factors are hardly discussed. Maybe a managed offering can boost up the ratings for that game. Ever thought of that?

[Edge100x]

$atanic $pirit, for other games, mostly new games in our standalone system, that might make some sense (though I have frequently tested it by adding games, and it's rarely true that demand suddenly appears that wasn't previously visible). In this case, it doesn't make sense. We already offer NS2 in our standalone system, as well as for managed Windows VDSes (which are the most common type of managed VDS), so we have experience with the demand level. NS2 is simply not a popular game overall, to even a small degree, with peak player usage each day right around 0. From a practical standpoint, time would be better spent in adding initial support for any other game (even a particularly obscure one) than to expanding NS2 support to Linux. It would also be better spent improving support for an existing, popular game. Or improving the donations system. Or streamlining various processes. Or one of millions of other tasks that might incrementally improve revenue or customer satisfaction for more than one person.

Easy options for running NS2 right now include renting a 7.99 Linux VDS or renting a standalone NS2 server.

[$atanic $pirit]

John, I never mentioned NS2. My statement was in general, and not specific to NS2.

[Edge100x]

This thread and my answer are mostly about NS2, but I also made some more general statements in my last response.

Each "to do" item is triaged separately.

[stickz]

No support tech (Which is a customer service position) has or needs to have that level of access to the core of the system.

In other words, John has to do everything of high importance, but just him working on it makes the process slower.

NFO managed can offer up a lot more game servers than it currently does. The reason that is given all the time is that there is a low demand for the game.

Yeah that is definitely true satanic spirit. There are more factors than low game demand, that limit game support on nfo's managed platform.

I'm sure tech support could at least download the server for Edge and prepare the base files to save time. If they didn't know how the system worked to this degree and had no clue about server setup, they wouldn't be able to offer customers tech support. Their knowledge overlaps a lot of with IT guys like Edge. When someone is stubborn and wants to do everything on their own, less things end up getting done.

Easy options for running NS2 right now include renting a 7.99 Linux VDS or renting a standalone NS2 server.

That statement is incorrect. A game developer mentions here, how one core can not safely run more than 12-14 slots. Hardly nobody plays the game at this standard.

[kraze]

There are many more factors here then downloading and preparing the base files, but yes, some staff do a similar task already to ease the process.

A single core Linux server is still a viable option. As the developer stated 12-14 slots, and with our virtual servers I feel you could squeeze more out of that, but that's done on a case by case basis (You could also go with a higher VDS package). Even though it may not fit what you want to do Stickz, it's still a viable option for most customers.

As mentioned previously, supporting NS2 on Linux is something we can do, but it is currently assigned a lower priority because there is virtually no demand for this besides you. This makes it tough to bump up in the queue as there is much more work that has considerably more demand.

[Edge100x]

This post has been a good push away from considering NS2 Linux support, by reminding me of my reasons for not doing it.

Even if it took no time commitment from me, the simple fact is that it just wouldn't be used by anyone else, and would then need to be maintained. Quirks, including performance quirks and differences in how it handles the two OSes, would need to be explored. Updates would need to be applied. It is not worth the investment in staff time unless something changes in how popular the game is.

If the complaint is that NS2 can't be run, that's not true. It can be done on an unmanaged VDS/machine, managed Windows VDS/machine, or in our standalone system. It will perform well on a VDS. There would be a small monetary cost to the renter for running it separately from an existing managed Linux service (a rarely chosen option), but that cost is much less than it would cost us to add and maintain special Linux support for a game that has no demand.

stickz, you have shown repeatedly that you have a basic grasp of how things are done (game support, routing, etc.), but you do not look at the whole picture, you assume that we haven't already considered what you're proposing, and you assume that everything is cheaper and easier to do than it really is. I always patiently explain the reality to you, and then I follow up repeatedly to go into more depth. Perhaps at some point you will make a novel and worthwhile suggestion, but the negative experiences that I have had in my interactions with you so far are likely to make me take it less seriously if you do. I would recommend revising your strategy.

In any case, I am serious about not having enough time for it. And not enough time to continue to follow this thread. I am locking it and getting back to productive work.