Official servers going dark.

[SMoss 2101]

Of course it's not one specific reason, the same way that it is never just one wrong move that causes a fishing line to bunch up in an unmanageable mess.  But there are causes, and there are things that can be done to mitigate those causes.

 

In this case, I'll just assume that it is too complicated to explain, and that the effort required to explain it would be best used sorting it.

 

Still it would be nice if I had some way of choosing a server that was likely to stay online for a couple months.

I can't give you an explanation on a case by case basis, since there could be numerous reasons for servers being removed. Status quo at this stage in development is that there is no surefire method to pinpoint ways of avoiding servers that will be taken down. However, please keep in mind that once a server is removed it's not just a case of removing it and then forgetting about it. They would get removed for analysis for example so that the cause for them being removed can be fixed. As a player, I know, it's tough waiting it out, but mitigation will be through development.

[emuthreat 2837]

Necro-ing my own thread to see if anybody else has just lost their favorite official server.  I had about two dozen barrels all over the map, and control of 4 trucks last time I checked--I had 8 before I took a couple weeks off.  It seems that my play style of establishing a sprawling supply network always seems to backfire right before an update.  Had enough stashes to support a few days of high-risk play with fast turn-around, but now I can't get onto my server.

 

TLDR:  Anyone else have an official server go dark?  My stash server disappeared the day I was gonna go get rekt a bunch before experimental push.

[micalo 13]

Necro-ing my own thread to see if anybody else has just lost their favorite official server.  I had about two dozen barrels all over the map, and control of 4 trucks last time I checked--I had 8 before I took a couple weeks off.  It seems that my play style of establishing a sprawling supply network always seems to backfire right before an update.  Had enough stashes to support a few days of high-risk play with fast turn-around, but now I can't get onto my server.

 

TLDR:  Anyone else have an official server go dark?  My stash server disappeared the day I was gonna go get rekt a bunch before experimental push.

according to the "project timeline" today is scheduled maintainance, whatever that means - maybe it is related to that

[emuthreat 2837]

according to the "project timeline" today is scheduled maintainance, whatever that means - maybe it is related to that

It was offline a couple hours before the rest of them went offline for maintenance.  I was gonna go solo PVP and spend some saved assets, but instead went onto a private 1pp and made some progress there.  I guess I'll know more in the morning, but it looks like I wasted a lot of time playing the game my preferred way, instead of pretending persistence isn't a thing.

[stinkenheim 249]

I don't see how this is possible, there is no way the Dev's have time for this.  I am 100% certain the Dev Team follows my gaming experience around seeing what spawn point I want and ensuring I never get it.  There is physically no way they have time to also follow that guy around as well.

 

Yeah but with the amount of money they made they could all have added cloning machines to their lambos and now everyone of us players has a clone of Hicks watching them in game and sabotaging their efforts. That's why I haven't found a hunting scope for my Winchester yet with my latest char and exactly the reason that every time I hear gunshots I can never find the people.... Bloody tricksy millionaire dev clones!!!

[pilgrim* 3513]

Interesting insight, although in theory anyone could rename a server US-544 and or line it up with an appearence of public (official). I suppose you could go to the GSP site's themselves and check the demo servers as they are always listed i.e. gameservers scroll down to the demo listed servers, I don't think I have ever seen those change and they are public afaik. I would need to trob around in the mud for a bit to give you an in depth answer and try to help your dilemma. As always one could argue find a good community and stick to it, if you enjoy the server and they have good funds going it will stay up for as long as you have a say in it.

 

Sorry Steak and Potatoes, but I checked the Gameservers list of Demo Servers this morning (21 Oct 2015)

they have 4 'demo servers' listed for UK

173.199.73.101 - 125720 (changed from 129488 this morning)

173.199.73.187 - Atlantis Gaming Bambi Friendly Gameserver - atlantisgaming.uk

173.199.73.185 - 129488

173.199.73.188 - Frillyrazor Server

So we see that 2 of the 4 games instances in the UK list are definitely hired out ATM, and not provided by Gameservers under the GSP agreement with Bohemia.

I looked quickly through a couple of other Gameserver 'demo' locations in other areas and this seems to be about the world average, but I have only verified the 4 listed UK "demo servers".

- since midday today (14:00 UST) that list simply says "No DayZR Demo Servers Available" (sic).. dunno what DayZR is?.. but whatever they are, there arent any ATM (lol). The game instances that were listed are up and running.

Note: when Gameservers say "demo servers" there is really nothing in that text to imply that this has to do with their agreement with BI.

xx pilgrim

======================================

for emuthreat - or anyone:

I generally use IPaddress.com  because it gives 80-90% good results (and yo can spot when thy are bullshit). Put in the IP to locate it, then use the Who-Is. Natch' the Who-Is only lists the IPs as being owned by the GSPs - (not the punters who sub-let the IP from Gameservers) - but  you can see what company Gameservers hire their server space from in that geo-location (eg - choopa.net; and so find out how much they pay) and tour the web with that start-info to get the other target stuff.

For Gameservers it's easy, you can go back to their own Gametracker (a pub&promo site owned by Gameservers) and check the IP to find what paying client ('server name') is auto-registered on their own list:

http://www.gametracker.com/search/dayz/

xx

Edited October 21, 2015 by pilgrim

[hemmo 55]

It's actually more like the last couple of months rather than couple weeks. See the stats below. I would say the brief addition of the central loot economy drove a lot of players away. However perhaps more significant was the release of GTA 5 on steam.

 

                          Month Avg. Players  Gain          % Gain             Peak Players

Last 30 Days     6,965.0                    -2,309.4     -24.90%           14,493

April 2015          9,274.4                    -4,572.1     -33.02%           25,784

March 2015      13,846.5                   -1,160.8     -7.73%             29,190

February 2015 15,007.2                    +559.8       +3.87%            29,001

http://steamcharts.com/app/221100

 

You could also think this to the increase of CPU usage on avarage pc.

[Mookie (original) 799]

Necro-ing my own thread to see if anybody else has just lost their favorite official server.  I had about two dozen barrels all over the map, and control of 4 trucks last time I checked--I had 8 before I took a couple weeks off.  It seems that my play style of establishing a sprawling supply network always seems to backfire right before an update.  Had enough stashes to support a few days of high-risk play with fast turn-around, but now I can't get onto my server.

 

TLDR:  Anyone else have an official server go dark?  My stash server disappeared the day I was gonna go get rekt a bunch before experimental push.

 

I feel your pain. And if it's any consolation, I had an 'official' server (Gaming Deluxe UK 5-71) go dark a few weeks ago. This wasn't me being an idiot with my server settings - it just disappeared.

 

But it came back up a couple of weeks ago - and my little stash was perfectly intact. I make a point of spreading my stashes around now - two on what seem like long-lived clan servers, and two on official ones.

[pilgrim* 3513]

I guess most forum uses now don't remember the agreement BI made with the designated GSPs.

an overview of the agreement should still be in the Forum Info in case players/admins want to see it.

Depending on the total number of servers they hire out, each GSP must run a set number of 'free' servers at their own expense - not hired out to anyone.

So - the word  "official" as used in this thread, means servers with no paying admins, no 'owner' and run by the GSPs themselves, at the expense of the GSP.

The GSPs had to agreed to this in order to become " designated DayZ Standalone GSPs "

One obvious intent of the agreement with BI is that these "free" servers will stay on line exactly as reliably as any other server run by that GSP.

 

xx

 

If a GSP wanted to be "more profitable" they could say:
<
For every 10 instances I hire out, I must add one free instance that I pay for myself
But I have just today hired a new physical location (in singapore,) and installed 10 new DayZ instances there, ready for hire
But so far I have only sold 1 out of those 10
AND three paying admins have cancelled their subscriptions!
This leaves me an extra 12 empty dayZ slots today

I will "use" those 12 empty instances to fill my quota to meet the BI agreement.
So today I can hire out 12 of the free instances I had to keep open somewhere else...
Hey- Hey! - I'll take them from the interenet supplier/location that gives me the highest profit margin.

Some players will suddenly find their "official" server is closed.
But who cares?

they don't even know what "official" means...
>

y'all got that ?

Edited October 22, 2015 by pilgrim

[emuthreat 2837]

*Snip*

 

 

I am now very thoroughly confused.  Yes, I googled the server when I could not find it on my list.  It was listed on Gametracker as being offline, with an uptime record of around 98%.  I have no idea what the rest of your post is about.  I was just asking if other people noticed their preferred official server was not available.  You can check the start of this thread for context.

[emuthreat 2837]

I feel your pain. And if it's any consolation, I had an 'official' server (Gaming Deluxe UK 5-71) go dark a few weeks ago. This wasn't me being an idiot with my server settings - it just disappeared.

 

But it came back up a couple of weeks ago - and my little stash was perfectly intact. I make a point of spreading my stashes around now - two on what seem like long-lived clan servers, and two on official ones.

I think I read you post about the stash server you mentioned coming back, and your elated surprise to find your work intact.  My strategy is to try to pick one decent official public server, and then get a monopoly on the resources, then come on the forums and taunt people into coming to my server to try and rob/kill me.  Even though it was a fairly consistently low population server, I found and raided a couple of camps, and recognize nearly a dozen regular names.  I am the kind of guy who will rob a camp, then spend the rest of the day looking for a pen, so I can go back and leave a thank-you note.  It doesn't work when the servers suddenly disappear...

 

Edit: still gone for now, hopefully it will show back up intact in a little while like yours did.  At least I know my stuff is safe.   :D  

Edited October 22, 2015 by emuthreat

[emuthreat 2837]

I guess most forum uses now don't remember the agreement BI made with the designated GSPs.

an overview of the agreement should still be in the Forum Info in case players/admins want to see it.

Depending on the total number of servers they hire out, each GSP must run a set number of 'free' servers at their own expense - not hired out to anyone.

So - the word  "official" as used in this thread, means servers with no paying admins, no 'owner' and run by the GSPs themselves, at the expense of the GSP.

The GSPs had to agreed to this in order to become " designated DayZ Standalone GSPs "

One obvious intent of the agreement with BI is that these "free" servers will stay on line exactly as reliably as any other server run by that GSP.

 

xx

 

If a GSP wanted to be "more profitable" they could say:

<

For every 10 instances I hire out, I must add one free instance that I pay for myself

But I have just today hired a new physical location (in singapore,) and installed 10 new DayZ instances there, ready for hire

But so far I have only sold 1 out of those 10

AND three paying admins have cancelled their subscriptions!

This leaves me an extra 12 empty dayZ slots today

I will "use" those 12 empty instances to fill my quota to meet the BI agreement.

So today I can hire out 12 of the free instances I had to keep open somewhere else...

Hey- Hey! - I'll take them from the interenet supplier/location that gives me the highest profit margin.

Some players will suddenly find their "official" server is closed.

But who cares?

they don't even know what "official" means...

>

y'all got that ?

That clears things up a bit, albeit through your assumption of what kinds of accounting "magic" the GSPs may use to balance their responsibilities with their revenues.

 

I would define an Official server as one that is persistently available, for free, to anyone who plays DayZ; these should be the model of stability and availability that rented server admins strive to achieve.

[pilgrim* 3513]

..//...

I would define an Official server as one that is persistently available, for free, to anyone who plays DayZ; these should be the model of stability and availability that rented server admins strive to achieve.

 

I think this is what BI intended when they made the agreement with GSPs

[SMoss 2101]

So, I talked to the guys regarding this issue again, and yes, it is still possible down the line to work out an agreement with the GSPs so that official servers/specific ips will be kept alive.

[Yuval 221]

Honestly private communities are the best atm, the server actually has a reason to stay up as the playerbase is stable.

[pilgrim* 3513]

On 19/05/2015 at 4:05 PM, SMoss said:

Hey guys, official servers on Stable branch are only taken down upon request. In these cases there will be a valid reason for doing so and there will simply just not be time enough to set up server messages warning users that these servers will be taken down. It might sound harsh, but at this stage in development, there is no guarantee for player progression regardless of the servers being used. Farther on down the line this will of course be a different story.

Scuse me asking but - Request by who?

Do the Service Providers request that one of their servers stops being official ?
Or does BI request the Sever Provider to stop providing a specific "official" server?

The Server Providers hire their hardware servers from data-centers, so the SPs do not have control over the IPs for those servers.
The IP will remain valid, and listed as a DayZ instance, unless the Server Provider stops hiring the server completely, or installs Garry's Mod (etc) on that server, because that sells better.

*

As a rule, an "official" server stops being "official"  because the Service Provider has hired it to a  client, using their fully automated software.
The SP is not aware of which instance was hired out, or it's new status (private or public) until after the process is completed.

Am I wrong?

 

====

[note: we say "servers" but we are speaking loosely - In fact we are talking about DayZ instances here, not the hardware servers that the SPs hire from data-centers and then install 5 instances of the DayZ game software on each server .
The data-centers are fanatically dedicated to redundancy and reliability and never "take down" a client's server for any reason at all (except non-payment) and they definitely never mess with any of the client's data.] 

Edited April 16, 2016 by pilgrim*
clarification

[SMoss 2101]

On 15/04/2016 at 10:15 PM, pilgrim* said:

Scuse me asking but - Request by who?

Do the Service Providers request that one of their servers stops being official ?
Or does BI request the Sever Provider to stop providing a specific "official" server?

The Server Providers hire their hardware servers from data-centers, so the SPs do not have control over the IPs for those servers.
The IP will remain valid, and listed as a DayZ instance, unless the Server Provider stops hiring the server completely, or installs Garry's Mod (etc) on that server, because that sells better.

*

As a rule, an "official" server stops being "official"  because the Service Provider has hired it to a  client, using their fully automated software.
The SP is not aware of which instance was hired out, or it's new status (private or public) until after the process is completed.

Am I wrong?

 

====

[note: we say "servers" but we are speaking loosely - In fact we are talking about DayZ instances here, not the hardware servers that the SPs hire from data-centers and then install 5 instances of the DayZ game software on each server .
The data-centers are fanatically dedicated to redundancy and reliability and never "take down" a client's server for any reason at all (except non-payment) and they definitely never mess with any of the client's data.] 

On request be the dev team. Reasons vary depending on what is under investigation. On the topic of when a server seizes to be "official"; yes, that's correct.

[pilgrim* 3513]

1 hour ago, SMoss said:

On request be the dev team. Reasons vary depending on what is under investigation. On the topic of when a server seizes to be "official"; yes, that's correct.

OK, good to know. thanx SMoss
( you guys hang in there ok ? )

[SMoss 2101]

Yeah no prob, and will do :)

[emuthreat 2837]

2 hours ago, pilgrim* said:

OK, good to know. thanx SMoss
(

It seems like a marginal difference between BI asking for an official server to be taken down for inspection, versus the SP simply renting it out at random.  As always, thanks for doing the digging.

[Irish. 4886]

On 4/15/2016 at 1:15 PM, pilgrim* said:

Scuse me asking but - Request by who?

Pilgrim when he saw this post 3 days ago..