Hi!
I was recently told to go here to share my suggestions for the updated DAC version of cabin that you guys are currently hosting on your cabin server (I believe it's titled zpo_cabin_outbreak_dfr_v2).
I really like the map, and I think it's a big step in the right direction for cabin players and the custom scene in general. But I do think it still needs a firm hand to balance it out properly. So I've attached a PDF file with my ideas and suggestions that I think will help with:
- Fixing the tedious spawn killing that makes people leave the server, and in many cases even the game (With a negative review to go along with it.)
- Fixing the map design that encourages selfish players to grief other players' barricades for the sake of getting kills by going outside and spawn camping.
- Optimizing the gameplay and putting more emphasis on barricading and teamwork.
I've been following this map for a quite a while. First, when it got "leaked" from SL after Uncle FreDDoS got exposed and hosted by LMG/VOID that sprung up afterwords, then to LoS, then Vertigo Gaming and now you guys! And so far, you're the only ones who seem to have started developing it further from what DAC developed for SL. The reason I'm so interested in this is because I think the custom scene gets a lot of unnecessary hate, while at the same time being way to stubborn to fix its maps and the toxic behavior they encourage.
People who enjoy vanilla maps are way too stuck up on tribalism to recognize that the people who play custom maps play them because they enjoy aspects or concepts introduced in them. They are too busy labeling anyone who plays cabin instead of listening to why they enjoy it to begin with. Likewise, server owners and mappers are generally too busy profiting from the map to fix its glaring problems. I believe a big part of a solution to these problems lie in an improved version of cabin, that maintains the defensive aspect that so many players enjoy, but gets rid of the lazy and terribly balanced map design that most players hate and that attracts toxic players.
History suggests that cabin as it is now is not a viable way to keep your servers populated and your community active. The map draws in selfish players, who'd rather abuse and exploit poor map design and other players to gain kills than work together and help their team survive. This concept is so foreign to ZPS, and while cabin + a rank plugin is a great way to get players addicted to your servers, they eventually quit and they eventually become sick and tired of the tedious zombie gameplay. That's why cabin, church and lake servers were forced to host zombie bots to occupy the zombie team on 2.4. 3.0 has brought in a lot of new players, but we are already seeing those numbers decline, as the number of cabin/church/lake servers are increasing, while the number of negative reviews detailing their dismay, and mistaking, the design and gameplay of these maps with official gameplay, are rising.
It would seem that history is repeating itself, but the community is in a unique situation where the hostile competitiveness of SL is gone, development is now active again, and the playercount is still bigger than its been in the past years. And to top it all off, we got a new cabin concept to help change the course of this game's history!
You see. I think it's time that the custom scene stopped excusing poor balance and lazy design that ultimately breeds and encourages toxic behavior, and seemingly kills the game in the long run, and start improving and optimizing the concepts that they feel the official scene lacks. I personally believe that ZPS needs its own gamemode of barricade-focused maps, but there's no telling if that'll ever happen and we shouldn't sit around waiting for the game to die once more. The development team has ensured that the game can continue to evolve, but the game won't last unless the community evolve, too.
Sorry for the essay, but I wanted to explain my reasoning for why I'm suddenly so interested in a cabin map. I usually enjoy tough, vanilla maps, with little ammo and weapons, and zombie-sided environments. But I've realized that both the custom scene and the official scene can learn from one another, and that they've should have done so years ago. Instead they became disconnected from each other, started blaming each other and refused to communicate with each other, all the while the game slowly but surely died out.
Let's change that!
Thanks for reading,
( I realize this was posted in General instead of the bug tracker. I apologize and would like to request it be moved to the appropriate forum in the bugtracker. Thanks!)