how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

Hello guys,
I have one simple question: How do I get more players on my cs:go server? Is there any chance to increase number of players on my server without paying ?

ps: I got some sv_tags defined, but still.

Re: how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

Your hosting provider will suspend your server due to abusive actions when they detect it, so don't do that kind of things.

Re: how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

Yes, it's quite possible, You should just hook the initialisation function of the engine and replace the real number with desired one. But you will also have to hide these extra players and extra slots and change some cvars and values, or you will get banned by the hoster. You should also take into account that the server may not have enough resources for more players than it can hold now. Some hosters, as the one I use, have got protection systems for preventing such fraud things. Even unsuccessful attempt can lead to ban and you will have to look for another hoster. The game isn't worth the candle

Re: how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

Yes, there is a way. Use a VPS instead of a GSP. (Bonus points for dedicated boxes.)

Re: how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

Sorry, I dont want to increase number of slots. I want to have more players playing on my server, like 16/24 or more.

Re: how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

Provide something attractive for your users, which will obviously make them continue to play on your servers.

When they are continuing to play on your servers, then they will most likely attract their friends as well, ... and so on...

Re: how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

And don't use donator features, for that will do the exact opposite - turn people away.

Usually a unique gamemode can work, although it is a gamble (if people like it they will stay, if they don't they won't come).

Re: how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

Thanks for advices. I will check for any unique ideas / gamemodes.

Re: how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

Usually a server always, or really often populated with ACTIVE-PLAYING players has a better chance to attract players. My old community at the time was always pushing members/admins to come play to populate the server early on. It was annoying but it had one of the most popular & populated server at the time (well ranked in the country).

Note that always having someone spectator might not help, as it is annoying and users may start taking for granted that there is always 1 afk-spectator, though I've seen it a couple of time.

You may also want to define what kind of server you want (for yourself at least). Do you want good players to play in (competitively), even if it makes people rage ( :D ) ? Or do you want more casuals players (less competitive) ? Or a server where all kind of maps are played ? Depending which one you may place or not some plugins. i.e. having an admin slapping/bombing/freezing for fun a player, with no reason, or having a roll-the-dice in a competitive is retarded.

Also if you want good players (good shots), playing casual jail-break or such map may disinterest them, and you may need to check and validate more your admins' decisions (i.e. changing map with low approval, thinking that someone hack because he's good; but if your server is casual, I wouldn't be surprised that such a thing happen). In general I feel like there are some admins (a bit rare) that accept really good players, while there is a shitload, sadly, that kick/ban if you're too good, or who are too easily pissed and mute too quickly.

You may need to set a minimum requirements for bans for admin. My community had a obligatory demo to be taken of and be kept for a certain period. This lead to people being unbanned a few times because people would never demo them. Non-admin could also demo people which could lead to a ban. A lot of people were very good, and I felt that bans were really often well justified (or should I say very rarely unjustified).

You'd also need to establish what kind of minimum respect you want for your server. Some server have it for admin only, other for everyone. Can you swear ? Can you say f*ck you to someone, as long as it isn't abused nor often ? etc.

If you only want a server to have a server, this will be hard; but if you're commited to have an alive communtiy, admins and players, that'd be possible.

Having a stats tracking plugin seems to be appreciate by some players too.

I also remember a rule where it says that admins had to never stack... which was not-respected-enough; and stomped teams had players leaving generally quick enough. But of course having an automatic team balancer is another "extreme", often.

Red

Re: how to get players on server [cs:go]
 

Amazing post, you definitely took a lot of time to write it, but I want to comment on this part.

Whenever I join an MvM server with stats enabled, it non-stop spams the chat box to hell with each kill made, and it becomes extremely fucking annoying to deal with a wall of text at the left of the screen. So when you make decisions on which plugins to installed, make sure they don't, or rarely, spam the chatbox, or you may end up annoying your players. Posting it at the end of every round is more acceptable, or if you build a really nice community, maybe on an external website works.

(In general, make sure the plugins you install don't annoy the players or that makes it a lot more tempting for them to leave. It's easy to make players leave and never return, but hard for them to like it enough to stay/favorite/return.)

I also find it useful to run custom maps, so that players bored of vanilla are more likely to come to your server (although this is from a TF2 perspective).