Tribe of Judah fundraising goals discussion
- Thread starter Tek7
- Start date
Just a reminder:
Any employed BC2 players willing to donate $5 a month for the upgrade?
Having played both Conquest and Squad Deathmatch game modes in Bad Company 2, I can say with confidence that I find Conquest more fun. One more $5 monthly donation would allow us to move the BC2 server, increase the number of slots from 16 to 24, and switch from Squad Deathmatch to Conquest.
Any employed BC2 players willing to donate $5 a month for the upgrade?
/bump
With the Minecraft chapter now using an unofficial server, Tribe of Judah currently has no fundraising goals.
Are there any other game servers you would like to see ToJ run? Or maybe a second server for TF2, L4D2, or UT3?
With the Minecraft chapter now using an unofficial server, Tribe of Judah currently has no fundraising goals.
Are there any other game servers you would like to see ToJ run? Or maybe a second server for TF2, L4D2, or UT3?
Our current server is empty most of the time because of the No Random Crit rule in place by executive decision. A second server without this rule in place might bring in more random (and lost) people from Valve's matchmaking service. Or we could remove this setting except on Tuesday nights during game night.
The goal of this group is not outreach but fellowship. However, more random people in the server = more people in the forums and more possible members. More members = greater base for donations.
The goal of this group is not outreach but fellowship. However, more random people in the server = more people in the forums and more possible members. More members = greater base for donations.
A new 25-slot (24 slots for players, 1 slot for the replay feature) would run $19.95 a month at GameServers.com (where our current server is hosted).
I still maintain that random crits are a design flaw and have no place in a competitive FPS. (Earned crits are another matter and are enabled on our server.) Gerbil agrees, so our server has random crits disabled (and has had random crits disabled even since before Valve added the server variable to disable them).
Not true. Outreach and fellowship are both important goals and both part of the vision of Tribe of Judah. While we're more experienced in building and maintaining online venues for fellowship than we are in reaching out to the larger gaming community, we plan to coordinate outreach efforts this year.
If anyone has suggestions for outreach efforts, please don't hesitate to share them in a new thread or send them to me via PM. I never intended ToJ to be a "closed" community where members only play with other members.
And let's not neglect the value of providing a family-friendly server to TF2 players who may not yet be Christians but are looking for a gameplay experience free of the hostility, profanity, and rudeness commonly found in the larger gaming community. We do not seek glory in maintaining a friendly gaming environment, but rather we seek to glorify God through gaming. It can be difficult to draw a "line" between outreach and fellowship and both are valuable.
At this time, monthly donations from members actually exceeds our monthly expenses by a small amount. I have no doubt there are other members that would donate monthly if we added additional servers and thus increased our expenses.
I'm not saying a random crits outreach-focused server is out of the question, but I don't agree that it's necessary to enable random crits to reach out to those outside the ToJ community, either.
We've had the discussion about random crits. No need to rehash it here. My point was merely that our current TF2 server does not get used except on Tuesday nights when we as a group meet and play. There doesn't seem to be a need for another TF2 server given how much ours is used.
Ours is not used much because it is not listed on Valve's match making services. It's not listed because we have random crits disabled. Again, hashed over and no need to rehash. I was merely suggesting that if we remove random crits except on game nights we would get more people in our server and increase the traffic here. Also if we put up some Bible verses on the map landing page, server sided ingame decals or in game messages, God promises that His word would not return void.
If fellowship and a safe haven are the priority, leave it as is. If outreach is the priority, it needs to change. Our preferences should not get in the way of spreading His word and reaching out to the lost.
We are commanded to be good stewards of what God has given us. I don't think it would be a good use of funds (even if people are willing to pay it) to pay for 2 servers so we could have an outreach TF2 server with random crits enabled to bring in the lost and a second server for us to use just on Tuesday nights set up the way we want. Maybe if our TF2 server was used more than just on Tuesday nights and on the rare special occasion this would be a different issue. However, these are my personal opinions and I will accept the will of leadership or majority if leadership goes along.
* Cartoon characters, Face stabs Overpowered Scouts and decorative hats have no place in a competitive FPS either but we still have them. Do we play for competition or fun?
Ours is not used much because it is not listed on Valve's match making services. It's not listed because we have random crits disabled. Again, hashed over and no need to rehash. I was merely suggesting that if we remove random crits except on game nights we would get more people in our server and increase the traffic here. Also if we put up some Bible verses on the map landing page, server sided ingame decals or in game messages, God promises that His word would not return void.
If fellowship and a safe haven are the priority, leave it as is. If outreach is the priority, it needs to change. Our preferences should not get in the way of spreading His word and reaching out to the lost.
We are commanded to be good stewards of what God has given us. I don't think it would be a good use of funds (even if people are willing to pay it) to pay for 2 servers so we could have an outreach TF2 server with random crits enabled to bring in the lost and a second server for us to use just on Tuesday nights set up the way we want. Maybe if our TF2 server was used more than just on Tuesday nights and on the rare special occasion this would be a different issue. However, these are my personal opinions and I will accept the will of leadership or majority if leadership goes along.
* Cartoon characters, Face stabs Overpowered Scouts and decorative hats have no place in a competitive FPS either but we still have them. Do we play for competition or fun?
Missed that in my original post.
I don't know everything. I'm always open to the ideas of others. Please explain to me how we increase traffic on our TF2 server to the point where we need to purchase a second server. I currently see no way to do that outside of removing the random crit prohibition to allow us to be listed in Valve's matchmaking service.
I play at the Fish TF2 server most of the time because it's always full. I see a good number of our members playing there too. I'm guessing for the same reason. Even if we all hopped over to the TOJ server (which we don't because no one really wants to play 3vs2 for very long) the server would not fill up because we are not listed on Valves matchmaking services. It's just no fun to play on an empty server.
We see a few random people join on Tuesday nights but not enough to keep 3 or 4 people in the server. Again, it goes back to what our main focus for the server is. Firmly establish that and everything else will fall into place from there.
You may have seen a few (ot) people playing on our server and on the Fish server recently. They are friends of mine from before I came here. They have the same problem with their server. It's not listed on Valve's matchmaking service so it has very low traffic. They must move out to other's servers to find a place to play with more than 5 or so people. They are heavily associated with FF and TFC and their FF server is almost always full but that word of mouth has not translated into current TF2 success.
I would love to see our people playing on our server and am open to whatever ideas there are to make that happen. Especially considering the Christian ideals of our group.
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I wasn't suggesting we rent a second TF2 server in my previous post; I was answering Saudi's question and explaining to those who might be unfamiliar with leadership's reasons behind disabling crits on our server.
I personally disagree with Valve's decision to deny servers with random crits disabled entry into the matchmaking queue, but that is, of course, their call.
</offtopic>
So, what other game servers do you guys want to see ToJ run?
I personally disagree with Valve's decision to deny servers with random crits disabled entry into the matchmaking queue, but that is, of course, their call.
</offtopic>
So, what other game servers do you guys want to see ToJ run?
Since the thread turned to crits for a moment I went to make a petition thread I've been meaning to. There was already one so sign it if you wish. It's already somewhat devolved into flame wars though >.< .
/bump
Reviving this thread so anyone who would like Tribe of Judah to rent additional game servers can speak up.
Reviving this thread so anyone who would like Tribe of Judah to rent additional game servers can speak up.
It might be a better idea if we look at our servers and decide if they are worth what we are paying for them. The TF2 server is almost never used and attendance on Tuesday nights seems to be falling. We normally have more non members than members most of the time now.
I don't recall seeing any minecraft or BF2 related posts lately either.
It's great to have nice things but should we keep paying (and being asked to pay) for things that most people don't use?
I don't recall seeing any minecraft or BF2 related posts lately either.
It's great to have nice things but should we keep paying (and being asked to pay) for things that most people don't use?
At least half the TF2sdays I've played in during the last month or two have filled the server, even if only for a map or two. I think the TF2 server still gets plenty of activity to justify the expense.
I rarely play Minecraft, so I can't speak with authority regarding its activity level. But the Tribe of Judah Minecraft server is an unofficial ToJ server (meaning we don't pay money for it), so it doesn't relate to the issue of raising funds.
We closed down our Battlefield Bad Company 2 server months ago because of lack of activity. (I think ToJ members, as a community, just aren't that into military shooters.)
We shut down our Left 4 Dead 2 server months ago as well.
So the only server we rent aside from our TF2 server is our Unreal Tournament 3 server; we have weekly UT3 game nights every Monday. UT3 isn't as popular as TF2 in the larger gaming community, so we don't see as much activity on our UT3 server as we do on our TF2 server, but we still have regulars who enjoy playing there.
Our upcoming Natural Selection 2 will be an unofficial server (meaning we don't pay to rent it) as well.
I post threads about raising funds for new servers because I don't always know what's popular among ToJ members. If there's a game that's popular in ToJ and members want to rent a server, speak up! I only play a few games myself, but, as President of ToJ, I want to make sure members have a virtual "home" where they can play their favorite games together and invite others, whether friends or strangers, to join them.
I rarely play Minecraft, so I can't speak with authority regarding its activity level. But the Tribe of Judah Minecraft server is an unofficial ToJ server (meaning we don't pay money for it), so it doesn't relate to the issue of raising funds.
We closed down our Battlefield Bad Company 2 server months ago because of lack of activity. (I think ToJ members, as a community, just aren't that into military shooters.)
We shut down our Left 4 Dead 2 server months ago as well.
So the only server we rent aside from our TF2 server is our Unreal Tournament 3 server; we have weekly UT3 game nights every Monday. UT3 isn't as popular as TF2 in the larger gaming community, so we don't see as much activity on our UT3 server as we do on our TF2 server, but we still have regulars who enjoy playing there.
Our upcoming Natural Selection 2 will be an unofficial server (meaning we don't pay to rent it) as well.
I post threads about raising funds for new servers because I don't always know what's popular among ToJ members. If there's a game that's popular in ToJ and members want to rent a server, speak up! I only play a few games myself, but, as President of ToJ, I want to make sure members have a virtual "home" where they can play their favorite games together and invite others, whether friends or strangers, to join them.
Captain_Tea
Active Member
In my nostalgia i'd love to see a UT2004 server again... But the reality is it would rarely get used. :/
Unfortunately, you're probably right.
I'd love to run a UT2004 server if only to play Onslaught again...
rev. Jim
New Member
I would enjoy playing UT2004 again. So you'll get a "+1" from me.
Never really got into UT3, I think 2004 is the best of the series.
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Captain_Tea
Active Member
I agree, UT2004 is IMHO by far the best in the series. We have a thread going in the UT Chapter Forums about getting together for some UT2004 games HERE
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Captain_Tea
Active Member
Unfortunately, you're probably right.
Maybe we need to discuss this more. I am sort of an UT Chapter Leader Emeritus
, Perhaps we could give one a trial run. I ran a mean server back in the day. Lets think more on this Tek. UT2004 has no current equal, the twitch shooters have gone by the wayside since the rise of modern consoles for various reasons. They botched the release of UT3 so It never took off nearly as well as it could have. There is still a dedicated community in UT2004... Where should we go with this, Hmm... We would want a server big enough for Onslaught... and DM... Don't forget TAM and Freon! Would 20 slots be enough? All these questions running around my mind
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rev. Jim
New Member
Thanks for that link, I'll check it out. For some reason that sub-forum doesn't show up in my list on its own.
Would be fun to actually play a game with the people here.
If you do set up a time, you can count me in as long as it's not on Sunday or Thursday.
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