[Request] Optional mode for reserved slot functioning.

[Morthawt]

Currently reserved slots are dedicated and off-limits to be used ONLY by authorized reserved slot users..

What I am proposing is a server setting which will let those reserved slots all be used by anyone regardless of if they have been authorized to use them or not. Then when the server is full and an authorized "reserved slot" user/admin attempts to log into the full server, the server will kick the last "non authorized reserved slot user" who entered the server and allow the authorized reserved slot user/admin to then join without delay.

This is how many game servers work and allows you to fill the server and use your capacity BUT if your members and admins need to get in, then it will kick the last person who joined if they, themselves, do not have permission to use reserved slots. If the last person who entered has permission to use those slots then it looks for the next one who entered before them etc until it finds someone unauthorized to use reserved slots and then kicks them and lets the authorized person join as normal.


What do you think to this idea? I mean it would be optional of course that could be enabled either in "Edit Virtual Server" or serverquery and would let admins choose to have reserved slots function in this way. I just think it would be a good idea because then it really REALLY lets you get the usage out of your TS3 server while not preventing your important members or admins from joining and not preventing everyone else from joining even though you paid for more slots than are being used.

If I am paying for a 25 slot server, I would like 25 people to join and then when reserved slot people want to join that it would automatically kick the last unauthorized slot access user and let them know why they were kicked, then let that new authorized member join without issue. Just makes sense to me. I have 8 reserved slots on my server and I feel I am wasting them since they are not all used currently. I don't want to remove my reserved slots in case they are really needed.. Its a bit of a dilemma right now.

[willy_sunny]

I don't really think it's a good idea to kick people out and such, I mean, I know your proposed idea is good, but no body ever likes to get kicked out. If I were you, I'd kick the one who idles the most out, but in such case, there's a max_idle_time for this reason.

[Morthawt]

Yes and the max_idle_time is only effective against people who have been actually idle. My thing is, I want to be able to give ALL of my members reserved slot access so they can all get in when the server is full.. and by full I mean all the slots I paid for. I just think it would be a great idea so that servers can get fully utilized in their capacity instead of only locking away slots that are not even being used 75% of the time. Seems wasteful to pay for 25 slots, reserve 8 slots for members, and when there are only usually about 4 of those members on at one time, thats 4 slots I am missing... 4 more people could come in and enjoy chat until another reserved slot user came in and thus auto kicks the last non-reserved entitled person.

Thats why I think it would be a fantastic option, if server owners/renters decide to enable it.

Actually, come to think about it... reserved slots could continue to work as usual and then add a new feature/option called "Priority User". Let me explain

Lets say a server has 2 main big admins. You set a reserved slot count of 2 only just for the two admins to always be able to get in. Then you can assign a setting to certain client's or server groups called "server_priority_user" (or something like that) and when the server is full, it works like I was suggesting, it (if this feature is enabled) will kick the last (newest) person who is not a priority user and let that person know they were auto kicked to make way for a priority user and to try again later.

This will mean that dedicated normal users will be fine because they have been connected for a long time and thus are more likely to be more deeply involved with the gaming experience etc, while new people will not lose as much by being kicked.

I just think as an optional thing it would be highly useful, although I don't think it should be a default option that is enabled just in case some people don't want their server to work that way.

[SilentStorm]

@willy_sunny: You don't rage when you get kicked from a Gameserver for the very same reason do you? I know a crazy amount of Servers in multiple games which I (or friends I was playing with) have been kicked from for the very same reason. It's nothing personal that you got kicked, it's just that you happened to be the last unlucky person to fill the server and after all they pay for your Fun so they deserve to use it more than any stranger. Those who would get the reserved slots usage usually have the means to kick you out manually anyway so it wouldn't really change much...

@OP: While I kinda agree with the original Suggestion, I don't really think there is any need for yet another thing to do basicly what the reserved slots should be there for.
In any case I think it was requested before when reserved Slots were introduced for the first time and it got rejected.

[Morthawt]

I don't know why it would get rejected, as you know very well, it is a normal operation for so many games out there. Its tried and tested and it works very well and is not wasteful. TeamSpeak 3 is amazing but its reserved slots are just pure waste. If I have 15 members I want to always get on, I have to set 15 reserved slots, that means if I want other people to be able to even join, I have to get more and more slots to offset the fact I have 15 reserved. If I have a 20 slot server that means I can only have 5 people join who are not part of my group. That is complete insanity and just wasteful. TeamSpeak is used extensively by gamers, how could TS3 development team not know anything about this?

There is a distinction between real physical life and online digital. In a restaurant if you reserve then your table has nobody sat at it, nobody using it until you are ready because you can't just kick someone out in the middle of their meal because the person who reserved that table has arrived. But in the digital world, the primary use of the TeamSpeak is for your members to communicate and that you can have random people also participate in the server. If there are slots available then why should members have to use a reserved slot? There is already enough room. I think all slots should be reserved and accessible by everyone. People who need to get in who have reserved access should get in and the expense of kicking out the latest non-member joiner. Just makes sense to me.

[MuhChy]

I added this feature request into our bugtracker.
We will discuss this feature asap and decide whether we will implement it or not.

[Morthawt]

Thanks so much. I really think it will help all around.

[Morthawt]

How is the discussion going? I am eagerly awaiting to find out if you will implement this because it will make mine and everyone else's server more cost effective and get more usage from it, over all increasing the value of TeamSpeak 3 to customers.

[SilentStorm]

lol?
It just only got added on Monday which means it is added but there are lots of other requests in line before... not to mention its only been 4.5 days, one of which was a holiday and another one a bridge day so its likely nobody worked on at least one of those days.

[Morthawt]

Yeah, I was just wondering thats all.

[Morthawt]

Can I get any feedback on this idea? I would not mind helping to test it out if needed. I really could use this feature so that I can ensure my members can all get in, because without it I would need to buy a whole lot of useless dead extra slots just in case the server gets full.

[SilentStorm]

Or you could just remove all but 2 of the reserved slots and then kick whoever can be spared if the server gets full, while the Devs figure out whether to implement this or not, and if they are going to until it made it into the Server & Client...

[Morthawt]

Yeah that is what we can do in the meantime, the only thing is an admin must be online in the TS server and watching to manually kick people. If they implement this alternative mode for aggressive reserved slots then it will be automatic. It could be something as simple as 1 setting that is isolated from reserved slots like a server group premission like make_room_for_group_members ticked or unticked. If ticked when people assigned that tick attempt to connect to a packed server, it then kicks out someone without that permission ticket. That way the current reserved slot functioning would not need to be tweaked at all and could remain as is.

[dante696]

Can I get any feedback on this idea?

We reply, as soon something has been decided. Your questions won't bump our internal ticket

[Morthawt]

Oh I don't expect to "bump" anything. I just wanted to know if there was any feedback so far thats all. I can wait for the answer.