Griefer advice

[thisbird]

I was hosting a public server today and ran into my first confirmed griefer. Guy playing Webber waltzed in, took everything out of the chests, killed the bird in the bird cage, and dropped his spider egg in the middle of the camp, killing everyone. It was endless, so no big deal, but then he went to burn the farms and I disconnected the server.

My question is, is there a way as server host to ban griefers? I've seen some commands suggested, but where do those actually need to be entered?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

[Muche]

In the player scoreboard screen (hold TAB) there should be kick and ban buttons in their line, if your are an admin (which you are since you're hosting).

[CaptainFun]

You can also rollback the server to a previous day. 

[Arlesienne]

You want to use the console if you have commands. By default, press the tilde (~). This requires listing all players first though. This is as you need their number. And the last updates messed the table up, which resulted in respawning (rerolling) wrong people. Would you like the steps?

Truth be told, if you want public servers, you need mods. I tend to run most of my worlds as endless, no PvP, newbie-friendly as there is nearly no place for new players to learn without being subjected to uncomely behaviour. This, however, forces me to use mods to protect those people (I or my friends can take care of ourselves in an unmodded game too, but it is the newbies we worry about). The following configuration is my go-to solution (it will not exclude verbal harassment, mind you, this is what the admin is for)...

- Drop Stuff on Kick (a no-brainer, right?)

- Fix Multiplayer with burning/stealing/emptying/hammering protection set to the maximum number of days survived (five) on top of some nice other tweaks (I now no longer have to run to a newbie joining to give them the basics and show the recipes as I have starting items enabled)

- Moderator Commands (for moderators instead of just the admin)

- AFK Detection set for 30 seconds (rhe admin can still kick and ban, mind you)

Plus a good description of the server (for instance: new players welcome, heavily co-op, press Y to chat; EN/PL/ES supported by host).

And if there are any issues, there is always the curse of tentacles... Oh, and when you get a main base going (I tend to build it away from the portal where I leave a firepit, science machine, alchemy engine when I get mine going, crockpot, tent, chest and icebox for newcomers), use whispers to talk with your friends regarding the location. Building it near a hostile biome is a good idea too.

Also, having a group available through invitations only lets you build up a network of contacts nicely. Mine grew from six friends into over two dozen without really getting onto public servers. Observe their behaviour and see if you want them in future games. Then you can have group-only servers. Worth recommending.

I am open for showing how this works too. This requires editing some lua files and the-like. Nothing one IT-savvy cannot do, so no worries. A note beforehand would be nice.

[thisbird]

5 hours ago, Muche said:

In the player scoreboard screen (hold TAB) there should be kick and ban buttons in their line, if your are an admin (which you are since you're hosting).

Thank you, good to know!

2 hours ago, Arlesienne said:

You want to use the console if you have commands. By default, press the tilde (~). This requires listing all players first though. This is as you need their number. And the last updates messed the table up, which resulted in respawning (rerolling) wrong people. Would you like the steps?

Truth be told, if you want public servers, you need mods. I tend to run most of my worlds as endless, no PvP, newbie-friendly as there is nearly no place for new players to learn without being subjected to uncomely behaviour. This, however, forces me to use mods to protect those people (I or my friends can take care of ourselves in an unmodded game too, but it is the newbies we worry about). The following configuration is my go-to solution (it will not exclude verbal harassment, mind you, this is what the admin is for)...

- Drop Stuff on Kick (a no-brainer, right?)

- Fix Multiplayer with burning/stealing/emptying/hammering protection set to the maximum number of days survived (five) on top of some nice other tweaks (I now no longer have to run to a newbie joining to give them the basics and show the recipes as I have starting items enabled)

- Moderator Commands (for moderators instead of just the admin)

- AFK Detection set for 30 seconds (rhe admin can still kick and ban, mind you)

Plus a good description of the server (for instance: new players welcome, heavily co-op, press Y to chat; EN/PL/ES supported by host).

And if there are any issues, there is always the curse of tentacles... Oh, and when you get a main base going (I tend to build it away from the portal where I leave a firepit, science machine, alchemy engine when I get mine going, crockpot, tent, chest and icebox for newcomers), use whispers to talk with your friends regarding the location. Building it near a hostile biome is a good idea too.

Also, having a group available through invitations only lets you build up a network of contacts nicely. Mine grew from six friends into over two dozen without really getting onto public servers. Observe their behaviour and see if you want them in future games. Then you can have group-only servers. Worth recommending.

I am open for showing how this works too. This requires editing some lua files and the-like. Nothing one IT-savvy cannot do, so no worries. A note beforehand would be nice.

Wow, this is all great advice. I think drop stuff on kick and setting protection to a maximum number of days both sound especially useful.

I've started to build up my friends list based on playing in games and meeting new players whose company and play-style I enjoy, but sometimes I just want a public game to see what rolls in with it, you know?

If you wouldn't mind, would you please let me know how to handle setting those up? Thank you again!

[Arlesienne]

51 minutes ago, thisbird said:

Wow, this is all great advice. I think drop stuff on kick and setting protection to a maximum number of days both sound especially useful.

I've started to build up my friends list based on playing in games and meeting new players whose company and play-style I enjoy, but sometimes I just want a public game to see what rolls in with it, you know?

If you wouldn't mind, would you please let me know how to handle setting those up? Thank you again!

Of course I wouldn't :D! If you want, I can guide you step-by-step through Steam. Say, you would launch a stream of your game so that we can see how you are setting all up and I would then point out what I would change. Or even show you the servers if you like. I suppose it could even be done this late evening - I am currently in CE(S)T. I think that would be the easiest. Hope any tips may be worth your while!

There are mods which deny opening chests/iceboxes or burning things longer than FM's five days, but DST is essentially about cooperation, so I find the limit sufficient. I do know more severe mods, so I can help.

[CautiousGamer]

8 hours ago, thisbird said:

I was hosting a public server today and ran into my first confirmed griefer. Guy playing Webber waltzed in, took everything out of the chests, killed the bird in the bird cage, and dropped his spider egg in the middle of the camp, killing everyone. It was endless, so no big deal, but then he went to burn the farms and I disconnected the server.

My question is, is there a way as server host to ban griefers? I've seen some commands suggested, but where do those actually need to be entered?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Hey thisbird, if you are the host, just hit TAB, select the player that is griefing and then hit either "KICK" or "BAN" the minute you see them grief you.  You can also just hit "disconnect", which kicks everyone, and then roll back the days on the server to an earlier save.  If you banned the griefer, they won't be able to rejoin but everyone else will.  Sometimes, when I am particularly frazzeled by the griefers, I take that opportunity to switch the server to "friends only".  If anyone you were playing with is your steam friend, they will be able to join again.

If you are playing on someone else's server, you are much more limited as to what you can do. 

1.  You can "tell on them" and name them as a griefer in the chat, and hope that admin does something (or is on line),

2.  or you can try to PREVENT such behavior before it begins.

I have seen from other posts in these forums that just about anyone in a bad mood is capable of crossing the line and becoming a griefer.  Not all griefer's are phychos, they are just angry people.  Their bad behavior is usually triggered by something someone said to them in the chat, or by bad behavior of others towards them and is therefore preventable.

(Then again, some people are just idiots and grief because they are jerks.  Unfortunately nothing you can do will ever change that.)

 

For the MAJORITY of people, I find the following tips work to PREVENT griefing:

- Sometimes giving people a warm welcome such as "Hi, and welcome" in the chat when they first join puts them in a good mood (and they then don't grief you because you have included them and made them feel welcome).

- be friendly to all, and keep things light.  Most people join a game because they want to have fun, not to get their rocks off griefing.  If you are in try-hard mode, that is fine, but on those days, trying playing on a private server with a password, not a public one.

- I usually give people clear directions to my camp and major resources such as rock biome or beef when they join.  This way, if they are going to grief me, just get it over with.  I don't want to be chatting with them for several days and then get my heart broken.  (That is just harsh).

- understand that some people like to join a server late game to give themselves an added challenge.  Don't hold this against them, they are not all griefers.  Instead, anticipate that someone will join late game and leave them some stuff to start off with. 

- If you happen to be passing by anywhere near spawn when someone joins, I often just hand them an axe, some flint, twigs, etc. to get them started.  Most people will appreciate this and will then play cooperatively with you.  If you leave them with nothing and dig up all the saplings/berries near spawn and they struggle to find fire on their first night, you are inadvertently just asking for grief. 

- once you get established, go back to spawn and build an extra fire pit, plant some grass/saplings so there will be renewable resources for new players.  Build a science machine and leave it at spawn.  This goes a long way to setting a positive mood on the server. 

- if someone does something helpful, take the time to say thanks.  If there is a positive air in the chat, 99% of the time most people will play cooperatively and there will be no grief.  You will also enjoy a better game.  Sometimes just not appreciating the efforts of another player is enough to set them off.

Hope this helps.

[Arlesienne]

@CautiousGamer, this is all good manners, well done! I think it does help, although this sometimes encourages the most vehement griefers (giving items, that is). Still, it is worth doing for that one nice guy you find in a thousand griefers, right ;)?

A starting camp near the spawn gate (covering: a firepit, science machine, crockpot, tent and perhaps an alchemy engine with chests and a fridge if it can be afforded) is a great idea and I do this every time, but it is something the host ought to take care of. Hosting most of the time, I firmly believe it's our job to take care of others. Forcing clients to build from their own resources is, most of the time, not fair. But that's just me. Oh, and a sign with the basics of orderly conduct (TAKE ONLY ENOUGH TO MAKE YOURSELF A TORCH/AXE/PICKAXE/BACKPACK/SPEAR/LOGSUIT AND LEAVE THE REST FOR NEWCOMERS LEST YOU RISK THE CURSE OF TENTACLES! is what I usually write) is useful. Not that everyone reads it :/.

[thisbird]

4 hours ago, Arlesienne said:

Of course I wouldn't :D! If you want, I can guide you step-by-step through Steam. Say, you would launch a stream of your game so that we can see how you are setting all up and I would then point out what I would change. Or even show you the servers if you like. I suppose it could even be done this late evening - I am currently in CE(S)T. I think that would be the easiest. Hope any tips may be worth your while!

There are mods which deny opening chests/iceboxes or burning things longer than FM's five days, but DST is essentially about cooperation, so I find the limit sufficient. I do know more severe mods, so I can help.

Thanks again! I'd appreciate a step-by-step, if it's not too much trouble. Let's try and work out a time that's convenient for you.

[thisbird]

3 hours ago, CautiousGamer said:

Hey thisbird, if you are the host, just hit TAB, select the player that is griefing and then hit either "KICK" or "BAN" the minute you see them grief you.  You can also just hit "disconnect", which kicks everyone, and then roll back the days on the server to an earlier save.  If you banned the griefer, they won't be able to rejoin but everyone else will.  Sometimes, when I am particularly frazzeled by the griefers, I take that opportunity to switch the server to "friends only".  If anyone you were playing with is your steam friend, they will be able to join again.

If you are playing on someone else's server, you are much more limited as to what you can do. 

1.  You can "tell on them" and name them as a griefer in the chat, and hope that admin does something (or is on line),

2.  or you can try to PREVENT such behavior before it begins.

I have seen from other posts in these forums that just about anyone in a bad mood is capable of crossing the line and becoming a griefer.  Not all griefer's are phychos, they are just angry people.  Their bad behavior is usually triggered by something someone said to them in the chat, or by bad behavior of others towards them and is therefore preventable.

(Then again, some people are just idiots and grief because they are jerks.  Unfortunately nothing you can do will ever change that.)

 

For the MAJORITY of people, I find the following tips work to PREVENT griefing:

- Sometimes giving people a warm welcome such as "Hi, and welcome" in the chat when they first join puts them in a good mood (and they then don't grief you because you have included them and made them feel welcome).

- be friendly to all, and keep things light.  Most people join a game because they want to have fun, not to get their rocks off griefing.  If you are in try-hard mode, that is fine, but on those days, trying playing on a private server with a password, not a public one.

- I usually give people clear directions to my camp and major resources such as rock biome or beef when they join.  This way, if they are going to grief me, just get it over with.  I don't want to be chatting with them for several days and then get my heart broken.  (That is just harsh).

- understand that some people like to join a server late game to give themselves an added challenge.  Don't hold this against them, they are not all griefers.  Instead, anticipate that someone will join late game and leave them some stuff to start off with. 

- If you happen to be passing by anywhere near spawn when someone joins, I often just hand them an axe, some flint, twigs, etc. to get them started.  Most people will appreciate this and will then play cooperatively with you.  If you leave them with nothing and dig up all the saplings/berries near spawn and they struggle to find fire on their first night, you are inadvertently just asking for grief. 

- once you get established, go back to spawn and build an extra fire pit, plant some grass/saplings so there will be renewable resources for new players.  Build a science machine and leave it at spawn.  This goes a long way to setting a positive mood on the server. 

- if someone does something helpful, take the time to say thanks.  If there is a positive air in the chat, 99% of the time most people will play cooperatively and there will be no grief.  You will also enjoy a better game.  Sometimes just not appreciating the efforts of another player is enough to set them off.

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much for the advice! This is all good information, and I'll keep it in mind going forward. (Especially the TAB bit; I knew I'd seen that screen before but couldn't for the life of me remember how to bring it up!)

I agree that setting something up to help newcomers is important, and that greeting folks and welcoming them is the way to go about a public server. I usually put the main base right by the portal, actually, so folks can find me right away and I can get them set up with some starting equipment. I also include a sign telling everyone which way camp is. For the most part, it's worked out, but... well. Yesterday was the exception. The guy just came in and got right to it. I've been hosting public games for awhile now, and it's my first run-in with a confirmed griefer, so I guess I should consider myself lucky

I do sometimes play on private servers with just my friends, and that's a lot of fun, but there's an element of surprise that I enjoy in public games, too. I've run into some people that I really enjoy playing with but wouldn't have met otherwise. So, I figured I'd better get some tips on how to deal with that situation if it comes up again. I definitely don't want to forego public servers altogether. ^^

[Arlesienne]

A good plan is having the main base away, with a starting one close to the portal. I got your message, so now I will wait for you to finish lunch and poke me.

 

[thisbird]

4 hours ago, Arlesienne said:

A good plan is having the main base away, with a starting one close to the portal. I got your message, so now I will wait for you to finish lunch and poke me.

 

Thanks again so much for offering to help. Next time I create a new server, I think I'll go this route.

[Arlesienne]

On 3.05.2016 at 2:05 AM, thisbird said:

Thanks again so much for offering to help. Next time I create a new server, I think I'll go this route.

No need to thank me. A normal thing. I just hope it works out for you. Take care.

EDIT:

I tried to upload the guide here, but it was so buggy I had to make a new thread, my sincerest apologies):