Context
In Zombie Escape, there is a plugin that allows players to hide their teammates via /hideteam, sm_hideteam, etc. By allowing players to render fewer objects, this feature can help them get through specific sections more easily, increase FPS, and even reduce crashing to a certain extent. A recent plugin was created to automatically hide players who are near you for this last reason specifically.
Problems
Several players dislike this, however, for the following reasons:
- It unnecessarily hides nearby players in some situations and makes it harder to know who is defending with you or around you in general.
- It becomes difficult to tell who is near you during close-quarters defenses (e.g., hallways), so players that die inside you will get you stuck in them with no warning beforehand.
- New players tend to get lost easily in situations where the team runs close to one another.
- It reduces the fun aspects of interacting with players.
* You can't even see players you partner taunt with because you get so close to them they disappear.
* The tension of defending with players that is core to ZE is lost when really close together.
From personal experience leading maps or playing on the server in general, new players occasionally ask if they can disable the feature while older players complain about the issues it creates.
Solutions
I can understand why this feature is necessary and on by default. Suppose a situation where a new player joins the server when it is near full and it is currently on a map that tends to crash players. Rather than have them crash and not continue with the game mode out of confusion, it may seem preferable to forcibly hide players so they can play without issue. Even so, I believe that players should be able to disable it at their own discretion, acknowledging this risk. For these players, just enable a toggle feature similar to hideteam.
For example:
!autohide
/autohide
sm_autohide
The autohide feature will stay on by default. Players will have the ability to toggle it off with the above commands. If necessary, include a warning message like, "Disabling this feature increases the risk of crashing. Keep this off at your own risk."
In Zombie Escape, there is a plugin that allows players to hide their teammates via /hideteam, sm_hideteam, etc. By allowing players to render fewer objects, this feature can help them get through specific sections more easily, increase FPS, and even reduce crashing to a certain extent. A recent plugin was created to automatically hide players who are near you for this last reason specifically.
Problems
Several players dislike this, however, for the following reasons:
- It unnecessarily hides nearby players in some situations and makes it harder to know who is defending with you or around you in general.
- It becomes difficult to tell who is near you during close-quarters defenses (e.g., hallways), so players that die inside you will get you stuck in them with no warning beforehand.
- New players tend to get lost easily in situations where the team runs close to one another.
- It reduces the fun aspects of interacting with players.
* You can't even see players you partner taunt with because you get so close to them they disappear.
* The tension of defending with players that is core to ZE is lost when really close together.
From personal experience leading maps or playing on the server in general, new players occasionally ask if they can disable the feature while older players complain about the issues it creates.
Solutions
I can understand why this feature is necessary and on by default. Suppose a situation where a new player joins the server when it is near full and it is currently on a map that tends to crash players. Rather than have them crash and not continue with the game mode out of confusion, it may seem preferable to forcibly hide players so they can play without issue. Even so, I believe that players should be able to disable it at their own discretion, acknowledging this risk. For these players, just enable a toggle feature similar to hideteam.
For example:
!autohide
/autohide
sm_autohide
The autohide feature will stay on by default. Players will have the ability to toggle it off with the above commands. If necessary, include a warning message like, "Disabling this feature increases the risk of crashing. Keep this off at your own risk."
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