In our last article, Is there hope for Urban Combat Roleplay sims? We discussed the closing of Whiskey City and the issues Urban Combat Roleplay sims face. The formula Syn City originally developed isn’t as viable today as it was years ago. As not only is Syn City performing poorly; but other sims that took a similar path. Things have been pretty bad for these sim owners and just a month after the closing of Whiskey City; it has became much worse. A major component of the formula is on the brink of extinction.
Anyone who is part of the DCS Support group is aware that DCS (Dynamic Combat System) has been down for days. The following notice was sent out on the 4th:
DCS is down!
The DCS is down due some communication issues. Our Code Monkeys are working on it in order to solve whatever is it. They are trying their best to be quick as possible. Our apologies for the inconvenience
Regards
DCS2 Support
Anyone who been using DCS for the past few years is well aware that the DCS infrastructure isn’t hosted on a stable cloud server platform. The DCS site and stats are actually hosted on someone’s home computer. If that someone loses power or their computer crashes everything DCS stops working from the website to meters in world. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as DCS is very low in price and it is more of a hobby than a business to the creators of DCS.
The unstable platform has been problematic for sims that heavily rely on DCS being up for not only for combat and stats reasons; but also to keep their traffic rank high. DCS has given an unfair traffic advantage to sims that used their meter because avatars camp to get experience points which help them level up. While basic roleplay sims have to rely more on actual activity; knowing most will log off when roleplay is over. What happens when DCS is taken out of the equation?
Syn City which usually has about 60k traffic on our last check has about 25k. About a 60% reduction. This has put Syn City below London City; Woodcrest University; Convergence and Liberty City. Ironically the similarily named Sin City and Sex City; a entire sim that shares the same name as the latest addition to the Syn City landing area; both are ranked higher than Syn in Traffic. While other DCS rivals like Paradise City remain below Syn City with about 22k traffic. Toxian; where DCS originated is only at about 10k.
Then came another notice was sent from the DCS Support group:
DCS Support rescue IMPORTANT
THE DEAL
I recieved an insurance payment because my car was totaled. My hone was robbed and ransacked for anything valuable. This includes my co.puters a and parts. I have been staying with friends. We are trying to bring DCS back up asap.BEFORE ITS DELETED DONATE
paypal.me/dcstox
This latest notice has raised our suspicions. Few days prior it was due to “communication issues” and the usual “code monkeys” are working to quickly resolve it. This may have been cover to help alleviate the woes of users as in past instances. Next we are told the owner’s car has been totaled and their house has been robbed; including the computer that been keeping DCS running. All hell is breaking loose and now it is up to you; the DCS user to do your part and donate “BEFORE ITS DELETED”.
Lets go over the possible scenarios. If the home is robbed and everything valuable is stolen; including computers and parts; then that would mean the DCS (and user) data is gone too. Unless there was a backup somewhere that wasn’t stolen. This backup will likely be old. Lets say the owner has a backup; wouldn’t this mean DCS can be saved? One would think; but near the end of the notice and in all caps; the owner threatens DCS will be deleted unless users donate money via Paypal.
In the last few years there has been a couple DCS notices seeking funds; usually involving DCS being down due to a setback. Setbacks do happen; but the frequency is becoming suspicious and each one is becoming more dire. The latest notice has raised the temperature significantly. Totaling cars and unable to secure valuable assets, especially assets that may have been purchased from previous donations displays a total lack of responsibility.
How do sim owners who rely on the combat meter working feel? The outage must be causing major headaches as it hurts them many times more than the average DCS user. Traffic ranks are in free fall while operation costs remain the same. If sim owners still believe in the system then they should donate to help the cause. Though anyone with serious skin in the game shouldn’t donate without raising some serious questions about the platform’s future.
What about those who don’t have serious skin in the game yet? The ones that open DCS combat sims are ones that have been exposed to DCS elsewhere. If the platform is constantly battling turbulence, then why would anyone who is considering opening a new sim bother making a huge investment knowing DCS may not exist in the near future. New growth is vital to survival; without new growth whatever remains will whither away.
If one disregards the reasons behind the latest DCS outage; it shouldn’t come as a surprise DCS is struggling and in dire need of additional funding. The DCS struggle is shared with the sims that use the system. Last month was one less DCS sim when Whiskey City closed. This outage will very likely cause another struggling sim to close. It is as much cause and effect as it is a sign of the times. If the remaining Urban Combat Roleplay sims can’t convert new visitors to committed DCS users than it hurts DCS. If DCS shutters then all the remaining DCS sims will too.
Underground Syn Report 