I'd like to respond to a few things...
The password stuff...we're working on. No-one wants it, but right now we need it. We have other potential solutions in the works but until then we are making the best of a bad situation, and personally I'd say we're doing well.
Hacking...You've got to help with that. The reason evidence is asked for is because It's not fair on the admins to ask them to do all the work when all you have are suspicions. Their game time is interrupted enough, without looking into every player's suspicions of another. I know I spent multiple rounds spectating people, recording people, not being able to play. We have a
report a hacker forum, that has had 3 posts in it.
When we have real suspicions though, ones we are confident in, we do everything we can to deal with it. Sniper1234, drewboogy, Cristian Abel. All banned for hacking. Heck, would any of you have accused Abel of hacking? He's the last person I expected...
The game not being easy to run...Well, personally I just think you need to try a little harder.
Don't take it the wrong way, it's not as simple as install and play, but we have guides, emails, PM's. I get PM's or emails on a near daily basis asking for keys, I get messages asking me for help, and I try my best to respond as soon as I can, and almost always within 24 hours...so if you're in that boat, just ask for help...we're more than willing to.
For player counts, just drop in for a little while. If everyone waits for people to be there it will be forever empty. Drop in, do something nearby while you wait so you can keep an eye on it, then when people inevitably join, have some fun. I'm doing what I can, cd-keys, game downloads, EA is still looking into what they can do.
Players breaking rules...well, we have a system for that. If an admin doesn't catch them, report it. We don't need any evidence for most, although it's preferred. But if you can't get any, just post a report and we can do the hard work. Maybe sometimes we can't prove it and they get away with it that time, but things catch up. Take Lesuk, he was reported repeatedly and his ban got longer and longer, I'm not even sure he's been back, I've not seen him on and the reports have stopped. So, if someone breaks the rules, let us know...that's all we ask.
In my opinion, friendly fire will be a disaster. It prohibits so many legitimate ways of playing to do what? Stop the occasional M79? I get why it frustrates people, but it wont solve it. You'll both die, they'll respawn, come back and do the same. Or, they'll hit you with the M79 and not the ground, that way they don't get any damage, unless we turn that FF on too, in which case every bullet has to be watched as well as they will kill teammates. That then includes SA-7 and other heat-seeking rockets that don't care if you are friend or foe.
Rule breaking can be reported, that's easy. Selfish gameplay though, that can't. People need to realise that we're what's left of this game and we should do everything we can to make the atmosphere fun for everyone. Even on last flag I'd refrain from raping because there's no fun to it. It's like shooting fish in a barrel, where's the challenge? The enjoyment? Clearly some people like it but I wont understand that...
For map voting, I'm of the opinion that if people are not voting to change, they want to play that map, and everyone should respect that. Like I said before, we're what's left, and we should respect people's decisions. Ho chi lasts all of what? 5-10 minutes? Same with Cambodian. Grit your teeth and bear it, let everyone have the fun you do on other maps. Honestly, those jungle maps were my favourite. Sniping, hiding in the bush, sneaking into the temple...it's enjoyable.
Player vote kick is a double edged sword. On the one hand, sure, it means you guys can remove trouble makers, on the other it has the potential to force people out because they get kicked when they broke no rules, people just don't like how they play. We're not really in a position where we can be that picky about our players...what we should do is talk to them, explain why we think it's wrong, and hope they come around.