While the main website is still somewhat work in progress, we’re now considering the migration complete, as we’re now fully independent from GFL.
IP Change
However, while we were in the process of moving things over, our host informed us that the IP address we wanted to transfer (216.52.148.47) was part of an IP block that they do not have full ownership of. Because of this, they have not been issuing IP’s on it for a long time, and are now planning to drop it in the near future.
This means that regardless of the whole independent GFL ZE thing happening, we were going to be forced to change our IP anyways. So we’ve taken the opportunity to do it right away, as the longer of a migration period we have to smooth out the transition, the better. The old IP will be used to redirect players to the new IP for as long as possible.
So without further ado, the new server IP is now 74.91.124.21:27015. Your favourites should update automatically (though some have reported it didn’t for them), but if you have any connect aliases or anything, you should update them.
Donation News
The new donation site with subscriptions & alternate payment methods is now live here. We have also come to the decision that we will be raising the prices of Supporter to $5.99/month, and VIP to $9.99/month. There are several factors that went into this decision:
- Inflation: The existing pricing was decided on over 8 years ago now, in that time, the value of a dollar has obviously not stayed static. For example, the equivalent of $7.99 back then is now around ~$10.50 today based on an inflation calculator. We’re not directly tying our pricing to inflation or anything (else it would be higher :ujel:), but it is still a consideration.
- Additional fees: With our new donation system, the service we’re using takes a 5% cut of donations. And depending on the payment method used, there is even further cuts, some as high as 20%.
- Margin of safety: The first 6 months of CS2 with reduced donations, and even the overall closing of GFL showed that we shouldn’t get complacent. While we can currently sustain on what you guys have been contributing, we want to be well equipped for unpredictable events in the future.
- Rising hardware costs: Over the 8 years, we’ve seen the cost of our dedicated machine go up by around ~$100. And rather than being able to optimize multiple GFL servers on a box, we’re just down to ourselves now.
Despite this announcement, the pricing changes are actually not going into effect yet. We’re going to give a one month grace period with the old pricing, and within this time period, you can pre-purchase as many months as you want with the old pricing. By doing so, you would also be helping us build our balance back up to a stronger level, as CS2 launch & the leadup to GFL closing burned through a lot of reserves.