spittnacid

Flame me for saying this but being the only one coding it is his right to flat out say NO... PISS OFF if he wants to. Being a novice coder, I view it the same as my graphic art, I make it for my own enjoyment and maybe others may like it. I may take suggestions but ultimately I have final say in what I feel like doing. Now if you want to pay me or if I was working with others on something, than that changes the game and I'd be alot more receptive cos a. I like getting paper and b. I like working in a team. I think before you start flaming him, understand what he has to do to try(though impossible) to make everyone happy. He can't just pull code out of his ass and say here! Now if you understand (not assume) what goes into coding and what it is to be on your own with the weight of a zone on your shoulders than maybe you have a right to call him out... but I don't think anyone can do that or else we would have more coders... unless those coders are just lazy and don't want to help, in which case you definetly don't have any room to bitch. ^ Rant off.

Yeah why not have a base set, not like you cant add items later to it. Also if you slowly roll it out than when you see server pop is getting low throw some more items at them to work towards buying and trying.

Before I get too serious about it just for it to be unwanted, I was thinking of redesigning all the ships from scratch using Maya to model and render but I would like some input. Is this something the community would be interested in? If so does anyone have any ideas they would like to see, or a theme of how the ships should look? If I go ahead further I will do all the possible work including testing them in game so all that needs to be done is replacing the png files (or lvz, not sure how the server works).

i agree and disagree.... user input is most important especially from the dedicated players however I don't think many go about making suggestions the proper way. Saying you suck, fix it, is very counter productive, I don't see how Spider even deals with the knuckleheads that bitch and moan.If you got something to suggest than be more humble about it and if you can code or do anything to contribute than offer. Just don't sit back and complain, do something about it! Ppl take him for granted I think and don't realize how much work has gone into making the zone. Im not brown nosing Im just telling it how I see it.

loooool just like the other one amirite Negative Nancy

This what I cam up with so far... not a back and front but 2 side entrances, I kinda got lazy as you can tell. I really like the top half, it's the bottom half I think sucks. The small tunnels are also a bit hard to nav in dcme test mode idk if it's the same ingame.... not sure how to test with actual client. if pic doesn't show try https://www.dropbox.com/s/6gpc0c5kvu5e1fg/hs002wip.png

Well I made a map but to be quite honest Im not happy with it so I don't think i'll be submitting it until im ok with it. Laying out the idea of the map is not my strong point but I love tiling! If anyone has a GOOD map idea I'd be more than happy to make it for the game, I just need at least a layout of it. It's more like grunt work I guess but I don't mind and would probably enjoy making someone elses idea. All I'd ask is shared props if there is such a thing in making maps.

i like all the suggestions esp. giving new people a fighting chance with beginning exp and money. Once pop is back up than make all new ppl or ppl that reset have a newbie bonus. After so many clocked hours, this is removed and they will have to fend for themselves.almost like a more powerful starter kit but that expires and is only available with their first ship. Also each kit is tailored to the kind of ship. If they purchase any upgrades (minus consumables) the bonus automatically is removed. This will allow them to have a fighting chance to earn the exp and money they need when they lose the bonus. Also it will encourage ppl to PLAY because they will want to use this trial period to gain as much money and exp as possible to be ready for when they lose their bonus.

So do you have any ideas to make it better? I noticed an influx of of new players lately or maybe its just me, what is bad though is they don't stick around a. cos no one else is playing and b. while its great there is f1, no one reads it and the zone is not noob friendly. I still dont know what everything does, whats best to get etc. I think the help needs and overhaul and the ?buy setup. Better descriptions right on the buy screen and easier naming conventions. I notice some items you dont have to type out the entire thing, but new ppl dont know this. Also if money is gonna remain tight, I think items should have 100% sell value. Is there anyway using lvz files to make an actual vendor GUI? That right there would be 1000 times better. Just my opinions.

I think the devs should put more faith in the players to have fair flag games. Obviously I wanna win, but its not as fun playing when its too easy cos your brutalizing the other team. I like the idea of a jackpot cap because I don't like 2 hour flag games and the only reason its so long is because people want to raise the jackpot and they get greedy. On the same token it's not worth playing a 30 minute game, which is ideal, for a crappy jackpot. I say cap the pot at a reasonable amount and if there's a way for a very minor increase for the winning freq that holds the flags the longest... than fix the team balancing so no one gets jipped for the work they put towards thr team they're on.

Is there a way to import the ship sizes for testing maneuverability Im most worried about the lanc being so big and wondering if making some paths in the base size restricted, another way to break up the players so its not a big cluster. It will probably take me a couple of days but I'll submit one. Who, where, how should I submit it?

Yeah I forgot that it downloads the map... it's been a loooong time since i tried my hand at map editing but I wasn't sure which of the lvl files to use so I deleted them all and reentered game to redownload latest and than imported tileset from it. What do you guys think of bases with multiple paths and multiple possible flag rooms? It may break up all the mindless cluster battles and add some much needed strategy and team work.

Where can I download the current tileset to use in dcme? and is 3.4.16 the version of dcme to use? thx guys!

the reason i mentioned freq jumping is because i feel that the *good* players would be responsible enough to have a fair game. who wants to poay against a bunch newbs? that would be boring. these were all just suggewtions from a players perspective not a devs and i appreciate your responses as to why they wouldnt work. cya ig.

rather than having 2 opposing freqs with forced team balancing i think the 2 generic freqs should stay but allow private flag freqs and freq jumping only if the freq u are jumping to has less than 12 flags. also the winning reward is based on the strength of your oppenents and number of players even if its only 1 vs 1 fg. also individual winnings so u get the proper cred for your participation rather than being on the winning team at the right time. bots obviouly woud be required to do this. Also an auction house bot and drops would be interesting. when yu kill someone you may get an item very rarely but at least say a repel or burst. 1/100 times you may get an upgrade. upgrades are in the form of items that can be sold or attached to a qualifying ship provided you meet the exp req. with the use of bots anything is possible. devs have no excuse as they can employ more devs to help, beta test and roll out new features on a test arena for betaing. also a seperate forum would be nice to get player feedback via a voting system to see what ideas players want. excuse my grammar, written from my tablet

Can you remove the shipset graphics restriction and enable rolling animations? I see no harm in this nor any benefit for restricting it. If this zone is to survive and be fun, I think it needs to look better to attract new players. I understand 95% of the players are vets of the zone and hate change, and aren't exactly welcoming to new players ( a few are) But I haven't seen any newcomers that come back again. Despite playing the original beta I'm a new player to this zone and I fell in love with it, but I probably only stuck around because I understand the basics of the game no matter what the zone is. Sad but true, this generation likes eye candy and so we need that. The worst thing to happen is the zone is flooded with newbs and you have fresh meat... best case is we might get a few good ppl to play with. One of the reasons I ask this is, I'd like to design new ships using Maya 3D. Granted I could design shipsets and use in unrestricted zones, but I need to really have the full experience of how they play and look in this very unique zone, especially with dealing in different ship sizes. A great concept, but the ships obviously look like zoomed in versions just from looking at say, the cockpits. I think it would be cool as heck to have the lanc looking like an actual mothership or carrier while the spider is like some crazy looking drone. Bombers and gunners would look more the part... cos honestly the the jav looks more like a gunner and wb a bomber, going by real world airplane designs. What do you think?

-Solid Nutronium -Compression Core -Impulse Drive -Beam Array -Inertial Damper -Maneuvering Fins -Flux Vanes -Protect Mount -Defense Mount -Entropy Missile -Cloak Shaper -Energy Scanner This is all done with only 9k exp. I cannot take credit for this build. It's pretty solid for basing. The bounce and spread work great for controlling corners because energy consumption from shooting is pretty much nullified. It also can be used to sneak into a base. Lots of shrap, plus repels and bursts. You can use to center but don't bother chasing. Can take lots of damage and with energy scanner you can pick off people attacking you. Don't bother decloaking to kill someone as the guns are too weak for a fast kill. Let me know what you think.

no offense but i dont assume anything

Thats a good starting point. Last in first out when balancing. I think the players that care should voice their opinion and come up with a general consensus, figure out how to logically implement and than code it.

i think it should be up to the players to decide what a fair system would be. My personal idea is to have a flagging bot that keeps track of what each players freq is and keeps them on that freq indefinetly until the game is won. The only balancing will occur to people just joining the current flag game. you are allowed to switch teams as long as you are not on the losing team while the winning team has all 12. If you change teams, you have to wait 10 minutes before switching again. Balancing should be up to the players, that is more natural than forcing ppl into teams. This could allow a group of really good players to dominate the zone, but with the egos and constant competition, and trash talking, that wouldn't happen. I think groups of maybe 2-3 players may typically want to be on the same team as each other and I think that would be alot more fun to play with people you get along with or work well with, than being forced into teams with people you really do not like. So back to your proposition. If you can just point me in a starting direction for coding this or similar, I'll gladly take a crack at it. C++ correct?

The items are in a separate file so you just need an updated file. As for website if you mean wikipage, thats missing alot of info. I got all the information from ingame. An autoupdate would be nice.There should be in any case a webpage that has accurate updated info, not from me, but from the devs. If its in a format i can easily code a parser to make updates avail with 24hrs or you can do it yourself, This really isnt meant to be some grand project, just something i started for myself and thought id share. If any of the devs want someone to make a more concise online manual or help maintain wiki, msg me.Theres alot of lacking info on the particulars of every item and what the stat changes mean. Id like to make kind of a ship builder so you can plan out your loadout and know what your pros/cons are and specific stats will be before you spend any $$$. Right now, you basicaly waste money experimenting what works best and with exp and $$$ nerfed in this latest update, it feels like a virtual recession.

3 flag games in a row, I was specced and put on the losing team right before the flags dropped. It's very irritating to be on a team, winning or losing, for over an hour, just to be specced and put on the other team. It's a total waste, especially if you were specced off the winning team right before winning (or in this case losing). I understand you want balance but the current system is very flawed. Please fix it because if this keeps happening I am quiting. Now no one cares if I quit but Im not the only one irritated by this so it would be more than me not playing or at least not flagging anymore.

http://www.spittnacid.com/test.jpg

who knows but its nothing that gives you an advantage over another player so i dont see the harm.

yes that screnshot was juat a working design NOT the finished interface. Also there is a iteminfo button to click that sens the command to the game. I was thinking about putting the info in the app to pop up a window or display in a ticker but right now im sticking with the way it is. Once i finish the data files i am redesigning the interface so you just press Pause/break key ingame to bring up the interface. After using it the scrolling is not that bad being that the list only shows what is compatible for the hull chosen. I could add an exp filter if i wanted. When the new interface is done, i'll post screenshots. another feature i am adding will be extended Function key support that is customizable so you can assign macros to them if you prefer that method and have run out of Fkeys in the client. This would be great to say assign Alt+F1 to ?buy ships, Alt+F2 to ?buy consumables, Alt+F2 to ?buy guns etc etc