Bomook

In scoring goals, I can imagine the delay to be annoying (if you catapult into sector 1, pick up the ball, and then have to wait), and it will make scoring freqs a little more specialized (one guy warps to sector 5, one guy retrieves the ball in sector 1, etc.) but that's about all the harm it'll probably do. I can't think of a way it would kill scoring Also, if the powerball is made to spawn at any random spot on the map (which it hopefully will ), then the annoyance and scoring freq specialization would be eliminated.

I was comparing Continuum's speed truncation system to an ideal space physics system (namely compliance with Newton's 1st law), and pointing out how awkward applying space physics onto infantry-type zones would be. I wasn't comparing anything to infantry's drag at all. I know quite well what I'm talking about, though I admit that I made an ambiguous post -_-. And yes, it's pretty obvious that max. speed is different than drag. (though very similar since they both cause constant deceleration, albeit in different directions)

That is true, (notice how I only said "sort of a 'drag engine'" ). My point was that this "truncation" system, although far from perfect, is something that already allows infantry-type zones to play less awkwardly.

actually, there already is sort of a "drag engine", although there is no way to adjust it. Pretend you're traveling in a straight-line. You gradually accelerate and start moving very fast. You then turn 90 degrees. You start flying "straight" in that direction (for a while, you actually move in a "slanted" path due to momentum from your past movement), and you start decelerating in your previous direction. After a while, your movement vector will no longer include the direction you were previously moving in, and you will travel straight in your new direction. Although quite subtle, if you think about it, this is very awkward for conventional space zones (it's an explicit violation of Newton's 1st law, since no force causes that deceleration), yet in a ground-based infantry-type zone, having to compensate for past movement in different directions would seem ridiculous. So I personally think the drag engine currently takes on a "happy medium".

I agree that 300 seconds is too long. A flag time of that long, if anything will discouage basing since it's too easy to get thored or just taken over in that time. Running has always been the easy way to win with a long timer, anyways (at least for open maps). The current flag time is 120 seconds. That's more than ample time to bring them into a base. There's always been basing when HS was still using subgame (unless you were someone like Cerebral and just stayed and slaughtered everyone in the center ). Right now, since the flags are quite concentrated, it's very easy to just grab them all and either stay in the center or hide them somewhere. The main obstacle to basing, however, is the "lag coma" bug which may force you to reconnect when deep inside a base. If this changes when the new map is implemented, then yes, the flag timer will probably be adjusted accordingly. But currently, there is nothing wrong with the flag time.

or go to Badgers!, or Ferret Dance!

Coenny, your situation is possible, though quite esoteric. There'll probably be some other means of escape (friendly capship, warp, etc.). And catapults won't always be the only special means of warping, so it probably won't remain as a big issue. Besides, there's always the F3 key

I agree with Siaon. In normal cases of using catapults (even for scouting) someone would remain in a sector for at least a quarter of a minute before returning to the catapult, so I don't think 10 seconds will even affect them.

lol that's exactly what we were thinking too

catapult camping or guarding is also illegal. It has the same basis as catapult mining, only it just doesn't have the mines. Catapult camping/guarding includes but is not limited to: repeatedly firing into the catapult with no enemy present.

different games have their own technology and application in physics. The alien fighting game X-Com is also a good source for technology ideas . yeah, like +5 energy would prize you 5 energy upgrades, where -5 would un-prize you 5 energy upgrades I still don't really know what "weight" is for, though

ah, for the prototypes, I was thinking they'd be like retro-versions for new technology. Example: a gravity engine is developed, and works decently. Several prototypes are made to test it. Later, the perfected version is researched and then m!@#$%^&*-produced. While the high-performance completed versions are sold at high prices, the worse prototypes are not destroyed, but are sold on the black market for second-rate prices (btw, this makes me think of another idea, how about renaming the trading post to "black market" and make it slightly more base-like, with a bot-controlled autoturret in there) Hmm the black hole generator sounds good, although it sounds more like a special item or counter-measure for something than a propulsion system ooh! for an idea, how about having an antimatter engine that has -10 to recharge, and also have an antimatter reactor that adds +20 to recharge (so having both will balance out to +10)

hehe, I'm not really sure if they're good and balanced and all, though... I'm just good at making up important sounding high-tech names

-_- ...anyone who plays continuum is automatically a nerd Plasma Propulsion System exp: 3,000 cost: $25,000 weight: 4 ships: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 speed: +1 rotation: +1 thrust: +3 recharge: +0 energy: +0 Prototype Gravity Propulsion exp: 6,500 cost: $50,000 weight: 7 ships: 3, 5, 6, 7 speed: +2 rotation: +2 thrust: +4 recharge: -1 energy: +0 Perfected Gravity Propulsion exp: 10,000 cost: $100,000 weight: 10 ships: 5, 7 speed: +3 rotation: +3 thrust: +5 recharge: -1 energy: +0 Liquid Incendiary Propulsion exp: 3,000 cost: $25,000 weight: 4 ships: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 speed: +3 rotation: +1 thrust: +1 recharge: +0 energy: +0 Prototype Antimatter Propulsion exp: 6,500 cost: $50,000 weight: 7 ships: 4, 5, 6, 7 speed: +4 rotation: +2 thrust: +2 recharge: -1 energy: +0 Perfected Antimatter Propulsion exp: 10,000 cost: $100,000 weight: 10 ships: 6, 7 speed: +5 rotation: +3 thrust: +3 recharge: -1 energy: +0 Proton Fission Reactor exp: 2,000 cost: $40,000 weight: 5 ships: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 speed: +0 rotation: +0 thrust: +0 recharge: +1 energy: +5 Positron Fission Reactor exp: 2,000 cost: $40,000 weight: 5 ships: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 speed: +0 rotation: +0 thrust: +0 recharge: +5 energy: +1 Fusion Reactor exp: 6,000 cost: $65,000 weight: 7 ships: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 speed: +0 rotation: +0 thrust: +0 recharge: +3 energy: +5 Cold Fusion Reactor exp: 6,000 cost: $65,000 weight: 7 ships: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 speed: +0 rotation: +0 thrust: +0 recharge: +5 energy: +3 Antimatter Reactor exp: 10,000 cost: $100,000 weight: 10 ships: 5, 6, 7 speed: +0 rotation: +0 thrust: +0 recharge: +5 energy: +5

I think there should be 4 main categories of component packages. Weapon: affects things like bullet/bomb levels, ROF, shrapnel, multi, bounce, prox Engine: affects things like speed, thrust, rotation Armor/Reactor: affects things like energy, and recharge Munitions Bays: affects item configurations (although I'm not sure if this is possible) About munitions bays: munitions bays modify the total amount of items a ship can carry. e.g.: Survival Kit: allows 2 extra repels, adding to a maximum of 5. Heavy assault package: allows for an extra burst and an extra thor, adding to a total of 4 each. Mobile missile silo: allows for 3 extra thors, for a total of 6. I think instead of having a "possible ships" attribute, the component packages should have a "tech level". Tech levels range from 1 to 10, and each ship starts with a set tech level. e.g.: Warbird = 1 Javelin = 1 Spider = 3 Leviathan = 4 Terrier = 6 Weasel = 7 Lancaster = 7 Shark N/A Enhancers will act only to increase this "tech level". e.g.: 1slot - $20K 2slot - $50K 3slot - $200K Aside from the experience requirements, the "better" items will be of high tech level. For example, the proximity bomb with shrapnel will be of tech level 4, so if a javelin wants it, it'll have to buy the 3slot enhancer first for $200K; this will make it more difficult to create something like the lame proxy/shrapnel javelin. Also, tech levels will establish more of a barrier between ship roles, while still being somewhat flexible. Also, as a general trend, I think the most powerful and expensive component packages should be more base-oriented (namely increasing thrust and energy).

In case you have been wondering about the ships being a little different, the settings have been slightly adjusted. The ships now a step closer to being balanced . Here's a brief overview on the adjustments: Warbird: - has a little bit less energy - bullets move at a faster velocity - bomb ROF has been slightly increased - the warbird's 1-bty stats have slightly reduced energy only as a result of an overall decrease in energy Being by far the most maneuverable ship, a veteran can use the warbird and dodge almost any oncoming fire. Even newbies can use it to dodge most weapons, making it obvious that this ship is overpowered. Lower energy rears the ship towards more of a scout role, but the unchanged maneuverability still allows veterans with skill to dodge just about everything. Javelin: - bombs deal slightly more damage - energy has been slightly decreased, but recharge has been increased to compensate - shrapnel has been reduced - the overall maneuverability has been reduced - as a 1-bty ship, the javelin is more energy efficient and has slightly more recharge. Well, I could rant on for days about how and why the javelin is by far the best ship, so I'll keep it short: it's the best baser, best suicider, best thor-lobber, best m!@#$%^&*-killer, and best open-fighter. The higher energy cost for bombs offsets the bomb bounce. Lower shrapnel and lower bomb velocity mean less m!@#$%^&*-laming. Spider: - the overall maneuverability has been slightly increased - bullets move at a faster velocity - the spider's 1-bty stats feature a faster recharge rate Currently, this ship is fine as a base burster, but when in open combat, the spider must use rockets to get decent hits off. People being rocketed against find it lame, while spider pilots find it annoying that they're pretty much limited to rockets. An increase in overall maneuverability reduces that dependence. Leviathan: - the rates of fire for all weapons systems have been increased - the multifire spreads more - shrapnel has been slightly reduced - the leviathan has a good recharge rate even as a 1-bty ship The leviathan is probably the "average" ship. Not overpowered, not underpowered. I just thought it would be more interesting to have weapons with higher ROF to better take advantage of its high charge rate. Lowered shrapnel makes the bombs less "lame", since this ship is great for m!@#$%^&*-bombing. Terrier: - the overall maneuverability has been drastically increased - the terrier has both improved energy and recharge as a 1-bty ship The terrier is a strong ship, but its sluggishness makes it a terrible open-fighter. Surp!@#$%^&*ed by the javelin in base suicide ability, and surp!@#$%^&*ed by the spider in base bursting ability, the terrier obviously won't be the best baser. The overall maneuverability has been increased to make this ship much better suited for dueling Weasel: - mining ability has been slightly increased - shrapnel has been slightly increased - bombs move at a slower velocity - bombs deal slightly less damage - the weasel is more energy efficient as a 1-bty ship and has both improved recharge and energy The weasel's original niche seemed to be a defensive mine-layer. This ability was expanded on. Now able to lay more mines, and consume less energy, this ship is the ultimate in base defense. Lancaster: - multifire now shoots at the same rate as single fire - shrapnel has been slightly increased - all weapon systems require slightly more energy to fire - the capship has high energy as a 1-bty ship Like the leviathan, the lancaster is about balanced. The multifire always seemed peculiar, though. Because the multifire angle wasn't right for supporting the single fire shots, the multifire ROF has been increased to give the multifire bullets more independence. Most importantly this makes the lancaster much more difficult to be flanked, which was perhaps its biggest weakness. Shark: - can see bombs and mines on radar - recharge rate has increased - bombs require less energy to fire Definitely the oddball ship. It's designed for newbies to get started with, but the combination of its lack of power and comparatively high bounty make it difficult to apply into any role. Now with the ability to see bombs and mines on radar, this will serve as a "practice" ship, teaching newbies how to better utilize bombs, radar, et cetera. Yes, this means that the warbird and javelin are no longer the best 2 ships. Namely the javelin . To say the least, its m!@#$%^&* bombing/laming ability has been decreased.

yeah, the bug is still there, but it's a lot better than it used to be. It's only happened to me when about 6 or more people were in the arena, and still it was somewhat rare.

as long as it prevents people who haven't really played much from simply being given all their money and then buying everything, I think it's good

ah, all I really meant by the second exponential requirements idea was having progressively higher requirements for meeting a class. Since there will be a final class in which all buyable equipment become available, there will be a final class. I just figured that having progressively higher requirements would make for a more gradual progression up the class hierarchy. Although, it wouldn't really be bad if the classes all had the same requirement, since the purpose of the system is really to limit people from being given money and being able to buy an uber-prox-shrapnel javelin and killing everyone all within their first few days of playing

actually, Siaon deserves the credit for the experience system. And about the classes idea, I'm going to have to suggest (again ) having an exponential increase for the requirements of the classes. If the requirements were set, then it would be too easy to advance classes, especially after the player has attained better equipment for his ship.

here's a brief reiteration of the ideas that either haven't been completely addressed yet, or could use more ideas: Experience: items should be linked to experience, so people can't simply receive tons of money and buy everything, but need to show some skills too. New Warp methods: please see New Warp methods Make firing weapons cost ammo: I personally think that only bombs should have ammo, whereas bullets have unlimited ammo. Most bullet weapons are used for spraying; having a monetary tax would discourage such activity, further weakening the effectiveness of bullets (bombs are currently dominant)

...hmm...

well right now, the uber-repel sounds really cheap. It's a decent idea, and I suppose with some careful balancing and/or countermeasures it can be fixed and eventually added. The random wormholes I think is a bad idea. Unless there is some way of consistently predicting them and/or averting them, then it just adds a huge luck factor into flag games, which is bad (e.g. if someone with all the flags randomly gets warped and killed, he'd be pissed). Again, unless there is some way involving skill to evade the wormholes (as opposed to just dumb luck ), I don't think it should be implemented.

yeah, besides, with ASSS coming in (and therefore no more dead bots), we're on Easy Street now

I think having staff forums would be nice. After all, we need some way to plot your doom Well they obviously aren't necessary now, (or anytime soon), but when the zone does come up, and especially after the new changes take place, a lot of other issues will inevitably arise, making staff forums vital.