Ares mod

[Jeryia]

I've made a few updates to the server and Ares code:
- Server now aggressively searches for unfactioned players, and ensures they get assigned to one.
- Fixed issue where Ares could get out of sync with starmade in who is in what faction.
- credits have been heavily nerfed
- credit scaling is enabled. Amount of credits given will slowly scale up as the game progresses.

Also fixed the issue of missiles doing no damage on the dev server.

As some have expressed interest in the server being up today, I've opened it back up: pebble.dynalias.net:4242
Server will be up until 9pm MST.

 

[Matt_Bradock]

Hm... I had an idea for a different "map".

This would require some hardcore boarding action. Basicly, 2 stations placed, the vulnerable objective base and a homebased ring around it with a forcefield "bubble" surrounding it. In order to make the objective base vulnerable, you'd need to board the outer ring and get to a permission blocked activation module to deactivate the invincible force field "shield" (a.k.a "Sabotage the shield generator")

 

[StormWing0]

hmm what to do, no one to fight against at this hour. >_>

 

[Jeryia]

I'm thinking the 'show up whenever' thing doesn't seem to be working well. I've noticed we tend to get a lot of one or two people log in at a time, then wait and leave as there are not enough to play a game. Perhaps we should try to set a specific time for all of us to show up? What times work best for you guys?

Those that do get to play seem to 'get lucky' and log in when a lot of others do

 

[StormWing0]

hmm maybe have it as show up whenever but also have some set times where we are going to run into people?

 

[StormWing0]

Just thought of a couple of other game modes that could be added.

Speed Build: This is where someone is given a shipyard with any amount of resources they need and have X amount of time to build a ship to go out to fight. No BPs allowed in this mode other than what the shipyards have been used to make.


Capture the Flag: There are a number of teams and each has a flag that can be undocked and than docked to a ship and flown off to their base. New flags are spawned floating above the team's base when one is destroyed or captured. Destroying a flag just resets it, also docking a flag for your team onto your ship resets it, capturing an enemy flag both gains you a point(s) and resets the flag.

Not totally sure how the CTF would be programmed the way starmade is setup though.

 

[Reilly Reese]

Not totally sure how the CTF would be programmed the way starmade is setup though.

Make the flag a ship and have some sort of mechanism using the upcoming activation gates might work. I think the flag would need a wireless logic block connected to the gates.

 

[Jeryia]

Sounds like some good thoughts here, I'll add them to the list of things to add.

I'll open up the server this weekend at noon MST on Saturday(11/7), and will leave it open until noon MST Sunday (11/8). Last weekend people really showed up around 5:20pm MST, so I suggest people hop on around that time, if they are looking for enough players.

 

[StormWing0]

Could always post this server on the server section of the forum, might attract a few more players.

 

[Matt_Bradock]

Yay! More shooting coming up :P

 

[Jeryia]

server is up: pebble.dynalias.net:4242

Note that I expect most to be around at 5:20pm MST.

 

[Matt_Bradock]

A list of vailable player commands could be nice. For example, how to switch teams to combat an imbalanced team.

 

[StormWing0]

Sorry about that Matt, my Mom came back home with half the store. >_> Almost had Kupu too. XD

 

[kupu]

That was pretty awesome. Excited to see how this progresses. Hell... mini fleet leagues akin to Blood and Steel could be a thing. Great way for factions to bring some guns to a field and shoot it out.

 

[Jeryia]

A list of vailable player commands could be nice. For example, how to switch teams to combat an imbalanced team.

So currently !help lists out all the general commands, and !help ares will list out the Ares specific ones. This is mentioned in the message when you login. What do you suggest should be different about this? (I do agree, that it needs improvement) Switching teams is currently handled by using the built in starmade faction changing menu. Do you think this should be a in game command as well?

That was pretty awesome. Excited to see how this progresses. Hell... mini fleet leagues akin to Blood and Steel could be a thing. Great way for factions to bring some guns to a field and shoot it out.

Thanks Kupu! Glad you enjoyed it ,
I'd love to see fleet leagues with Ares! Something like that would need to organized by community members. I could definitely help from a technical standpoint, but don't have the time available to me to organize such an event.


What's being worked on:
1. Auto-restart seems to be broken with StarD.
2. Allow faction changing while the game is in progress.
3. Have shops have some starting resources
4. Mitigating the chat blackout issue.
5. Determine the cause for the map loading failure after voting (the map people voted for was valid, but what the game tried to load was not)

Topics of consideration(I'd love to hear people's input on these topics):
- Dealing with faction balancing when players leave. Currently the only help on that topic is that credits are given equally to each team. Therefore a team with less players will get more credits per player. Do we want some auto-balancing while the game is in progress?
- Better ways of getting people to figure out what's going on. (Help system)
- What do you guys think about the credit scaling(how you get more money as the game progresses). Does it need to be increased/decreased?
- I have noticed that players don't tend to go for the boarding option to take out their opponent's station. Do players need more motivation to do this, or is it more people didn't know that you could?

 

[StormWing0]

In progress auto balancing would help, but let the members of a team choose, if no one wants to change teams the game picks randomly. :P

As for not going for the boarding option to take the enemy station I didn't think it was a thing. Maybe mention it can be done somewhere in the rules?

 

[Matt_Bradock]

Well, Jeryia here are my thoughts:

1. Increase the credit count in shops behind the bases. This would encourage high risk, high reward moves like boarding an overheating ship, or even bringing a salvager support ship to the game, to get more credits from salvaged blocks.
2. Allow faction change, but ONLY in case the team member difference is 2 or more, and only from the bigger team to the smaller.
3. Credit scaling is fine as is. If people want more credits, see suggestion 1.
4. For more boarding, make a map that forces boarding. Have the actual destructible base protected with a homebased ring "powering" a big "Zero point energy shield" (forcefield bubble) instead of having turret docks. It can be deactivated, but only if the enemy team board the ring and reaches the "terminal" (button) to "sabotage the shield generator" and thus expose the actual, destructible base. Basicly, you gonna need your admin powers to create 2 stations in the same sector and build one around the other. Players who like boarding, could vote for that map.

 

[Reilly Reese]

Well, Jeryia here are my thoughts:

1. Increase the credit count in shops behind the bases. This would encourage high risk, high reward moves like boarding an overheating ship, or even bringing a salvager support ship to the game, to get more credits from salvaged blocks.
2. Allow faction change, but ONLY in case the team member difference is 2 or more, and only from the bigger team to the smaller.
3. Credit scaling is fine as is. If people want more credits, see suggestion 1.
4. For more boarding, make a map that forces boarding. Have the actual destructible base protected with a homebased ring "powering" a big "Zero point energy shield" (forcefield bubble) instead of having turret docks. It can be deactivated, but only if the enemy team board the ring and reaches the "terminal" (button) to "sabotage the shield generator" and thus expose the actual, destructible base. Basicly, you gonna need your admin powers to create 2 stations in the same sector and build one around the other. Players who like boarding, could vote for that map.

The ring doesn't have to be a station. It could be a ship

 

[Matt_Bradock]

The ring doesn't have to be a station. It could be a ship

The ring has to be a station as it has to be invincible, and afaik only homebases can do that?

 

[StormWing0]

Unless a command is used to make the ship invincible.