Hourly snapshot scenarios!!!!!

[jimson]

Much of this was discussed in the "Dedicated bomber command arena thread", so salute to the OP and the other contributors to that thread.

That thread is starting to die and my take is a little different, so I'm throwing it out there to keep the basic idea alive.

Many of us started in this game because of the historical aspect. I envisioned flying against the Luftwaffe over the white cliffs of Dover, divebombing Jap carriers in the battle of Midway or sweating as my escorts turn back, leaving me to face the flak and fighters as I approach my target city of Bremen.

Alas, I am in a western time zone, work evenings through saturday and sunday is reserved for family. Unless I take time off from work I can never attend any of the current special events and am stuck with Spit vs Spit, 109 vs 190 and Corsair vs Mustang. Sigh..................

But imagine if you will, an arena where you can log in morning, noon or night, select an available slot and automatically be launched into a historically based, "snapshot" type scenario.

Unworkable, you say? A developers nightmare?

Maybe, but maybe not. Lets consider all the elements that are already in place that might make this possible.

1. Whose going to create these missions? Don't we have dozens of already scripted Snapshots that could be adapted to this?
2. How will we automatically get people into the correct vehicles, fields, runways etc? Isn't this programming already in the offline mission editor? Of course there would have to be a way to hold players in queue until the mission start time.
3. How do we reduce time to target etc to keep it in a reasonable time frame? Again, don't the offline missions already use airspawns and mission time outs?
4. How would we get the correct ratio of players on each side? Well, there could be a minimum number of slots per side and once one side was filled, a side balancing mechanism would have to take over. Don't we already have automatic arena cap and ENY balancing? a similar principal could work here.
5. Who would staff it? Well, the idea is that it would be automated and once the scenario for the day or week or whatever was loaded there wouldn't be a need for any staffing.
6. How would info be imparted to the players if there is no staff? Well, the MOTD could describe the mission and there could be a menu with choices (like in the offline missions) and automatic host messages (also like in the offline missions)
7. How do we keep players who don't know what they are doing from fubarring it for every one? Well, how much different would it be from our current walkon snapshots? With friendly collisions disabled and killshooter on, it should be ok. If it's single life and someone crashes on takeoff, it's tough luv for you buddy. Go back to MA and better luck next time. People will learn and each one should run smoother than the last.

The key is that it be totally automated so the players could log in at 10 or 15 minutes early and the mission launch on the hour for example.

You may not always get your ride of choice if you aren't in early enough and there would probably have to be a numbers cap,
but there would always be another one starting soon.

With the developers, CM staff and offline mission gurus like US Ranger, we just might have the talent to put this together.

I'm guessing it would be pretty popular, more so than at least three other exisiting arenas are now.

There might even be some elements from the shelved Combat Tour project that could be implemented, so let's take it one step further. What if it could be programmed for AI to fill unclaimed slots? It could run 24/7 and everyone would find a time to enjoy it.

Whaddya think?

Don't be shy, I know you won't.

[jimson]

Huh......

The thread that inspired this one generated 4 pages of mostly positive responses.

I really thought I knew where that one was going, something along the lines of what APDrone described.

I detailed one way I thought this might work and tried an eyecatching headline and..........FAIL

I may be naive, but for the reasons I mentioned, thought that this wasn't so far-fetched.

It seemed to me that an alternative to the MA and historical game play that was more accessible to everyone might be in demand and people would want to keep sharing their ideas on the matter.

I must have jumped the shark somewhere.

Was it that stupid?

Maybe my post was too long and bored everyone to face-palmed silence?

Wonder how I got it so wrong?

[APDrone]

Well.. not really sure what to tell you.  The community can be fickle in its show of support at times.

From my own perspective, using about 5 fewer exclamation points in the title might have helped.. but my batting record for starting epic threads is way down on the success list.

What you need is somebody to step and say ( realistically ) that it's a horrid idea and that some kitten will be killed or created if it is pursued, or that your genetic heritage is in serious question, or similar.

Subsequently, their detractors will pipe in and do their own ego-smashing.

If you're truly succesfull, the whole thread will be skuzzified within 5 pages.

Good luck, sir!   

[Anaxogoras]

Hi Jimson,

As someone who enjoys special events and a more historical flavor to the game, I'm on your side.  However, I almost never fly in snapshots because they embody the only thing I don't like about scenarios: walkons.  Too many who show up who don't have a clue what's going on or what the event is about.  That's why I like FSO.

Your idea actually sounds more like the abandoned CT project.  It sounds like a lot of fun, and would partially get around the "what's going on?" problem by having the missions scripted and air-spawning you to the combat area.

Great idea, but don't hold your breath.  AH is more of a dogfight/combat game than it is a historical game, and most seem happy with that.

[jimson]

What you need is somebody to step and say ( realistically ) that it's a horrid idea and that some kitten will be killed or created if it is pursued, or that your genetic heritage is in serious question, or similar.

Subsequently, their detractors will pipe in and do their own ego-smashing.

If you're truly succesfull, the whole thread will be skuzzified within 5 pages.

Good luck, sir!   

That's pretty funny,

The way I understood it, Combat Tour was just that, a tour, days, weeks or months long.
I envisioned this as a quick single life event, you could jump into and do for 40 minutes or so, like an abbreviated snapshot event, just to get a break from the MA's and have a little fantasy history fun.

I can kind of guess what you mean about the current snapshot events, but like I said, I never get a chance to try them.

Thanks for the replies,
Jim

[Anaxogoras]

Nice post APdrone.  It is so true that it's only the idiotic threads that get any attention.

[APDrone]

To return to the OP here...

I think you make an excellent argument with reference to timeframes and when you get to fly, as opposed to the times when the majority of players are online.  An automated arena would be wonderful.. and I would be willing to bet one of Filth's body parts that were it to be enacted, you'd probably see more 'non-prime time' activity.

My posts in the original thread were based on what I saw from the CM standpoint. 

For years I've felt that the snapshot environment would benefit by mandating mission-only launches. Even walk-ons new to the game would quickly find out that you shopped around for the mission that you wanted and joined it.  No need to worry about what field to launch from, runway, loadouts or headings.  As it became more routine, hopefully word of mouth would increase the popularity and it would grow. 

The key is to make it as simple as possible to join and gain entertainment.  Our society suffers from short-attention-span-syndrome. A lot of us also have so much going on that being able to work our schedule around the scheduled events is impossible .. if not just inadvisable ( wife-ack likelihood )

Exactly what can be done to make this happen is beyond my knowledge.  I don't know the code structure nor complexity of altering the arena environment to handle this type of arrangement.  I trust that if HTC feels this is a worthwhile pursuit, we will see it at some point.

[jimson]

APDrone

You make a lot of excellent points. I suppose that's why I was so inspired by your posts in the other thread.

Exactly what can be done to make this happen is beyond my knowledge.  I don't know the code structure nor complexity of altering the arena environment to handle this type of arrangement.

Nor do I, but It seems like many of the elements necessary to achieve something like this, already exist here, in one form or another.

[Noir]

choose 190A8 in mission, spawn in mid air at 30K, here are the evil B17's to shoot ! 

[boomerlu]

Jimson,

Your suggestion and justifications are in short, awesome.

Everything makes perfect sense and the suggestion itself would really enhance the game, IMO.

Especially point #7. People would hate clueless walk-ons much less if each snapshot were less important. People get their expectations up for their once-a-week snapshot and then some noob fubars it, pissing them off. If it wasn't only once-a-week, it would be much less frustrating.

Also, the newbies would learn fast. It doesn't take long to get the hang of the MA for example, despite the fact that it's a fairly complex game.

Anyways, great post. 

[jimson]

Your suggestion and justifications are in short, awesome.
Thanks. Although not a truly original idea, a good enough one IMO, coupled with my hunger for scenario game play that I could patricipate in, that I wanted to promote it in the hopes that it might generate enough buzz for HTC to take notice.
Everything makes perfect sense and the suggestion itself would really enhance the game, IMO.
I think so. From a laymans perspective, it just seems so do-able, but I suppose only someone from HTC could enlighten us on how much effort it would really take to make a reality.

Especially point #7. People would hate clueless walk-ons much less if each snapshot were less important. People get their expectations up for their once-a-week snapshot and then some noob fubars it, pissing them off. If it wasn't only once-a-week, it would be much less frustrating.

Also, the newbies would learn fast. It doesn't take long to get the hang of the MA for example, despite the fact that it's a fairly complex game.
A specific angle I hadn't considered. Certainly, a variety of more frequent scenario events would increase one's chances of enjoying a 'good' one and expose more people to this type of gameplay.

Obviously, HTC recognizes, and the community shows through it's support of FSO and other events and the support of the Combat Tour idea, that there is interest in historical recreations, scenarios, etc.


With Combat Tour off the radar, could something like this could be a simpler, more easily implemented alternative?