Mechanism to encourage fighting outnumbered

[Lusche]

If a score system is to have any worth it should reward what is difficult and not what is easy. Currently it rewards using a worse plane to shoot down a better one.

I think you have that backwards, the current score system effectively rewards flying late war hotrods 

[TDeacon]

Don't base it on when you die, but on when you kill. So whenever you get a kill the FE tots up all the red and green icons in view and applies a multiplier to your score for that kill. Lots of red and few green gives a better score for that kill than lots of green and few red. This would give score monkeys a reason to fight hordes rather than joining them and help balance out fights.

I like it.  

There should still be some sort of altitude band (below/above) though.  Something to define when the icons are / are not within striking distance.  You wouldn't want to count something 5K yards below.  

MH

[Greebo]

You could have the FE tot up the numbers of red and green icons and also their ranges. It then adds the two sets of ranges and divides by the number of icons to get an average range. So you might have three green icons at an average of 2.7K and eight red at an average of 5.8K. In this case the shorter range of the green icons would reduce the beneficial score effect of the fewer numbers. All the info needed is already transmitted to everyone's FEs by the host, so all that is needed is a slightly more complex score algorithm.

Lusche I meant that you get a better score for killing say a 262 in a 202 than vice versa, or maybe that's just perks.

[TDeacon]

You could have the FE tot up the numbers of red and green icons and also their ranges. It then adds the two sets of ranges and divides by the number of icons to get an average range. So you might have three green icons at an average of 2.7K and eight red at an average of 5.8K. In this case the shorter range of the green icons would reduce the beneficial score effect of the fewer numbers. All the info needed is already transmitted to everyone's FEs by the host, so all that is needed is a slightly more complex score algorithm.
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OK, but I still think that you need to treat the vertical element of distance separately from the horizontal.  The program could define some sort of box in space.  Reason is, suppose you engaged a single opponent over a capped base, but you and your single opponent were at 17K.  All the other hostiles capping the base were at 2-5K.  Since they are no threat to you at 17K, they should be excluded from the calculation, don't you think?

MH

[Greebo]

I don't think it matters really. The enemy has the option of diving to his friends if things go bad, whereas you could get sucked down into the horde if the fight gets tight. This is the sort of thing the smarter guys will do, come in with alt over the horde and work their way down through them. The point is we will get more fighting per player hour than we do now, which has to be a good thing.

[TDeacon]

I don't think it matters really. The enemy has the option of diving to his friends if things go bad, whereas you could get sucked down into the horde if the fight gets tight. This is the sort of thing the smarter guys will do, come in with alt over the horde and work their way down through them. The point is we will get more fighting per player hour than we do now, which has to be a good thing.

You would still achieve the same thing with the box (or more logically a disk shape in space).  As the fight moved down (if it did), the low cons would be taken into account.  If instead of a disk you defined a sphere in space as you suggest, it might encourage altitude wars, since by being up there you could arrange to get the extra perks with little extra risk.  Still, I suppose HTC could try your idea, and see how it worked.  It could always be refined later.

MH

[Lusche]

Lusche I meant that you get a better score for killing say a 262 in a 202 than vice versa, or maybe that's just perks.

Just perks. Score doesn't care if you are the 202 or the 262.

[Butcher]

I like this idea +1

[Greebo]

Just perks. Score doesn't care if you are the 202 or the 262.

My bad then. But the point is essentially the same, the game rewards you with perks for taking a worse plane so why not reward you in some way for taking on a more numerous enemy?

Score systems are always going to be manipulated by players to their own ends. However with this score mod in place an alt monkey above a horde gains nothing from being there unless he kills stuff, so it still encourages fights to take place. The thing is once you have one or two guys up high above the horde, the horde's own high guys have something to worry about and will likely back away and climb. That then allows others in to fight the horde at lower alt with less chance of being picked and the fight balances out. The score alteration just gives an incentive for individual players to get the defence ball rolling, as currently many players are reluctant to be first into a fight and this hurts gameplay.

[Tank-Ace]

My bad then. But the point is essentially the same, the game rewards you with perks for taking a worse plane so why not reward you in some way for taking on a more numerous enemy?

Score systems are always going to be manipulated by players to their own ends. However with this score mod in place an alt monkey above a horde gains nothing from being there unless he kills stuff, so it still encourages fights to take place. The thing is once you have one or two guys up high above the horde, the horde's own high guys have something to worry about and will likely back away and climb. That then allows others in to fight the horde at lower alt with less chance of being picked and the fight balances out. The score alteration just gives an incentive for individual players to get the defence ball rolling, as currently many players are reluctant to be first into a fight and this hurts gameplay.

Exactly my original issue with the idea. Unless it simply ramps up the perk multiplier, it will not encourage FIGHTING.

[TDeacon]

Exactly my original issue with the idea. Unless it simply ramps up the perk multiplier, it will not encourage FIGHTING.

Tank-Ace:

1)  I don't think Greebo intends to describe an issue with the idea here, but instead intends to describe a benefit of it.  BTW, in case you didn't notice, we are talking about Greebo's improved version of the idea, and not my original one.  

2)  Any idea which "simply ramps up the perk multiplier" (over the entire arena) is completely different than what is being discussed here.  That is because what is being discussed here is *localized in space* (i.e. a sphere, disk, or whatever, surrounding the position of the player getting the kill).  

3)  Any idea applied over the entire arena (such as yours), as opposed one which is localized in space (this idea), will *not* encourage fighting, but instead will encourage side switching.  That's because we decide to engage, or not, based on our plane's local spatial environment, and not based on the numbers associated with the 3 chess pieces.    

MH

[icepac]

If you want to fight outnumbered, simply read the dar bars correctly and up at the base where you see them creeping.

You will be alone vs 8 to 14 enemy until the vulch cap has been established and then you will have 13 wirbs you can fly over........but still the only friendly plane in the air.

[TDeacon]

If you want to fight outnumbered, simply read the dar bars correctly and up at the base where you see them creeping.

You will be alone vs 8 to 14 enemy until the vulch cap has been established and then you will have 13 wirbs you can fly over........but still the only friendly plane in the air.

We already know that.  The point of the (modified) OP is to reward people who fight (and kill) outnumbered, so that more of them will be willing to do so, and perhaps the (localized in space) numbers disparity you refer to above will tend to be reduced.  

MH

[BaldEagl]

Better yet, we could just separate the arenas for perks, and ramp up the perk multiplier when out numbered.

Who's we?