Author Topic: The hammer of the outnumbered countries (Read 488 times)

MANDOBLE · « **on:** June 06, 2002, 05:24:49 AM »

To counteract the lack of players in one country, how about activating what we may call "hammer formation".

Go to mission editor and edit a new mission:
1 - Add some flights, at least one of them with buffs (up to 12 buffs).
2 - Click on the buff flight and select several way points, marking (with a new button) one of them as THE TARGET. In the case your country is outnumbered and the "hammer formation" is not already inflight, there will be a toggle button to mark this flight as "hammer formation". You just mark it and let the mission to start.

the hammer formation is composed by buffs, each one driven by a "virtual player" named HFXX being XX the number of the buff in the formation. These buffs will follow the waypoints (heights, speeds and courses) and will carpet-bomb in formation the point marked as target.

Any real player may join these buffs with ".join HFXX" and handle its MGs or they can auto-deffend themselves firing automatically like the ack does.

This way, a heavily outnumbered country may react with a buff mission where scorts are real players and buffs are flying/bombing in auto.

Only one of these formations per country and only available if outnumbered by X% by any other country.

straffo · « **Reply #1 on:** June 06, 2002, 06:10:53 AM »

operation hammerfist ?

I've the tool

Toad · « **Reply #2 on:** June 06, 2002, 08:37:06 AM »

The idea, I think, is for one country to actually LOSE the war. As hard as that may be to accept.

Reset is the mechanism by which perk points are awarded.

Reset is the mechanism by which maps are rotated so we can have something different.

Reset is the mechanism by which the egos are fed.

But, you see one side has to actually LOSE for all this to happen.

Now sometimes they lose because they aren't organized. Sometimes they lose because they are outnumbered. Sometimes they lose because of a "combination of ingredients".

However, by the very nature of the game, someone has to LOSE.

All these ideas to prevent someone from losing are counter to the basic nature of the game.

It would be just as reasonable to ask for a "Power Up" for a losing country. Some big flaming hoop over your HQ that appears when you country is down to 5 bases. If you fly through the flaming hoop then you get the "Invincibility Power Up" and it lasts for 30 minutes. To prevent your country from LOSING and the maps rotating, the perks awarded and the egos being fed.

So why not "Power Ups" instead of instant super jumbo buff formations? They're both incredibly gamey ways to try and prevent the basic nature of the game from working as it should.

Or we could give losing countries A-Bomb tipped V-2's! Yeah! Now THERE'S and idea!

After all, why should any country have to LOSE?

straffo · « **Reply #3 on:** June 06, 2002, 08:42:46 AM »

In fact I would see a power down

to end the pain of the outnumbered country ...

MANDOBLE · « **Reply #4 on:** June 06, 2002, 08:47:43 AM »

Toad, I'm not talking about a loosing country but about an outnumbered one. Both things are very different.

The idea of that buff formation is to "simulate" the presence of more human pilots involved in a single buff raid and working for a country lacking of human players, not necesary losing he war. It is just to help to compensate the numbers, not just to help an almost dead country. In fact, if you have 2 or 3 bases left, this auto-buff mission would be of little help.

As an example, 10 mins just after a reset bish have 135 players, rooks 90 and knights 90, well, rooks and knights would have this opition available, being able to make a 12 auto-buff mission.

Toad · « **Reply #5 on:** June 06, 2002, 08:52:45 AM »

Don't you see that numbers are a part of the gameplay?

If it was meant to always be "player numbers balanced" then it probably would have been designed with an automatic feature that moved players to a new side as needed.

See, in a game, SOMEBODY has to LOSE.

What if in chess when you started to lose you could use the "Hammer Queen" formation one time and you suddenly got 4 extra queens?

What if in golf if you started to lose you could use the "Hammer Eagle" and get six Eagles on the next six holes?

Winning and losing is a key part of gameplay.

Someone is supposed to win and someone is supposed to lose. That's how games work.

aztec · « **Reply #6 on:** June 06, 2002, 09:17:05 AM »

For God's sake Toad, stop making sense!

Rude · « **Reply #7 on:** June 06, 2002, 09:21:53 AM »

I have a uneasy feeling about this thread

Sikboy · « **Reply #8 on:** June 06, 2002, 09:39:15 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Rude
I have a uneasy feeling about this thread

Ooohh the force is strong with this one

-Sikboy

Toad · « **Reply #9 on:** June 06, 2002, 09:54:19 AM »

Well, if you're uneasy it may be that green piece of bacon you had for breakfast.

I'm out of this thread anyway. Said all I have to say.

It should be obvious that this game, like all games, is designed to have a winner and a loser. Artificial mechanisms that interfere with that basic design are unnecessary.

So, with that observation, I withdraw.

Ta-ta.

Cya in the next similar thread.

You KNOW there'll be more.

funkedup · « **Reply #10 on:** June 06, 2002, 10:13:50 AM »

LOL Straffo

Shane · « **Reply #11 on:** June 06, 2002, 10:21:11 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Toad
Reset is the mechanism by which perk points are awarded.

for Bish, maybe. the rest of us earn them the normal way, i.e. shooting down red planes and blowing up stuff.

Pongo · « **Reply #12 on:** June 06, 2002, 10:27:08 AM »

Never heard of handycaping in a game Toad?
Never heard of a game where the sides by design are the same size?
I dont like Mandobles idea from a game play stand point..but all this righteosness about someone haveing to win someone having to lose without any consideration of the likley hood of that happening is a bit unusual.
It would be cool if the game could isolate all the non perfomance related issues and only be won by the better flying side..But like the war it imitates, ours is a war of brute attrition. The larger side wins. Period. And then they are awarded for being larger.(and having a sence of urgency) It seems to move arround with the AKs who is the largest though so there is some variety at least...

ccvi · « **Reply #13 on:** June 06, 2002, 10:42:49 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Toad
What if in chess when you started to lose you could use the "Hammer Queen" formation one time and you suddenly got 4 extra queens?

What if in golf if you started to lose you could use the "Hammer Eagle" and get six Eagles on the next six holes?

What if in chess one player always has 4 pawns instead of 8 at the beginning of the game?

What if in any popular sports game the home team was allowed to let 2 additional players play?

Sure, someone has to win, but it shouldn't be enforced by the setup of the game who it is.

If you want to win, you don't need skill or organization or anything, just join the team with largest numbers. All rooks and knits suck because they didn't learn that yet.

Shane · « **Reply #14 on:** June 06, 2002, 11:01:05 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by ccvi
If you want to win, you don't need skill or organization or anything, just join the team with largest numbers. All rooks and knits suck because they didn't learn that yet.

and all knits and rooks who *did* learn that and went bish, suck even harder.