Cap'n'boot - refined version

[321BAR]

You missing slightly the options.

Option 1.

Morning only 1 arena running call it A.

At switch time everyone gets ejected but nothing on the map changes, the arena cap becomes dynamic and arena B is opened in the same state it was the day before.

Option 2.

Everyone is ejected from A. And A is closed.

B & C are opened in the same state they were the day before with dynamic caps.

HiTech

Other than the fact that people would need a half hour or hour notice ahead of time before arena A's closing, this seems like a great idea pieced together. But i have to say that grizz is correct. Saving the arena's state would be necessary or base taking would be pointless and win the war style combat would leave. Rarely have i seen any of these maps won in a time period of a few hours.
---And i doubt it will stop complaints but just change the reason to complain to i hate getting booted and having to wait a day before finishing what i started. The problem from my perspective is, is that with the dynamic caps in the two nighttime arenas and saving the arena state, people would remember the map from the previous day and choose which arena they want to fly in... Although the ones who are drawn to a larger crowd may split the difference and go to both arenas B and C more evenly early on. Overall i think this idea would help more than hinder the caps and the numbers problem.

Edit: My opinion only and just a refinement on other people's ideas <S>

[ink]

if I read it correctly, your proposition would be two maps at night and one during the day? I had to have read it wrong.

One map at night two during the day, would seem logical,

I don't understand why the arenas just cant be capped statically., IE capped at 250. (or whatever number works)

I suspect you will see something more like this wish I posted a while back.

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,288469.0.html

I don't think HTC will ever kick players from an arena, but as the numbers increase I could see something like this.

SERVER:The Blue arena is now open, you have checked the option to help balance the arenas
SERVER:Would you like to switch to the Blue arena now

And I think offering a small perk point bonus would entice the newer players to switch, maybe something like 2-5 perks in each category. This would have the added benefit of getting new players used to switching arenas, and that in the long run would really help the problem.

this is a great idea

[Spikes]

if I read it correctly, your proposition would be two maps at night and one during the day? I had to have read it wrong.

One map at night two during the day, would seem logical,

I don't understand why the arenas just cant be capped statically., IE capped at 250. (or whatever number works)


this is a great idea

Ink the other way around since normally during the day there are less people on.

[RTHolmes]

I don't understand why the arenas just cant be capped statically., IE capped at 250. (or whatever number works)

you and me both. works for every other game out there (unless Ive missed one.) I know theres still cons to it, but less than all the other increasingly complex solutions.

[Volron]

I know this has been brought up more than a few times, and was even mentioned in this thread, but why not setup an auto-log out thingy?  In City of Hero/City of Villains, after 15 minutes afk, you were auto-logged out by the server (unless you went into a mission).  This would take care of those who like to stay logged in for hours on end to play maybe an hr or so themselves before doing it again.  So maybe set it to where after 30 mins of no activity (sitting in tower), it auto logs you?  The con to this is, they may just go man a field gun deep in friendly territory to prevent auto-log.  The other problem is, if it is coded to where you are auto-logged while sitting in the gun for too long with no activity, may auto log you if you were afk climbing in some bombers.  Sometimes it takes 30 mins to get to the alt you want to be at, mainly in Lancaster's, for deep strike missions.  Some folks, myself included, go afk to do something during this time if we don't feel like watching paint dry. 

[kvuo75]

if I read it correctly, your proposition would be two maps at night and one during the day? I had to have read it wrong.

One map at night two during the day, would seem logical,

I think snailman's whole point is, there's no need for 2 arenas during the day when there's less than 200 people on. the  idea would have everyone in the one arena during teh slow times, and at the magic time everyday, everyone gets booted, and we would all rejoin the 2 arenas we know and love but more evenly populated. and vice versa.. the only people who would even notice are those who play during the switch times..  if you always play early morning, you'd always find the single uncapped arena... if you always play during primetime, you'll find 2 very evenly populated arenas, more than likely, easy to get into either one..

more i think about it the more i like it!

[ink]

how can there be more on at night? every night I am on there are a lot less people on then during the day.
I am eastern states.

I do play at different hours so maybe I am confusing myself.

[kvuo75]

how can there be more on at night? every night I am on there are a lot less people on then during the day.
I am eastern states.

I do play at different hours so maybe I am confusing myself.

i think everyone means "night" is "US primetime" say.. 7-11pm eastern us time or thereabouts..

i.e. right now theres about 400 people in the 2 LW arenas... 9pm eastern

[Lusche]

Option 1.

Morning only 1 arena running call it A.

At switch time everyone gets ejected but nothing on the map changes, the arena cap becomes dynamic and arena B is opened in the same state it was the day before.

Option 2.

Everyone is ejected from A. And A is closed.

B & C are opened in the same state they were the day before with dynamic caps.

HiTech

Option 1 is surely the easier and more elegant one. But as already has been pointed out, everybody would rush to get back into A at all costs after boot, to finish that battle/basetake they had been at.

So I would go with option 2. Of course the current  war status would have to been saved at that moment. But the more I think about that, the more I tend to believe only field ownerships & CV locations should been saved, not destroyed objects like town buildings or field ack.


It also would be nice if each of the two LW arenas would have a distinct touch that would make players more inclined to make one of them their "home", so that's it's not just all about whatever arena happens to have the biggest number of players. I just have no idea how.

[hitech]

Option 1 is surely the easier and more elegant one. But as already has been pointed out, everybody would rush to get back into A at all costs after boot, to finish that battle/basetake they had been at.

So I would go with option 2. Of course the current  war status would have to been saved at that moment. But the more I think about that, the more I tend to believe only field ownerships & CV locations should been saved, not destroyed objects like town buildings or field ack.

But will people like this change over more then the current?
Assume 12:00 switch over which it would not be, it would be later. My guess is the people who play from 11 - 1:00 would like it less, people who play from 12:01 to 1:30 will like it better. People who play 1:30 on it would make no difference.

HiTech

[Lusche]

But will people like this change over more then the current?

Evil question

To be honest - I'm not sure. It's hard for me to be completely objective on that matter, for I'm the one facing the 180/100 20/150 at 7PM each evening , and we "euro players"  hardly can play with 200+ players on a map, like we could before the split & introduction of the caps.

In my opinion, the main advantages would be the shorter transition time and the chance for more players to play at decent numbers.
The question is just: Is all that, all the coding, the intial outrage, and so on, worth the effort?  

[HawkerMKII]

  I need to read this post with less beer and more coffee.....but I think I kinda like it...I think...maybe

[gyrene81]

Tower squatters should be auto logged off after 20 minutes especially during the day. Anyone who is afk longer than that is interferring with people who want to get in the arena and actually play. 20 minutes is more than enough time to make a head call, grab a beer and make a sandwich.

The complaints about arena caps could probably be lessened by using percentages, changing the initial caps and a making a few other changes. This would only be for when the cap system kicks in. Set pink to an initial cap of 200 since it has a tendency to fill up first and blue to an initial cap of 75. Using something like 75% capacity in blue as the initial line to increase the cap in pink, once blue gets to 75% capacity increase the capacity in blue by 50. If pink is full and blue jumps to 90% capacity the caps in both arenas jumps by 50 and the caps remain until blue once again reaches 75% capacity then increase the cap on pink again by 50 spots, then rinse and repeat. Of course blue would need to be running a small map during this time period.

That's just based on the assumption that percentages aren't being used now to adjust arena caps, and there will still be people not being able to get in to pink when they want to but it could be fewer instances.

[Lusche]

That's just based on the assumption that percentages aren't being used now to adjust arena caps,

They are.

[gyrene81]

They are.

Kinda figured that. So increase the initial cap in pink, lower the initial cap in blue to 1/2 of the capacity of pink then change the percentage of population needed in blue to activate the cap increases in pink...at least until 6 p.m. Eastern time.