Forums » General

Avalons...

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Jul 15, 2003 Icarus link
I want to know whats going to be done with them... They are the most annoying and pointless weapon i have seen to date.

Yesturday, i was flying in 7 doing an awesome display of dogfighting against 4 or 5 blues for about 4-5 mins, i had hardly any damage, and was just kicking arse, then, I run out of ammo, start flying towards the dock and BLAM!!! Some n00b sitting next to the station launched an Avalon and i die... In total, i died 5 times yesturday, 3 of which were due to n00bs launching Avalons in the dock, all at different times and at different stations.

Maybe i'm talking shit, but it seems wrong that a player with no skill at all can takeout an experienced without warning. Mines i can tolerate as you can plainly see them on the radar and take measures to avoid them or minimise damage... Using Avalons in open space i don't have a problem with either...

Basically , it seems to me that the way to play Vendetta at this moment in time is to sit around waiting for a cap so you can get loads of cash, then launch Avalons in docks to get lame kills...

To finish up, i just want to know;
Do we really need Avalons?
Should Avalons cause damage to team-mates?
Should there be some bad consequence for using an Avalon inside a space station?
Do the devs even think there is a problem with this?

Until something is done, i can't afford to play, as its going to cost me too much in replacing my keyboard(s)... No doubt most of the lamers here will be rejoicing at this...


Icarus


Jul 15, 2003 StarFreeze link
Whhhhhhaaaaa sniff sniff...if you don't want to be nuked than go fight in another sector.
Jul 15, 2003 Celebrim link
/me shows you the world's smallest phonograph playing 'My Heart Bleeds for You'.

1) Do we really need Avalons?

I'd say 'yes'.

2) Should Avalons cause damage to team-mates?

I kinda inclined to think that eventually everything should cause damage to teammates, but I don't see a point in that now because without additional RP elements friendly fire would be the end of teams. So for now, no, they shouldn't.

3) Should there be some bad consequence for using an Avalon inside a space station?

Yes.

4) Do the devs even think there is a problem with this?

That I can't answer.
Jul 15, 2003 Icarus link
Thats the point i was trying to make! I wasn't staying in the same sector... i was flying around and getting nuked when i came into dock... I'm fairly experienced in these matters, and its just impossible to avoid...

Celebrim: i ain;t looking for sympathy... There is clearly a gameplay issue when n00bs with little/no skill can kill some of the best players so easily, especially when there is no defense...
Jul 15, 2003 Cmdr. Freeman link
With the new defense AI, maybe it's time for neutral no-fire-zone-enforcer bots. Perhaps there needs to be a key that turns weapon systems "off" - and the AI shoots your @$$ into /dev/null if you don't turn your guns off within 1.5 KM of a station (far, yes, but otherwise people could just sit outside the sphere and frag everyone leaving).

Also, I strongly advocate three things: an arming delay (or make manual arming necessary), some limited remote control capability (not just a homing mechanism of some sort), and a slightly increased range (~35m-40m). It's called a "torpedo," so make it function like one.
Jul 15, 2003 Celebrim link
Well, I hate to keep harping on a point but...

The biggest problem with station nuking is also the game's biggest remaining problem - the lack of line-of-sight calculations.

If the station shielded you from the blast along los you wouldn't have this problem with station nuking because it would be just as easy or easier to use the station as cover as it would to use it as a blast trigger.

Once los is implemented, and the problem remains then maybe I will agree that extra steps need to be taken, but I personally feel that 90% of the problem is los and the rest is lack of RP considerations (neutral stations don't defend themselves from someone firing weapons in thier proximity). At the very least, a station that had been hit by someone's nuke should probably lock the station doors and not let that person dock (or would arrest them if they did dock).
Jul 15, 2003 Icarus link
I never even thought about implementation of LOS... that would improve things alot... excellent suggestion! Also i think all weapons should damage everyone, and there should be a greater penalty for death eg. you lose 33% or your cash.... Only when ppl don't want to risk dying will this start to move towards an RPG rather than a frag-fest....
Jul 15, 2003 Buckaroo link
Icarus: if you make greater penalty for death, this would only encourage griefers/newbiekillers/cowards -they'd only attack very weak targets and would run away if a stronger opponent arrives. On the other hand, it would give newbies a very hard time (they'd be the primary target) which would discourage new players from joining.

About friendly fire: do you really want to have griefers logging on as the same team and killing newsbies in the hoem sectors?

On the subject of avalons - right now, I see two valid uses of avalons:

1.) Killing the frigate

2.) Killing the defense turrets when capping.

How about that: a station should have a 300 meter diameter globe where nukes aren't working - so station nuking would be impossible.

Regards,
Mark (Commander Jameson)
Jul 15, 2003 Icarus link
1 account = 1 char

Harsh, but fair....
Jul 15, 2003 Celebrim link
I love how everyone decides what is a 'valid' use and therefore that people who don't use weapons the way they do are using them wrong.

"How about that: a station should have a 300 meter diameter globe where nukes aren't working - so station nuking would be impossible."

That isn't a solution, its a kludge.

How many times has the 'no fire zone as enforced by God' been suggested, and how many times must I continue to say that that not only blows verisimilitude out of the water, but like any 'invunerability' idea is itself probably open to exploit?




Jul 15, 2003 Icarus link
I happen to agree with Celebrim...

PS: does this guy maintain the Concise Oxford Dictionary or something?!? lol
Jul 15, 2003 Buckaroo link
Celebrim: OK, another solution: if you are docked, the nukes will vanish (instead of exploding). That would be another way to fix nuke exploiting.

Icarus: 1 account = 1 char would lead to multiple accounts (there's at least one player exploiting this already) which won't solve anything but will life much more harder to the devs. The only solution would be to have a penalty when switching to another chars (like a time limit - you'd be sitting for 60 seconds without being able to do anything). The account switching exploit could be countered by banning players which use mulitple accounts using the same IP - but his could lead to a couple of new problems (a couple of weeks ago, two friends and I where playing in the same room using the same IP)

Regards,
Mark (Commander Jameson)
Jul 15, 2003 Wombatula link
I'd say a simple fix to this problem is making it so you can't dock imedietely after firing a nuke. Even if it was 1 full second you couldn't station exploit. You would be forced to fly away from the satation Where you are vulnerable.
Jul 15, 2003 roguelazer link
My solution:

* Nukes cause FF Damage (see my footnote 1 for why)
* Nukes and lightning mines are non-damaging for a 300m radius around the station
* Nukes are made an "extra-large-slot" weapon, with 30000 damage, only available on the raganorak and added to the promy (to prevent hog-nukes)

FOOTNOTE 1: Why nukes cause FF damage
Here's a tactic if your capper's in trouble. Fire a nuke and have them run into it. Nuke goes boom, killing all hostiles within blast radius, capper takes no damage. Works good.
Jul 15, 2003 Cmdr. Freeman link
I think either everything should cause FF damage or nothing should cause FF damage.
Jul 15, 2003 randomize link
I really like the idea of having nukes disappear when you enter the station or go out of sector or logoff. Perhaps same thing should happen to mines as well, WOOOHOOO!!!
Jul 15, 2003 The Kid link
they disappear already if you warp or log off... please do your researches first ;)
Jul 15, 2003 Arolte link
LOL!!! Funniest post I've ever seen. Here's a known station exploiter from 3.0.x who is complaining about station nuking. Has hell frozen over or what?!! LMAO!!!

You know what? I say leave avalons as they are now. I wanna see Icarus suffer for all the times he has exploited. Boohoo... hahahah!
Jul 15, 2003 Urza link
i say make nukes do 30000 dmg and cost...

45000 or the launcher
5k per nuke


and no dissappering on entering a station.. i swear to god that a certain people whines more than me, icarus, and arolte over the "fixed" rockets of 3.1
Jul 15, 2003 Martinet link
I'm with Freeman. The Avalons should have to be detonated manually. Of course, this would mean their return as an open-space field weapon. Perhaps a short delay should be imposed before they blow.