/explode is exploited by some players who want to avoid being killed by a bounty hunter. Simple fix: give it a 10s timer during which you can't move (just as logging out outside a station) or it is aborted. That would also cure the problem of accidentally exploding (which is pretty annoying for noobs I am sure).

heh.

Yea it is rather simple isn't it.
We probably need the new UI to fix it tho or something.

Kix, if you paid any attention whatsoever, NO CLIENT CHANGES CAN BE MADE UNTIL THE NEW UI IS FINISHED. So stop bellyaching about that.

Parent post: http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/11638

Wow, it was already proposed in September ... :-(

Oh, it's been around a lot longer than that. Doesn't mean it doesn't need to get fixed though.

Rogue....
Didn't I just say that?
lol, man stop pmsing. :P

Um...

It's not an exploit.

It's a feature that is "broken" in terms of gameplay.

An exploit is something that was unintended... a broken feature is something that is used in an unintended manner.

woooooo semantics!

It was never a feature as in OH YAY a self destruct button!!!
MORE REALISTIC!
No it was meant for ppl who would get stuck in places.

Yeah, now it's used by Serco who are getting their ass kicked in BP and don't want to give us our kill. 'tis rather dishonorable, I agree with andreas...

I hate it when someone uses it in BP.
I mean if you dis-allow someone the kill your just a jerk.
They don't get their XP.
You don't get the XP cause they're bitter and do the same or run.
Really takes the fun out of the game.
I ESPECIALLY hate serco prom pilots who use this exploit.
It's like if you can't win with a prom in the first place your really a loser.

Now I've seen itani's use it when they're getting gang banged by 5 serco proms.
And I just feel bad for them.
It almost justifies it.
But still its an exploit and should be taken out.

And yes I know Rogue.

[Edited "be nice"]

I've seen pilots of all sorts use /explode in a variety of combat situations. We never notice our comrades doing it because we aren't targetting and shooting at them. I don't think pilots of any one nation (or sexual preference) have cornered the market on lameness. Can we save the accusations for roleplaying and just discuss the issue?

I think it would be fine to make /explode timed like logging out is, but I wonder if there is any situation where doing that would trap a person who is having a legitimate bug? That's one for the Devs to consider. I think it would be okay for the short-term. Ultimately it would be nice to have greater consequences for death so that we could move away from the FPS concepts of disposable ships/lives and overconcentration on getting kills.

Well people get trapped in broken sectors a lot more than trapped in a way that would need /explode. I haven't heard of anyone needing to use explode since I began playing (a year ago).

I use /explode exclusively to "cheat" and insta-warp myself across the galaxy.

I've never ever ever used it in combat, even if I'm being 6-on-1-ed, I think that's low and it's denying kills.
I completely agree with adding even a MINUTE-long timer to /explode, where the user is locked out and no commands are accepted.

I'll still use it to teleport, but others won't be able to prevent PK's.

Leebs... Asteroid ramming is more fun than using /explode to insta-warp across the galaxy.

Yup, yup.. totally agree..

I use /explode to get kills, not deny them. It's a lot harder that way anyway.

How about this: the player can specify a number of seconds to delay before self-destructing, with a minimum of 5 seconds, and a maximum of 30 seconds. If the player is destroyed before the timer ends, they blow up as usual. If they manage to remain alive throughout the self-destruct countdown, then the damage done by the explosion is increased by a factor of 1+(S/5), where S is the seconds they specified for the self-destruct countdown. So if they "/exlode 5" and are not destroyed after 5 seconds, then their explosion deals twice as much damage as normal; or if they "/explode 30" and are not destroyed after 30 seconds, their explosion deals 7 times as much damage as normal. The radius of the blast area would remain the same no matter how long was specified for the timer.

That would allow for using /explode offensively in a tactical situation, with an advantage (increased damage), but also with a drawback (increased difficulty due to having to survive through the timer). Ideally there would also be some form of notification for nearby ships, either visual or auditory (or both), so they would be warned of the impending explosion.

Yeah...

You want a challenge?

Type "/wait X explode" (where "X" is an integer number of seconds) and hit enter. Now try and manage to explode on your opponent at exactly the right time.

I've played around with it with station guards. Lots of fun :D

i have to say i'd rather see biger consequences for death than just removing the self destruct feature. i mean, just because you can't get yourself stuck now doesn't mean you never will be (i'm thinking of the rumored exploration expansion that has been on the horison for a long time).

anyway, the countdown is acceptable as well, but i realy think the peoblem isn't with /explode, but with how unimportant deat is in general.