Forums » Suggestions
saying they are "ineffective" i think goes a step TOO far. Afterall, I can not get by them, so they are at least somewhat effective.
But yes, a little more is necessary..... Are there any more ideas of what could be done?
But yes, a little more is necessary..... Are there any more ideas of what could be done?
how about have defbots fit tractor beams that steadily increase in power (slow agressor down), giving the agressor a chance yet eventually making it impossible to fight.
no, please don't stick a tractor beam on the bots unless the little defence fleet is going to consist of capitol ships. tractor beams are simply too massive to be carried around in a shopping cart. i mean, if you wanted to use a tractor beam (or a repulsor beam) you'd have to like... mount it on the station, or something. (hint)
Hi. Ok. Attempt At Brief Post (must sleep!). Bot AI should be reactive. Areas that are given as newbie zones should clearly be the most heavily defended, those always being the major capitals of the nations anyhow, and the least likely to be attacked by anyone other than the suicidal. In areas guarded less well, AI could react to behaviour of a given pilot. IE, if all AI is wiped out within X amount of time with the pilot surviving, launch More Badass AI Mark II. Or, if the AI is tracking a target next to a station but unable to accomplish anything for X amount of time, change tactics or recommend that the station launch more advanced defenses. So on and so forth. We will likely be bringing back turrets in the near future, which could also be a factor in something like this.
The ultimate goal here is a couple of things. 1) In Vendetta Online there is no Absolutely Safe Place, just some places are much more difficult than others 2) Attacking defense bots, especially on outlying (read: non-newbie-zone) stations should be possible, and even perhaps not that hard. But there should be an expectation that the station / authorities will respond to these assaults with increased defensive capacity. If defense bots were always terrifyingly difficult, they would be not fun to fight (we've been there before, or some of us have). Adaptive tactics are an interesting possibility.. just even changing tactics to an alternate combat behaviour, but all of this requires development time and a lot of testing. AI development can be kind of wacky, if it were simple, our bots wouldn't be such morons. 3) Newbies should have some sort of "safe" tutorial. We've considered options like spawning the newbie in a whole new sector, just for them, while they complete their tutorial and get a basic idea of combat. This isn't really unfeasable.. it eats up server memory, but unless we have a few thousand newbies at once, it's not likely to be a big deal. Ultimately, however, they will have to emerge from their zone of safety and face the reality of a universe that is often hostile, and never entirely safe (varying in degrees of safety, and requiring common sense). That latter part is a fundamental basis of this game, and one I consider critical to an ideal of immersion and realism (a debatable point, but still.. my opinion).
Ok, off to bed, good points everyone, hope this helps.
The ultimate goal here is a couple of things. 1) In Vendetta Online there is no Absolutely Safe Place, just some places are much more difficult than others 2) Attacking defense bots, especially on outlying (read: non-newbie-zone) stations should be possible, and even perhaps not that hard. But there should be an expectation that the station / authorities will respond to these assaults with increased defensive capacity. If defense bots were always terrifyingly difficult, they would be not fun to fight (we've been there before, or some of us have). Adaptive tactics are an interesting possibility.. just even changing tactics to an alternate combat behaviour, but all of this requires development time and a lot of testing. AI development can be kind of wacky, if it were simple, our bots wouldn't be such morons. 3) Newbies should have some sort of "safe" tutorial. We've considered options like spawning the newbie in a whole new sector, just for them, while they complete their tutorial and get a basic idea of combat. This isn't really unfeasable.. it eats up server memory, but unless we have a few thousand newbies at once, it's not likely to be a big deal. Ultimately, however, they will have to emerge from their zone of safety and face the reality of a universe that is often hostile, and never entirely safe (varying in degrees of safety, and requiring common sense). That latter part is a fundamental basis of this game, and one I consider critical to an ideal of immersion and realism (a debatable point, but still.. my opinion).
Ok, off to bed, good points everyone, hope this helps.
It does, i kind of like the idea that a total n00b gets to start in a kind of simulated tutorial sector, as long as it doesnt last to long (and is unselectable after initial tutorial, the more people in *real* space the better). I also like the sound of *adaptive* bots - your first trip into enemy space wouldnt seem as pointless if you could hang around to blat a few *waves* of defence bots, and sucide areas =D just what I need, Eldrad killing me in one to prove he still can, and Shape still trying to prove he can =D hehehe
personally, I don't like the idea of a seperate universe. I'd much rather see the bots and security be hard enough that going into newbie sectors is _hard_. I feel that the adding of a separate "universe" has a very non-Vendetta feel to it.
hunting people in monitored space is doable, but especially for barracks and capitols, it should be something that _every_ pilot knows will require skills. the easiest suggestion is to add better bots quickly. I have few problems with the capitols of Itan, Sol II or Dau being spawning up to a dozen guards and seekers. also, if you kill anyone in heavily guarded sectors, make the guards follow you and attempt to call in backup to cut you off. maybe in 15 minutes or so the blockade is lifted and you can try to sneak out as per usual, but it'll make it more timeconsuming and give less incentive to go into an area just to kill newbies. you know this'll require time and to wait things out, which makes sense for a CtC strike, but not for much else.
hunting people in monitored space is doable, but especially for barracks and capitols, it should be something that _every_ pilot knows will require skills. the easiest suggestion is to add better bots quickly. I have few problems with the capitols of Itan, Sol II or Dau being spawning up to a dozen guards and seekers. also, if you kill anyone in heavily guarded sectors, make the guards follow you and attempt to call in backup to cut you off. maybe in 15 minutes or so the blockade is lifted and you can try to sneak out as per usual, but it'll make it more timeconsuming and give less incentive to go into an area just to kill newbies. you know this'll require time and to wait things out, which makes sense for a CtC strike, but not for much else.