Tremulous Forum

General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 05:23:51 am

Title: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 05:23:51 am
I am relatively new. Only been playing for about a day, only put about 6 hours into the game. I am posting to share my experiences from those 6 hours (mostly positive, I have to say) and, perhaps, to have other people critique my strategies and the way I work.

I welcome and encourage flaming, trolling, snide remarks, belittling, insulting, jackassery and anything else you may be capable of spewing. Where I draw the line is Korean. I don't need nightmares, and yelling at me through the medium of random, funny looking letters ON THE INTERNET is the scariest thing I can imagine. We now return to your regularly scheduled me.

I'll use this point in this very long-winded post to partially introduce myself so you all have a bit of background on me, and may or may not be able to sympathize better with me.

---

I'm an anonymous 19 year old girl from the Eastern US. I do graphic design (environmental textures being my personal favorite to mess with), music and some writing. I am (and have been) looking into architecture or possibly computer programming as career options. I am originally from Battle.net, where I was a player of Starcraft. I was never very good at it, mainly because of... you guessed it, those crazy Koreans. Most of my games went along the lines of: "ZERG RUSH KEKEKE" "Jesus Christ, what the hell happened to all my buildings?!"

I was never very good at FPSs either, the fact being that I am simply not good at tracking with the mouse (Although I will say that I can dodge with the best of them and have a funny knack for "ninjaing" people) and usually have a terrible time aiming. The older, seasoned FPS players were the barrier to entry here; in the biggest maps on Quake 3 Arena, the players had this amusing tendency to jump-pad high into the air from the whole way across the map and rail me through the head. Needless to say, this turned me off of FPSs rather quickly.

Despite my failure to do anything but get my ass kicked flat in Starcraft, it remains to this day one of the few games that captured my attention DESPITE the learning curve. When one of the few people who shares my tastes recommended Tremulous, calling it "Better than SC for people like you," (I like to build up my bases, not my units) there was absolutely no way I could avoid trying it.

In the 6 hours I have played, I have been insulted surprisingly little for my inability to get hits on enemies. In fact, I have acquired a valuable position in multiple games as distraction, alarm, and -- I shit thee not, O elitist jackass -- builder. I have even begun to improve on my aim, because when I believe the base is secure I will either defend, continue to (re)build if the enemy is putting the pressure on, or help the offensive. The better players have been supportive, and because I have so far only joined servers with Share enabled (Doesn't seem like there's any of the other sort near my area...) they have been kind enough to share their evos so I can build up my skills with ALL of the units.

I've killed helmeted riflemen with a dretch on multiple occasions when I had no evos, something far beyond me previously. I've leapt into a (admittedly poorly built) base in Transit as the advanced marauder, killing two humans at a time between 3 tries. After the third, the humans were destroyed; and I helped there, I damaged the armory and destroyed a turret and killed a couple lasgunners.

I've learned how the dragoon snipe and pounce work, and I know now how to best use the tyrant's charge. The only class thus far I haven't worked on is the basilisk. I intend to change that, of course.

"This is all well and good and perhaps even expected, but you said that you were a valuable BUILDER?"

Yes, yes I did. In almost every game, I have been relegated to the duty of building and maintaining the base: the good players complimented on more than one occasion my ability to build. This isn't to say that I didn't learn: one person showed me how to keep lucifer snipers from being such a defensive issue in Nexus, as well as showing me a neat hiding place for an egg in the same level. But learning is provably not where the disbelief comes in. Yes, from the very beginning I was an effective builder because I read all the strategies and map hints on the wiki. It's garnered me a good deal of respect in most of the games I have been in, and in those it hasn't the response has been very much neutral; not once have I been insulted for my inability to build.

The astute will notice that I haven't mentioned humans. This is because humans are exactly what made me fail at FPSs to begin with. I intend to try them after I master aliens, but not before.

Regarding gameplay, I have picked up rather quickly on the tactics for each side and how they work. The best human players are those who play the game like it's just a normal team-oriented FPS. The best alien players are those most able to confuse, disorient or hinder their opponents.
The goal for the good human team is to kill from a distance, avoid conflict with large enemies, avoid narrow corridors with lots of turns and keep an eye on the vertical. The goal for the good alien team is to be ruthless, avoid being in the opponent's line of sight, to hinder, to confuse and irritate the opposing player.
The goal for an individual alien is not necessarily to kill the target, simply to make them wish they were dead. The goal for the individual human is to make certain that everything that you see (in terms of aliens) is dead before it gets past you, or at the least is heavily injured.
As a human you should ALWAYS stay in groups, as an alien you should split up from your teammates.

I am aware that my above observations do not apply to tyrants, and they don't even really apply to dragoons that well. I believe, personally, that tyrants are unnecessary and give aliens too much flexibility. Dragoons are wonderful, because there is no way to win without that last powerful push into the human base: advanced dragoons can snipe and just do beautifully as rushers. But tyrants are, in my opinion, given too much power, too much mobility via charge, too much health, and the extra regen for all nearby teammates on top. They seem almost purposely lame. After learning how to use them, I never touched them again. Give me a dretch or a marauder any day.

The balance of the game is set up quite well in most aspects, and I am certainly a fan of how often the game hinges on your team's ability to multitask, to defend as well as attack and do WELL at these things. Most of the games I have played so far have been saturated with relatively skilled players and I have been thrilled whether I win or lose at the intensity of the game. Even when I'm not in the thick of things I always play a part, and that is a mark of a good game if you ask me.

Balance suggestions would be to severely nerf the tyrant and possibly tweak the lucifer cannon to make it harder to spam. The power of both of these things are ridiculous at their respective stages and severely unbalance games at times.

Further suggestions: music, even ambient music in maps. If you'd like, I can even compose some pieces for you. I specialize in dark ambient, though I also do light-hearted things and some dubstep in the vein of Ekaros. I just think that the dark corridors in say, Tremor need some kind of ominous background noise to fill the silence.
Textures: I think too many of the textures resemble too closely the work in Quake 3 Arena itself, in particular the textures in ATCS look an awful lot like art from a Team Arena level. I would gladly make custom map textures for you if you can supply vector art of any logos or font pieces you want on them.
Water: Water would add a new element to gameplay in the form of mobility, opening up the door to a whole new alien class and -- at the very least -- two new human items. This new flexibility could even extend to buildings. Underwater defenses for aliens might be poison liquid traps, nematocyst-like barbs that do initial damage to and hold in place humans or long slashing tentacles that double as underwater barricades. Human underwater defenses could range from harpoons to mines to simple underwater guns, and I'm sure people more imaginative than I will be able to supply more examples.

To conclude: Tremulous has thus far been a fun experience for me, with a nice community. The game itself is flawed (although most of its flaws can be safely ignored) but fun, and the gameplay is frantic and varied: it's never the same game twice. It appeals to minimalists with its presentation, while still remaining accessible to newbies by providing the right information in the right places. I say again: I have had fun thus far, and I hope and expect that this game will remain enjoyable for some time.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: GuyGun on April 03, 2008, 05:33:18 am
Man, that is by far the longest post I've seen on this site! I believe I saw you yesterday on the AA server.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 03, 2008, 05:39:57 am
Well, since you invited jackassery, I have to comment that this needlessly large and mostly pointless wall of text just screams unwarranted self-importance (http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Unwarranted_self-importance) to me.

That being said, I'm glad you like what you've experienced so far (as a side-note - I myself no longer play Tremulous (as of May 2007) because I tired of the elitism/unnecessary drama that occurred in large part due to the game's different clans)) and I identify with you on the RTS deal; I always play far too defensively and the majority of RTSs are very biased against that kind of play.  You might be interested in Ground Control, an RTS of sorts where you do not have to manage a base at all; merely the members of your elite strike force.  It just so happens that you can download it for free of off Fileplanet (the only caveat being that you have to spend time making a free account first).  If you ever wish to play multiplayer, you might look into using Hamachi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamachi) or some other solution to play, as the original multiplayer networking solution is no longer functioning.  PM me if you'd like to play a game with me personally.

Edit: Something tells me you haven't been paying attention if that's the case, Guygun.  Seriously (http://tremulous.net/forum/index.php?topic=6440.0).
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: IHaveWitnessed on April 03, 2008, 05:44:15 am
Well, since you invited jackassery, I have to comment that this needlessly large and mostly pointless wall of text just screams unwarranted self-importance (http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Unwarranted_self-importance) to me.

That being said, I'm glad you like what you've experienced so far (as a side-note - I myself no longer play Tremulous (as of May 2007) because I tired of the elitism/unnecessary drama that occurred in large part due to the game's different clans)) and I identify with you on the RTS deal; I always play far too defensively and the majority of RTSs are very biased against that kind of play.  You might be interested in Ground Control, an RTS of sorts where you do not have to manage a base at all; merely the members of your elite strike force.  It just so happens that you can download it for free of off Fileplanet (the only caveat being that you have to spend time making a free account first).  If you ever wish to play multiplayer, you might look into using Hamachi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamachi) or some other solution to play, as the original multiplayer networking solution is no longer functioning.  PM me if you'd like to play a game with me personally.

Edit: Something tells me you haven't been paying attention if that's the case, Guygun.  Seriously.


http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=broken+record (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=broken+record)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 03, 2008, 05:46:12 am
[Disregard.  Not feeding the weak troll.]

HAHAHAHA DISREGARD THAT I SUCK COCKS! (http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/HAHAHA_DISREGARD_THAT,_I_SUCK_COCKS)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Dance Commander on April 03, 2008, 05:46:54 am
ive actually noticed a die down in the drama between clans recently.  then again, i dont play as much anymore, so it might just be me.  but it seems to me like the clan community is getting better at being nice...
EDIT:  Meant to make a distinction between the game and forum.  sometimes the forum can be nasty, but its much better in-game.

to OP, rants are getting nerfed in 1.2 i believe.  there already are some maps with water in them, but its not as much fun as it sounds... welcome to trem.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: mooseberry on April 03, 2008, 05:54:36 am
Unfortunetly, as good as it may sound, this is merely an attempt of the Overmind's to learn more about human beings so she can conquer us better. Here is the evidence:

I'm an anonymous 19 year old girl

Simply put, all humans know that there is no such thing as women on the internet. (Besides possibly that one the call ann)


The astute will notice that I haven't mentioned humans. This is because humans are exactly what made me fail at FPSs to begin with. I intend to try them

This one speaks for itself.


Most of post regarding how well "she's" fit in.

As we all know, noobs simply do not fit into Tremulous that easily. They whine, the feed, and they most certenitly do not build, or at least build well. And a noob reading the wiki? I mean come on.

Overall, it was a nice attempt, but I luckily saw through the Alien mind's attempt to take over human kind and saved the day.

Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 05:57:56 am
To GuyGun:
Was I the one losing my temper at the two or three morons destroying the base? Yeah... That was really bad. Blocked the ramp with a hovel, attacked other players.. I TKed those little sons of bitches a couple times. I don't normally play on that server though.

Apologies if you had to see or hear me bitch and complain about the little bastards.

As for post length.. Well, I'm an author. I like to write, and  it's my opinion that constructing a nice forum post should be as much work as putting tgether a short story. Especially if you're starting a new topic, you should have a lot to put in it. Enough that on 1024x768, people will have to Page Down AT LEAST once. Sure, it's pain, but it's more clear and prevents misunderstandings.

To be more general, the world would be a better place if we were all pedants.

---

To Steely Ann:
I know have an ego the size of <insert really big something-or-other here>. I don't try to hide it either.

As far as drama goes, I loathe it. I probably could count the number of times drama ticked me off enough that I had to leave a server or chatroom or the like if I had a really long list. Say, the number of atoms in a ten pound ham. I can only hope the drama avoids me.

With the RTSs: Yes, that's EXACTLY my problem; I turtle like a motherfucker when I'm not playing say, Shattered Galaxy (a decent Korean MMORTS) or anything else where defenses are a non-issue. I might try Ground Control tomorrow, although I'll be moving on Saturday and probably lose the internet for a month or so. If I do, you can be certain I'll take you up on that offer.

---

To Dance Commander:
Tyrants being nerfed is GREAT news. I just hate having three tyrants rush and devastate the humans in ATCS, it seems so lame and overpowered, never seen a human team survive that kind of onslaught from coordinated attackers. My suggestion about water was to make it a significant gameplay mechanic: whoever controls the pond has the advantage due to the extra mobility, defenses, etc. Something along those lines.

And thanks.

---

To mooseberry:
I am the eternal will of the Swarm.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Lava Croft on April 03, 2008, 06:40:09 am
Welcome to Tremulous, all the flaws you noticed are actually features.

PS: Ever suggested writing a book?
Title: Cheese
Post by: Kohrylite on April 03, 2008, 06:42:54 am
Edit: I like cheese.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 09:13:22 am
To Lava Croft:
So making aliens capable of dominating humans without putting any honest effort in is a feature? I'd call that a massive balance screwup, at the bare minimum. As is, so long as the aliens survive to S3 and have 5 evos a piece, the game is won. (This, of course, assumes the bare minimum of competence on the alien team's part, e.g. knowing how to charge and not to hit teammates.)

And yes, if you read my post... "I do graphic design (environmental textures being my personal favorite to mess with), music and some writing." "Some writing" doesn't necessarily constitute a book, but it's a goal of most writers and authors. That includes me.

---

To Kohrylite:
Who's feeling threatened? She seemed fairly nice to me. As for games, maybe tomorrow when I'm done doing the pack-up-my-whole-room thing.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Lava Croft on April 03, 2008, 09:51:29 am
Breathe, the Aliens only dominate the Humans when the Humans are incompetent. Any Tremulous player with a bit of common sense can tell you this. Your argument that Aliens @ Stage3 constitute an instant win does not exactly coincide with the statistics, or more importantly, my personal experience. Even more so, Humans @ Stage2 versus Aliens @ Stage2 is much more Human dominating than Humans @ Stage3 versus Aliens @ Stage3 is supposed Alien dominating.

Like so many newcomers who think they are correct when stating that the Aliens are the stronger team, I suggest you spend some more time playing, before drawing conclusions which will just make people laugh.

And about that book, it seems you completely missed the slight hint of sarcasm hidden in that line. Welcome to the internet.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 02:55:38 pm
To Lava Croft:
Then the humans are incompetent in 9 out of 10 games I play. Show me the statistics you have and I'll be more than willing to change my mind; merely referencing such statistics is not enough to change how I view my personal experiences. I'm sure you can understand that.

As far as "thinking I am correct" goes, if I did not have SOME confidence in what I was saying when I stated it, I would be a liar. Regardless of whether or not it is objectively true, even. And I'll just get this out of the way right now: I hate liars. And about that second paragraph of yours in general, while we're in that area: I never claimed that I was definitely correct. I never claimed that if you didn't see it my way you OBVIOUSLY need to play the game more. Maybe you need to learn some more social skills, I'm an Aspie and I have better communication skills.

And finally, about the book comment. Sarcasm is not exactly obvious when all you have to go off of is a single line of text. I took your suggestion as sincere, I would imagine that someone in my place would do the same in the absence of a proper indicator: and that post indicated nothing.

Conclusion: you are an egotistical fool incapable of proper communication skills or realistic logic. You failed to understand that this was my opinion as of now, and that given sufficient proof I would change it (sufficient proof is not a smug attack on my line of reasoning, either). This despite me having stated the former and insinuated the latter with numerous instances of "in my opinion". You failed to speak to me in a nice or even remotely respectful manner, despite me having been (in my opinion) quite respectful to everyone else thus far. And you failed to realize that text does not carry tone of voice (no, not even for you O great wizard of the internet), and that such things need to be indicated.

To wit, you are a child: physical age notwithstanding.

EDIT: So all are aware, this isn't me going back on my invitation in the first post. I said you could be insulting, but I never said I wouldn't bite back.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: _Equilibrium_ on April 03, 2008, 03:12:23 pm
I am (and have been) looking into architecture.
Yeah, I started in college this year and am majoring in architecture. Right from the getgo, it's pretty intense. It might depend on where you go to school at, but it's a very very demanding major. If that is what you choose, be prepared for a good amount of work and quite a few all-nighters. It is very rewarding though if you stick with it.

As for the gameplay issues, yes, aliens win more than humans. There are a few factors that cause this. For one, most new players like to play as human, and don't want to try alien. This causes more experienced players to be forced into playing aliens. Also, humans require teamwork much more than aliens in my opinion. Unfortunately, in public games, most people just want to do their own thing.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: UniqPhoeniX on April 03, 2008, 03:36:42 pm
Welcome to Tremulous! Seems like you got a good start at aliens.
Good ideas about underwater warfare too... I've never thought of that.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 03, 2008, 03:56:05 pm
For the statistics thing, Breathe, I recall seeing a vanilla server's graph of win/losses not too long ago at different stages.  The overall human/alien win ratio very nearly 1:1 with, admittedly, about 3:1 of alien wins at S3 v. S3.  Just about the same held true for S2 humans v. S2 aliens.  Can't for the life of me find it on these forums again.

And do lay off of Lava, would ya?  Your response far exceeded anything he said to you, and was a smidgen dull to read anyway (as flames tend to be).
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: NiTRoX on April 03, 2008, 03:59:39 pm
For the statistics thing, Breathe, I recall seeing a vanilla server's graph of win/losses not too long ago at different stages.  The overall human/alien win ratio very nearly 1:1 with, admittedly, about 3:1 of alien wins at S3 v. S3.  Just about the same held true for S2 humans v. S2 aliens.  Can't for the life of me find it on these forums again.

And do lay off of Lava, would ya?  Your response far exceeded anything he said to you, and was a smidgen dull to read anyway (as flames tend to be).

Look at his avatar hes a Tux Nazi!
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 04:35:03 pm
To Equilibrium:
I've heard architecture's a bit more intense than most things because you have the mental stress of designing the "looks", you have to know how to use a computer for CAD, there's a lot of crazy math involved in there somewhere, physical work, &c. I think if I do manage to get through my biggest barrier to entry (laziness) in much of anything however, it'll be something I'm pretty good at.

Aliens winning more isn't necessarily my issue, it's the degree to which I see Tyrants dominating humans. The second Stage 3 comes around, there's two or three Tyrants. On ATCS, the human team always loses right then and there: the tyrants will all rush the base, charge their spawns and then get to hacking at everything else. On Uncreation it gets pretty nasty too. Tremor is a bit more balanced and Nexus tends to be a bit harder to do too. Transit is probably the only level where humans gave me any real amount of Hell, and they won once, around the aforementioned Stage 2. And I recall it was because someone was moving the OM at just the time they attacked.

EDIT: Realized I screwed up my description of Transit. GIVE, not gave. Stage 2 was when they gained momentum, we had to eggspam for a while then they finally hunted down all our grangers and rebuilt OM. But they didn't win in Stage 2, they won in Stage 3.

---

To UsaKilleR:
Yeah, aliens is just... more my speed I guess. Even if I'm not the one you should look to to lead your assault, your base is in reasonably good hands: when I'm done building I tend to make a pretty decent defender.

Underwater combat is something I see done FAR too little in games in general. Mainly because it's probably fairly hard to do, but I'm willing to bet any decent amount of work put into it would open up a whole new area for gameplay.

---

To Steely Ann:
That doesn't match up with what I've seen myself, and I won't just take your word for it (nothing personal, I wouldn't take anyone else's either). If you do find it, tell me, I'd like to see it.

As far as my reaction to Lava goes, I don't keep picking after the fact: I tend to be ruthless at times when I shouldn't be -- a problem derived from my aforementioned Asperger's -- but after that I can and usually do treat the unfortunate recipient as though nothing has happened. If any feelings were injured, mutilated or brutally murdered, then apologies are of course available. "Ask and ye shall recieve."

---

To NiTRoX:
I'm sorry no one told you: we're all Tux Nazis.

Lava ist den Fuehrer. Deine Mutter ist das Bahnhof.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: kevlarman on April 03, 2008, 06:24:45 pm
To Lava Croft:
Then the humans are incompetent in 9 out of 10 games I play. Show me the statistics you have and I'll be more than willing to change my mind; merely referencing such statistics is not enough to change how I view my personal experiences. I'm sure you can understand that.
wow, not fair
i WISH humans were competent in 1 out of 10 games of 1.1 that i played.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Kohrylite on April 03, 2008, 06:42:08 pm
mod edit:
Quote from: timbo
No topics containing illegal/offensive material (Pornography/Warez/Cracks).
-kev
-surv (Do it correctly kev >:E)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 07:31:41 pm
To NiTRoX:
Nein.

---

To kevlarman:
Don't get your hopes up, I was rounding up.

Way, way up.

---

To Kohrylite:
My stance on piracy depends entirely on what will or will not get me banned.

As for architectural CAD, I don't think I have the hardware for it yet anyhow (128MB RAM, 1.6 GHz P4, RIVA TNT2, stop making fun of me) but if you can find something, anything that will work with that... I will provide you with infinite gratitude. The actual value of infinite gratitude is, of course, questionable and prone to market fluctuation; I won't blame you if you say "No."
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: your face on April 03, 2008, 07:37:52 pm
Welcome to tremmylos!

Alien advantages are due to human camping! (And of course, humans not depending on much-needed teamwork... xD).  But I usually prefer playing on smaller servers where most people are kinda experienced and the game goes quickly...(Ew @ long, large s3 vs. s3 games....:P)

Have you tried the shotgun+helmet+larmour?  Easy to take down a goon, if not advanced goon...depending on your footwork.  8)

And of course...I like rant-owning... I still think that the humans need to concentrate on major teamwork.  Once a human attack gets mounted, there's almost no stopping it...especially with s3 bsuits and luci jumpers.  :D

But then the same goes for aliens... :P

Anywais, hope to see joo ingaem!
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 08:08:29 pm
To your face:
Human camping actually makes it a little harder on the tyrants, so do well-made turret setups. Usually outside of the abomination that is ATCS, humans camping actually have a chance of killing our tyrants and coming back after us. It's rare but it does happen.

On ATCS, when you hear that roar... It's over for the human team.

As far as trying human strategies: no, because I don't play humans. I have avoided them altogether thus far, working on my ability to use basilisk right now. After I am confident that I am at least mediocre in all of my chosen alien classes I will move on to humans.

As far as S3 goes, I always had an easier time holding off a human attack force than the humans had holding back an alien attack. Usually battlesuits with chainguns or battlesuits with lucifer cannons would rush in, and I'd be defending as either advanced dragoon or advanced marauder. If they came at me on the ground they were toast, no questions asked.

Lucifer cannon wielders who jump in the room are a bit harder, but especially in Nexus I have a strategy for dragoon that never really failed me yet and which works to a lesser degree elsewhere. (As marauder I call for backup, jump off the walls and await the bringing of kickass.) In Nexus, immediately after we have a jumper in the room I get his attention (while calling for my team in case he has backup). After he notices me, I get him following me, maybe do a bit of dodging and weaving to try and get a bite in. After I'm sure he'll stay on my back, I go around the divider with the crate beside it, the one opposite default overmind and spawn locations. Almost always they follow, I lead them around until I'm on the opposite side of the crate from them. Then I come out and smash them in the face with a pounce because they are always, always RIGHT there. It's harder to do in other levels, Tremor in particular (although that has its own set of tricks) but there tends to be at least one reasonably sized structure that you can dodge around.

On the other hand, a bunch of tyrants rushing for a pincer maneuver immediately after Stage 3 tends to have even the best humans getting kicked down. In levels other than ATCS, they sometimes make a comeback. But in ATCS it is almost always the end. (I have never seen a comeback from that attack in ATCS, at least.)

Now I admit, a possibility is that I play with people who own as aliens but suck as humans, but I still stand by my experiences.

--

To NiTRoX:
Buy me a new one.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 03, 2008, 08:12:25 pm
Breathe

lol asspies, I seem to have skimmed over that since it was part of the boring flamefest.  Sorry to bitch, but I'd humbly ask you not to trivialize AS by using it as an excuse for unwarranted hostility.  I myself have been long-since diagnosed with the same (I'm still a tad skeptical, of course) but when I'm an asshole, I acknowledge it and apologize to the person in question.

// 'Course, I can't imagine that Lava was particularly insulted anyway so my bringing it up is somewhat moot.
// Lava thankfully doesn't treat the Internet as Serious Business like far too many people do.

tl;dr: You can probably disregard this post.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 08:16:18 pm
To NiTRoX:
You poor, poor Scientologist.

---

To Steely Ann:
No, I'm pretty sure this is related. I lose my temper at things that are completely stupid at times, even I can recognize just what a moron I was in hindsight. This wasn't one of those cases, though I won't claim to know how much it affected the recipient... But it is something I can reliably blame on either AS or something I have comorbid with it.

EDIT: I ignore nothing, I see all.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Kohrylite on April 03, 2008, 08:21:38 pm
Hmmm, tell you what.  Since your loadout is somewhat lacking, and exchanging pirated software on the forum for an open-source game is somewhat tacky, I'll direct you to a free program (http://sketchup.google.com/) that, while not a drafting program even by loose definition, will allow you to get creative.

Here (http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=d22362f8e2ada2bb3cf06cdd6d976a88&prevstart=0) is the link to my old high-school gymnasium that I draw up with this program.  The walkway connects it to the main school building, which I never got around to completing.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 03, 2008, 08:22:58 pm
Any particular reason you bring up Scientology?

//   3/15 was great.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 08:29:58 pm
To Kohrylite:
Thanks for the link, I'll muck around with it from this Saturday till the 10th, during which time I'll lack net access.

---

To Steely Ann:
Yes. He said "the church" stole all of his money. The Church of $cientology has a long, celebrated tradition of coercing its members into doing Stupid Shit to pay for their worthless garbage. Read some stuff on Operation Clambake, xenu.net (http://xenu.net) I think.

---

To NiTRoX:
The thetans are infesting your earlobes. Quick, get the power tools.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: kevlarman on April 03, 2008, 08:42:26 pm
To kevlarman:
Don't get your hopes up, I was rounding up.
:(
i used to play when 9 out of 10 human teams WERE competent, tremulous was much more fun back then. anyway, any percieved imbalance between the two teams is likely an ID 10 T error.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 03, 2008, 08:43:39 pm
Breathe

Ah.  Not a good day for reading, I guess; I'm worried about a bunch of stuff and I'm scatterbrained today, resulting in a wasted hour and some on the transit bus going the wrong friggin' way this morning.  As for reading stuff on Clambake, I'm not sure you caught my hint.  I'm already an active protestor and also organized a meeting with the local police before on a goodwill/what-rules-do-you-guys-have-'cause-we're-not-sure mission with three other Anons.  One of the cops at the conference made a "Don't taze me, bro!" joke.  They pretty much rule.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 08:47:41 pm
To kevlarman:
You were a very lucky person.

And the "ID 10 T" thing went straight over my head. Enlightenment appreciated.

---

To Steely Ann:
I got your hint, just wasn't sure how much of the story you knew. Most people don't go beyond the whole Lisa thing and Xenu, and they miss out on some delightfully manipulative tactics. Politicians should be studying this stuff, it's powerful.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Metsjeesus on April 03, 2008, 08:49:08 pm
Aliens winning more isn't necessarily my issue, it's the degree to which I see Tyrants dominating humans. The second Stage 3 comes around, there's two or three Tyrants. On ATCS, the human team always loses right then and there: the tyrants will all rush the base, charge their spawns and then get to hacking at everything else.
I have played ATCS in amsterdam unlimited, where human base has 3 turrets, 3 spawns arm and medi. Both teams had more then 10 palyers, half of them experienced, those tyrs never miss 3 headhits. And human won. Never underestimate power of organized human team. Yes, they rushed with 3 tyrants at same time, but if there are humans who block rushing tyrs with own life, tyrs will die while being in ramp. Well, if there are less players, its harder for humans at s3 vs s3 because lack of firepower and blocking bodys. Defensive meatshield is key element there. If you conviece to make a team of 4 players who follow teamleader nomatter what, its killing machine. Mostly, team who manages to drain evos/money from other team faster then own team feeds, wins. Its easier in alien team, harder in human. 1 alien player can take down on SD whole human base in suiciderushes, as a human, same tactic ends just behind first corner. Human needs teamwork, and if you got that, you drain evos until there is no tyrs left.

For topic, if you play only as alien, you never see how easy or how hard is to take down something.  Knowing weaknesses makes you stronger.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 03, 2008, 08:55:29 pm
InsanityQ

The tl;dr (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome) of it is that aspies tend to be very long-winded in conversation, often oblivious that their audience has been lulled to sleep.

IHaveWitnessed

I'm not sure where I've gotten a lot of praise, false or otherwise, to inflate this supposed ego of mine.  If you've ever seen me in a game you'd know I tend to defy the laws of physics, sucking & blowing simultaneously, and I acknowledge that all the time; it actually became quite an in-joke at AoD.

I never claimed to know about the clan scene now, only how I experienced it then.  Please stop putting words in my mouth.  That's what set off my troll detector, but you seem nice enough that it could be a false positive.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 03, 2008, 09:07:37 pm
To Metsjeesus:
I played with you a little last night, although the server was very much distasteful to me; you may have seen me, same name as my forum name and the level was Tremor? Yeah, that was a good human game. Lucifer cannons owned in the end. I still think aliens are a overpowered at the moment, though.

I tend to prefer smaller servers, so we don't see much body blocking. Either way, where there are tyrants you have the wannabes and the distractions, like me. Yeah, I was the marauder that catapulted into your base like 6 times and busted one of your medistations. Where tyrants can't go, they serve as giant meatshields themselves. Everyone focuses on the big roaring son of a bitch, only to get "ninja'd" by a basilisk or a marauder while they're tied up blasting the bejesus out of the Tyrants. Hell, I've seen sniping dragoons effectively use trapped tyrants to take fire for them while they wreak havoc.

As far as playing only alien is concerned, it's only until I know what I'm doing with aliens. Then I'm going to learn humans and not work on aliens until I'm decent with humans, and so on and so forth, slowly improving my skills.

---

To InsanityQ:
I'm a writer. My posts are made to affect and to be clear for the reader who is not me, not to be accessable to those who don't feel like putting in the time and effort to read a few forum posts longer than the norm.

---

To IHaveWitnessed:
Who are you and why are you eating my goddamn sandwich, you disgusting cock?

---

To Steely Ann:
"Very long-winded" is a bit of an understatement for me, don't you think?

And seriously, ignore IHaveWitnessed. That bastard is eating my sandwich.

---

To Kohrylite:
Make him give me back my damn sandwich.

---

To NiTRoX:
Why are you still here?
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 03, 2008, 10:04:32 pm
Breathe

Long-winded is all it is for me.  I enjoy a good-sized read, particularly when it involves folks' feelings about things (except when they're overly dramatic), for whatever reason.

As far as Witnessed goes, I'm perfectly comfortable with giving him the benefit of doubt.  It's kind of obligatory for me now anyway, since I reacted in an extremely hypocritical fashion (i.e. taking the Internet seriously) and feel like an ass for it.  What's this about a sandwich now, though?  I'm guessing I skimmed over something again.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Dracone on April 03, 2008, 11:07:22 pm
"The troll is in the sky, in the ground and everywhere "

:-}

FUCKING TROLL IS UNDER MY BRIDGE ABOUT TO EAT MY THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF!

Anyhow, the days we see people so new take in depth notes as such have become increasingly rare, but then again, it's been rare for a long ass time now.

Welcome to Tremulous.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Despairation on April 03, 2008, 11:50:41 pm
Ugh...I hate reading long ass threads. Which is why I haven't even read this thread, I just noticed Breathe is making a ton of posts that people might bother to read if they were shorter.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: your face on April 04, 2008, 12:57:12 am
To your face:
Human camping actually makes it a little harder on the tyrants...

The point is to make sure the aliens don't get S3... tyrants are S3... and goons can easily be taken down with a well-footworked shotgunner...

And of course humans last longer when aliens are S3 if they camp.  It doesn't mean they're ever going to win though...they have to mount an attack sometime or another or they will slowly die...especially when SD arrives... ;D
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: _Equilibrium_ on April 04, 2008, 01:39:31 am
Ugh...I hate reading long ass threads. Which is why I haven't even read this thread, I just noticed Breathe is making a ton of posts that people might bother to read if they were shorter.
This is a forum, not a chat program. I like it when people make good solid posts with a lot of thought. It's much more annoying when people post 4 words pointless threads. Reading is something you will have to do your entire life. Get used to it.
Title: I Spel gud.
Post by: Kohrylite on April 04, 2008, 03:11:35 am
This is a forum, not a chat program. I like it when people make good solid posts with a lot of thought. It's much more annoying when people post 4 words pointless threads. Reading is something you will have to do your entire life. Get used to it.

OMG, first writing (http://forum.clanzerorisk.com/index.php/topic,857.msg13571.html#msg13571), now reading?  It's almost like you want to succeed at life, Equilibrium.

But seriously, I would agree.  It was refreshing to read a few posts that actually had some effort put into them.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: blood2.0 on April 04, 2008, 03:28:43 am
some reason all the noobs go humans and the good players who don't care what team they are on go aliens.  A good team of humans beats a good team of aliens but a good alien beats a good human.  So by communicating with your teammates and not camping you will be able to rush the aliens base winning the game.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 04, 2008, 04:40:17 am
To Steely Ann:
Yeah, that's you, though. I belong in a whole different order of magnitude.

As for the sandwich? That was my attempt to be funny and stop a perceived troll at the same time.

---

To Dracone:
GIVE THE GOATS EXPLOSIVES.

And yeah, I'd have guessed I'm the only one ever to do all this on my second-third day. It's one of my peculiarities, but not the biggest or the worst by any means. My worst one is that I plan elaborately for things that I can't do. Like mapping: I have an awesome map idea and couldn't use GtkRadiant if someone uploaded the skills of every mapper in the history of FOREVER into my skull.

---

To Despairation:
I'd like to point out that in two days this thread has 40+ posts, despite my "long-ass posts that nobody bothers to read." (Paraphrased.)

lol sockpuppets ftw amirite \o/

---

To _Equilibrium_:
I totally sympathize. But the worst are threads where the only content is "nt". If I had a forum of my own, there would be a minimum post size of twenty words; at least 200 for new topics. Anything else would be deleted.

My forum probably wouldn't last long, but you can be damned sure there'd be fewer illiterates, fewer newbies, fewer children (literal and otherwise) and fewer rule violations than the average forum.

---

To Kohrylite:
Since that is the general consensus, I'm sure I'll enjoy this place.

---

To blood2.0:
I think the newbies go human because that's what they're good at, Counter-Strike and Half-Life and other "normal" first person shooters. But they suck because they lack teamwork, they don't know the unwritten "rules", how the game plays, etc.

That could be a factor, but I still think there's more behind the scenes, a lot of balance to be picked at.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Lava Croft on April 04, 2008, 06:41:58 am
I think I'm done talking to Breathe:D She belongs to the group of people who talks more than they play Tremulous.

PS: Here (http://schattenschreiber.org/satgnu/) are the TremStats for our server. (Yes you can click the word here (http://schattenschreiber.org/satgnu/), woman.)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 04, 2008, 06:49:24 am
To Lava Croft:
I also belong to a group of people who don't have the time to play games because they're in the process of moving.

Circumstances dictate that constant gameplay is not an option. Consider momentarily that the average Tremulous game, in my experience, lasts about a half hour. Then consider that for my first post I only needed 15 minutes to type it all out, and that I haven't posted a single one even half as long since.

A math problem to solve: I require efficiency of time. Which is more time efficient judging by the above numbers? Talking or gaming?

EDIT:
General data
Games Played   28326
Alien Wins   15912
Human Wins   11863
Tied Matches   551

I would assume your server is fairly high in skill on both sides. The aliens have, as a whole, a notable superiority to humans; this judging by -your- stats.

I'd also like to note that I saw the stats for the maps Tremor and ATCS. Tremor is nearly perfectly balanced between aliens and humans. ATCS is, as suspected, dominated by aliens and has a higher amount of ties than Tremor.

Call me crazy, but to me it seems that my observations are, in fact, correct.

Have a seat.

EDIT: I just looked at the stats for all the maps. Look at the top 8, the most commonly played 8 maps:

    Map Name   A.T.C.S.   
Position   1
Times Played   7836
Alien Wins   4013
Human Wins   3730
    Map Name   Tremor   
Position   2
Times Played   5385
Alien Wins   2673
Human Wins   2674
    Map Name   Niveus : Outpost 652   
Position   3
Times Played   5338
Alien Wins   3255
Human Wins   2029
    Map Name   Uncreation   
Position   4
Times Played   2165
Alien Wins   950
Human Wins   949
    Map Name   Arachnid 2   
Position   5
Times Played   2145
Alien Wins   1448
Human Wins   674
    Map Name   Karith Station 2   
Position   6
Times Played   2112
Alien Wins   1343
Human Wins   735
    Map Name   Transit Station   
Position   7
Times Played   1590
Alien Wins   1097
Human Wins   474
    Map Name   Nexus 6   
Position   8
Times Played   1583
Alien Wins   1047
Human Wins   519

As you can see, every map that is commonly played has alien dominance or a perfect balance.

To me that's an example of imbalance.

My point has been proven.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Lava Croft on April 04, 2008, 07:16:36 am
Our server is not high on skill, we are very high on the serverlist, which means we have a high influx of new players, something we welcome, since we rather have them pick up on Tremulous on our server, than on some 500bp fucked up server. I admit that I was somewhat surprised by the stats, since I personally expected the Alien wins to be much higher, certainly if you take into account that most new players join the Humans, and most settled players tend to choose the Alien side, because it makes them less dependant on (possibly retarded) teammates.

Calling Tremor nearly perfectly balanced only shows how little you know, and saying ATCS is dominated by Aliens while the actual stats say Alien Wins 4013 - Human Wins 3730 is a bit weird... I have not even taken into account on of the wicked base-layouts we have on Tremor that heavily favors the Aliens.

So yes, like so many newcomers who think they have it all figured out after a few games, you are just as crazy and incorrect as the rest.
Just like has been said to the rest, play more Tremulous and whine less about things you do not comprehend.

PS: I'm still standing...

EDIT: I'll say it again, it has been said by a multitude of people, a multitude of times to a multitude of people such as yourself: New players tend to join the Human team because they are familair with it. Most settled Tremulous players take the Alien team, since this allows them to operate mostly alone, not having to rely on a possibly newbie team. This, combined with the utter retardation of most Tremulous players, evident in the complete lack of cooperation among the Human players, results in something that might look unbalanced to people who do not exactly know what they are seeing.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: kevlarman on April 04, 2008, 07:20:10 am
you've proven nothing, any server near the top of the list is overrun with noobs. many of them will refuse to play aliens (reverse-stacking the teams). way back when i could actually get away with it i wrote a patch that forced players to select their team at random, and the server that patch ran on instantly went from 80% alien wins to 56% alien wins (ignoring tie games, so about as perfect as you could ever expect balance to be with such different teams).
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 04, 2008, 07:30:13 am
To Lava Croft:
I was going by the stats when I said Tremor is balanced... One win difference out of a couple thousand plays? ...Yeah, okay, TOTALLY unbalanced.

I'm not used to the EXTREMELY HIGH differences shown in some of the maps lower on the list: ATCS alone shows a significant enough imbalance for me to wonder about it, the others just cement in my mind that there is a massive discrepancy in power between aliens and humans.

I acknowledge that new players joining humans more could be a factor, but it shouldn't be that large of one. If it is, then your server probably is not a good source of statistics for finding out whether or not I am incorrect.

---

To kevlarman:
As far as I'm aware, 56% is still a pretty big discrepancy, and one that should really get looked at. Admittedly, the teams are different enough that perfect balance is an impossibility, but the statistics should at least fall within margin of error (48%-52% would be an ideal balance, I would think.)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Lava Croft on April 04, 2008, 07:44:32 am
I think 56% for a game with two radically different teams is a damn good balance. This 56% is including all the new people that go Humans, and all the settled people who go Aliens. Imagine if the Humans would be made up of 'good' players that actually work as a team...

In my experience, Tremor heavily favors the Humans, with it's long hallways and big, open default Alien base. Much more so even than ATCS, which is also a map that favors the Humans. We even made a layout for Tremor to make the map more interesting for Aliens, and less easy to win for the Humans.

Every Tremulous server that welcomes new players suffers from the fact that people tend to join the team they are most familiar with. The Human team closely resembles a 'normal' FPS game, whereas the Aliens are somewhat different from what people are used to. Because of this difference, the people who have been playing for a while longer have developed a familiarity with the specific Alien classes and they (hopefully) know better how to apply them to any given situation. Combine this with most Humans playing the game like they are stuck in a game of Quake3 DM, and you get lone Humans venturing out their base, being instakilled by a Dragoon and whining about imbalance.

On a side note, if you think the Aliens are so overpowered, what would you think of the Aliens getting the Advanced Dragoon at Stage2? And the Basilisk having silent footsteps and a healing aura? The Marauder having a zap that lasts as long as you stay close to your target?
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Henners on April 04, 2008, 07:48:51 am
I'm bored so I'm going to point out a radical if obvious point.

The teams dont have to be balanced. It actually doesnt matter in the slightest if they are perfectly balanced. The game play experience is very different on either side, so who actually cares if one side provides slightly more challenge than the other. The only play where balance is "required" would be a clan match, and if clans have any sense they will play a map from both ways before declaring a victor, thus balance is assured.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Lava Croft on April 04, 2008, 07:50:38 am
But balance is a magic value that will fix everything, even my own lack of competence!
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 04, 2008, 08:10:30 am
To Lava Croft:
The 56% balance was on a server where what team you joined was randomized (see kevlarman's post). Tremor DOES favor the humans, I know. It's a very good map for the humans IF THE HUMANS DON'T SUCK, -or- the aliens aren't overpowered.

I concede the fact that humans are likely saturated with newbies, but the massive discrepencies in those statistics for, say, Transit... They're just terrible and I feel that there's gotta be more than just human incompetence behind that.

As far as those upgrades, it would depend on human changes and if the other aspects of the aliens were nerfed. With the game as is, adding the changes would be the worst idea ever, with the exception of the advanced marauder zap. I say that because I see it forcing you to be pretty damn close, nearly touching. Marauders doing that would not be able to use their greatest strength, the wall jump, and therefore would die faster if they relied solely on their "zap aura".

Advanced Dragoons are already gotten in stage 2, I believe: correct me if I'm wrong. If they aren't, then making them available earlier could only serve to cause devastation unless the damage of those spines was lessened or some other means of nerfing the dragoon was used.

The basilisk having silent footsteps and a healing aura might be okay if the aura was small enough, but just smacking the tyrant's double-regen on it would be horrifying. Also, I personally think that should be an advanced basilisk thing, or the basilisks should stop being able to hold their enemies (which makes them not basilisks anymore, in my opinion.)

Of course, this all depends on human balances still. If the humans have similar increases and rearrangements of power, then it could easily be balanced out.

---

To Henners:
I disagree, balance is very important, otherwise the game loses its appeal (for me, at least.) As far as slight imbalance goes, that's unavoidable: but it should be minimized to within the margin of error.

I never claimed it was required, but it certainly would help make the game more dynamic and engaging if you ask me.

---

To Lava Croft:
-My- lack of competence? I'm sorry to say, I'm not whining about getting my ass kicked. I'm complaining that it's too damn easy for my teammates to kick ass with a certain unit. (If I used tyrants, it would be too easy for me too.)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Metsjeesus on April 04, 2008, 08:17:31 am
To Metsjeesus:
I played with you a little last night, although the server was very much distasteful to me; you may have seen me, same name as my forum name and the level was Tremor? Yeah, that was a good human game. Lucifer cannons owned in the end. I still think aliens are a overpowered at the moment, though.

I tend to prefer smaller servers, so we don't see much body blocking. Either way, where there are tyrants you have the wannabes and the distractions, like me. Yeah, I was the marauder that catapulted into your base like 6 times and busted one of your medistations. Where tyrants can't go, they serve as giant meatshields themselves. Everyone focuses on the big roaring son of a bitch, only to get "ninja'd" by a basilisk or a marauder while they're tied up blasting the bejesus out of the Tyrants. Hell, I've seen sniping dragoons effectively use trapped tyrants to take fire for them while they wreak havoc.

As far as playing only alien is concerned, it's only until I know what I'm doing with aliens. Then I'm going to learn humans and not work on aliens until I'm decent with humans, and so on and so forth, slowly improving my skills.
So i play on 2 servers, both of them are kind of special. On amsterdam unlimited, 999 bp, no om no healing, better turrets, can place turrets on more places, tyr has no healing aura, hovelports, short stages. Top of that, experienced players. Humans tactic is spread nearer to alien base so much they can, alien tactic is to not wait until sd and then suicide each turret.

On Pornserv, alien heal near eggs, tripleheal near booster, tyr has shorter hit range, 350 HP max and rush throws humans away + does multiple hits. poison takes more hp and healthpack wont cure poison, goons get faster barbs, maras zap is easyer, On other hand, lucyballs fly faster but splash damage are is shorter, chainguns spread more and are slower, jetpackers cant fly forever, turrets do more damage, but are slower, teslas wont need def comp, def comp heals all buildings, you can make arms, medis and def comps on SD, react does hell of damage to aliens and ofcorse, more bp then 100.  Both human and alien need to make outpost near other teams base to get fast heals. So they battle for bases.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Sakura-chan/Tsunade on April 04, 2008, 08:26:52 am
.......You should know my sister we girls don't play so often... shes in {AmA}=amazons=girl clan.....
I don't play tremulous anymore but i signed up here to help my sister post problems......I'll tell you others...(in secret)if i meet you ingame.... (i mean my sister will probaly meet you ) her ingame nick is .... {AmA}Sakura.  :-\ :P ;D
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Lava Croft on April 04, 2008, 09:34:41 am
To Lava Croft:
-My- lack of competence? I'm sorry to say, I'm not whining about getting my ass kicked. I'm complaining that it's too damn easy for my teammates to kick ass with a certain unit. (If I used tyrants, it would be too easy for me too.)
How come even the most blatant form of sarcasm completely eludes you?
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: NiTRoX on April 04, 2008, 10:18:55 am
I think I'm done talking to Breathe:D She belongs to the group of people who talks more than they play Tremulous.

PS: Here (http://schattenschreiber.org/satgnu/) are the TremStats for our server. (Yes you can click the word here (http://schattenschreiber.org/satgnu/), woman.)

And yet you didn't stfu..
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 04, 2008, 01:48:54 pm
I never really lurked there at all so I have to ask: Does SATGNU run Unlagged on there?  I've always found it a bitch to play alien with Unlagged on if I don't use either guerrilla tactics on my own or ambushes with at least one combat buddy.

If you take into account that newbies always saturate the human team (seriously, clan matches are practically the only exception), 51-47 actually makes it sound like the humans are built stronger than the aliens.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Breathe on April 04, 2008, 02:51:45 pm
To Metsjeesus:
Yeah, it was PornServ. I only played Tremor, but it was damned terrible there.

---

To Sakura-chan/Tsunade:
When I'm done packing and getting ready for the move I'll have no net (losing it today, in fact) so I'll look for you/her on the 10th.

---

To Lava Croft:
Tell me how I was supposed to take what you said. Explain it word for word.

Please.

---

To NiTRoX:
Shutting up in the middle of a disagreement tends to be A Bad Idea. The opposing party tends to be a jackass and say "OH LOOK THEY RAN FROM THE TRUTH" or the like.

---

To Steely Ann:
I played on satgnu a bit, I don't think it has Unlagged. Unlagged gives me REALLY stupid connection glitches, like being connected but completely unable to move... I didn't get any on satgnu.

ATCS IS strangely balanced in favor of the humans, as opposed to Transit, which tends to be more wide open and iwthout any particularly awesome alien base. Maybe it's familiarity on the part of the newbies? (See: Team Arena)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: NiTRoX on April 04, 2008, 04:04:04 pm

To NiTRoX:
Shutting up in the middle of a disagreement tends to be A Bad Idea. The opposing party tends to be a jackass and say "OH LOOK THEY RAN FROM THE TRUTH" or the like.


This is not politics my friend ..
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Sakura-chan/Tsunade on April 04, 2008, 04:12:39 pm
Btw breath .... well.  ::) My sister is korean and british...  ::)  :D  ;D :-[ :-[  :laugh: (my sister plays most often on atcs playground  ;D)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: NiTRoX on April 04, 2008, 04:13:58 pm
Btw breath .... well.  ::) My sister is korean and british...  ::)  :D  ;D :-[ :-[  :laugh: (my sister plays most often on atcs playground  ;D)

I think I know your sister
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Sakura-chan/Tsunade on April 04, 2008, 04:56:41 pm
I hope you do (she goes to all sorts of servers) :angel: ;D
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: NiTRoX on April 04, 2008, 05:03:08 pm
No I mean I know here in real life ..
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Sakura-chan/Tsunade on April 04, 2008, 05:06:03 pm
????? lies she very private....???????????????????????????????????????????? (You probaly won't know her  ;D ) ( close topic about her  :-\  ;D )
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Steely Ann on April 04, 2008, 05:08:58 pm
[edit]since you seem to ignore my warnings about posting shit like this in threads, let's see how you feel about a 1 week ban -kev[/edit]
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: your face on April 04, 2008, 05:30:33 pm
As far as those upgrades, it would depend on human changes and if the other aspects of the aliens were nerfed. With the game as is, adding the changes would be the worst idea ever, with the exception of the advanced marauder zap. I say that because I see it forcing you to be pretty damn close, nearly touching. Marauders doing that would not be able to use their greatest strength, the wall jump, and therefore would die faster if they relied solely on their "zap aura".

Advanced Dragoons are already gotten in stage 2, I believe: correct me if I'm wrong. If they aren't, then making them available earlier could only serve to cause devastation unless the damage of those spines was lessened or some other means of nerfing the dragoon was used.

The basilisk having silent footsteps and a healing aura might be okay if the aura was small enough, but just smacking the tyrant's double-regen on it would be horrifying. Also, I personally think that should be an advanced basilisk thing, or the basilisks should stop being able to hold their enemies (which makes them not basilisks anymore, in my opinion.)

Of course, this all depends on human balances still. If the humans have similar increases and rearrangements of power, then it could easily be balanced out.

Heh, I suppose you're gonna do the coding? :D

Just play trem more, and get used to it... Lava is correct...

And chainsuits can take a rant down easily with good teamwork...you should actually try to be a rant sometimes... xD

Just don't go onto a big argument when you don't know that much of the game in the first place.
 ;)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: benmachine on April 04, 2008, 05:54:18 pm
First of all: points to Breathe for talking and listening, people rarely manage both at once.

Secondly:
Unlagged gives me REALLY stupid connection glitches, like being connected but completely unable to move...

No it doesn't.
Please find out more about how unlagged operates before you blame your network issues on it.

By the way, Lava's references to basilisk healing auras etc. are probably references to mgdev - a server which hosts balance changes under the direction of Norfenstein, one of the dev team.
The balance on mgdev is actually not great at the moment (http://tremulous.net/balance/mgdev/overall.png), but it's in progress. There was a time when we'd have a game's difference in fifty or so between the teams, although this was largely because Norf would play whoever was behind to see what was causing trouble for them, and singlehandedly destroy anything the rest of us could throw at him :P
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: NiTRoX on April 04, 2008, 06:17:43 pm
Quote from: NiTRoX
No I mean I know here in real life ..

gaypic

// Sadly, there is no Ephebobear yet, so Pedo will have to make do.

Quote from: Wiktionary
Acronym
yahoo

   4. You Always Have Other Options

fgsfds I'm never talking to you again, NiTRoX!  :'(

 :-X
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: your face on April 04, 2008, 09:22:51 pm
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/rabbitt_06/nitrox.jpg)

wut
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: _Equilibrium_ on April 04, 2008, 10:23:32 pm
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o209/rabbitt_06/nitrox.jpg)

wut
Thank God. Every post I see from him now is either pointless or annoying.


@Breathe: check out PureTremulous or Beergarden if there are people in the server sometime. There a good amount of high quality players and active admins.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Revan on April 04, 2008, 10:31:08 pm
Breathe welcome to tremulous

I am forced to agree with the others; you should play a lot more than 10 or even 100 games, but also ignore Lava Croft if you look at the archives you will find he is capable of nonsense to no end (and down goes my karma!)

Title: Re: Notes
Post by: blood2.0 on April 05, 2008, 04:52:43 am
ya play a lot then right the manual for us, please  :-\
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Lava Croft on April 05, 2008, 05:44:11 am
Or even better, fix Tremulous' broken balance, like so many!
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Sakura-chan/Tsunade on April 11, 2008, 05:18:07 pm
Btw breath whats your ingame name  ???

>----------off topic -------------<

Anyone know lucy? lucy ???
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Amtie on April 11, 2008, 10:00:19 pm
She already said it was Breathe, if you read above somewhere.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: techhead on April 12, 2008, 02:19:51 am
The mara zap has a short starting range and a longer cutoff range before it stops. So yes, a skilled marauder can become a wall-jumping electric whirlwind.
Balance is somewhat skewed towards aliens on MGDev, but I blame in part the insane dragoon splash range. (It has been since fixed)
Also, turrets are stupid. But, they do have a kind of thuggish brutality when they realize there is actually an alien there.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: kevlarman on April 12, 2008, 02:57:35 am
Balance is somewhat skewed towards aliens on MGDev, but I blame in part the insane dragoon splash range. (It has been since fixed)
the stats say otherwise (although perhaps "the balance is somewhat skewed towards norf on MGDev" is a more accurate statement)
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: St. Anger on April 12, 2008, 04:20:31 am
Balance is somewhat skewed towards aliens on MGDev, but I blame in part the insane dragoon splash range. (It has been since fixed)
the stats say otherwise (although perhaps "the balance is somewhat skewed towards norf on MGDev" is a more accurate statement)

The stats are purely based on WHO plays there. It doesn't really matter so much about the "balance" changes.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Sakura-chan/Tsunade on April 12, 2008, 07:09:27 am
>,< i guess she won't meet you...  :'( You are from eastern u.s.a the.. the time zones are very different. ::)  :(
in usa and europe  :'(  :) :) 
(Are you still paying this game  ??? if you're pls tell me from which time ETC.. ;) )
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Amtie on April 12, 2008, 10:39:08 am
>,< i guess she won't meet you...  :'( You are from eastern u.s.a the.. the time zones are very different. ::)  :(
in usa and europe  :'(  :) :) 
(Are you still paying this game  ??? if you're pls tell me from which time ETC.. ;) )

Who pays for this game? xD
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: ShadowNinjaDudeMan on April 13, 2008, 02:56:11 pm
Hey there.

Cant stay and chat, Im busy being inactive.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Sakura-chan/Tsunade on April 14, 2008, 07:23:00 am
Breath. still playing this bo***g game  ???
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Revan on April 18, 2008, 01:53:57 pm
/me dons nomex b-suit

Breathe have you played SST? it is not the standard bp so I will get flamed for suggesting it but there are occasionally epic survivals (IMNSHO) of lone marauders that live alone for 10-15 minutes
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Despairation on April 19, 2008, 04:12:04 pm
I believe Breate mentioned that she was moving and she would be back to the forums in a few months.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: _Equilibrium_ on April 19, 2008, 08:08:47 pm
Breathe have you played SST? it is not the standard bp so I will get flamed for suggesting it but there are occasionally epic survivals (IMNSHO) of lone marauders that live alone for 10-15 minutes
That is one reason I would never want to go there.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Survivor on April 20, 2008, 12:36:56 am
Epic lone marauder owning is a sight to see. But on a server where presumably the other team has such an abundance of buildpoints and opponents it's quite sad.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: doomagent13 on April 20, 2008, 04:30:40 am
SST is down to 200 bp from 260, so the bases are nowhere hear as hard to kill, but rather just take time and effort...  If there are just a few aliens left with about 20+ people on, we (the admins) usually lock aliens, just to end it quicker...  Anyway, with a decent number of players, the 200 bp works just fine.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Dracone on April 20, 2008, 01:29:14 pm
Epic lone marauder owning is a sight to see. But on a server where presumably the other team has such an abundance of buildpoints and opponents it's quite sad.

Not sure if by owning you mean simply surviving, but I believe that's what Revan is getting at. Marauders can be tricky on the run. Players skilled at making precise jumps with the mara can go some serious distances if they making the right decisions.

Draikonz and Anger both have the ability to do live AND own alone I'd say, although Anger appears to be gone from actually playing. But they are both very very good at certain trick jumping methods as well as killing with marauders.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Survivor on April 20, 2008, 01:33:13 pm
My point was more towards the fact that on a server with reasonably high playercounts and bp setting up ambushes for marauders who have no base to hide in or other aliens to hide behind shouldn't be hard, assuming that the humans still have their own base up and running.
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Dracone on April 20, 2008, 01:55:50 pm
Right. Same is true for every alien class actually, ambushes will do the job on any occassion. Just gotta get the actual kill done. If you really have to take the time to set one up, like for very good rants, get weapons that suit your position as well.

Good story related to this:

Around February 07, when the original Zilla was still around, BodyOrgan was an absolute beast and quite literally ALWAYS dominated, no matter how good his opposition was. He still owns hard but isn't very active.

Anyhow, we were at ATCS one night, and the humans killed the alien base. BodyOrgan was the sole survivor, with a tyrant. I think he had roughly 70 kills and it was about 15-20 minutes in. So, on the human team, it's me and maybe 3 or 4 other Zilla members, with 3 or 4 other good players alongside us. So he had about 8 or so skilled players staring him down.

Well, we set up ambushes, brutal rushes, damn near everything we could think of. Nothing worked. Try new things, we got nothing.

SD came, and we went deeper in. Body was just going genocide on our asses. It felt like forever. We weren't even coming CLOSE to killing him.

Anyhow, at like 45-50 minutes, he eventually owned us all, killed our base, and won. He went like 30 minutes alone against, like I said, 8 or so skilled players and a good base and got up to 220 kills and won the game. I'll never forget that, we were so sad.  :-[
Title: Re: Notes
Post by: Revan on April 21, 2008, 02:40:30 pm
Anyhow, at like 45-50 minutes, he eventually owned us all, killed our base, and won. He went like 30 minutes alone against, like I said, 8 or so skilled players and a good base and got up to 220 kills and won the game. I'll never forget that, we were so sad.  :-[

WOW, thats better than anything I ever did! that deserves an award of some sort.