Ambrosia Software Web Board: Changes I'd make: - Ambrosia Software Web Board

I'm not sure how, but no matter what fleetbuilding strategy I use, no matter how fast I hit the enemy HVD, no matter what race I use, my fleet ALWAYS drops like flies.

Recently, my HVD was destroyed in LESS THAN HALF OF ONE SECOND. I used hera to whip up a quick test on this (1 immobile target with HVD shielding, 1 HVD), and I couldn't find out how so much damage could be done so quickly. This happened to me yet again, even though it _appeared_ that I had been hitting with the same accuracy. I also noticed that my opponent's destroyer wasn't even getting a low shield warning. It seems that, sadly, lag interferes with play more than I thought...

In conjunction with 12 failed attempts to make a net plugin with race balence and combat balence, this can drive a person over the edge.


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Santa and Dubya

So, I'd like to try and make a replacement for the standard ares net scenarios. (I hope and pray that 13 turns out to be my lucky number). This is what I'm trying to do:

Balence out the races a little, sarilian would be a fair match for audemedon, cantharian for ishiman, human for gaitori. I would also make them have similar strengths. Humans would have weak homing pulses, cantharain would have longer ranged PK beams, sarilian would have useful weapons instead of stealth field, and so on.

-Oh and stealth field will be GONE. (like it saves your butt anyway)

-Bunker Stations will be more common in SOME levels, and non-existant in others.

-Fighters will be able to hold their own in combat, and carriers will be less defended.

-There won't be any strong auto-aim weapons like the traizer cannon.

-The 'flagpod' will not be able to be a player ship, and it will be slower. Weapons fire would be enough to capture it (stupid worthless escorts).

I've got a list of ideas, and I'd like people to add. One important thing to know is the strengths of each race.

Graybeard, Jimmy, I'd like to try and get something more balenced used as the standard MaG levels, if you aprove please give me some suggestions. Whenever I win a game it's because I exploited an advantage or the other person has trouble moving and aiming, when I lose it's just the same reason reversed.

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Santa and Dubya

unfortunatly the way you plan to change ares is a very dull way to handle this, not to mention a very socialistic way . This would make every body equal, no fun. My plug, which is half way done, and will be worked on now that school is over ( ) uses a much more simple and cooler way. It revises the prices of the ships so that they are equal (ex. aud gunship costs more than gatori carrier, yes unfortunatly gatori suck that much.) not to mention quadruple the number of net levels. Now that ive said this i'll put the handy dandy copyright on the idea, so that if someone steals it, ill be ringing your doorbell soon. :evil:

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just take my post, and imagine everything is speeled right.

Problem#1: If you lose your HVD before the enemy does, you just gave up a GIGANTIC advantage.

One major change I would make is to replace pulse weapons with something else, mainly HVD pulses since they make tearing through a carrier seem like nothing. Instead, destroyers would have rapid firing auto-aim weapons, making it more like a capital ship (can someone else name another space combat game where the most powerful ships only have forward weapons?)

Mainly, the fleet combat would be longer, more strategic than opprotunistic, and the races would be smoothed out as to their strengths and weaknesses.

If your opponent chooses audomedon, you have two choices. One choice is to commit suicide. (BTW Jimmy Page I think there should be some rule that would allow people to choose whether or not auds and sarils would be allowed)

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Bush-Bash link of the week:
http://www.ender.ws/toon.htm
Santa and Dubya

#1---Everything in ares is balanced perfectly. If you are trying to alter the balance then you are just giving yourself an advantage and someone else a disadvantage. There are no unfair things in ares. If you play with one race vs another race, of coarse there's an offbalance, but you chose that and it's not the game's fault if you lose.

#2---Lag does not pick sides madman. If you are getting lag, the other person is getting the same amount of lag. Ares is designed so it plays equally on both people's computers. Always remember, the good thing about lag is it never picks sides.

#3---Your HVD isn't as important in the higher races then it is in the lower races. For salrillian and a little bit for audoman, your HVD is important, but the game will not be decided if you lose it. For all other races it is, but it all comes down to your strategic ability and piloting to save your hvd and win. If you want to know what strategy works, just ask me i'll tell you. I've never once changed my strategy for any of the races and levels in all the years i've had ares. There is a specific strategy for each race and level. Once you find that strategy, you'll find that your HVD stays protected more. However you must be able to pilot it well since it is the deciding factor in lower races. It is usually in the other persons interests to target your HVD as it's first victum, that's why you must be able to counter that.

#4--I think the fighters in ares are fine, except the only small modification they need is a hyperspace ability so they don't get left behind. otherwise, their sheilding is good for a fighter, and they have just the right amount of weapons. fighters are not a primary fighting tool, they are only distractions and mild backup.

#5--as for the HVD shielding, i like the fact that it isn't too big since it makes the game equal.

#6--as for the length of fleet combat, it is long if you do both do the right things. If one of you uses the wrong strategy the game will end soon. Just ask pyro, when we play we can get some pretty long games goin on ishiman vs ishiman on rock and a rock since we both use good strategy. Our last game took like 20 minutes and it was back and forth, one person was destroying, then the other would come back, and so on..(which i eventually won... ) long games is a good sign, it means you're doing something right. However if one person is way outnumbered and is just flying around with 1 cruiser, that is a much different story...(i don't like people who refuse to end the game even though they lost, it takes too much of my time to wait for the transport to land)

those i my suggestions, take em or leave em..

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ramble on..
--Jimmy Page
[list]
[*](1st Class Zacha Admiral and guitar legend throughout the sol system.)

well said jimmy, except for #6

Posted by Jimmy Page

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Shush, you did the exact same thing as me, except your trick worked *mumble, mumble, grumble, grumble*

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just take my post, and imagine everything is speeled right.

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I can see you haven't learned the usefullness of stealth fields. I would like to suggest that you expirement with them more, as they wouldn't be in the game if they were worthless, and they are incredibly useful tools for strategising.

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"Thou shalt not be a loser."
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Reviews are appreciated.

Two things i would like to say.

One do something with those asteroids, they just keep spawning, now i dont know if they lag the game up but i think so, so why cant we just have stationary roids that only pop up once...

Second thing....stealth field, i dont think you should see ships that have it on on the radar, upper left thingy.

Though of course i dont know why im posting this......

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¡Funny Word Time!
"bangles"
::roar of laughter in background::
Thank you thank you

neither do i...

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ramble on..
--Jimmy Page
[list]
[*](1st Class Zacha Admiral and guitar legend throughout the sol system.)

I think there is only one change i'd make to ares... make the audemedon and salrilian gunships *slightly* more expensive.

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"War? I'd better go and get the washing in!"

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Hrm, I'd have to disagree. Where would be the fun in dodging stationary asteroids? Where would be the danger? Not to mention the facts that:

a) could anyone be bothered really setting up the position of *every* single asteroid?
And if they did, would they be able to make it so that the radar is blocked effectively?

I know every object in the game contributes a little to the lag, but I haven't seen any real difference between say playing 'Between a rock and a rock', which is asteroid heavy, and 'Space Warz' which has whatsoever.

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I agree with Count Altair El Alemein, the gunships for the really powerful races should cost more. I mean the Audemedon gunships are practically like a heavy destroyer without missiles and more shields.

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We will not change unless we survive but we will not survive unless we change.

Posted by Laguna

Hrm, I'd have to disagree. Where would be the fun in dodging stationary asteroids? Where would be the danger? Not to mention the facts that:

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You dont need to doge while in hyperspace(pretty sure)
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a) could anyone be bothered really setting up the position of *every* single asteroid?

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youd might only have to lay like 5-10(read
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And if they did, would they be able to make it so that the radar is blocked effectively?
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is there a way to make the field bigger?
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I know every object in the game contributes a little to the lag, but I haven't seen any real difference between say playing 'Between a rock and a rock', which is asteroid heavy, and 'Space Warz' which has whatsoever.

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i have no comment
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¡Funny Word Time!
"bangles"
::roar of laughter in background::
Thank you thank you

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It depends. Sometimes you do, especially if there's a green asteroid in your path.

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Ok, what's the point of only laying 5-10 asteroids. It won't look like an asteroid field. In many maps you would need more than 20. And if the 5-10 asteroids are stationary, that takes away even more of the fun. If you have creativity, you can hide a big armada in a large moving asteroid field, but not in a sparse stationary one.

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What do you mean make the field bigger?

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Really? Maybe your modem is playing tricks on you...or not.

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

[This message has been edited by Avatara (edited 06-05-2001).]

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Yes, agreed. In close combat, they aren't particularly good (and not even in sneak HVD attacks with me), but there is no reason that you have to fight with the cloaking device. Also, has anyone ever played vs. Salrilian? Watch out for that cloaked transport.

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When you park your ship near an asteroid the opposite players radar cant see you, so can you make that field larger so you need less roids which in turn might lower the lag?

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¡Funny Word Time!
"bangles"
::roar of laughter in background::
Thank you thank you

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Well, my my medicore knowledge of Hera would lead me to believe that this wasn't possible, but meh. And I still don't think the number of Asteroids would have a noticeable effect on lag.

And yes, Avatara (did you get that picture by the way?) is right in saying that you can hit asteroids while travelling at lightspeed, and that it would look sucky to have an asteroid belt comprising of a mere five asteroids.

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When I *try* to play sal, I think it's the most micr-intensitive race, but if you can use it properly, it's deadly.

Say you hide a group of 6 gunships and a transport someplace in the middle of nowhere, with cloak engaged. Now, his fleet comes and dukes it out you. If the fleets are about the same strength, both sides are weakened to the point of destruction, and all you'll have needed to do to win the game was gain a 'resource advantage' earlier on equal to 6 guns and a transport.

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This Vid is a bit like my beast; extremely long, and best enjoyed with a mouthful of nuts.
-Ali G.

simply put; sals are for those people who dig strategy. If you like the fighting you'll find sals difficult to use in fights. part of the reason being the error radius on the hvd's firing path is very small. if you are lucky enough to get a proper angle on the target, the hvd weapons can blast through the shields. However it is difficult, and often wastes much of the ammo. there is no missles on the hvd's so once you run out of pulses you aren't any stronger then the gunships. And gunships take a long time to destroy each other. You'll find fights become monotomous and slow with sals. or at least that's my opinion, i'm sure you all have different ones.

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ramble on..
--Jimmy Page
[list]
[*](1st Class Zacha Admiral and guitar legend throughout the sol system.)

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Oh yeah, I really like that cloaked transport. 5 of those, well-guarded by cloaked gunships can easily end any game.

Stealth is also good for people that aren't paying very good attention to their radar. It is ideal for making secret raids on unguarded transports and outpost stations, as its hard for the other player to notice and react in time.

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

About the asteroid debate- asteroids can be given ages, you know. You could even give them expire sequences that look like them destabilising and becoming space dust or something.

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"Thou shalt not be a loser."
[url="http://"http://www.MSPlugDevelopment.n3.net"]www.MSPlugDevelopment.n3.net[/url]
Reviews are appreciated.

I think that the game is balanced fairly well, though it seems like the targeting system could be improved immensely. For example:
Making another window for targeting so you can see stats on a normal ship that you don't want to target or control
Giving a little more room on the screen for "Zoom to closest hostile" etc...