Battle Combat Strategy

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SkillDude
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Battle Combat Strategy

Post by SkillDude »

Battle Combat Strategy. I am going to introduce a new game concept that will hopefully become a successful tournament and/or future league. Here I present the idea of BCS, Battle Combat Strategy.

BCS takes place on a standard 800x800 playing field with around 4 players per team for maximum enjoyment. Game specs include 3 shots, standard jumping, ricochets, capture the flag with bases on opposing sides like ducati games. Note that radar is on for this game style, it's just people will be hiding.

Obstacles include boxes that are covered in grass. Some boxes are custom meshes. They have an opening on one side of the box. On one of the other three sides generated at random is the exit for that box. This makes these boxes unique in the sense that you can sneak in and out through them.

Onto the game concept. This map is all about strategy and spying. At the beginning, players spawn, at their base of course. Players decide positions beforehand. They can choose to be a hider, or the overseer. Hiders quickly grab a ST flag in a stash next to the base, while one player grabs the only available seer. Players head out. Next thing you know, you start hearing from your overseer where your opponents are. Your overseer kills any wandering ST that try to get rid of your spying overseer. You start seeking them out. You listen for jumps, landings. You watch your screen carefully, waiting for that tank the overseer just told you is coming up to appear on screen.

In BCS, you have to work together as a team to get that darn flag and capture it. Once you grab it, make a run for it to get to your teammates and let them help! Let the overseer guide your mates, give them directions to kill off the opponents. You aren't a ST anymore! You're carrying the only thing that matters, a team flag itself. You need protection, and your allies and overseer will help give it. Be worried as your overseer gets killed. Your opponents are smart enough to have someone waiting at your base to grab that Seer that respawns by it. Now you have no way of knowing where they are! Boom!

BCS, a strategy game unlike any other. ST, the flag that will keep you in hiding, waiting to strike. SE, the flag that will help you and your teammates out in the struggle to fight for a cap!

*End sig Visual Guidance Mode*

So with that said, I want to know who wants to participate. I am kind of busy since I am in Korea, but I am working on a map / possible map generator for this. I am not sure if it'll be random, but if it isn't random, I promise a very tactical map that fits the setting described above. Here's what's going to happen. I currently have a date, July 24th,2010 @ 4:00 PM GMT that we will all congregate and play together for these matches. I am looking for someone that can host, I prefer a server that is around everyone, such that even Aussies or people on the other side of the world can enjoy this. Anyone centralized enough to host? Let me know. As for signups, go to http://sigonasr2.servegame.org/bcs and get your name in there along with what team.

NOTICE: I haven't decided if we will do a large group, or a bunch of smaller groups. I think small mini competitions of 4v4 would be perfect. Sign up by July 10th. After that, I will close the sign up page and then open up the official teams and who's playing who and on which teams you are playing on. We will see who comes out victorious!

Also, Tell your friends! This will be quite exciting (If you missed the description, go read it again) and I hope for some interesting output. Map will be released as soon as I get the time to make it awesome of course, and I'm going to do my best to support this thing the whole way through! Who knows....Maybe a league is possible...We will have to see, this is going to be a new and interesting concept unlike any before.
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by mrapple »

Hi-
Sounds like a super fun idea! I would definetly love to see the map and try the game play :)

As for hosting I'd be willing to host a match server. I have a server in Ohio which has great lag for aussies and everyone else around the world.

Hope alot of people sign up!

-apple
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

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Alright, in order to pique interests (And get more sign-ups and invites, come on people!) I have completed what is the "beta" version of BCS. I went ahead with it not being random.

The bases contain ST on the left hand side, and one SE flag on the right, just like intended. However, I decided to include the Flagonspawn plugin to give you a ST flag regardless of your spawn, to make it more fair, persay.

Map is public domain and texture is LGPL.

mrapple, I give you the go-ahead to host the server for this tournament. What I would suggest if you could, is get this map up and running sometime soon so that people can play on it and get a feel for the concept. Use srvmsg so that when players enter they understand the concept, and use admsg to advertise the sign up for this competition at http://sigonasr2.servegame.org/bcs as we could really use more people.

The map is quite interesting if I do say so myself. To start with, there are a bunch of different ways to traverse on this map. You can stay down low and just weave through blocks, head for the outsides and sneak under / over, or even climb up and get a lock-on on your opponents. There are some very interesting ricochet spots for players to shoot on to "test" if there's someone there, and the pyramids are not there for decoration...It should be pretty obvious what they do after you shoot at them for awhile.

As for capturing, it's a matter of you and your teammates working together, like originally planned! If you bring your flag to mid, there's a nice little surprise you have to avoid...I'll leave it up to you guys to figure that one out.

Finally, I hope to see more people come now that I released the map. I need your opinions you guys. This isn't official, and I'm open to suggestions (If mrapple gets it hosted, that'd be even better, you guys can give first-hand opinions) and improvements for this map. After a certain amount of time though, I'll assume you guys are perfectly fine with using the map at hand for the competition.

EDIT: New Map File adds in the remote directory to the material, so the statement below will not apply anymore!
So anyways, I used a custom texture to make the sides of the boxes. (Oh, and those long blocks that are untextured, that was intentional) You can put it in your BZFlag/data directory if you want to see it used, otherwise you have to wait for images.bzflag.org to approve of it, and then I can update the map file with the right URL for the image and mrapple can update it on the map of course. So if you want to see the texture, you'll have to manually add it in for now.

mrapple, you'll need this plugin: http://sigonasr2.servegame.org/flagOnSpawn.cpp. Compile that and add it in, and change the directory leading to the plugin in the map file, and that'll get it up and running the way it should be.
Attachments
BCS.bzw
BCS - The Current Map
Updated on 7/3/2010 to incorporate online texture.
Updated on 7/5/2010 to add in -tk and world weapon shockwaves upon capping.
(16.11 KiB) Downloaded 381 times
bzfi0004.png
The middle area (Is that a bullet?)
(565.82 KiB) Not downloaded yet
bzfi0002.png
An onlook of the field.
(415.24 KiB) Not downloaded yet
wall2.png. Add to your BZFlag/data directory to see textures (Not needed anymore. The map file by itself will work.)
wall2.png. Add to your BZFlag/data directory to see textures (Not needed anymore. The map file by itself will work.)
wall2.png (196.75 KiB) Viewed 9816 times
Last edited by SkillDude on Mon Jul 05, 2010 10:09 am, edited 3 times in total.
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mrapple
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by mrapple »

Hia sig.

I put the map up at bzflag3.bzextreme.com:5154.

I added a helpfile so when users do /help howto they get a basic overview of the game.

Hope more people decide to sign up!

-apple
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by SkillDude »

Thanks for the hosting mrapple, much appreciated.

You do know BZFlag truncates help files, so you cannot just copy and paste my description into it. If you want a short and sweet version, here:

Code: Select all

BCS
===
Battle Combat Strategy.
The game is about being sneaky and spying.
All players start with a ST flag, and one
distinguished person should be the Overseer.
The Overseer can use the SE flag to help
guide and inform teammates of incoming enemies.
Use your sneak and survival skills to get that
flag captured. Once you grab it, you'll
be visible on radar, so hurry and capture it!
Use that instead of my cut-off descriptions, haha.

Other than that, I still haven't received approval of the image to be on images.bzflag.org, however I am assuming that it will be under http://images.bzflag.org/jsigona/wall2.png according to the current naming scheme they're using, so maybe replace it soon and hope. In the map, you should find a material a few map objects down called 'side' and is has material wall2.png. Just change that to the URL and hopefully it wil get approved soon. Thank again mrapple. Join at http://sigonasr2.servegame.org/bcs people, and opinionate (is that a word?) people!
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by Yrogirg »

Tried the map. It truly should be called "jumping skills". That would be cool to jump through the whole map with the team flag. Or to grab st and to hide in the heights listening to the approaching st jumps. Or even watching other st's from your high position.
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by SkillDude »

Thanks for the input Yrogirg, and thanks for the hosting mrapple. All competitors, you now have ten days to register before I close submissions. You can go to http://sigonasr2.servegame.org/bcs to enter.

As of right now, 4 players are currently registered:
sigonasr2
mrapple
Bambino
Yrogirg

If you are interested in joining the event, please sign up very soon! As for the map itself, it's still up if you want to take a look or get a feel for it. Please remember that this event is a true team event and it will require much cooperation.

As of right now, the 4 members that are signed up, your teams you signed up for are official. You guys can discuss who will be the overseer and who will be the ST hiders. Assuming that no one else joins, it'll be an interesting 2vs2 battle. The server will have local groups on that day for spawning, and all players signed up will be added to that local group. Shouldn't be necessary to have global groups for it as we can set up local groups and assign people to them fairly easily. With that note, cannot wait. July 24th, 4:00 PM GMT remember.
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by hutty »

I signed up, however, my schedule is very unpredictable (i am most likely not going to be available on the 24th)

I might not be able to make it to most matches, however, please keep me posted, I would be glad to come if I can.


I also tried the map (i like the world weapon) I think it should do well
For all of you who have asked what a hutty is, there is one as my avatar.

instant map... just add water
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by Quantum Tank »

This sounds good, I always thought it would be interesting to do a league based on stealth and other radar-modifying flags...
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

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Thanks for the replies. I have provided two small updates to the previous map (Including the addition of the remote directory to the wall2.png texture if you didn't notice the edit in the original post.)

hutty, it is alright if you cannot make it. I'm sure on tournament day there would be others that would realize they haven't heard about the event and would "want to be in", which we may accept a few additional participants depending on the conditions. With your signing up, it is currently 3v3, however if you do not show up then it will be 2v3, which would obviously be unfair. We may then require the addition of someone, or two extras if we can, as 4v4 sounds more exciting than 3v3 of course.
This sounds good, I always thought it would be interesting to do a league based on stealth and other radar-modifying flags...
It's not a league yet. However after getting the map up there yesterday for some public playing, we found that a lot of players had fun with it, and learned how the map really worked. That's why I wanted a little tournament first, to see how it would play in a true league since I've had experience with BZSoccer.

Some things people have said about the map:
-A team with two seers on the high top "watchtowers" are really powerful as they report things to their teammates without many threats. (Not to mention they can see the threats ahead of time and request help from them)
-A spawn camping world weapon is necessary (And I have included it in this map update.)
-Some players don't realize what seer is for and just take it for themselves. If this happens, your team will not be as efficient and you should provide guidance to allow your teammates to realize. Especially for league and tournament play, this would be very important.
-The middle genocide's intended purpose seemed to be successful. It provides a little "OMG" to the game in rare occasions. Didn't happen very often and players learned from their mistakes, but the few times the middle genocide hit players many were shocked. It will probably stay as it's also a little bit of a tactic when you pass your flag back to mid.
-The far outside areas (With the tunnels and skinny rail) proved to be a rather strategic area for play and flag running. Of course, it is deadly if you're in the tunnel and someone ricochets a bullet or two into your face.
-Most ricochets work out, some places that could be improved but I may be blind to them since I haven't had enough time to experiment with many of them. Still looking for suggestions.

Overall, the map had some really good feedback, and of course a few suggestions.

I added the necessities, which were -tk to allow no death upon teamkilling (as you cannot be sure when you shoot a teammate, and usually it is accidental...) and the spawn camping world weapon shockwaves. Now if you are within the "defense walls" you will be destroyed as the shockwave covers that whole area, so you have to wait outside instead of just hanging out in a corner. Sorry it was not included earlier.

Also, there are 5 days to enter the tournament. Still interested? Go to http://sigonasr2.servegame.org/bcs and sign up. Sign ups will be gone once the date becomes July 11th, so hurry if you plan on entering! Tell your friends also.
[EDIT]: Thanks for correcting me mrapple. Silly mistake as my acronyms generally force me into using capital letters....hehe.
Attachments
BCS.bzw
BCS - The Current Map
Updated on 7/3/2010 to incorporate online texture.
Updated on 7/5/2010 to add in -tk and world weapon shockwaves upon capping.
(16.11 KiB) Downloaded 369 times
Last edited by SkillDude on Wed Jul 07, 2010 5:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by mrapple »

sigonasr2 wrote:Still interested? Go to http://sigonasr2.servegame.org/BCS and sign up.
its actually http://sigonasr2.servegame.org/bcs/ (capitals matter)

and just a little side note incase anyone wants to test out the map before signing up its hosted at bzflag3.bzextreme.com:5154.

Enjoy and I can't wait the for the 24th :)
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by SkillDude »

The sign ups for this tournament are now officially closed. Whether this will ever become a league is still in question, it may just end up being a normal hosted map.

Please do not reply to this topic anymore, as there is no reason to. We will meet at bzflag3.bzextreme.com:5154 on July 24th 4:00PM GMT.

The official teams are currently 3vs3.
Green Team:
sigonasr2
mrapple
diing for the team
Red Team:
Yrogirg
Bambino
huttymuncher
with Warinthestar as a possible sub for the Red Team if huttymuncher, who is currently unsure of attendance does not appear.

However, it could also become a 4vs4 if there is someone out there that was wishing they could join but haven't heard about it in time. You can come to the server at the meeting time, and we'll add you into the local spawn group on that day. This is probably the only exception to playing without signing up and we will almost surely not be doing anything beyond 4vs4.

Thanks for all who participated, thanks to mrapple for hosting, and thanks to everyone for the support. See you on the 24th!
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by Yrogirg »

maybe it worth having some team discussion before playing.
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by SkillDude »

Players will start gathering at the specified time. We can start at our discretion.

As for the match itself, we plan to do 30 minutes of play. But that could be discussed in detail in-game.

If there are any further questions, you can private message me and we can talk all you want, but I don't think any more replies here are necessary but thanks for your concern. I usually plan these things pretty well.
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by Yrogirg »

Well, I actually meant each team to discuss strategy that will be used. Weather to have or not seer guard at flag, primary way for flag carrier, how to report st positions, etc. Maybe 5 min discussion by team talk before match will do.
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by Yrogirg »

Just an idea, maybe it will help someday.

For me it is too difficult to determine where the north on the map, it can take me ~3 second to find that thin "N" on the radar. So to make people easier to navigate you can write "north", "west", "south", "east" with map objects outside the playing area. This words will be easier to see on the radar.

Or another idea. In the heights 3x3 grid with letters could be placed:

Code: Select all

ABC
DEF
DHI
so it would be slightly visible on the radar and seer could tell more defenetly where the st's.
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by SkillDude »

A very interesting proposal. I'll consider it, maybe even do both. The letters could be well above the playing field and invisible such that you can see the letters, but they're far up so they're dark in color (Except for Normal radar mode, which I doubt most use [but don't criticize me on this, I wouldn't know]) and probably will help out. That could definitely make it easier to define how many tanks and where exactly.
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by aytimothy »

That's a very good idea - You mean - It might be a new program or trickier game play for BZFlag! (Besides - BZFlag havn't got any updates for a while - Apart from the Soccer Tournament") Oh - And also, there must be a captain or leader (Selected at random by the sever to lead the team and swap every now and then like... 10 minutes or flag capture or like, all the players vote for a captain) and a flag that enables them to see through these "Cones"

It would be better if there were more shots, players per team, more teams (Unless there isn't 8 teams - Counting out Rogue (Yellow or Grey)), and more super flags, better obstacles, like lifts or hidden teleporters or even hidden buildings and more teams (If the admin will add more and ideas for them - Yellow, Purple, Orange, Black and White, add on to the Red, Green, Blue and one more - I forgot what it is, while Rogue is Grey)

THAT'S AN GREAT IDEA
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by Pizzahead »

Looking at this idea, I think it could make a great league. ST is probably the most powerful flag (and also my favorite), and it seems underused by most players. I was disappointed to miss this tourney, as it sounded like fun. Not sure how active sig2 and mrapple are, but I was wondering if the map was still up. The idea has also inspired me to make a map or two in which BCS would be the playstyle, so I suppose I'll make this topic active again and keep those interested updated on the progress of my maps... Don't want this thread to die!

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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by SkillDude »

Hey PIzzahead. Glad you are showing interest in the idea. The original map I created actually is still lying around. Let me get it up here for reference purposes... (I could also put up a server if you would like to test gameplay and maybe enjoy some time with it.)

I wanted to actually work on the idea some more but have been rather busy. If you would like to take the head on this idea that would be great! It was fun playing with others, and I remember Yrogirg was really into leading his team to victory! (Me and a few others led the ST players on our side. There were some great battles)

I am still around regularly, so you can keep in touch with myself. mrapple on the other hand has moved on at the moment.

The map itself included some high areas to scout in (Including a nice high area to place the flag. This was used very often in the battles we had. We would scale the pyramid or make precision jumps to get the flag high up. Seers usually stood up here too and directed their team as little fire occurred and enemies would have had to jump up to reach the player.

The map also introduced a very tough middle area of the map. If someone were to pass the flag to mid, it would be in a very dangerous spot. Players have to scout one another to make sure teammates aren't waiting when they jump out. It is an enclosed area, and there is even a genocide weapon that goes off! One fatal mistake can cost the whole team! Battles for mid and flags were outrageous. (Just talking about it is getting me excited again. I'll put something up tonight.)

If you are trying to develop a map using this type of game style, keep the above aspects in mind when developing it. A lot of the map was developed carefully and with thought as I tried to see opportunities where ST players could take advantage of having a SE player leading them onward.

All that's needed to get the gamestyle working is a plugin that automatically gives players ST on spawns. This can be created easily, or using the flagOnSpawn plugin, which allejo has updated to 2.4.0. That plugin requires some kind of command line configuration, I believe -loadplugin flagOnSpawn.so,ST:1:ST:2. -autoTeam setting omitted but recommended for this map.

Map is released under Public Domain, as most of my works are. Feel free to do what you want with it. (Map currently running at sigonasr2.servegame.org:9888
Attachments
bcs.bzw
Battle Combat Strategy Original Map
(14.93 KiB) Downloaded 317 times
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by Pizzahead »

I'll check out the map.. I'm not the most experienced map maker or coder, but I make decent stuff.

EDIT: Upon playing it, I have a much better idea of how to design the map. I will keep all interested updated!
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Re: Battle Combat Strategy

Post by Propane Tank »

Sounds like a really cool idea and I'd love to join in. I can also host a match map. My server is in Cali and as far as i can tell lag is relatively low. I haven't seen the map yet, but I will have by the time you see this. I think this could be made a league. If anyone could direct me to some league software, I could host it unless apple is still in dev on his and is gonna use his.

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