New flag (cos its time for a change)

[robster]

It been awhile since theres been a new flag so I thought of a shotgun flag. Since theres already a machine-gun flag i thought why not a shotgun flag. I think it would shoot your full amount of shots (eg: 3 for 3 shot map, 5 for 5 shot map) wif 5 or so degrees difference between the straight one and the next one left and right and so on. It would be similar to machine-gun as it would be fast shots with little range but because you use the full shot amount in one shot its effectively a one shot reload. It would be gud from close range but not so gud at mid to long range, and would need skill to use properly without accidentaly team killing someone. Well thank you for reading this and I am open to questions or comments and hope my idea takes off.

[AAA]

There is a formal place to submit flag ideas on the bzflag wiki somewhere at http://my.bzflag.org/w, I am pretty sure I have seen somthing like that before. The enhancments section is still a great place for review.
I actually really like this idea. You could implement it with a few server variables, too:
1. _shotgunSpreadAngle default = ~10 (degrees), would specify how spread apart each shot is.
2. _shotgunBullets = 3 , the number of bullets fired
3. _shotgunAmmo = 2 , the number of bullets it actually "costs" to fire once.
4. _shotgunReloadTime = 1.2 * _reloadTime (or whatever that variable is), so server owners can change how long the shots take to reload.

[robster]

I am pretty sure I have seen somthing like that before.

True. I found it and it was rejected with never . Still it was just to split shots, not to have multiple shots so there is a difference . I imagine it is almost impossible to make the program split a shot into particles so that may be why it said never.http://my.bzflag.org/w/Flag_Ideas about 2/3 of the way down you will find it.

[AAA]

Prehaps they cleaned the page up, the only one I could find was GalaGa (GG): "When this flag is held, your tank becomes 1.5 (to 2) times wider. However, you are able to shoot two bullets at the cost of one (like a dual fighter in Galaga)."

It really isn't too much different in power then, say, SB. I want this flag.

[Palomides]

With suggesting flags, it really has to be something that would add to the game. I think that the shotgun thing has some potential,with a slow reload time, but the Galaga thing seems pretty lame/useless to me. I mean, two shots? I can click twice for that, and two at once would be a pain to aim.

EDIT: Oh wait, I believe I might have misinterpreted that flag. It would let you shoot twice, sequentially, at the cost of reloading only once? Still, it would seem that Rapid Fire is a better deal.

[robster]

Yes AAA shotgun is still there. Go control+f or apple+f (depending on type of computer) and type in shotgun and it will find it on the page.

The galaga flag i agree at first sounds interesting but it would really only make your tank far easier to hit. But it might be interesting if it simply added another turret making you able to shoot 2 at once without the supersize me. Whether one shot is worth two or not the reload time would have to be lengthened but remember new flags mean extra work. All we have to do is have the idea but the creators have to do the unpaid work to make it work.

[macsforme]

All we have to do is have the idea but the creators have to do the unpaid work to make it work.

Not necessarily. I'm not a BZFlag dev, but as I understand it the devs work on things that interest them, which usually mean they work on their own ideas or those of the core devs (and not necessarily of the users). I think we don't even see many of the dev's ideas here, because they're discussed primarily on IRC, the wiki, etc.

The best way to get your idea implemented is to code it up. Seriously, if you know C++, it's not that difficult, and there are a ton of people able and willing to help you out. If you don't know C++, there's never been a better time to learn.

[ShadowSpectre]

I think a new flag resembling shooting a SW might be neat. Make it explode when in contact with an object or tank. Sort of a long range SW effect but shot from a distance like a bullet.

[dartman]

I had an idea for a flag yesterday. It would be called The Curse (TC). Once you pick it up, it gives you a random bad flag that doesn't affect you. Then you can shoot the bad flag out at flagless enemies (sorta like a backwards TH), thereby "cursing" them for a short time. There are drawbacks, however. First of all, you can't use it to kill opponents, and the TC flag also has a time limit, set by the server.

[F687/s]

Yeah, the Flag Ideas map hasn't been weeded through in a LONG time, showing by the number of flags submitted that repeat the errors in yellow...

Shotgun sounds neat, although I'm not sure how it would relate, being somewhat between a MG and a manual shot spread.

GG's ability all depends on how you implement it. If you were able to shoot two shots for the price of one (next to each other), then it would be a nice (albeit overpowered) flag to have. If shooting two shots at the same time had the cost of two shots, the flag would be lame. The idea is not to aim the flag, the idea is to get them to jump. And then you kill them with your double-wide (or 1.5 wide)

TC seems too complicated (not for me, of course). PZ's really the only flag that's allowed to be complicated.

Ah, well, if everyone who came up with a flag knew C++, I would be playing Frozen-Bubble.

[robster]

I thought it through and decided to post it anyway. Its a little technical but thats ok. Its at the bottom of the page if you wanna check it out: http://my.bzflag.org/w/Flag_Ideas

[blast]

The original ShotGun flag posted on the Flag Ideas page was rejected. Your idea isn't really any different.

The Air Safe flag seems useless when there is the Stealth flag. It would have only one purpose: to destroy missiles.

[robster]

The original idea was that a shot splits and though i no little about coding, i think it would be very tricky to successfully split a shot into pieces without lagging out the server. I didn't add the air safe but stealth can still be shot by gm's and the player maybe could try to draw missles away from his team mates?

[macsforme]

The original idea was that a shot splits and though i no little about coding, i think it would be very tricky to successfully split a shot into pieces without lagging out the server. I didn't add the air safe but stealth can still be shot by gm's and the player maybe could try to draw missles away from his team mates?

It's a nice idea, but like blast said, it's similar to another flag we already have. Some flags are similar to each other, like Agility and High Speed, Narrow and Tiny, Rapid Fire and Machine Gun, etc., but the most welcome flag additions are the ones that bring something either entirely new, or make a distinct variation on one of the existing flags.

[Joe-Schmoe]

How about if some of the shots randomly went up or down, (which would then ricochet up in all likelihood) in addition to left + right? That would be more like a "spray" than MG, and I think it would play quite differently too.