Guided Missle potency

All things BZFlag - no [OT] here please
Post Reply
User avatar
jbennyh
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2003 6:47 pm
Location: USA

Guided Missle potency

Post by jbennyh »

Three of us at work have been been playing the 6.26 version for the "rabbit hunt" game play for the last three months for about an hour a day on an internal server. Needless to say, we'd gotten real good at knowing when you are going to die with the guided missle. In the last week we loaded the 1.9.9 ze version (we also have the 1.9.8 from cvs) and noticed immediately that the GM doesn't seem to have as much lethality as it did previously. This was especially apparent when we ran the new version in an empty map and were able to get away. From our perspective, the GM was a flag to be feared, especially when certain vanatage points were held.

Are we wrong, is the code the same?
widowmaker
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 2:13 am
Location: USA

Post by widowmaker »

I am able to dodge GM with the old versions. Are you using any different techniques when playing with 1.9.9?
User avatar
jbennyh
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2003 6:47 pm
Location: USA

Post by jbennyh »

No, we were not any more sophisticated on Wednesday with the newer version than on Tuesday with the older version.

It's like the missle doesn't update its trajectory as often on the new client.
Ben Hohman
widowmaker
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 2:13 am
Location: USA

Post by widowmaker »

Ok I see. The developers may be trying to make this flag less effective and if they are I have something to say, "PLEASE DON'T." The GM flag is supposed to be powerful and I think it works very well the way it does in 1.7
oblomov
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2003 8:10 am

Post by oblomov »

"Keep it 1.7 style" is my vote too, in case anything is being changed.
User avatar
MrApathyCream
Dev Wizard
Dev Wizard
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 9:16 pm
Location: Warwick, MD
Contact:

Post by MrApathyCream »

Other than the GM's lifetime being shortened by 5%, If there is a difference, it was not an intentional change.
widowmaker
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 2:13 am
Location: USA

Post by widowmaker »

Do you mean that it goes 5% less distance?
User avatar
MrApathyCream
Dev Wizard
Dev Wizard
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 9:16 pm
Location: Warwick, MD
Contact:

Post by MrApathyCream »

widowmaker wrote:Do you mean that it goes 5% less distance?
yes, altho admins can change this at will in the next release.

So if you wanted gms to fly twice as long it can be done easily, and while the game is going on.
rr
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 73
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 6:18 am

Post by rr »

So if you wanted gms to fly twice as long it can be done easily, and while the game is going on.
This sounds way to easily abused. I personally don't want an admin changing the length of GM's while he/she currently has the flag, and reducing the length while someone else has the flag. It's nice that this is a settable option, but it should be set at the command line and not be changed except for during a server restart.
User avatar
larsl
Dev Monkey
Dev Monkey
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue May 20, 2003 2:35 pm
Location: Stockholm
Contact:

Post by larsl »

Almost all game settings that can be changed at runtime without breaking the game will be changable at runtime in the new version, including GM lifetime, SW size, tank speed, shot speed, jump height etc. So yes, an idiot admin can tune the server to his own advantage, but I think that was the case with earlier versions too. It wouldn't be hard to turn off server cheat detection for a player with a certain callsign, for example.
User avatar
SGI
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 513
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:24 pm
Location: Motown, MI, USA

Post by SGI »

If you change the GM lifetime, SW size , speed etc.. etc... automatically you change the setting for everyone in the server not only for the admins......
Stultorum plena sunt omnia
widowmaker
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 2:13 am
Location: USA

Post by widowmaker »

It just means that you should play on servers with responsible admins....duh!
User avatar
JeffM
Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Posts: 5196
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2002 4:11 am

Post by JeffM »

the base code for the server dosnt' allow you to change an item on a per player bassis, larsl was just giving an example of how a server admin could mod his server to do what ever he wanted. Since the source is out there, the server can do what ever it wants.

But if they are using the standard server, and an admin changes a value, it applys to everyone.
ImageJeffM
rr
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 73
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 6:18 am

Post by rr »

I never said on a "per player basis". I am saying they can change it for the time that they have GM until they lose the flag, and then change it back to normal when they lose the flag.

They wouldn't have to change it by that much and it would still give them an advantage. This is just another opportunity for yet another subtle cheat.
User avatar
JeffM
Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Posts: 5196
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2002 4:11 am

Post by JeffM »

that can hapen on any server even if it was CLI only, they just have to change the server, you can't trust a server at all, just like they can't trust a client.

yet :)
ImageJeffM
rr
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 73
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 6:18 am

Post by rr »

In the past wouldn't that have required a server restart though? Being able to do it live seems like a bad idea.
widowmaker
Private First Class
Private First Class
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 2:13 am
Location: USA

Post by widowmaker »

I like it. It is allowing the server to change on the fly which is very nice for server ops so they don't have to stop and start the server to get the wanted results.
User avatar
JeffM
Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Posts: 5196
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2002 4:11 am

Post by JeffM »

in the past it was not setable

the method in 1.10 is to have all values that are in the bzdb setable, to minimse server restarts, its up to the server owner to set the permisions on those set features to ensure that only those he wants can use them. This goes for all variables not just the shot one. It is how it is because thats the way the implemter decided it to be.
ImageJeffM
User avatar
The Red Baron
Sergeant First Class
Sergeant First Class
Posts: 987
Joined: Sat Dec 07, 2002 6:21 am
Contact:

Post by The Red Baron »

don't change it. I like it how it was.
Beware! I'm going to clone myself and spread those clones all over the world!
User avatar
JeffM
Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Posts: 5196
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2002 4:11 am

Post by JeffM »

the only change was the lifetime was lowerd by 5% the rest of the defaults are the same, it's just they are now adjustable on a server by server basis. If the server op does nothing, then it will play like it did before, grab a 1.9.9 client and check it out.
ImageJeffM
Post Reply