I have a feature request...

[UL_Approved]

Maybe I've finally lost what was left of my mind, but after playing this game I've come to the conclusion that it is missing one thing: a horn.

Seriously, this could be added as a command, and could just be bound to a sound of the devs choosing. After all, how many times have teammates stood right in front of you blocking your shots? And how many times have you needed the attention of your teammates?

To make this feasable at all in gameplay, the /mute command should be able to affect the use of the horn for players. That way, well, the freaks won't get too obnoxious.

This is probably a seldom requested item, but give it a thought. This game has a charm in being humorous, and the horn would just be the cherry on top. The thought of a train horn or an oooga horn just hit me one day. You never know when this could come in handy...

[Dervish]

That's actually a pretty good idea. It could be usefull, but at the same time, it could become a tool for noobs and anti-social people to annoy others.

However, so many times I wish I could have got the attention of a teammate in front of me when I had ST... instead of trying to spend time typing (Murphy's Law about ST'in.)

...or get the attention of a moron teammate sitting on the opposing team's base, when I'm already camped there with SW, lol. Those people are clueless and usually die in my SW blast when the other team respawns.

[Rebel Chik0rita]

what about just typing to some1 to plz move their tank ;P


..or how bout a keyboard button u can push to make your tank "solid" for a few seconds so u can push/shove some1 outta the way?


=P

[Valoche]

I love the idea.
I imagine myself with ST: sneak behind an enemy; horn, then fire, then "boo" sent to the player (as usual)

[The Red Baron]

then i'll need a bumper sticker...

"honk if you love _______"

This feature gets my support.

[Dervish]

lol, nice idea Valoche and Baron. hmmm, we'd need to find a way to allow custom tank textures to share with other clients on a server. Then again, that could open up a brand new can of worms.

[Oopsy!]

After almost dying(!) of laughter, (boy, that was close, I was in tears!) I have to admit, this is actually a very good idea.

To shut up the "usual suspects" let's just use the /silence feature.

I can't wait to use that horn! Oooga, boom! BOO! > Debris flying everywhere !:D

[L4m3r]

After almost dying(!) of laughter, (boy, that was close, I was in tears!) I have to admit, this is actually a very good idea.

To shut up the "usual suspects" let's just use the /silence feature.

I can't wait to use that horn! Oooga, boom! BOO! > Debris flying everywhere !:D

My thoughts exactly, make the silence command silence a player's horn also. And perhaps make the sound relatively short-range?

[G-MAN]

It would be pretty fun to use. All of a sudden hooooooooonk boom. LIKE IT

[M1A2AbramsTank]

I love this idea! I hate it when teammates get in my way whan I'm trying to kill someone.

[G-MAN]

When you die you should honk a certain way like when you see those cartoons or funny shows where the trumpet plays that song and everybody take of threir hats.

[Workaphobia]

I like the prospect of being able to communicate with teammates without taking my hand off the controls to type. But I'm not sure a horn is the best way - at least, not by itself. What if you were able to use identify to target a player and then press a button to send a signal to his HUD?

One of BZ's biggest problems is the way teams never move together. Sometimes you'll see newbies urging their team to get motivated and attack in unison, but then as time goes on they learn to accept that everyone will pretty much do what they want to. If a team wins it is because the sum of their individual members is greater than the sum of the opposing team's members, not because either team was more coordinated than the other.

Perhaps this could be changed if it became easier for people to share vital strategical information. Consider the simple idea of a radar flare, that would light up the region of the map where the triggering player is, for all friendly tanks. When used effectively, this could enable a flag runner to call for help without taking his hands off his input device and reducing his chances for survival. Or how about the ability to target an enemy tank who has a power flag or a superior tactical position and then have him highlighted on your teammate's screens so they know to take him down?

Those probably aren't the best examples, but they're a starting point.

[TD-Linux]

That sounds great!

How about the horn works like a non-rico laser, so the horn is only heard by people in front of you?

Workaphobia, I love the 'help me' attention getter! It would be very useful!

[Spazzy McGee]

Why havnt we got one already!!!! BRING ON THE HORN!!

(i think it has the people's approavl!)

[Hannibal]

work. , at laser mania, louman.bzflag.bz:5156 , teamwork is often good, and important

[I_Died_Once]

I love the idea, too - the only issue I have or I can foresee is... I don't listen to the game when I play. I either have on a CD or the radio, and my computer turned all the way down.

So... make it to where if you are within "hearing" range of the horn, then not only do you hear it, but the word "honk" could appear on affect tank's HUD...

[A Meteorite]

I love the idea, too - the only issue I have or I can foresee is... I don't listen to the game when I play. I either have on a CD or the radio, and my computer turned all the way down.

So... make it to where if you are within "hearing" range of the horn, then not only do you hear it, but the word "honk" could appear on affect tank's HUD...

Yeah, I barely turn on sound. Some of the effects can be annoying...

As for the word "honk" maybe an icon next to your name in the top right corner would be cool. A little horn icon (maybe a speaker? suggestions?). Icons help save space and are easy to get used to. Another place for the icon would be much better, though... (it can be hard to decide )

[Rebel Chik0rita]

i like the idea of being able to aim your horn at some1 and beep them .
but it sounds like a feature that will likely be over-abused to the point where no1 pays attention to it , ignores it , or just turns it off ...


hopefully (if its implemented) there will be a /mute-horn or menu command to turn it off =P

[TheMaster]

I played Return To Castle Wolfenstein for a long while, and the ability to quickly "send" pre-programmed messages to other members of your team, or to all players in general, was bloody useful, sometimes very funny, and I can't recall a single case of someone abusing it.

The "messages" could be all stored on the local HDD as WAVs and thus played with a very small message from the server.

BZFLAG's "lock" feature could be used to target one player with a message, such as "move it!" then "behind you.....".

Replace the cheers and applause for successful team capture with genuine cheering calls as per RTCF.

Its not critical to game play, so people who prefer silence or music can continue to play just as neatly...

[TD-Linux]

There should also be a button for a general call for help from your team, sent only to your teammates. It would make your tank and your tank on radar flash, and a noise be emitted. Quite useful when you are carrying the flag alone.

If someone abuses these, then have /mute mute both chat and the horn. If they abuse the horn, they deserve to be entirely muted