Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Place for people to discuss public servers, and also for admins to lay out the details of their servers
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tainn
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Re: New Flag! Point Siphon

Post by tainn »

optic delusion wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 1:39 amIf either player does not have three wins or three losses at the time of the kill, it just ignores the points, and you each gain or lose the one point as you normally would without the flag.
So a 0-2 killing a 2-0 results in 1-2 and 2-1 instead of 1-0 and 0-1 respectively?
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by optic delusion »

If either player does not have the three necessary wins (kills) or losses (deaths) to add or remove, nothing happens.
It's a +1 and a -1, the same as a no-flag kill.

At next restart we will lose the triple-point flag. Which I always called TP, toilet paper.
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Win Siphon

Post by optic delusion »

CORRECTION:
The name is Win Siphon {WS} ... I've been calling it by the wrong name.
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Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by anorak »

An appeal to remove the 20/20 flag.
Isnʻt this a Capture The Flag server? Itʻs hard to CTF if youʻre stuck with a flag for 20 seconds. A couple of times Iʻve been near the other teamʻs flag and accidentally picked up the 20 flag, and had to run round while looking for the antidote flag (which lately has spawned across the map), while waiting for the timer to expire.
Aggravating at best.
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Twenty Twenty

Post by optic delusion »

I want to have one "bad" flag. This is the least offensive thing I could think of. It's only ONE flag. You can still shoot and move normally.
Maybe I should put a bouncy flag instead?
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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WHAMMO! F12

Post by optic delusion »

I understand there has been discussion about the WHAMMO! F12 plugin. I will re-iterate my previous comments.
It's not perfect. There are false positives. I will not go into detail about exactly how it works to avoid people gaming it.
You get one warning, and the warning puts you on the plugin's #%*@-List. The second time it catches you, you get a timed auto ban.
The sure way to never get a warning or ban is to only LEAVE THE SERVER WHILE DEAD.

It's a necessary evil. the alternative is people F12'ing every time they are about to get geno'd.
And that is far worse than the plugin's occasional false positive.
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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New Flag Euthanacious D

Post by optic delusion »

NEW FLAG! ED = Euthanacious D

I'm not telling how it works, you have to find out for yourself.
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Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Euthanacious D flag on Apoco

Post by Rotten Pineapple »

Maybe chatGPT knows....

Q: What does the Euthanacious D flag do in the game bzflag?

AI: The 'euthanacious D' flag in BZFlag is a flag that gives you invincibility against all damage, a speed boost, and the ability to fly up to a certain height. However, you will be unable to pick up any flags while this flag is active.

And it's right. I was unable to pick up other flags!
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by optic delusion »

It's right there in the name. What is Euthanasia? What is D?
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by tainn »

Not to be confused with Tenacious D.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by Rotten Pineapple »

optic delusion wrote: Fri Jan 20, 2023 1:07 pm It's right there in the name. What is Euthanasia? What is D?
UPDATE: KnottyMan apparently noticed a very minimal effect that it has.
I won't post a spoiler but it doesn't seem to be something that would affect play.

Earlier Post:
What is Euthanasia? Typically, a mercy killing. In bzflag, this might mean:

Killing to help someone out.
* a tank that is sealed in a wall
* a tank that has a bad flag that they cannot drop
* a tank that is otherwise about to die in a bad way (e.g. a geno shot)

None of these seem likely (there are no bad flags on apoco, and the delete key and other methods solve the other problems), and so far there's no sign that ED allows you to TK teammates.

D is the 4(th) letter of the alphabet. D could be short for "death".
D could also refer to a D shaped region of the map.
There is a place on Urban called "D" but not on Apoco.

Another theory is that ED is a play on words, a troll to get players to ask about the male medical
problem abbreviated ED so that others can make snarky remarks similar to those surrounding the MB flag.
On that note, I don't see any turret or firing droop with ED. Hopefully the troll theory is a dead end.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by optic delusion »

HAHA, They think ED is impotent!

Here is the definition of euthanasia that I man using. (From The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition)
euthanasia. yoo͞″thə-nā′zhə, -zhē-ə
1 N/A
2 N/A
3 An easy death; a mode of dying to be desired.

For the D, think of "Post-Apocalypto" and the "Chainsaw Bazooka Machine Gun"
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by optic delusion »

You guys got half of it pretty quickly. If you kill yourself, it gives you back the point.
If you can get the other half, I'm going to change it so it's super easy to figure out, and add a new function that will make it better, more powerful.
So somebody figure out the other half. After it gives you back the point, then what?
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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TEN YEAR LONG APOCALYPSE

Post by optic delusion »

The Mayan "Popol Vuh" describes the gods first creating three failed worlds, followed by a successful fourth world in which humanity was placed. In the Maya Long Count calendar, the fourth world ended after 13 bʼakʼtuns, 144,000 days or roughly 5,125 years. This means that the fourth world reached the end of its 13th bʼakʼtun, or Maya date 13.0.0.0.0, on the Gregorian calendar's date of 21 December 2012.
Anthropologist Michael D. Coe wrote in "The Maya" that "there is a suggestion that Armageddon would overtake the degenerate peoples of the world and all creation on the final day of the 13th bʼakʼtun. Thus our present universe would be annihilated when the Great Cycle of the Long Count reaches completion."
To us degenerate peoples at Planet MoFo, the annihilation of the universe sounds like great fun and should be celebrated, thus we created a gathering place where all our friends could repeatedly and endlessly sacrifice themselves to the gods whilst preparing for the final annihilation:

Planet MoFo - Apocalypse In Action
Imagine our surprise when the universe did not end on the proscribed date, and it was just the start of a 14'th b'ak'tun.

That was a full ten solar years ago, and now we invite all our friends to once again celebrate the celebration that is Apocalypse in Action!
13 baktun - 0 katun - 10 tun - 6 uinal - 11 kin - That is the date. Be there or be square! (Friday March 10, 2023 and all weekend)
I will run the original map by Dutchrai with original variable settings, Spawn on Base, No TK, six GM, six SW, six Laser!
After this first few days, I will run various iterations of the map, which has gone through five rebuilds over the decade!
This will continue until 13.0.10.7.13 (April 1) when I have a special map for that day.

The original map:
WILD EAST WILD WEST Author: Dutchrai | Released: 2004-11-23 | Type: CTF2
http://shellshock.bzflag.bz/tmf-dutchrai.html
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by Sub[FR] »

Yess!!
unpleasant surprise
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by unpleasant surprise »

I switched Internet service providers a while back, and I now get a message that Canada is banned when I attempt to access Apocalypse Twenty-Twenty : Planet MoFo. I am based in Canada.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by optic delusion »

unpleasant surprise, it should be resolved, check your private messages, and please message me privately if there are any further problems.
It is a player named "canada" that is banned, not the country of Canada.
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by Rotten Pineapple »

@Optic Delusion -- A shout out to thank you and your minions for the map reset celebration on Apocalypse earlier this year. I was surprised by the increased density of flags in the previous map (especially the map with the skyscraper in back where the team flag could be left on a ledge). So many flags. I wonder what got into people to get rid of all those fun flags? Was T.S. Eliot correct? Not with a bang but a whimper?
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by optic delusion »

Thanks Rotten. It was the tenth anniversary, really eleventh as ten complete years have elapsed since the start of this forum thread.

The theoretical limit for flags is 255, and we were pretty close to that at the beginning. It was also five shot. Ever since then, the theme has been reducing overall available firepower, except for shocks. The problem is that if one team gets two lasers and two GM's it can be too hard to dislodge them and the other team leaves. And once they get two lasers, the rest of their team can keep flag shopping, so that often happened. I like balance. Balance and keeping the action fast enough that it is fun with only four players is key. Over the years I have made several decisions that are not the best for 20 players, but are good for low player counts. If it's not fun for four players, your map never gets more than four.
It was also spawn-on-base after capture, i did not bring that back.
The tower was the SunTrust building in Orlando Florida. In those years the physical server that operated the game server was located there.

It's more like Henchmen than minions.
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by optic delusion »

I have improvements to ED placements.
The shoot-yourself-to-get-stealth zone still needs a minor improvement, i'll try to get that real soon.
The self-destruct-to get-ShockWave zone is now active. But it's kinda useless as long as you stay there. The SW does not quite reach far enough to stop a capture, so you can't sit there and camp over the base with SW. You gotta get off.

Self-Destruct is mapped to the "Delete" key on extended keyboards. It is above the arrow keys. It is not the "Backspace" key.
On non-extended keyboards (No Number Pad), Self-Destruct is the "Delete" key.
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Neutral Zone

Post by optic delusion »

Neutral Zone plugin and map objects have been added, and now the bug where a team flag could be dropped inside the neutral zone has been solved.The plugin now respects safety zones. This means I had to add ten safety zones and now team flag pass-to-center is now a thing of the past.
The platform connecting the bases is a gigantic change and I have been very surprised that there has been zero backlash against it. Not a single complaint. It will take awhile for players to figure out the best ways to utilize it.
What I'm worried about is it stratifies the action. The main platform is now much more valuable real estate, so it becomes one fight up top, and a completely separate fight on the floor. This spreads the action out, cuts it in half. Until now I was always, ALWAYS trying to concentrate the action into smaller areas. FAST ACTION is my motto.
And the loss of pass-to-center is also a loss. The best action happens when both team flags are near each other, and when they are both in the center, it can get chaotic.

I would really like to hear your opinions on this, especially as I am attempting a complete map rebuild. What I plan to do is expand the neutral zone back from the base, so you cannot get the team flag off of the platform until you've reached the Hole of Justice. You'll have to run it back to the hole before you can drop it to the ground. This will work for both teams, in both directions. So when you grab the other team's flag, it will be harder to get it away from their base... and when a team is attempting to save their flag from being captured, they will have to work harder to pull it away from the opposing team's base. I think that leaving your own flag on your base will be the best place to hide it.
So please let me know what you think.


Note: There never was a bug in the plugin, it was my fault in the map file. Allejo was prescient when he made the neutral zone plugin for me. He added safety zone support from the beginning. I just wasn't using it.
Take a look at my Defender game mode concept.

Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by Sub[FR] »

I have a bug on the neutral zone, I get glued if I don't jump immediatly. If I spawn on the platform I am also glued without solution (only self destruction). Only way is having WG flag. I suppose it's a client bug, I have an old client (2.4.2) but I cannot use more recent, they don't work on my old computer ;-)

If you extend the zone I fear it will be unsable for me ;-) Actually the server is down, may be it's normal (maintenance ?)
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by optic delusion »

Sounds like you are spawning slightly inside the object. Exactly where does this happen? Anywhere on the platform or only on the new bridge?
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Thinking is not an automatic process. A man can choose to think or to let his mind stagnate, or he can choose actively to turn against his intelligence, to evade his knowledge, to subvert his reason. If he refuses to think, he courts disaster: he cannot with impunity reject his means of perceiving reality.
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by Sub[FR] »

Yes, it seems I spawn a bit inside the new platform. But also when I come on the new platform, I cannot move unless I jump quickly. Probably not a spawn problem. I had a similar problem in Castle Scarwall near the up teleporter. There is a grey zone where I was glued unless I jumped. I need to test with a newer client version but I need to be unregistered due to the listserver access problem..
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Re: Apocalypse In Action :: Planet MoFo

Post by Sub[FR] »

Just tested. Same problem with client version 2.4.4 and 2.4.8 (on Win XP ... I know ...).
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