I have been playing with Cruncher for almost a year now, both in HVS and lately TWGS games.

I knew her way back when also.

She doesnt wear rose glasses. Can and does write scripts. Used use and again uses helpers.

I wont put words in her mouth, but I think she shares this with me - scripts are ok for all sorts of stuff, but not for "fighting while you are asleep". To those that like it, hey go for it. I have zero problem with the tactic, but ... It really screws up newbies and retreads. Totally demoralises them and usually they dont even try again. They gonna dig up arcane websites, read Sing's or Traitor's stuff to learn how to cope? Yeh, right.

Add in the bots - they are 99% duping, IMO - and go figure.

I still say that this style of play is only popular because it's effective. Nobody would waste their time with 24/7 scripts if they weren't so darned effective. And that's the fault of the game for allowing tactics that encourage such play. It has nothing to do with whether or not a script is being used. If a tactic is possible and it's effective, people are going to do it. Only through gameplay changes can these tactics be made impossible or less effective. Of course, any one change effects other things, so it will be a long road with many changes before any effort toward fixing these problems results in a game that's balanced and fun. It's a valid question whether or not it's worth making that long trek. As I've said many times, my main goal is to conserve this game as-is for people to explore, because it's a window into what online gaming was like back in the late 80s, early 90s. It's not so much about making it into a new game, even if that would be necessary in order to restore the spirit of the game. Part of me wants to evolve the game and recapture what it once was, but that isn't what TWGS v2 has been about. If anything, the stage is set for an effort to create a new TradeWars. But I'd like TWv3 to be at the end of its long development cycle.

Could implement "node" limitations. One of the biggest
reasons the game was what it was back in the BBS days
was that most BBSes had limited nodes and limited door
game time. You could go in, play for an hour, and be
done. While it wouldn't be for everyone, and would not
be very useful for the social aspect, maybe limiting
the number of active players per game at a time would
be a useful feature. If only 1 person could be logged
in at a time, you wouldn't have to worry about bots or
ptorper scripts, and invading would be a lot harder
and slower without support. Might be useful for new ppl
before they jump into more interactive games.

And kav, if people aren't going to take the time to come
back in and learn the game the way it is now... then
there's no hope for them. Nobody should ever expect
to just walk into something and be an expert. Even
if they played 10 years ago, it doesn't mean anything.

Half the issue here is cultivating the right attitude
with returning players. If people had the "show me how
to play and let me learn" attitude as opposed to the
"this is the way it should be, it isn't that way, I'm leaving!"
attitude, we would be a lot better off.

It wouldn't be too hard to provide some settings for limiting access to games. It gets a bit more complex when you consider adding some nice new features like queuing players with email/IM notification when a game opens or is about to open, maybe allowing players to enter a game and sit at StarDock with limited functionality while they wait the last few minutes before they can start playing their turns/time, chatting with others who are coming or going.

I'd like to allow cooperative play, with multiple team members in the game at one time, using a shared time allotment, but I know there are some advanced scripts where multiple players coordinate their actions to achieve some tactics that can't be done with a single player. So it may be necessary to restrict the game to only one player at a time.

What's interesting about doing something like this is that without changing anything else, it makes TW into a completely different game. And the minimal implementation would be extremely easy. I could have something working in a few hours, I'm sure.

Nice, total and/or per corp.

That would deffinately put an end to botting, and sounds interesting. But, at the same time it sounds rather lonely. I don't know that people will have the patience to wait their turn to play. We're not that young any more, and have other commitments. Most people I think play after work in the evenings, maybe an hour or two. But, if it won't take you long to code it, go ahead and put it in. May give some a chuckle to play like the old single line dial-ups again.

Real people have lives and a limited amount of time they can play, so I like the idea of just a simple time window. The game would be open from 7pm to 9pm daily, so everyone can interact and defend their planets, etc... or maybe a group of people can only play on specific days, say Tuesday and Thursday, or only on weekends.

Classic single player games were first come, first serve. You got in played you turns and got out so the next player could get in. I think any sort of queue would be over complicated.

Yes I do, and Kav and I are of the same mindset. (Both Irish too, go figure!)

We've got to take these newbies and retreads under our wings and ease them into today's game. Took me at least 6 months to raise my jaw up off the floor when I saw what you've all been up to these past 8 years!

Kav and I are working with 3 of them right now. Back to basics, how to read a density scan, "Please don't bring any more limpets back to base!", this is how you furb a red... Lot's and lots of basic stuff that most of you take for granted today. And yes, it can be frustrating because Kav and I get pretty intense at times... So, we have a new mantra... this is only a game... this is only a game... this is only a game... let's have fun!

My goal, is truely to get back to a huge player base. Did you listen to that SG / Soul interview? I listened to it live the night it took place. Did you happen to catch the big game SG was promoting? That was Bad Girl's USO, 16 teams of 6! That's right, 96 players all crammed into one 5k universe with 56k modems. Now, that my friends was TW at it's most popular.

I'm not going anywhere any time soon, and as long as JP allows me, I'll keep playing and promoting the classic game on the EIS server. I prefer open public games, you never know who you may run into.

You Know this is really a moot point, You have already made it clear your going to do what your going to do even after Stating that you had NO plans to make changes to in game play, If I recall me speaking up about that last time is why I got banned by you about a year ago and my point then has is becoming more true today. To late now to do anything about it and that is why my post was not directed to you. Again the facts are the facts. I don’t have a positive attitude about it and that’s not going to change, Your threatening me does what now? Make me want to be happy there are less player, less servers and now more script issues?


I was Originally addressing Cruncher, to bad your sensitive about it.

Your ridiculous, making threats that whether you follow threw or not again doesn’t matter only lose one more of your ever growing player base. You’re the one addressing me for stating facts from the point of view of a player that is out here playing, server hopping to what servers are left, and making a comment that is factual whether you knew it or not. You want some constructive criticism then accept what I stated and stop trying to defend your self when I’m not even talking to you.

You are (at least what left of them) and you don’t have to read what I write.

Again I wasn’t even post to you or even for you originally, but not insulting you after what you have done and as sensitive as you seem to be is hard. Again games where it is and going where it’s going nothing I could say is going to change that… Also why I get to say “I told you so”

Seems you also have a poor memory as SG was the one that urban me after my time out for telling you how changing game play was going to a negative impact in the community and a bad Idea for TW.

Mega rob IS a bug, and you can turn it off by disabling MBBS mode. The bug was originally caused by using a signed integer that was too small, which was probably the cause of 90% of the bugs in both HVS and Gary Martin's versions of the game. This "bug" was only included in v3.xx as an optional "feature" because of popular demand.

ROLF... I love it...

So Cruncher and Kav invented the concept of training new players? No one ever taught new players how NOT to bring limpets back to the base before? None of the rest of us started out by learning the basics? Laff

I'll lay down money that I've introduced more players to this game and taught more new players how to play than both of them put together have.

Perhaps a hot place has frozen over, and there are very few things upon which I'll agree w/ D, but he's probably right about that.

From what I'm hearing the basics are getting passed over for "use this script to do that" Why else would somone who's played the HHT before complain that they were only a login to be botted?

You going to teach some new player the basics of haggling by hand then? Manually SDT 1000 turns? Of course not, some things are best taught at a 500 foot level... some things are best taught by scripts.