in another topic you said:
"Another thing I was just yackin with someone about: make the ability to ztm sysop configurable... Just think about it for a second: its a great feature when used in a game where all players understand its capability and neccessity. However in a newbie game, its the one factor that allows the experienced played to UTTERLY DOMINATE the newbies. Without it, the experienced player is almost as lost out there as the newbie."

A)the "experienced" player dominates the "newbies" because he is the EXPERIENCED player and the others are NEWBIES. it had nothing to do with a ZTM. sure some advanced scripts require a ZTM but an "Experienced" player playing only "newbies" doesn't even need to use advanced scripts.
B)the experienced player is never lost without a ztm as they understand what a ztm is and what they can do with and without it. the newbie is lost because he thinks he needs it, but doesnt know why he thinks it.
C)i occasionally use ztm (depends on game) and i am by no means "elite" i guess i could be "experienced" but i re-started only a month ago. i use no advanced scripts, yet if you put me into a game with a whole crew of these "newbies" who are so lost without a ztm, i will have the game over by the time they finish their ztm. and i often call myself a newbie! its just a matter of understanding the game.
i here by invite all "experienced" players to chime in with their opinions. and those "newbies" to chime in with questions.

Slim

The ztm gives you the entire layout of the universe. I'm pretty sure I didn't specify enough what I meant by what I said. What I meant was, with a ztm an experienced player can understand much more of the universe and plot their movements based on it. A newbie would have a much more difficult time doing the same thing, only because of the skill level you must achieve to fully utilize the ztm.

So you take the ztm out of the equation(classic play was more what I was referring to) and all parties are wandering around the universe blind. No dead ends known before you find them, this would return the game to a slower style of play(in regards to exploring) and would give the newer players a larger window of opportunity to establish themselves.

heh that logic is like 2 hunters tracking game, take away there gps, now its an even playing field. Uh no the experienced guy wins lol. When will you learn nothing is even. Lets make everyone blind so seeing people dont have the advantage over the blind. Sound rediculous yea it is. This is NOT a peronal attack, just an attack of your logic. To me it seem well illogical. L:et the Newbies have the ztm to learn. Yea get podded, invaded etc. its how we all learn.

I would like to see CIM/ZTM turned off as a sysop option in the next version of Tradewars. It will bring back the exploration part of the game that has seemed to have gone away over the years.

Prestone podded me and Bone so many times we got sick of it. We learned adapted and now I don't fear playing prestone anymore. I'm a perfect example of what tw said. I learned adapted and now I can hang.








LokI is powering up weapons systems!

Taking away a ztm won't help newbies. Even without a ztm, an experienced player will have a better search routine. They'll cover more of the universe more quickly. Ultimately though, not being able to see a course plot would just be an annoyance to newbie and veteran alike.

quote:Originally posted by Tradewarrior55

Let the Newbies have the ztm to learn. Yea get podded, invaded etc. its how we all learn.


Wow! I agree with you on something!

The ZTM is available to all in the game. I just wish they had put it in the docs so that you didn't have to "know" someone who "knew" in order to take advantage of it.

I played the game for about 5 years before I learned there even was a ZTM. (Well, it is there in the "global" commands now, but I don't recall seeing it in earlier versions. The command option might have been in the global menu all along, but I'm sure when I used it to see what it did and all I got was a : and nothing happened, I probably just figured it was an inoperative command and moved on.)

It would be nice to have full explanation of ZTM, and how to use it in the docs somewhere, so that "newbies" can indeed learn it for themselves and compete.

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Galactic Overlord

quote:Originally posted by Tradewarrior55

Let the Newbies have the ztm to learn. Yea get podded, invaded etc. its how we all learn.


Wow! I agree with you on something!

The ZTM is available to all in the game. I just wish they had put it in the docs so that you didn't have to "know" someone who "knew" in order to take advantage of it.

I played the game for about 5 years before I learned there even was a ZTM. (Well, it is there in the "global" commands now, but I don't recall seeing it in earlier versions. The command option might have been in the global menu all along, but I'm sure when I used it to see what it did and all I got was a : and nothing happened, I probably just figured it was an inoperative command and moved on.)

It would be nice to have full explanation of ZTM, and how to use it in the docs somewhere, so that "newbies" can indeed learn it for themselves and compete.






I learned about the ability to create a ZTM from CIM (Computer Interagaton Mode). During my first month of playing TW2002 v1.03d. As it was the new thing then. But, you could only get the following information from the CIM:

1. Explored sector information.
2. Unexplored sector information.
3. Warp information
4. Found port information.
5. Warp routes. It is the same as the course plotter, from the computer menu.

And the only way to enter the CIM. Was by sending 4 specific ascii characters to the game, while at the command prompt.

And it stayed that way, until some time in v3. Where JP added the global command. And added ability to set and clear voide from from within CIM.

MadHatter or Gypsy could tell you when exactly when this was changed.

wabbit. stop. with. all. the. un-needed. periods. hehe

As long as there is the ability to plot a course, ZTM can and will be done. Are you suggesting that players should no longer be able to plot courses (only "see" one hop adjacent to where they currently are) ?? That would be fine with me... I'll still crush whatever newbs you are trying to help out. I'll explore the game a lot faster than they could ever hope to, and I'll build resources much faster than they can imagine.

This is the same style of argument that most "poor" players like to use. Their ego can't let them admit that they are in any way inferior to the "best" players, so they blame things like ZTM, or scripts, or the speed of someone's connection. Grow up already and admit the better players are simply better than you are. THEN you'll have a chance at improving and competing with them.

In perhaps a less aggressive method. I have to agree with CK. While many people use the CIM to do a ZTM, you could do a manual ZTM using course plotting. Your helper captures all of that kind of data. So to be honest ZTM can't be really sysop configurable.