There's another way to accomplish that too. Have players make smarter decisions about when to enter a game, and let them figure out how to use/write a smarter unlim surround script (to avoid some pdrops). Of course if they're new players...

Anyway, what's my point? Actually there is one... scripters, no matter what you do, will adapt. As prome said, a scripter could just write a counter script to re-drop those figs after they clear. You can test for fig presence by something as simple as checking a twarp/pwarp lock on a routine basis (every 15 minutes?) and run the re-fig script. No matter what you do you can't compensate for a smart experienced scripter.

By raising the bar a bit higher all you do is make it harder on the new players to play catch up. They can no longer just download public scripts and make inroads, they'll have to learn to write their own just to stay even.

IMO t-edit use after a game has started can cause a lot of problems w/ players, but if all of the players are okay with it and it was agreed upon as part of the game (example: colo drops every X days) then it's not cheating. Live and let live, and if some players want a style of game where there are some system scripts, well then there ya go. I've played in a few of them and am actually glad to see these, it'll bring in a more varied player experience.

If someone is colonizing w/o twarping directly to terra, they're extremely vulnerable to a timed pre-lock attack of any number of styles. It only works with a truce, and even then it's a bad idea. Even being an unfedsafe blue is pretty dang risky, I don't know of any colo scripts that bother to grab cash and buy figs as needed... so sooner or later you're in for a poddy surprise.

This is why, as I've said hundreds of times before, the best thing new players can do is learn to choose smarter games. Don't choose aggressive, competitive games. Don't choose games where they'll have to face hunters. Choose slower games on less aggressive servers first, then migrate onward. There is no substitute for knowledge and skill, and in the long run there is nothing a sysop can do.

Heh. My super colonizer (Based on Mrann Nexus's Colonizer) checks figs between runs if you choose "safe mode". But it grabs them off the planet instead of buying them. It was mainly used for when I was colonizing in a sector that had hazz for whatever reason.

You will say it 100 times more. Maybe 1000. The only thing the sysop can do is make a game that the hunters don't like to play in.

*nod* Which is more turn efficient, but then again in most turns games a colo run only lasts a minute or whatever, and isn't going for hours. An unlim is pretty different, and while grabbing from a planet can be easier, it can also be beaten by just running the planet out of figs.



Nod, there are also some servers that just aren't as well known... so they don't get that kind of play.

Where would a good place to find info in scripting I would like to try and see if i can figure out how to write one.

Really, the best way is to play with them in a game and find out what they do from a game perspective... then go in and look at the code and see how they accomplish it. I'd recommend checking any of the .TS files on my site or grimytrader. Avoid Xide's pack 1 and 2 scripts, they're good but far too complicated (with all of the includes, it's easy to get lost) to learn from so early on.

Wilber I will agree with Sing on this, LoneStar has a cool tutorial that helps explain some basic scripting..here is the link for that: http://www.navhaz.com/tutorials/

Other then that Ive done exactly that, checked out others scripts and examine what happens if you add or take something away. As far as "scripting etiquette" I really just tweak things for my personal use since Im still learning. Just be sure to give credit where credit is due!

-mobby