balance issues

[monsTo]

so here's what i think about the balance issues on the inv server and my opinion on how they can be fixed. i'm coming from a 'customer service' point of view based on the couple of websites that i've owned with > 100k registered members. in daily practice we use 10% of our resources pleasing 90% of the people. the last few, we know we won't be able to satisfy reasonably with what we have available. In other words: you can't please everyone, but you can please almost everyone with a bit of effort.

therefore i'll say right up front that my ideas here don't seek to please everyone, but to make it fun for most people. there's always someone that will holler bloody murder, but if it gets you by with only a couple of individuals, then you can call it "close enuf."

1) auto adjust invasion monster level
This should be turned on at the very least. while it'll make it difficult for lower level chars on the higher waves, they'll still be able to play with some challenge on the lower waves. I looked back at the other servers i've played on and they're set to .45, .46, .40, .42 and .45. so .45 is probably a good place to start.

2) change the monsters.
today (friday the 27th) it took us 1:14 to play to wave 12 of Duststorm. i cite this cuz its the point i'm playing at now, and i died. knowing from previous maps that 12 probably gonna take :15, i decided to alt-tab out and write this for a bit. (the map ended after 1 hr 45... a map that previously took ~40 mins). So a new player, lvl 30, will die then leave when they realize they play for 90 secs and wait for 10 mins between waves

the solution? BETTER monsters. This part right here is the bit that will take the most work but the end result will be a manageable time per level without being a cakewalk. I'll get into specifics in a different thread.

3) no more external weapons.
mp5 and bernelli are strong even for straight dm. around here with all the player mods that the game makes, they only help the high end characters. If you want to attempt to balance them, then you wind up with the mp5 being a duplicate of the minigun with rocket alt, and the benelli being a duplicate flak . . . to what end?


all the stat caps can be left where they are as long as the game is balanced in other areas. hopefully what i mention here will help in that respect. trying to keep everyone happy is a losing proposition. Some players feel that they worked hard to get to a point to be able to pwn everything in sight. others think that playing an entire map without dying (or even fear of dying) means the game is no challenge and subsequently no fun.

which brings me to my last point. the 2 things that are the most important are the 2 things that it seems everyone has forgotten...

1) we do this for fun.
2) it's just a game.

the split second that this isn't fun anymore, i'll delete the game and not care. And being just a game means that the admins manage this shit out of the goodness of their heart in their spare time as a geeky/techy kinda fun for them. i guarantee that all the BMW is quickly decreasing the fun for them.

bottom line is that rather than everyone championing only what they want, we need to knock heads and come to a concensus on what will be the most fun for the most people.

[DW_Bomzin]

It's a work in progress , to say the least . Yes there was a definate problem with external weapons and monster #'s .

Removed the mps and added monsterz.

Now there are to many per player. The problem is the RPG mod is very lacking in control .

The Solution is Monster Manager , it gives alot more control over basically everything , but alas it is a pig to set up and Wraith is at the end of his rope , for very good reason .

I'm going to give him a hand with this and see if we can't make it fly.

Going to try and set it up with the same monsters as we are currently using , once the intiall setup is done it should be alot easier to make the changes you request , it is almost impossible with just the straight up RPG mod from what I understand.

The MM will adjust almost any setting of any monster . Hopefully coming soon to a server near you .

[DW_Bomzin]

deleted double post

[zeus]

So, what is the problem with monster madness?

I would like to help out. I just need more details.

[DW_Bomzin]

no problem , just nobody has taken the time to sit down and figure it out . There have been to many other issues to deal with . Somone is now sitting down .

If your looking for a project figure out how to rip the hitsounds from Utcomp , that is all we use that mod for and most are under the impression that this is the mod that causes the server crash .

Either that or find a mod that does nothing but hit sounds.

With Monster manager you don't get hit sounds , but you can enable a kill sound .