(Major bug) ISDF base build in AIP can fail

[Spawn]

i know, that is why i said "somehow"

[Jwk the Hemp Monkey]

"Strat isn't delicate, Strat players are."

Dark fox might have something to say about that. Not only the strat isn't delicate comment, but also the idea that he is a fragile player as well....

[BZZERKER]

I don't think Av had DF in mind when he made that comment. My interpretation of that comment sees it aimed at some of the more childish straters (you know, the ones that don't like their exploits taken away from them).

[Spawn]

yeah, like how people complained when ai3 rats were introduced, and now its standard...

[Avatar]

As with most of my comments I don't have any particular person in mind at the time that I make it.  I try to consider the whole of the Community.

Strat is not delicate.  It can change, evolve, become something completely different, and it's still Strat and someone will still like to play it.  There are tons of Strat games out there, all different, and mods that turn them into something else not thought of by the game's creators.  In the Battlezone universe there have been many different versions of BZ strat.  FE has a Community Created version of strat, and it has a whole different set of units/weapons/rules/etc. from stock play and yet it's still Strat.

It's not "Strat" that's ever complained about any change, it's the Players.  It's not "Strat" that's spent a year or so learning a certain way things are, and now resists learning anything new.  See?  Strat is what you make of it.  It's not delicate at all, it can be hammered and molded and changed and still be Strat.

What's delicate is the Player base.  Finding the right elements to appeal to as many different Players as possible is the Holy Grail of game development.  The games that do it well make money and have large communities, those that don't die off.

Now, BZ is a dead game regardless of what version you play.  BZ1 and 2 survive only because of a handful of hardcore enthusiasts.  Changing the nature of Strat at this point could cause those few playing Strat to move on, because none of them seem willing to relearn the game.  I don't blame them, but at times there's a little too much attitude involved and not enough civility for me.  

Anyway, that's why I say Strat isn't delicate, the Players are.  Change Strat too much and you have to look for new players, and that's not happening in the BZ universe...

-Av-

[Jwk the Hemp Monkey]

Thats a bit like saying your face isn't delicate, because if i changed a few bits here and there (like, broke the cheekbone, mabey turned the nose upside down...) it would still serve its function or being able to see/breath/protect the brain.

[ScarleTomato]

But noone cares if strat is asthetically pleasing

[Avatar]

Thats a bit like saying your face isn't delicate, because if i changed a few bits here and there (like, broke the cheekbone, mabey turned the nose upside down...) it would still serve its function or being able to see/breath/protect the brain.

Not exactly, as that would be cosmetic changes not related to function.  In the case of BZ2 the changes are almost entirely under the hood and to most players very subtle if noticeable at all.  To take it to an extreme example it would be like making you see out of your mouth and breathe through your eyes without changing what it looks like from the outside.

Most people wouldn't notice, but every surgeon dealing with that person would find it very unsettling.

The 'vets' are the surgeons in that example...

And remember that I inherited the word 'delicate' from the previous posting...    Delicate meaning 'fragile', or 'easily broken' is the intended use here, not 'weak' or 'effeminate'...

In a game with the meager player base that BZ has making too much of a change is ill advised.  The player base is too small, and there's no influx of new players that don't already have predisposed notions of gameplay.

In the case of a 'new' version of BZ in another engine it would be economically adviseable to drift a little more towards FPS, providing strategy elements that are there for those that want them and invisible to anyone not interested.  I know I've gone on about it before but it boils down to:

If you were an FPS player you'd pick a team, grab a ship, and go to it.  

If you were an FPS oriented player but a little more interested in strategy you'd check the Objectives list, browse the radar screens, see what the enemy was doing, then outfit a certain ship and take off with an objective in mind.  

If you were an RTS player you'd hop into Command mode, check the screens, and send AI supplies and defenses to key points as well as inform non-RTS players of strategic objectives.

That's what I'd like to see for BZ3, all wrapped up in a nice futuristic military wrapper...

-Av-