First things First...

[Scout]

I would also like nothing in battlezone 1 to change...

But perhaps Completing something that wasn't finished.. Like those Shield Walls that you see on the 5th training map. as a novelty

Some anti-hacking measures would be nice.

[Dx]

Shield Towers is a odf change and they work now.

[AHadley]

A directors cut of BZ would be good, but so far the closest we're getting is BZC.

[BZSubmaximal]

I read about 1/2 the posts so please excuse.....


so...where does changing thunderbolt bomber...by adding normal hull strength fit in?.....

I don't know how anyone perceived the ISDF thunderbolt (w/ armour so thin it was like flying around a gasoline tanker)...could ever be seen as "balanced' with a Grendel..

Just a question...as the only player who ever had the T-Bolt license plate "I drive a T-Bolt....Am I f&*Kin' NUTS??!!"....I think its a worthwhile question to ask...

"Sir...may I actually GET a Tbolt WITH Armour?"

[General BlackDragon]

Actually, thats a technical bug.

There are separate files used for MP.

The t bolt isnt supposed to have more, the grendel is supposed to have less.

look in the ZFS pack at the following files: avhrmp.odf, svhrmp.odf, svhraz.odf.

avhrmp is the MP version of the thunderbolt, and is used in mp. - 2500 health
svhrmp is the MP version of the Grendel, and is NOT used in mp. - 2500 health
svhraz is the normal Grendel, and is used in mp. - 3000 health

I think the game was originally meant to use the svhrmp.odf in the vehicle list, but for some reason it wasn't?

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Thanks for the compliment ssuser!

You're explanation of sound transmission in a hard vacuum is right on.

There might be some added high frequency chatter from high EMP/EMF hysteresis resulting in some Schmitt triggering of some of the onboard systems. 

Ok,  ok. . . I know. . .come down to earth space cadet. It basically means the electro-mechanical systems on board reacting to the field sweeping past from an energy weapon going off in close proximity to the tank.  And since it's the 1960's and 70's, there would be much more of that than there would be 'today'.

The only 'twist' I would add, is the added variable of what keeps the tanks levitated.  If you buy my conjecture of how the ships stay "hovered", then there may be some additional "sound" transmission through the field or the field's fluctuation.

[ssuser]

I forgot about rounds hitting your ship - of course you would hear that.  Although I think it would sound different than it does in the game.

Another funny thing in BZ is that you can hear the pilots groan in pain when hit - even on a world with atmosphere they are sealed up in their suits, but you can hear them yowl plain as day when you nail them...

Since bombers are big heavy vehicles I think it would be appropriate if both the Grendel and Thunderbolt had 3000 health - however, for multiplayer tank vs bomber games there is something else that comes into play - since the Grendel has that big, long wing it is very easy to knock it about with SP-Stabbers by firing at the tip of the wing - not so with the Thunderbolt. Maybe when they were playtesting and figuring that most games would be multi-unit melees they felt the Grendel was too weak at 2500 because of this and included the regular Grendel for MP instead.

[Blunt Force Trauma]

The thing is, most especially about BZ1, after release the community had DAYS upon DAYS into WEEKS into MONTHS into YEARS of 2-4-8 hours A DAY of actual gameplay. . . so while the devs knew the code, the players know the 'game'.

So, regarding that, I don't regard the devs as doing any big 'mistake' back in '97.  But now that we have players that have 4000. . . 6000+ HOURS of gameplay. . . they certainly should be listened to, or walk into another arguably BZ2 type mistake.

 

[Red Devil]

Speaking of which, since they wear pressurized suits, shouldn't they shoot off haphazardly like a balloon?

Another funny thing in BZ is that you can hear the pilots groan in pain when hit - even on a world with atmosphere they are sealed up in their suits, but you can hear them yowl plain as day when you nail them...

[Dx]

Or expand in their suit until blood flows.

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Red Devil
Speaking of which, since they wear pressurized suits, shouldn't they shoot off haphazardly like a balloon?

Absolutely there could be some of Newton's second law going on.  But there's really not enough air mass in a suit, compared to the soldier, his suit and equipment to move him much, unless he was in zero g (off planet), and even then, very little.

Now if his pressurized, or possibly liquefied breathing gases, were hit, that might indeed send him spinning 

[ssuser]

If the suits are layered with some kind of biometal mesh, they probably will not swell or burst. The pilot inside probably gets smushed up pretty good when a round hits him, though.

BFT is very right when he says that it is the vet players who "know the game". It is pretty certain that even with extensive playtesting back in 97 that the devs didn't catch on to every little wrinkle, thus if "fixes" are to be implemented input from the players is vital. If a BZ 1.5 patch had been done say back in 2000 or 2001 and the players had input I think we would have seen a better game that would have stayed popular for a longer time.

[Commando]

If a change is controversial, a setting to disable or enable said change may be the best way to go.  An example to this was the removal of flying in bz2.  Some vets still refuse to move over due to that change alone.  Sadly, a simple setting may, or may not, be enough to get them to upgrade.

[Ultraken]

In the case of the Flash Cannon, I would try to preserve that "heat ray" effect as much as possible regardless of the underlying implementation.  No one uses that weapon in multiplayer anyway, so it's not like it would draw a lot of controversy. 

[Blunt Force Trauma]

Well. . . it's been broken since 1.4, so everyone playing BZ has pretty much forgotten it.

In BZE it's a VERY effective weapon and it does. . .sort of. . .act like the original.

Most importantly, I appreciate Dx trying his best at emulating the original.