TV9 - Arena

[Nanite]

Ok I just made a couple small tweaks. Hop on with me tonight so I can see if it makes any difference.

[Tickles]

[quote="Reipin";p="115981"]I did want to try this last night but no one was on it come 9Pm EST [/quote]

Aw, Sorry Reipin. There were a bunch of us on it around 7pm EST testing it out. Check tonight, I'm sure there will be some around.

I, also, am liking Arena more and more. It seems more stable now. It's different from normal game play. That map lumberyard is pretty. Also seems like a spies paradise, think it was Nanite last night backstabbing people, may have to try spy in the arena, was getting a liking to soldier, but I have a slow reaction time with that class.

Overall I like it. Server runs good. Thanks for the server!

[Supreveio]

Is the server going to support custom maps as well, because I found a nifty one:

arena_mach


Everything you love about Mach, now with less flags.

Lowdown on pickups:
- 50% Health where the Intel used to be.
- 25% Health in the sewers, like usual.
- 25% Health on a stump in the middle.

- 100% Ammo outside each team's Spawn.
- 25% Ammo where the Intel used to be.
- 25% Ammo in the sewers, like usual.

[Tickles]

The thing about arena's though, is there isn't suppose to be health packs, it's like sudden death. It wouldn't feel like arena with health packs all over, would feel like a normal map.


What about disabling crits on the Arena server? Or should they stay?

[Abysmal_Light]

[quote="Tickles";p="116039"]The thing about arena's though, is there isn't suppose to be health packs, it's like sudden death. It wouldn't feel like arena with health packs all over, would feel like a normal map.


What about disabling crits on the Arena server? Or should they stay?[/quote]

eh I disagree, crits are a part of luck that is funny, also as a medic, I hardly rarely have time to charge an uber, I only sometimes have enough time to charge a kritzkrieg.

and by funny I mean, ask artes how I critted him in the head for shooting at my dispenser

[Reipin]

The minimal time I got to play arena on otehr servers an uber usually came into play, the normal variety that is.

I was also on teams where we wouldn't lose a single person either

[Rakshasas]

[quote="Cpt. Winky";p="115785"]yea, explain how to counter sgs on the cap point[/quote]

Sticky nades, spy sap, pyro circling the sentry till it dies, rocket splash damage until the engy dies, then continue until the sentry breaks.
If you don't have anyone capable of doing that, then you should remember that arena is all about trying to counter what the other team is doing.
If one team makes an all engy team, and sentries the entire map, demos will have a field day.

It's all about finding a way to counter the other team, and the teams constantly change. You have to adapt, it's not easy which is what makes it so much fun.

Quite honestly I wouldn't touch anything. There isn't the same need to class balance like the other gametypes. If a team truly wants to be an all pyro team, I say let em. It's up to the other team to adapt and change as necessary.

Oh and in regards to having a sentry near the start point, that sounds like a good way to protect a dispenser and I've seen a left over dispenser change the course of a game.

[quote="Abysmal_Light";p="116043"][quote="Tickles";p="116039"]The thing about arena's though, is there isn't suppose to be health packs, it's like sudden death. It wouldn't feel like arena with health packs all over, would feel like a normal map.


What about disabling crits on the Arena server? Or should they stay?[/quote]

eh I disagree, crits are a part of luck that is funny, also as a medic, I hardly rarely have time to charge an uber, I only sometimes have enough time to charge a kritzkrieg.

and by funny I mean, ask artes how I critted him in the head for shooting at my dispenser[/quote]

The only crits I can tolerate are the ones that are 100% chance. Sniper headshots, pyro backburner, kritzcrieg, axetingisher and now the heavies boxing gloves. Simply because there is no luck associated with it. Random crits however totally ruin the game, I hate em. A luck aspect in a first person shooter is a really bad idea, and valve is lucky (hah) that TF2 is fun enough that it outweighs the crits (and I know I am not the only person here who feels that way, I've seen more than enough people complain about random crits in TV servers, or other servers for that matter). But I want to be a little more constructive in regards to arena.

Now I accidentally played on a no crit arena server yesterday, and it was so perfect. I always felt that a crit took something away from a game, it took away the proper outcome of a teams hard work. In arena, you have one life to live, and since arena is about countering the other team, how do you counter a crit? You can't. No matter what you do, if the other player is critting, there is nothing you can do about it except hope the player misses (problem is, even when they do miss the crit still does enough damage via splash damage, or from a few shotty hits) random crits go against everything arena is supposed to be. I'd even go as far as saying random crits should be off when sudden death is triggered, a team should not win simply because one player got lucky. Team Fortress 2, not Lucky Fortress 2.

[Dog]

Just as an FYI, I have turned off the plugin that controlled player numbers until I can find the cause of the random crashes.

[Nick Mame]

It needs shuffles after rounds.

We had Torven healing Steveio, Ferret, Stevo and me against a bunch of people I've never seen before. That time we had 6 consecutive wins.

...earlier in the day we had 7.

[Reipin]

I was gonna say, after playing arena for a bit, sit outs seem to be needed to shuffle teams. If there is no shuffle then it is always the same 12 vs 12 or whatever it is. If those teams are lopsided it will stay that way until a map change.

By default the game mode is supposed to shuffle your team if you win 5 games in a row anyway. I remember someone mentioning that some people throw every 5th game so they can keep the same team

[Torven]

[quote="Reipin";p="116179"]I was gonna say, after playing arena for a bit, sit outs seem to be needed to shuffle teams. If there is no shuffle then it is always the same 12 vs 12 or whatever it is. If those teams are lopsided it will stay that way until a map change.

By default the game mode is supposed to shuffle your team if you win 5 games in a row anyway. I remember someone mentioning that some people throw every 5th game so they can keep the same team[/quote]

Whatever is going on, it isn't working on 9. Every so often, the server puts together a team that the other side just can't counter, and since it is not scrambling, there have been runs of 5, 6 or 7 games before the map finally ends. What I would like to see it scramble the teams after each round, but still protecting the winners from having to sit out. If that were not possible, I think I would rather see the sitout protection removed from the winning team than the current system; at least that way, both teams would have some new members each round.

[Toba]

Ok, this is mostly out of ignorance, so bear with me.

1) How hard is it to add another server?
2) Is there enough interest to make it a dedicated Arena server?

I am of the opinion that there are enough arena fans for this. I personally love that mode. It's like my old days in WoW's arenas, without the item grind and balance issues.

I personally love it, and would like to know if its at all possible.

Again, out of ignorance, as I've never set up / payed for a server.

[Dog]

[quote="Toba";p="119546"]Ok, this is mostly out of ignorance, so bear with me.

1) How hard is it to add another server?
2) Is there enough interest to make it a dedicated Arena server?

I am of the opinion that there are enough arena fans for this. I personally love that mode. It's like my old days in WoW's arenas, without the item grind and balance issues.

I personally love it, and would like to know if its at all possible.

Again, out of ignorance, as I've never set up / payed for a server.[/quote]

We did that.
It sat empty.
Empty servers make Dog weep and gnash his teeth.

[Toba]

Really?

Dang, I must have missed it. Well, I guess I will keep my eyes peeled for a resurgence of arena interest.

[Dog]

[quote="Torven";p="116203"][quote="Reipin";p="116179"]I was gonna say, after playing arena for a bit, sit outs seem to be needed to shuffle teams. If there is no shuffle then it is always the same 12 vs 12 or whatever it is. If those teams are lopsided it will stay that way until a map change.

By default the game mode is supposed to shuffle your team if you win 5 games in a row anyway. I remember someone mentioning that some people throw every 5th game so they can keep the same team[/quote]

Whatever is going on, it isn't working on 9. Every so often, the server puts together a team that the other side just can't counter, and since it is not scrambling, there have been runs of 5, 6 or 7 games before the map finally ends. What I would like to see it scramble the teams after each round, but still protecting the winners from having to sit out. If that were not possible, I think I would rather see the sitout protection removed from the winning team than the current system; at least that way, both teams would have some new members each round.[/quote]

You can't get 12v12 in arena.
The VALVe default is 8v8 plus 8 in spec mode.

We ran bl4nk's plugin that allowed 11 v 11 plus 2 in spec but it was buggy. He has since updated it so I should look at adding it back in.