Assault Bonuspack 416

Author	Comment
0 Eavy 0 Administrator Posts: 488 (10/17/00 10:01:58 am)	Assault Bonuspack 416 Latest version available at assault.eavy.de/ Hot on the heels of 415 comes 416, it's not a bugfix release, though. This version includes a lot of new stuff. Consider 415 a rock-solid release whereas this one comes with additional features that need testing. It's a very important release, please test it thoroughly, there are some major changes. My To-Do-List is almost finished now, most feature requests are done, this is the most powerful release yet. Changes and Additions: - Load/Reset/Save Maps Config (read the info at the end of this message!) - Controls and Mutates changed to make their names and aliases more obvious, this will make it easier for future use, but you might have to update your config if you bound the special commands to a key (variable names have not changed - only console commands) - EavyEasterEgg destroys cannons and can now be changed through the Mod config window (the option is hidden, but has keyboard focus when you open the window, just press SPACE to toggle it on/off - the variable was previously only accessible from the console) - Players can't pick up items before moving after respawning (to counteract an exploit when Spawn Protection was enabled while Idle Kick was disabled, if a teammate passed you a weapon, you'd be a human auto cannon) - Even when spawn protection is off, players can't be knocked away from their spawnpoint, but they will take damage as usual (this ensures that Idle Kick will pick up and eject idle people properly) - Spawn protection timeout can once again be set higher than five seconds, and to disable all protection completely, set it to -1 - Mutator settings aren't saved automatically anymore, to save the current values, use one of the Style or Maps Mutate commands (using Admin Set or the Mod config window should still save new values immediately however) Maps config possibility This is the major change that caused most of the other changes. Now you can configure the mutator independently for up to 32 maps. Once you have set up and saved the settings for a map, those settings will automatically be restored whenever the map comes up, overriding the current values for this map only. This is a very powerful addition that lets you use different configurations for various maps. EXAMPLES: You could use a different value for spawn protection for different maps. If one team is easily spawncamped, increase the value, or reduce it if protection holds on too long. You could enable jumping and launching in general, but turn it off for those maps where it really ruins the game. You could also allow cheats in one particular map, and no exploits in others, for example allow the flagshot in Overlord but not blocks in other maps. If a map is full of autocannons, turn on my easter egg, and get rid of them while leaving other maps alone. The possibilities are almost endless. HOW TO CONFIGURE MAPS INDEPENDENTLY: 32 maps can be saved, the settings will show up in the UnrealTournament.ini, right after the other variables. There are many ways to configure a map, using console commands or INI editing, but I'll only describe one. Feel free to try the others and see which one works best for you. 1. Start up UT, but don't start a game, instead open the Mod menu and go to the AssaultBonusPack config window. Set it up the way you want it to be for the map you're going to configure. Once the values are correct, close the window, then start an Assault match with the Mutator in that map. 2. If it's a multiplayer game, login as admin first, then open the console and type "Mutate SaveMapsConfig" (without quotes) and press Enter. 3. Disconnect, open the mod config window and change the settings back to the values you normally use, then close it again. 4. Now the normal settings apply to all the maps except the one you just saved, this one will use the settings you stored, until you override or clear them. 5. To clear them, enter the map, then type (as admin) "Mutate ResetMapsConfig" which will remove the map from your saves. TIP: If you need to set spawn protection above five seconds, you can't do it from the mod config window, so use a command like "Admin Set EavyAssaultPlus AttackerSpawnTime #" (replacing # with the number of seconds you want) and save it. Also take a look at how the settings are stored, you can edit the save string format manually, especially if you're good at copy&paste. Saved settings are automatically loaded when the map is loaded, but if you want to load them yourself, use "Mutate LoadMapsConfig". ERRORS & EXPLANATIONS: It won't load: If there's no save string for the map, or the save string is broken, it can't load the saved settings. Remember, some settings are latched, and you have to restart the map for them to take effect. If you restart a map with an existing save, it will load it automatically, so no need to load it manually first if you're going to restart the map anyway. It won't reset: It can't reset the save if it doesn't exist. Also keep in mind that current values will not be changed. It just deletes the save string of the current map. It won't save: Only 32 save strings are available, when all of them are full, you can't save any more map settings. You're highly encouraged to experiment with the new features and stress-test them thoroughly!
The Bird Registered User Posts: 8 (10/17/00 7:44:01 pm)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 COOL! I'm going to test it! However, I wish I can see the feature that I mentioned before
ION Ace Registered User Posts: 47 (10/17/00 9:30:33 pm)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 *Quote:* - Players can't pick up items before moving after respawning (to counteract an exploit when Spawn Protection was enabled while Idle Kick was disabled, if a teammate passed you a weapon, you'd be a human auto cannon I thought teh human autocannon was the idea with spawnprotection and great u added my idea of idividual settings per map, so no launching on frigate and extra spawnprotection on guardia
0 Eavy 0 Administrator Posts: 489 (10/19/00 5:40:55 pm)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 The "human auto cannon" possibility was a neat idea, but since I have never seen it in action, I decided to make it impossible as it is a change of gameplay. In some maps, defender spawnpoints are in the middle of the attacker route, and I'm not sure how it would work out if you encounter a stationary but loaded immortal there. So you can still stand there and shoot, but only with the enforcer, your teammates can't throw rocket launchers and stuff at you. It's the safe way, "human auto cannons" were never intended, just a fancy side effect which is now very limited to keep gameplay as unmodified as possible. Remember when I said that "settings per map" would be too complicated for such a little thing? It still is a bit complicated, but it was easy to implement, and can be very useful! It wasn't something critical, but since it worked out so well, I'm happy to have it included! It IS working, isn't it?
ION Ace Registered User Posts: 48 (10/19/00 6:51:16 pm)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 I havne't actually tested it yet, but from the flaming I got while playing on a public server (with spanw protection)recently i think people want a bit more invinsibilty on guardia(and some people want to be invinsible all the time while in spawn area even while launching) I was behind the landing craft on mazon and most people (I played a few map cycles) were very clear in the fact that they didn't want people killing them while they were launching (and I was sticking to only killing launchers) I am probably in the lamers gallery now
ION Ace Registered User Posts: 49 (10/19/00 6:56:17 pm)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 and it's pretty frustrating perfecting an attacking strategy for after you got the compressor and never being able to test it since as soon as you egt teh compressor the person who was launched just walks in no problem. on the other hand mazon becomes boringwithout launching, it just becomes a guardia style map where l33t door spammers rule. So i am pretty sure that if the server admins set up their server right that the maps will be more enjoyable, but there is the problem, you cna't expect the server admins to work out which maps are bettr with launching on (this is assuming they even know what launching is)
0 Eavy 0 Administrator Posts: 490 (10/19/00 7:28:08 pm)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 The options are there, that's all I can do, and I admit this might be a little contradicting some of my earlier comments - I said "design the games you like to play", and if I'd have stuck to it literally, there wouldn't be all of those options. Launching would be gone, completely, because I never liked that bug exploit. But some people obviously do, and I don't want to argue about it, so it's still possible if you play on a server that allows it. I'll recommend to server admins to announce which style they run in the server name so it's easier to see. And we're going to raise awareness of the options, what they do, and what you should use depending on the audience. When it's launched, Assault will be more obvious, and better understood.
ION Ace Registered User Posts: 50 (10/21/00 3:48:57 pm)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 what about having popular settings ini files available for download on the site, although it's only a section of the ini file that chnages and most ppl probably don't use the default ini file
0 Eavy 0 Administrator Posts: 493 (10/22/00 10:30:08 am)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 I won't make those files because everybody probably has a different opinion on how to customize defaults further, but it's a good idea, the leagues and sites could make their own settings available for download. Either at their own sites, or if there's a lot of interest, as part of my site. Then players could download the settings and make sure their own games are using the same settings as the ones they download from. Like all UTAssault.net members using their settings for practice matches. This is something to discuss with the admins, not with me, though. I'd recommend to only publish the [AssaultBonusPack.EavyAssaultPlus] section of the UnrealTournament.ini file, the rest is server-specific, and only this part of the INI applies to the bonuspack. The idea is good and would make it easier for admins to quickly set up their servers according to certain specifications. Download the textfile, copy and paste, that's it. Suggest it to the admins.
Mortimer Unregistered User (10/24/00 8:07:07 pm)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 Here's an easy way to disable launching: Team damage 30%. Anybody launching dies Then, to prevent annoying team-killers, add in an auto-kick function at a customizable amount of team kills, and have it record the IP. If the same IP logs in and gets to the kick amount, have it auto-ban their IP (or have it posted to the admin, for banning at their leisure). -Mortimer
0 Eavy 0 Administrator Posts: 498 (10/24/00 9:53:19 pm)	Re: Assault Bonuspack 416 Yes, of course, that's the simple way. Team damage against launching, Chainsaw mutator against jumping. In practice, it doesn't work so well, though. Team damage can lead to a lot of problems, I've seen it in live action on both public and private servers, more often than not it gets too much in the way. UT and Assault are fast-paced action games, with many weapons that have lasting effects or go around corners, and it's almost impossible not to hit your teammates. Team damage should be used for its main purpose, to add realism and force players to be more careful, but enabling it just to disable launching has too many unwanted side effects. That's why I fixed the actual bug that made launching possible, Epic intended to cap the maximum momentum possible, but their implementation failed. My main intent with the bonus pack changes was to fix what's broken without altering what's working. With its Impact Jump and Rocket Launch Protection, you can still jump and launch, but the excessive usage (fully-charged jumping, multiple-rockets launching) has been restricted. Oh, and there's some stuff to deal with teamkillers, too. By default, one can't knock back teammates (off the train, into lava, and so on) and optionally the team damage can be dealt to the instigator instead of the victim (teamkillers would only kill themselves that way). No need to ban anyone, instead watch them try and die, and laugh at their pathetic attempts.