T:A Server Settings Discussions

[OldeWolfe]

The CYGNUS T:A server map rotation is currently:

Katabatic
Crossfire
Bella Omega
Canyon Crusade Revival
Raindance
Stonehenge
Blueshift
Arx Novena

Final rotation will be modified as per the result of the current map vote.. If you haven't voted, please do so (note that you are voting for the maps you dislike the most).

Caps have been increased from 5 to 7, Sentinel class is banned.

Server rules comply with 7v7 League Rules

[JaggedMarble]

Couple of questions. Can we limit upgrades to base assets? Can that be asset specific? Can we change the cost of upgrades? I ask because I'm okay with upgrading base assets in theory, but in practice it doesn't seem to work. I see a couple ways to fix (what I view as) the problem. The problem is that simply everything is upgraded within 5 minutes and it creates an imbalance in favor of the defense. I understand the defense needs help because snipers have been removed, but in a 7v7 environment I think this is a little too much of a boost and kinda forces teams to run a tech instead of forcing them to run a sniper.

I'd like to start by saying if you think gens are fine; I encourage you to simply go into map roam, upgrade a gen to level 4, switch teams and see just how long it takes you to destroy it. Then compare that with how much time it takes to repair to functionality. Keep in mind that in 7v7 teams can't really spare more than 1 person to go to the enemy gen.

I'd say probably the easiest way to fix this would be limiting the upgrades on the generator. A level 4 gen simply has WAY too much health and it too easy to repair, since repairing works off of a % of total health not a fixed amount over time. However, if the generator were limited to say level 2 then it could still be destroyed with a reasonable amount of time and effort.

Another, way to deal with this would be to change the cost of upgrades. This forces teams to decide what they're going to upgrade instead of having everything maxed out 5 minutes into the game.

Thoughts? Comments? Disagreements? Other solutions?

[Spinebuster]

I like your thinking but the biggest issue is the kind of changes we can make on custom servers. As far as upgrades go, the only choices we have is to allow them disallow them. One option that can affect upgrades is the credits system. The two choices we have with this is the team or player based credit system. The player based system is the one used on the official servers, the team based system is what is used on the OSL server.

[Donk-]

I like the idea of team based points and increasing the cost of upgrades/vehicles. I know the TWL does it for their 7v7 ladder and it seems very reasonable. I think if we just look at the rate of how we gain points we can make a good decision before the next tournament. Maybe take a look during the match tonight.

[JaggedMarble]

Can you set prices for upgrades in the server settings? I honestly have no idea, I'm just throwing thoughts out there. Spine and Wolf would know a lot better then me about what we actually are allowed to change in server settings. I know we can change vehicle prices (which I think we should alter but that's another discussion ), but can we also change the cost to upgrade turrets/radar/gens? I think if we had shared credits and change the upgrade cost to like.. 10k or something (that number would no doubt need some tweaking) that would not only make the problem more manageable but it would also make it so credits actually mean something in matches because as of now they're pretty worthless.

[Spinebuster]

The only things we can change prices on is vehicles and call ins.

[OldeWolfe]

I heard some "background" discussion at the mixer last night about possibly lifting the flag drag limits on the Pathfinder.

Personally, I've had the same thought for some time now.

How does everyone feel about raising the drag limit a little ... say from this: Max Speed with flag (light)-250 Km/H ... to this: Max Speed with flag (light)-275?

Post post your thoughts.

[JaggedMarble]

Yes yes a thousand times yes.

As you might have heard me grumbling about lately. We have some damn good LD now and rage+lw = ~290 sanics. That means with a 250 cap you're going to catch me even if I ski perfectly and the chaser screws up. As a capper this kinda forces me to run more and more back to front routes because that's the only way I can last long enough to get back to my stand without luck on my side or bad luck for the chaser and probably a lot of bad luck.

I know some people might be thinking what difference does 25 sanics make, the answer is it COULD mean a lot. When you grab at let's say 320 (front to back on katabatic will often get you around that speed) and you basically instantly slow down to 250 that causes a few problems. Beyond the "wah now the LD can catch me", return routes that you might practice in your own server or in pub games don't work. For those who don't know flag drag is at 300 on public servers with a deceleration of 10 sanics a second I believe ours is 50 a second iirc. All this basically means I'm coming home 50 sanics slower then I would be on a pub server and that means the same return routes you would use in a pub quite possibly won't work in mixers.

This does mean that LD will have a harder time chasing, which beyond my selfish desires as a capper to get away more often, means defense in general is going to have to pick up some more slack. I'm hoping this will kinda force defense and offense in general to play smarter. We RARELY have defense pushing out to meet cappers mid route, we rarely see respawning offense help clear out their base before going O again unless they're specifically asked to do so, and I so rarely hear offense calling out incoming cappers. I'm hoping speeding cappers up a little will force everyone else to play a bit more heads up and pay more attention to what's going on in-game rather then just what's happening with their position.

On a semi related noted... Can we get the cap raise to 275 for mediums as well? I'd like to have soldier capping at least as an OPTION, when it's capped at 220 with the flag soldier capping isn't really a viable option. If the chaser is running rage alone they'll catch me pretty easily.

[OldeWolfe]

Good post JM and I have no problem with including Mediums at 275Km/h either

Perhaps we should also change the deceleration rate from 50 to 10 as per public servers.

What does everyone think?

[Donk-]

I'm for it.