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lordnikon
rank 59
Posted:
Mon Nov 05, 2007 11:00 am
quote : #1
profile : pm
Posts: 2839
Type: NTSC-U/C
I am making this post to bring awareness to a problem. It is true that all games degrade to just the diehard fanbase. However right now Dreamcast Quake 3 is more active than PS2 Tribes. This is a strange parallel considering how many people own Playstation 2's and how many people own Tribes (not just at OC but all over the internet).

So I feel there are other forces at play here than just time, that are crippling the TribesAA online environment:

I know this might sound weird at first, but a game mode like Capture the Flag is preventing Tribes Aerial Assault from sustaining an active playerbase. Here is why:

  • The dedicated server software does not support bots.
  • CTF with 4 people(and no bots) can get really boring, and lately this seems to be the average playercount. Sure it can spike to a full game sometimes, but these days it is a rare occurance.
  • In a CTF match with 6 players or less, expert flag runners ruin the experience. You essentially are forced to flag run, or flag defend. Base defense, turrets, dissruption, and vehicle attacks are all a waste of time, because while you are screwing around with that, a seasoned clan player is ending the match in less than 2 minutes with his flag captures. Even with bots on, they arn't smart enough to take down flag runners fast enough. This discourages people from playing because the matches are over far too quickly.

This is a tricky situation because it means we will need to make changes to how we play TribesAA. The dedicated server software is practically no longer viable. With such low player counts online we need bots to fill in the gaps. AADS does not support bots, so the only way to have them is to host from your PS2.

CTF should be avoided for the most part. We can play it once and a while, but more focus should be placed on other game modes. Personally I feel Capture and Hold is the perfect replacement for CTF. Even if one team is getting demolished, each round still has a set time. The matches last until the time runs out.

TribesAA can be played with just 2 people. As long as you have bots available it is a blast. However unless you are dueling (comparable to arena 1 on 1 aka Tourney in Q3), playing with just 2 players in any other fashion can be extremly dull.

So to everyone who has been playing Tribes here actively in recent weeks, please keep some of these points in mind when playing online. Don't idle in an AADS hosted server with just you, waiting for someone to show up. Host a game from your Playstation 2 instead, and set it to maybe a 12 player cap (to keep the game running smooth, hosting a game with 16 bots tends to lag a bit depending on your connection).

I think approaching TAA like this will start to reinvigorate the game a bit.
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