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[VANILLA-L:845] Re: [VANILLA-L:842] List of bugs/features (INL robot stuff)
On Thu, Apr 16, 1998 at 05:21:35PM -0400, koconnor@acsu.buffalo.edu wrote:
>
> INL Robot stuff:
>
> There is the problem of players advancing as guest while in INL. Players
> seem to like the idea of gaining rank quickly while playing clue games..
Not really a problem. A dedicated INL server shouldn't allow guest logins
in the first place. Likewise in INL-type clue-bot games.
> Unfortunately this breaks the relationship between the daemon and robot.
> If the daemon calculates stats differently, how does it distinguish it
> from a player's normal pickup stats.
It doesn't. If I recall correctly, the guest gets a modifier to DI (or
something like that) to qualify for rank at the time of death. So guest
has the same stats as normal players...it just rises in rank more quickly
because it needs less DI to qualify.
> This of course opens another can
> of worms - should clue games ever set/reset a player's pickup stats.
This huge can of worms is what ultimately stopped me from finishing up
my INL robot code. The current INL server wipes the entire stats
database after each game. This is a very poor way to reset the game and
cannot be implemented into a clue-bot. Or should not, I should say.
My goal was to not just have an INL robot for INL games but to have it
double as a clue-bot that could switch a pickup server game into INL
mode.
My solution was to replace the player t-mode stats in its current
form with LTD stats (extended PW stats that Leonard and Tom proposed and
which I mostly incorporated up to that point), and add minimal pickup
mode stats on top of that (like it's done now with out-of-t kills & deaths).
Attaining rank could be based on a weighted combination (or whatever) of LTD
and pickup stats. This means that you could have a pickup/clue-bot server
that retains player stats regardless of the type of game.
This solution works for official INL games as well, because the complete
session LTD stats can be saved into the INL robot (which also records
the starting and ending game states to spew out snidly's). A nice side
benefit to this is that it would be possible to have a central INL player
statistic database that maintains cumulative stats over multiple games
or even seasons. Unfortunately (?), players would also retain rank across
games.
> list, and mandate that INL be set in .sysdef. That way a server is
> either a pickup server, or an INL server - never both.
I didn't like this idea before and I still don't like it now. It should
be possible to have all three combinations.
> As another possible idea I have been toying with - a new player flag
> PF_GUEST could be introduced that would instruct the daemon to treat
As I said before, guest doesn't belong in INL games. Just disallow the
name in INL mode. Eject any existing guests.
> Currently, when INL is voted in the robot closes down the pickup
> queues and opens the INL queues. However, the INL queues are commented
> out in the default .ports file. (Thus, it effectively closes all queues.)
[...]
On a server dedicated for 100% INL-type games, I think separate ports are
necessary and preferred. But in clue-bot games, you can just use the
existing pickup port. Give the captains the ability to switch a player's
team during pre-game or pause. In mid-game, assign incoming players FIFO
into the two teams. Remember that the clue-bot is just that, a clue-type
game on a pickup server. If people want real INL games, have them meet on
a dedicated INL server.
[...]
> Players seem to like to see the galaxy as it was won/lost after the
> game is over. Currently the INL robot resets the entire galaxy once
> it detects a game has ended.
So make the INL robot enter post-game mode where it doesn't reset the
galaxy for a fixed amount of time (or specifically requested).
> Hrmm.. Really the INL robot needs more play testing..
>
> That is all I can think of at the moment. It is difficult to describe
> what I am thinking of on "paper" - if any of the above is confusing let
> me know and I will attempt to elaborate on it.
Basically, I had a grand scheme of how to do everything, but it was too
much work for me to do alone. I never got around to putting all the pieces
together for a fully functional INL/clue bot. There was also a fair
amount of resistance earlier against modifying the current player rank
advancement formula, which would be necessary when using LTD stats. And
most importantly, existing pickup player db would NOT have been convertible
(into the new LTD based player db).
Dave.
>
> -Kevin
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> | Kevin O'Connor "BTW, IMHO we need a FAQ for |
> | koconnor@acsu.buffalo.edu 'IMHO', 'FAQ', 'BTW', etc. !" |
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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--
Dave Ahn <ahn@vec.bgsm.edu> | "When you were born, you cried and the
| world rejoiced. Try to live your life
Virtual Endoscopy Center | so that when you die, you will rejoice
Wake Forest Univ. School of Medicine | and the world will cry." -1/2 jj^2
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