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* If I were an Evil Overlord.
See it here.
TWGS settings to mess with Script Kiddies, -
or - How to help the newbies survive the first hour.
Below are some ideas we've been tossing
around that limit the effectiveness of abusive script kiddies. These
are a collection of recommended settings and some tips on what to do both
before the re-bang and after. Most of these settings also increase the
odds that newbies will survive a little better. It's up to you as a
sysop to figure out which settings are good for newbies, and which ones just
mess with the script kiddies. If you apply ALL of these changes at
once tho, then you will likely piss off BOTH the newbies and the script
kiddies. (which may be your goal...depends on the kind of board and
games you are running I guess.)
NOTE: (Some
of these settings may contribute to slowness in warp calc or increase the
chances for game corruption, but I've never had it happen to me. I'm
just warning you that ANY time you modify the game settings, you are more
likely to get corruption or additional slowness. Don't blame me.
If you think you find a bug, let JP
know!)
General Server Settings:
Run Extern before midnight.
Personally, I like to have it run at like 9pm PST. This gives most
people a chance to be there for it, without being too tired to think
straight. It also changes pod regeneration strategies. It also
cuts down on the likelihood that someone will blow the SD on the first
day. Originally extern ran late in the evening because it took so long
for it to run. With modern processor speed, it's no longer a factor,
so it can be run at anytime. For a real challenge to everyone, run
extern at 1:30pm PST. Most people are at work or school at this
time. (I recognize that a substantial
percentage of players are NOT in the USA. This change is not intended
to make their lives particularly miserable. If they are hard core
players, they will consider the change in time a challenge, and
adapt.)
Big-Bang Settings:
1) Option E: set this to max.
This makes the planet denial option difficult.
2) Option
F: drop this down to about 28% (this works with #3)
3)
Option G: raise this to about 5%. This will allow you more flexibility
in modifying your map. The increased number of one-ways allows you the
option of adding new links if needed, without subtracting warps.
Addition of warps is always better than subtraction of warps.
4) Option
I: set to max. (this is no longer as necessary under versions .47+,
but it's still a good idea. The logistics of running a ship denial
game become much harder when you more than double the total # available.
5) Option
J: enable this. becomes important when you want to modify the ships
later
Post Big-Bang Editor Settings:
G: General Editor One:
1) Option A: Keep this 1000 or
less. High turn games are just invitations for the TWX WSSM script
kiddies. Set this to 5000+ only if you want to see SD get blown just
after extern on day one. (I've done it with only one corpie on day one
with only 4800 turns.)
2) Option H: Max this one, but DON'T
change the # of collies that Terra can hold. This makes it slightly
harder for a single corp to play the collie denial game. I wish it
could regen faster, but oh well...
3) Option
M: NEVER make this setting higher than 5. Furthermore, setting it to 1
is just plain evil. Don't do it unless you like to hear players
whine. 2-5 is optimal. Depends on the style of game you want to
run. Low numbers tend to have lots of invasions, and run fast and
furious. High numbers tends to draw the game out.
4)
Option N: Most Tournaments run this setting at 6. Default is 5.
Depends on the type of game you want. Newbies often don't have many
friends, so setting this to 3 or so helps them, but encourages
multi-corps. I would set it to either 3 or 5.
5)
Option P: Set it to zero. Any higher, and it gives reds too much of an
advantage early on. If you want your aliens to be tougher, then change
THEM so they spawn with nastier stuff earlier. It is arguable that
nasty aliens early on are more dangerous for the experienced players than
for the newbies; while the newbies have more stuff out there that can kill
them, the experienced players that run the power scripts often have problems
when their script abends in unexpected ways when they are attacked, or their
script will simply stop running, which slows them down while they deal with
the alien. (I personally don't
recommend running aliens at all, but that's just me. Seen too many
problems with the Gold aliens, and the regular Ferrengi and Alien Traders
are more annoying than anything.)
6)
Options R, S, & T I'll deal with at another time, when I talk about tournaments.
H: General
Editor Two:
1) Option C: set this to 8000.
NO FREE MONEY! With my private Tri-Con script (not the one I posted
for the general public... ;-) I've gone from starting money (and a few
trades on the way to SD) to being in an ISS while spending ZERO turns.
And no, I'm not going to prove it, nor say anything more about it!
You'll have to take my word for it. (ok,
I did get really lucky that time too, but I always win more than I loose.)
2) Option
E: If you want to just move the SD next to Fed, use this option. If
you want to really mess with people, then see my section on moving warps
around below.
3) Option
F & G: Don't move these. Moving these around can create
interesting situations too. I prefer to modify warp links to these tho.
See below.
4)
Option L: I would turn this one off. It's not necessary.
5)
Option M: Leave this one ON. I got a script that finds it in a few
minutes anyway, and so do many people. It only hurts the newbies.
6)
Option O: Make this one 12. Makes AMTRAK very hard. Takes
2 corps working together to dogpile someone.
7)
Option P: Set this one to 1 second or 10 seconds. We have a 1
second photon invasion script, but most people don't. Keeps your
newbies planets alive longer. Or make it 10 seconds, so ANY newbie has
enough time to invade. Depends on your players. Of course, with
10 second photons, it's possible to have someone drive all the way to your
back sector... I know that you DON'T want people like us to have 10 seconds.
8)
Option U: High cloak fails are bad.
9)
Option V: High clear helps prevent blockades of SD. I would set
it to 100% clear.
10)
Option W: YES!
11)
Options Y, S, 1 and ";": It depends on your processer.
Newbies tend to do better with zero move delay, (since they have a chance to
beat the photon from SD...this is a tough call tho, since the power
scripters benefit from it too.) However, you can balance this out by
slowing down the scripters by limiting option S to 5 or so, and you can save
your processor some grief by setting option ";" to 1 or 2 seconds.
12)
Option 7 and 8. Make these settings low. (4 to 6 days is
optimal. Leave option 8 at 50%)
13)
Option ":": Setting this to less than 45 will slow down the power
mappers, and break alot of scripts, slow down invasions, and generally be
very annoying. I like 12. Speeds up processor time too :-)
14)
Option "/": LIMIT DAILY TIME. Take 24 and divide that by the
maximum # of players in a corp + 1. That should be the limit in
hours. Drop the remainder.
15)
Options 3, 4, & 6: Depends on if you are running MBBS or
not. If you are running MBBS, then you are stuck. Otherwise,
limit optinon 4 to about 80%. Option 6 should be set to 2-3
days. I don't recommend changing option 3. (unless you REALLY
hate reds)
I: General
Editor Three:
1) Option O: Max it. Slows
down the Red's ability to bust planets at SD. Leave option F alone,
since raising F and O will hurt the newbies, but raising only option O will
hurt the experienced players more than the new players (who will just be
happy the HAVE a planet ;-)
2) Option P: Reduce it. No explanation should be necessary
>:)
3) Option R: Max it. Slows down the power mappers. Newbies
don't use probes much anyway.
4) Option X: Two ways you can do this one. I prefer to leave it
alone. Or you can drop it to one day. Depends on your players
mostly.
5) Options Y & Z: I recommend you leave these alone. You
want to have SOME reds on your board, right?
6) Option 3: Depends on your port regen rates (you can't change
this in MBBS). I would leave it at default, UNLESS you don't use my
recommended regen settings... You might want to tweak this then.
7) Option 4: Turn it on! The longer a red has to
stay on-line, the more vulnerable they are. You turn this setting on,
then you don't need to worry about WSSM's nearly as much.
8) Option 8: NEVER TURN THIS ON!!!
Sector Edits and Ship Edits:
This section is gonna be as long as the above section, and I need to get
back to my life...expect an update here soon.
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