Topic: Setting up Gamespy matches

[Roychipoqua_Mace]

I forgot how fun Dynaverse loadout matches on GSA were... where you get 300 points but are only allowed to buy up to a certain class, like CCH or NCC. The rest can go to magic screws, fast drones, and things like that. But in trying a couple of these matches out last night, there were some issues:

1. What is a good number of maximum fighters allowed, eight or so? Or should there be a restriction to one carrier per side of 3 players?

2. Do the casual PF tenders with 2 PFs count as carriers?

3. Those casual tenders are supposed to have mech links and not be able to repair their PFs... should we try enforcing this on Gamespy or would it be too much trouble?

4. Right now, I'm thinking that limiting the base BPV to a number (like 175 in the case of a CCH/NCC match) would be better than limiting people to a certain class, especially since many ships don't fit into those classes (full carriers, some Romulans, etc.). The trouble with this is that it would eliminate any of the casual PF tenders, because they usually have BPVs that are up there with heavy battlecruisers.

Any ideas to improve matches like these?

[Corbomite]

D2 loadouts for GSA only allow 8 repair screws max. A good way to have Carriers is with the restriction of one per side (fighter loadouts at the option of the pilot) and the other two ships cannot be above a CA (no CC or bigger). You could also use the resriction of at least one ship must be a dedicated escort to the Carrier (good for drone bearing Escorts, not so good for others). Carriers are generally ships with 8 or more fighters (or 3 PF's), although some frigate classes carry 4 to 6 and I think there is one Kzinti with 7. Casual PF Tenders are not considered Carriers, but there is no way to enforce the no repair rule except by the pilot honor system: You launch, you do not recall for any reason.

[Roychipoqua_Mace]

Thanks - I like the idea of limiting the two other ships. Am I correct that it would go along the lines of:

Full carrier (8-16)
CA
CA
        vs.
CCH
CCH
CCH

Yes, there doesn't seem to be any way around the PF repair rule besides honor. Unless we have a game where all the players know about that rule, I will probably ignore it because the rules of this kind of match are different/overwhelming enough to players who haven't played matches like this before (I also don't want to make it seem like I am pulling these rules out of my  for my side's advantage).

[Corbomite]

Well, full fleeting rules only allow one Command ship per side (although no Command ship is required), so if you were going that route you couldn't have three CCH's on one side. Frigate and Destroyer Leaders, Command CL's/CM's and anything CC or bigger are considered Command ships. A Command ship may lead ships up to one size class larger than themselves. This also means that BB's/DN's/BCH's/CCH's/CC's cannot be escorted by anything bigger than a CA, but they can be "specialty ships" (CF, Drone, Bombardment etc...) as long as they aren't Command ships of any sort. The ISC have a large gap between DDL(Z) and CC(Y/Z) so they don't really have a heavier Command ship until a BCH. You could designate the CM(Z) as an intermediate Command ship for them (allowing a squad of say CMZ + CAZ + CAZ, but it would be illegal in a Carrier group and the CAZ wouldn't).
 

Most true Carriers can be sized from CL to DN/BB, but always are considered the Command ship. Allowing command of one class up lets the CL Carriers have squads with CA wings. Only Hydran ships that are designated as carriers are considered Carriers for this so they always get a boost from extra fighters. Enforcing the Escort rule gives people a reason to fly those very expensive War Destroyer Escorts that no one flies because there are better ships for the money in a normal gaming environment. It also helps with the fighters being the fourth ship for one side if they are limited to a DW/CL for one of their ship hulls if the opponent didn't pick a carrier group. Some Carriers have 24 fighters, so it can make a huge difference. Of course there is nothing stopping them from getting say, a G-BCHF + CSF + CSF combo with all Escort PF's and getting six "free" fighters to mop up the place with.

[Roychipoqua_Mace]

It seems like with the arena-style of GSA, everyone (including myself) is used to flying command ships around at every BPV.

Were games like this played more often when Gamespy and SFC were more popular with Ladder play and things like that?

I would love to play some games with command ships or carriers escorted by line and/or escort ships, but I don't know the rules well enough to really host a game like that and know what I'm doing. Would you be willing to host some time when we have six willing players and we could give it a try?

In the meantime I could try some simpler games in Early and Mid...like a CC escorted by two CA for each side. Earlier-eras should be good for restricting fighters (too complex until things get smoother and people get used to these matches) and not having high-price drones get into play.

[Corbomite]

When all this started we used to play mixed fleet battles all the time. Some with rules, some without.

If you can get four other people that won't run out of the room when we announce its not going to be 2,000,000,000 ADV, sure!

[Roychipoqua_Mace]

When all this started we used to play mixed fleet battles all the time. Some with rules, some without.

If you can get four other people that won't run out of the room when we announce its not going to be 2,000,000,000 ADV, sure!

LOL it will be trying, but we'll get six total!

[knightstorm]

Well, if you count all of my personalities, we have a couple of dozen people who are willing to fly that per match.

[Roychipoqua_Mace]

Well, if you count all of my personalities, we have a couple of dozen people who are willing to fly that per match.

If we only had five in a room, maybe you could play OP on two different machines at once and see how you can multi-task. If you have one alias on one team and the other on the other team, it might be even.