duplex
06-29-2009, 02:43 PM
Closed Beta Report
Part 17
Closed Beta 2 has started last week and we're happy to say that things are running very smoothly. The worlds are not quiet anymore, since CB2 created a lot of activity. And not even all invites managed to create their game character yet. We are looking forward to the state of Face of Mankind when all of the 550 or so acounts are actively contributing to the game world.
Of course, there have been lots of game changes and improvements as usual. I'm going to lay out a few of them and present a few screenshots from the recent days in FoM.
Teleporters
Teleporters now show their destination when you look at them. Since teleporters have a use delay of 5 seconds, this is also displayed now to avoid confusion why a teleporter isn't working all the time. There have also been a few other bugs related to teleporters, which are now solved.
http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_001_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_001.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_002_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_002.jpg)
Bugfixes
Since we're now nearly feature complete (only a few lower priority features are left on the to-do list), we can concentrate more on bugfixing and balancing, which is the main purpose of CB2. Many exploits have been fixed, annoying little interface bugs sorted out, server crashes found and fixed, connection problems taken care of as well as security enhancements added.
Voting System
Voting ballots can be accessed via the faction manager, there is a new tab called "Voting". Faction leaders and GMs can put up flexible votings. A voting ballot can have 5 choices, multiple selections are not possible. Everyone with faction privileges and at least rank 1 can vote. When setting up a new ballot you can define the amount of game days the voting should remain open and the minimum amount of votes required.
Faction leader elections will be managed by the players and the GM team together. More details about this will be released for the public at a later time.
The voting system also allows for department wide votings. Only department members will see these votings and are able to vote for them. This will prove very useful later on when there are rather large departments in action and their members want to make an important decision.
http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_003_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_003.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_004_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_004.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_005_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_005.jpg)
Department Headquarters
Each department can have its own HQ. The HQ type can be selected by the department leader in the department window. HQs come free for departments, since they are high-rank structures. Just select the type you wish and all department members will be able to access it from any world through an apartment terminal.
http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_006_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_006.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_007_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_007.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_008_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_008.jpg)
Self-Defense Rule
The self-defense rule is known from old FoM. It has been implemented the following way:
If someone is attacked (doesn't matter which faction or the relation to that faction), the attacker will receive 50 penalty points (PP) and will be added to the victim's list of latest attackers and will stay there for 30 seconds. If the attacker attacks again before this 30 second timeout runs out, the timeout will start again. The victim can now attack the aggressor and even kill him without fearing PP before the timeout runs out. Typically in a duel, the one who attacked first will continue to fight and thus reset the timeout constantly. This gives those who are attacked a chance for self-defense in longer fights as well.
Kills on self-defense will cause no PP whatsoever. Other kills will cause the same penalty points as before depending on the relation to the victim's faction.
All this might sound rather mechanical and theoretical but it comes down to the following. Now that a small amount of PP is also given for first attacks (not just for kills), Dominion authorities have a chance to do their job and arrest rather than having to kill.
-duplex
You can discuss this update here: http://forum.fomportal.com/showthread.php?t=10799
Part 17
Closed Beta 2 has started last week and we're happy to say that things are running very smoothly. The worlds are not quiet anymore, since CB2 created a lot of activity. And not even all invites managed to create their game character yet. We are looking forward to the state of Face of Mankind when all of the 550 or so acounts are actively contributing to the game world.
Of course, there have been lots of game changes and improvements as usual. I'm going to lay out a few of them and present a few screenshots from the recent days in FoM.
Teleporters
Teleporters now show their destination when you look at them. Since teleporters have a use delay of 5 seconds, this is also displayed now to avoid confusion why a teleporter isn't working all the time. There have also been a few other bugs related to teleporters, which are now solved.
http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_001_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_001.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_002_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_002.jpg)
Bugfixes
Since we're now nearly feature complete (only a few lower priority features are left on the to-do list), we can concentrate more on bugfixing and balancing, which is the main purpose of CB2. Many exploits have been fixed, annoying little interface bugs sorted out, server crashes found and fixed, connection problems taken care of as well as security enhancements added.
Voting System
Voting ballots can be accessed via the faction manager, there is a new tab called "Voting". Faction leaders and GMs can put up flexible votings. A voting ballot can have 5 choices, multiple selections are not possible. Everyone with faction privileges and at least rank 1 can vote. When setting up a new ballot you can define the amount of game days the voting should remain open and the minimum amount of votes required.
Faction leader elections will be managed by the players and the GM team together. More details about this will be released for the public at a later time.
The voting system also allows for department wide votings. Only department members will see these votings and are able to vote for them. This will prove very useful later on when there are rather large departments in action and their members want to make an important decision.
http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_003_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_003.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_004_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_004.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_005_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_005.jpg)
Department Headquarters
Each department can have its own HQ. The HQ type can be selected by the department leader in the department window. HQs come free for departments, since they are high-rank structures. Just select the type you wish and all department members will be able to access it from any world through an apartment terminal.
http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_006_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_006.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_007_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_007.jpg) http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_008_tb.jpg (http://www.fomportal.com/downloads/fomscr_cb17_008.jpg)
Self-Defense Rule
The self-defense rule is known from old FoM. It has been implemented the following way:
If someone is attacked (doesn't matter which faction or the relation to that faction), the attacker will receive 50 penalty points (PP) and will be added to the victim's list of latest attackers and will stay there for 30 seconds. If the attacker attacks again before this 30 second timeout runs out, the timeout will start again. The victim can now attack the aggressor and even kill him without fearing PP before the timeout runs out. Typically in a duel, the one who attacked first will continue to fight and thus reset the timeout constantly. This gives those who are attacked a chance for self-defense in longer fights as well.
Kills on self-defense will cause no PP whatsoever. Other kills will cause the same penalty points as before depending on the relation to the victim's faction.
All this might sound rather mechanical and theoretical but it comes down to the following. Now that a small amount of PP is also given for first attacks (not just for kills), Dominion authorities have a chance to do their job and arrest rather than having to kill.
-duplex
You can discuss this update here: http://forum.fomportal.com/showthread.php?t=10799