ASWZ Pub Format - Multiple pub maps in rotation

[hawkaloogie]

Every zone in SubSpace follows the same pub format: One map for two weeks, score reset and map change, rinse lather repeat.



With ASSS, we have the opportunity to change the map and settings in an arena without having to disconnect all the players. With this, we can have new ways to keep pub interesting and fresh.

• 6-12 maps in pub rotation
• Players vote on a new map every 30-60 minutes
• If flag game isn't finished when the map timer runs out, go to sudden death (disable respawning). After 5 minutes of sudden death, if flag game is not won, freq with most flags wins.
• Map changes, players download new map, game waits for a few minutes to allow players time to download.
• Flag game begins again.
  
  

Does this sound like a good idea? Are there refinements we can make? Am I completely nuts?

[danielgkn]

Good ideas!!



The only thing i didnt like was the 'sudden death'. Maybe we can let the game finish on its natural way before the map change. Is that possible too, right?





(sorry about bad english)

[hawkaloogie]

[quote name='Cintra' post='241338' date='Dec 22 2008, 07:07 AM']The only thing i didnt like was the 'sudden death'. Maybe we can let the game finish on its natural way before the map change. Is that possible too, right?[/quote]



It's possible, yes. Probably even easier than making a sudden death, but I'm not sure it's the best way.



The first reason was to keep things moving, instead of dragging out a flag game for 2-3 hours, far past the time everyone should be in bed, and frustrating players who work for the entire length of time only to have to leave for some Real Life reason. If the games are kept short, they can be more casual. Come in, and at most you're going to spend 45 minutes in a single game (time limit subject to change of course). I think this might help improve the popularity of flagging in SubSpace.



The second reason I thought of the sudden death is the inevitable time when people leave the zone for the night. When they leave, there's a flag game half-finished or barely started. What happens to it? With the sudden death idea, that game would be reset (eventually), and the next person to join the zone would get a fresh game on a random map.



The third reason is if someone doesn't like a map. They only have to spend 45 minutes on this map they don't like before they can choose a new map (instead of 2 weeks, or 2 hours). So instead of going home (or to a different zone), they're encouraged to play through and help pick the next map.



The fourth reason is the panic factor: The game is about to end, the jackpot is up near 15,000 (as high as it gets in a 45-minute game), tensions are high. If nobody claims all the flags in the next 5 minutes, the jackpot gets cleared and nobody gets it. This forces people to work together under pressure and time-constraint to achieve their goal. It makes pub almost like a constantly recycling league game.



I'm open to suggestions and criticisms, but I'm almost convinced that putting a strict time-limit on flag games is a Good Idea. There are many other things we can do inside of this format to improve ASWZ's curb-appeal (which is what we need right now, a big "OMG Let's try ASWZ! They're doing something Different!").