Some MTA:SA Race Suggestions

[Exoskeletor]

Greetings MTA members. I want to make some small suggestions to make our mod better.

1) GUI for server settings. (Although this must be done from us, you don't have to lose time with that. but i don't know if you like this idea. I mean, if someone make a gui for mtaserver.conf you will added in a next release?)

2) A map list for voting. (example: when you hi F5 to open a list with map race, race type and start venicle)

3) Favourite servers option.

4) On the quick connect, tab isn't working and whenb you open it the "enter" button must be focused (if this can be) so to just press only the enter if the ip address that is stored is the one we want. This might not seen something special but for some guys that have lan on their homes and they use old televisions for monitors every time that have the opportunity to use the keyboard only is better for them.

5) On the console ingame, on the map vote command it should be good if we can have an autofill feature for the maps name. (just like what tab do on irc)

6) Opportunity to change display settings and control settings through MTA SA.

7) A list somewhere with details about every map. (Maybe this also must be done from us)

What about a platform mode? Something like the Trackmania Sunrise mode. In this game in the platform mode, you don't have damage but the map is very difficult for you to finish it. You have to make very difficult stunts, jump with high speed etc. Imagine a mode in San Andreas that have no damage but respawn us when the car goes into water or when we want. (respawn us in the last checkpoint) The first that finish the map wins. This could be very good in my opinion.

9) Ability to see if a server needs a password

10) Pickups must be visible in the map.

11) In every race in the start, display the Race name and the race type in the middle of the screen with big font.

12) Minimize the server to system tray? i don't know if this is possible

13) The feaure to see tha map on the mta center must be implemented on the mtasa also. And we must be able to see the map of a race ingame also

14) Add a Show Lan Servers Button or display first the lan servers on the server browser

15) MTA Server flashing or something when something change on the server? (someone logs in, says something etc) is this possible?

My experience so far: I have play i think for 3 hours. It hasn't crash. i have some problems with the lag but this is not mta sa problem because i have a very bad ping. (over 100). In every server i try to play, if there was more than 5 players i have lag (I have ADSL 384/128) and some times i was alone in the server moving around without nothing happen's. It seems that i have lost the connection with the server but i haven't get a message or something.

A lot of times also, i pass a checkpoint and it didnt disappear. just like that i haven't pass it and i have to pass it again

Veery good start. if this is a first release i can't imagine what we are going to see next.

Keep up the good work

Edited February 3, 2006 by Guest

[Mog]

I have some suggestions too (Please forgive my bad english, cause I really want to submit my ideas ...Hope you will understand me ):

1)Map editor : add a sort off checkpoint (circular would be better), that won't include any order -> Like in some mini-games in the single player mod (skate park of Los Santos with the bmx, or in the bowl at the San fierro's Docks with the nrg 500 bike, etc...).

2)Map upload : allow us to suggest our maps by voting on every servers (even if it isn't on the server). Maps are really light (betwen 5 and 50k generally), so it might be very possible (?).

Because, at the moment, if we dont have our own server, or we don't have a friend who have a server... It's quite impossible to play on with other players.

->Juste create an option that auto-delete the map after the race. Or create a special folder to put them into, with a custom limit size -> when the folder reaches its limit size, the oldest map is delete, etc, etc...

3)Voting : Only players who are alive can suggest another map ! The majority wins the vote issue.

Only 1 vote/player/race

4)Server settings :

->Servers can save race records.

->Make possible that we can rate a map, when we are playing on it (would be great to help admins to make better selection!).

5)Make a tournament option :

Players can submit a vote, to begin a tournament whenever they want.

-Rules (very simple) :

->1st earn 9 points, 2nd 6 points, 3rd 3 points, 4rth 1 point.

->Conditions to begin the next race :

*No vote allowed during tournaments*

-4 players have finished the race

-3 players have finished the race, and only 1 is still alive (or is playing on the map. Anticipate the situation with only 2 or 3 players).

->Create an option to go in spec mod if we want to (if someone is stuck, or something else)

->Create an option that auto-send in spec mod, a player who is afk during 30 sec.

->Distingish the map list of the server (normal mod), and the map list for tournament :

Put selected maps in the folder server\mods\race\maps\tournament1 or/and tournament2, etc...

=>So admins can create their own tournaments that players can vote to (with different number of races in each tournament, etc...).

->Finally : a player who joins the server during the tournament can participate as usual... Of course, the later he comes, the harder it would be. But it doesn't change anything for him from a simple race.. And it could ever be a good challenge ^^

Keep up the good work

[Si|ent]

9) What about a platform mode? Something like the Trackmania Sunrise mode. In this game in the platform mode, you don't have damage but the map is very difficult for you to finish it. You have to make very difficult stunts, jump with high speed etc. Imagine a mode in San Andreas that have no damage but respawn us when the car goes into water or when we want. (respawn us in the last checkpoint) The first that finish the map wins. This could be very good in my opinion.

All we'd need for this is respawn, which I said before release was needed, and which post-release chrml has agreed and promised it in the future.

The only other issue I see that needs fixing is the voting, Ive not seen a single race finish properly that had less than four people still alive in it as all the dead players vote a new map in before they can finish. Perhaps giving alive players a casting vote, or at least a vote worth much more than dead players would solve this?

Your other suggestions are mostly cosmetic so I'm not really that bothered if they are included or not, nice little details for a final version but not gameplay related.

[Guest]

3) Favourite servers option.

That one would be so massively useful. I left a game last night to email some of my maps to the server admin i was playing on, and i couldn't remember what server i was on. So i emailed him back to ask for the name of the server.

If they had a "Most Recently Played" or a Bookmarking thing for servers, that would be damn awesome.

[Lággy]

I posted a "muddy" post. It has been deleted.

Edited January 25, 2006 by Guest

[Si|ent]

laggy this thread was about mta:sa, i.e. the released version, and ways to improve it. not future DM versions. Perhaps you coudl start a thread for that rather than muddy this one?

[Guest]

Respawning would definitely help. It could be made as a checkpoint parameter (like vehicle changes). Set the respawn location to the LAST active checkpoint the player passed through (not the CLOSEST--doing that could get the player an unfair advantage).

Also, for the map editor, I think it would be a lot easier to maneuver if you assigned the A and D keys to strafe left and right instead of rotate left and right.

Those are really the only suggestions I can make.

[Si|ent]

I dont think we'd need respawn in the straight racing, it would be extremely handy, nay essential, for chaos modes and the more inventive gametypes though.

[Exoskeletor]

In a race no but sometimes yes. Especially when a map is very diffult. I think it is nessecary.

Also it would be good if we can select a range of maps when we create a server

[Si|ent]

Also it would be good if we can select a range of maps when we create a server

You can do that already.

[Exoskeletor]

sorry about that.how? (by keeping in the maps folder the maps you want?)

[erorr404]

It shouldn't be in race, if you die.. your fault, wait for the race to end. For freeroam and DM maps it's useful though.

[Somaro]

A server-variable or so to allow or disallow cars to be flipped back over. Such as "R" could be bound to RESET the car, to flip it right-side up. To use it, you can't be moving, and/or have to be on the ground (so planes can't use it).. and you can only use it if you are indeed upside down (and only once every 10 seconds or so), to prevent exploits and getting to weird places

[Guest]

could we get a slightly longer delay between the map load and the race start? i get quite a few instances where the race is starting, and the engine isn't even to drawing the scenery.

Also had a start on Blow the Dam, i think, where I spawned, but the walls didn't exist (not just weren't visible, they didn't exist, and i fell right through the start tunnel and landed somewhere near Vinewood)

[Exoskeletor]

Is there a possibility to add in the future the mta server on the system tray and have a flashing or a beeping feature when we have a new message?

[darkdreamingdan]

A server-variable or so to allow or disallow cars to be flipped back over. Such as "R" could be bound to RESET the car, to flip it right-side up. To use it, you can't be moving, and/or have to be on the ground (so planes can't use it).. and you can only use it if you are indeed upside down (and only once every 10 seconds or so), to prevent exploits and getting to weird places

this however does not solve those who want to respawn after a damage explosion, though it could create a nice element of avoiding damage to cars

[Exoskeletor]

what about both of them? the map creator should choise if the cars can be flipped with a button or to start near the crash point or to start from the latest checkpoint

[Somaro]

Yeah, it should be map specific. You don't want people flipping back over in destruction derby.

But for things like STUNT, and FREEROAM.. it would really be welcomed

[Zahl]

Most important to me is:

- Make dead people's vote be less worth

- Favorite servers / last used servers

[Guest]

1. Allow map votes to commence, but the new map won't start until the CURRENT RACE is over. Nothing irritates me more than when I'm in the lead and the sore losers that got eliminated in the start-line clusterf*** change the map on me. I wouldn't do it to them--if I blow up I wait. The same should hold true for them. And once they vote to change a map they can't vote for a new map for at least five minutes.

2. Allow time limits for races. Not very useful on actual race maps, but on demo derby maps (where there are no checkpoints) allow the map editor to set a time limit (say from 12:00 to 20:00) and the winner could be determined by whoever has the most health left. I understand this would be a tough thing to implement but I think it should be considered.

3. Teams and Friendly Fire: It's clear some maps were made for team play (Smuggler's Run for one). Well the biggest problem is that people who don't know how to play the map join up in Hunters and begin immediately blowing the crap out of the other Hunters. Having distinct teams (and being able to implement some kind of mechanism where team players are invulnerable to weapons fire from other members of their team) would definitely help, but again I understand this would be very hard to do, so I won't be surprised if it doesn't happen.

[erorr404]

1. Allow map votes to commence, but the new map won't start until the CURRENT RACE is over. Nothing irritates me more than when I'm in the lead and the sore losers that got eliminated in the start-line clusterf*** change the map on me. I wouldn't do it to them--if I blow up I wait. The same should hold true for them. And once they vote to change a map they can't vote for a new map for at least five minutes.

2. Allow time limits for races. Not very useful on actual race maps, but on demo derby maps (where there are no checkpoints) allow the map editor to set a time limit (say from 12:00 to 20:00) and the winner could be determined by whoever has the most health left. I understand this would be a tough thing to implement but I think it should be considered.

3. Teams and Friendly Fire: It's clear some maps were made for team play (Smuggler's Run for one). Well the biggest problem is that people who don't know how to play the map join up in Hunters and begin immediately blowing the crap out of the other Hunters. Having distinct teams (and being able to implement some kind of mechanism where team players are invulnerable to weapons fire from other members of their team) would definitely help, but again I understand this would be very hard to do, so I won't be surprised if it doesn't happen.

1. This has been brought up in another thread and there are many problems with it:

What if you and friend or two are alone on a server and want to play a particular map, but you're forced to finish the current map?

What if there are lot's of dead players on the server, and two players in the race/deathmatch are idle, or purposely not completing the race/not dying?

What if the map that starts is one that the vast majority of players don't like and they are willing to vote for a new one?

What if the race that the server randomly selects is 10 minutes long!?

Too much voting is a problem for sure, but only being able to change the map at the end of a race would cause many more. I really don't see a perfect solution for this, but I imagine a good one would have to do with either restrictions on how often players can vote, or an editor-definable time limit for actual races (not just deathmatches).

2. Looks this might be implemented:

Doing this would have to be combined with respawning in races and a time limit.

3. I definately want to see that in there, but I doubt this will be high on the priority list as it may be too much work.

[Zahl]

As I wrote in another thread, voting could be like this:

When a player votes for a map, no yes/no box is shown to the other

players, the server just counts the vote for that map (it has to have a

time limit too like the current voting system). When a race finishes the

server starts the race with most votes and resets the counter for that

race.

For the cases error404 mentioned there should be a simple "skip race"

vote, which just causes the ongoing race to end. Again this should have

a per player timelimit. And maybe if one player starts a skip vote, the

"skip current race F1 (yes) F2 (no)" window should not be shown

immediately, but only if at least XX% of the players tried to start a skip

vote.

This would still not be perfect, but might reduce the popping up of that

vote box.

[blitz1008]

wow zahl well put

[erorr404]

As I wrote in another thread, voting could be like this:

When a player votes for a map, no yes/no box is shown to the other

players, the server just counts the vote for that map (it has to have a

time limit too like the current voting system). When a race finishes the

server starts the race with most votes and resets the counter for that

race.

For the cases error404 mentioned there should be a simple "skip race"

vote, which just causes the ongoing race to end. Again this should have

a per player timelimit. And maybe if one player starts a skip vote, the

"skip current race F1 (yes) F2 (no)" window should not be shown

immediately, but only if at least XX% of the players tried to start a skip

vote.

This would still not be perfect, but might reduce the popping up of that

vote box.

So your solution is for a certain amount of players to have to request a vote without seeing eachothers votes in order to make a vote possible? I don't think it'd do anything to solve the problem, as there can be a lot of childish players doing skip votes just as they do change votes now.

And what's the point in having a seperate skip race vote when it can be a regular change race vote? They are both used for the same ultimate purpose.. to start a new race.

[Somaro]

As I wrote in another thread, voting could be like this:

When a player votes for a map, no yes/no box is shown to the other

players, the server just counts the vote for that map (it has to have a

time limit too like the current voting system). When a race finishes the

server starts the race with most votes and resets the counter for that

race.

For the cases error404 mentioned there should be a simple "skip race"

vote, which just causes the ongoing race to end. Again this should have

a per player timelimit. And maybe if one player starts a skip vote, the

"skip current race F1 (yes) F2 (no)" window should not be shown

immediately, but only if at least XX% of the players tried to start a skip

vote.

This would still not be perfect, but might reduce the popping up of that

vote box.

So your solution is for a certain amount of players to have to request a vote without seeing eachothers votes in order to make a vote possible? I don't think it'd do anything to solve the problem, as there can be a lot of childish players doing skip votes just as they do change votes now.

And what's the point in having a seperate skip race vote when it can be a regular change race vote? They are both used for the same ultimate purpose.. to start a new race.

The reason is because we want the map votes to change the map AT THE END of the current map.

We can't have that all the time though because maps like Freeroam, Stunt, etc. cannot ever "end" really... So you need a skip vote in order to change the map --right then and there--.