A small questionairre re: Night of the Homeless

[Kinsie]

So, NOTH. Remember that mod? Man, what a blast.

Anyway, I recently decided to restart from scratch with a new mod inspired by it, rather than continue work on it - as I've learned more about ZDoom and as the engine has evolved, things can be done in better ways than my old, unmaintained hacks.

But it's early days, so I'm trying to figure out key design elements. So I thought I'd open the floor to see which are better ideas.

QUESTION ONE:
The original mod used an ACS-based scoring system designed for single-player only, which included a combo system. What should I use in this?
a.) A similar scoring system, modified to work in multiplayer (possibly using frags if this Feature Request comes to pass)
b.) A Psychic-esque system in which enemies spew out collectable coins of a different amount based on how they are killed.
c.) A system where aforementioned coins home in on the killing player.

QUESTION TWO:
I plan to have a rounds system - as the rounds advance, new enemies and items will be phased in and out of the spawning system, and changes to the map can occur. There may even be bonus rounds that have odd things happen! The thing is, though, what should decide when rounds end?
a.) Time - progress onto a new round once a certain amount of time is survived.
b.) Kills - progress onto a new round once a certain amount of kills are scored.
c.) Score - progress onto a new round once a certain score is reached.

QUESTION THREE:
Would you be interested in having a device added to maps that gives out special items/powerups in exchange for a chunk of your score?
a.) Yay
b.) Nay

QUESTION FOUR:
How should boss monsters be handled?
a.) Rare, random change of spawning in normal play, like NOTH
b.) Spawning at the start of specific rounds
c.) Having special rounds dedicated to them, that only end when the boss is killed.

QUESTION FIVE:
As a workaround for the lack of persistant between-sessions data in ZDoom, would you be interested in using saves as a "game file" which maintains your highest score and unlockables? (This might make supporting custom maps a PITA, though!)
a.) Yay
b.) Nay

QUESTION SIX:
How many players should multiplayer be coded with in mind?
a.) Two
b.) Four
c.) Eight

Thanks for helping out!

[Skippy]

Glad to hear you've restarted this, I did a few private mods based on it.

1: c). In multiplayer, it might be nice to have a visual indication of who's killed who - in this case it shouldn't be a pickup, but a simple visual effect homing in on the killing player.
2: a). Assuming we're playing for the highest score, and not to simply survive, then time is the only method by which the player's skill/speed in killing will affect their final score. I would also suggest having collectible time bonuses to increase the player's remaining time, theoretically allowing a higher score to be gained (á la Mercenaries mode in Resi 4 and 5).
3: a), with the added point that if the powerups permit a huge chunk of score to be gained very quickly, then the sacrifice of score will become meaningless.
4: a). They should move and spawn in such a way that players aren't forced to engage them, but to do so successfully should result in huge score bonuses.
5: b). Not much you can do about this, sadly. Perhaps you could provide a password system of some sort (would need a decent algorithm, though).
6: I don't think this matters as much as the mode of play (are the players working in co-op towards a single score, or are they trying to get the individual best score? If it's the latter, will the players be able to frag each other?).

As an aside, the addition of some choice melée weapons might increase the variety somewhat (assuming they're suitably visceral and easy to use, perhaps even granting higher kill scores - after all, the player has put themselves in harm's way to use them). Good luck!

[SoulCrow]

1. c
2. b
3. a
4. c
5. b
6. a

[Cutmanmike]

1) I suppose c is the closest. Remember if you use A_GiveToTarget in the death state of the monster, the killer will ALWAYS get the inventory so no need to homing projectiles or drops. I suppose b COULD be fun, potentially with friends being assholes.

2) If homeless come in waves, after a wave is finished I guess. If not then KILLZ unless it really is a struggle for survival, in which case I'd pick time.

3) Nay. If the focus is getting a high score I wouldn't want to have to keep deducting points to attempt to beat my high score.

4) b but how about at the END of certain rounds? Or both?

5) Yay if you do it right. For example if you have some kind of "home" map where you can chillax and return to the game, and have autosave, options and such. Maybe a mode selection from here or something? I dunno.

6) 4 plus! Give skulltag some love. You could make it so every homeless executes a script which uses set actor property to increase their health by xxx times the amount of players.

[Gez]

QUESTION ONE:
The original mod used an ACS-based scoring system designed for single-player only, which included a combo system. What should I use in this?
a.) A similar scoring system, modified to work in multiplayer (possibly using frags if this Feature Request comes to pass)
b.) A Psychic-esque system in which enemies spew out collectable coins of a different amount based on how they are killed.
c.) A system where aforementioned coins home in on the killing player.

You should use [wiki=ACS actor properties]APROP_Score[/wiki]. You can use it with [wiki=Classes:ScoreItem]ScoreItem[/wiki] as well as with [wiki=CheckActorProperty]Check[/wiki]/[wiki=GetActorProperty]Get[/wiki]/[wiki]SetActorProperty[/wiki].

[Kinsie]

Holy fuck, my world is turned upside down. Or, it will be once I get my hands on a GZDoom build that supports this stuff. oh wait I'm dumb and got confused by DRDTeam not hosting a build with A_Quake yet :V

[bagheadspidey]

1 - b / c. I think coins should only start homing when the player is very close.
2 - b
3 - b
4 - I think I'd like to see them at the end of every other round or so, once the kill count is met, but without removing all the mooks first.
5 - a!
6 - if it has to be limited, probably as many as skulltag is capable of supporting. New features like (A_)Get/SetUserVariable could allow for "unlimited" number of players without inventory hacks.

[Unknown_Assassin]

1. c
2. b
3. a
4. a
5. a
6. b

[TheDarkArchon]

1. B
2. A
3. A
4. A/C A mix of both
5. A
6. B

[InsanityBringer]

1: A
2: A, perhaps a option for the old continious system used in the original betas could be implemented
3: B
4: B or C
5: A
6: B at least

[Kinsie]

2: A, perhaps a option for the old continious system used in the original betas could be implemented

To elaborate: There won't be any restarting or stopping between rounds. It'll just pop up with the new round number and info on what's changed (or in the case of a boss/bonus round, what your wacky objective is).

[Kinsie]

Any other suggestions or answers?

[Crudux Cruo]

A for all except the last, which should be B. the only suggestion i have is in the last mod the weapons were ok, maybe im just spoiled on CW's IDE-SE, and WW-diaz

i dont know if realistic would help but if so, i made a mod a while ago with a fairly realistic arsenal of weapons if that would help, otherwise, good luck! ill be awaiting the beta!

[Penguinator]

C.
A.
B.
C.
B.
D., for all I care.