Hi folks
> The test of time has shown Netrek to come up short. :-)
Indeed, but why aggravate that? :-P
> In many games, design intent is later exposed as not providing optimal
> play. That's why games such as C&C will adjust the specs for units with
> each patch release. Design intent does not guarantee optimal play.
True, but which is more _likely_ to result in good play: accident or design?
> Did you notice the difference?
No meaningful SB track record myself.
> Where are the old players? They probably have families and careers and
> no longer have time to play with the exception of those who make time. :-)
But those who make time constitute ~50% of the current player base! :-P
> I used to find the delayed explosion really odd. My memory might be
> wrong - but I think in high speed scenarios, a starbase could tractor
> and repress the ship right through the SB, and achieve reduced damage.
> To me, that's a bug.
Sounds like a tractor-pressor philosophical issue to me, although if you consider Z-depth it can be explained away; delayed explosion surely is another issue? I assume the idea is to simulate a chain reaction: fatal damage triggering warp core explosion.
> The only server to see any meaningful amount of usage isn't
> affected; this is truly a non-issue.
Surely the server will be upgraded at some point?
I would bet that the 400 ms delay was a feature deliberately added in the mists of time, and retained for its depth of play; I assume that ogging was formerly considered to be too easy. Either way, 80 ms is too small to be meaningful. I see two options as superior to the status quo:
1. Remove the delay entirely.
2. Restore the original play-tested feature (my vote).
Cheers
Michael