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Cruel v0.96 – 50lt
IP: 69.255.183.244
Game Mode: Death Match
Lives: 5
Max Kills: 0
Version: OpenLieroX 0.58 rc3

Players:
iRod(0 lives, 0 kills)
[CPU]I'm Not A Human(5 lives, 0 kills)
[CPU]I'm Not A Human(5 lives, 0 kills)

Liero v1.0 – 100lt
IP: 91.156.42.210
Game Mode: Death Match
Lives: 5
Max Kills: 20
Version: OpenLieroX 0.58 rc3

Players:

Modern Warfare1.0 – 20lt
IP: 37.205.11.54
Game Mode: Death Match
Lives: 7
Max Kills: 23
Version: OpenLieroX 0.58 rc3

Players:

[JasonB]

Just a general question to the community: how many people actively play this game still?
I see there are clan games going on, so there must be some people still playing on & off.

Next question, how many people would play again (or more actively) if some of the core issues were fixed? Like servers, reliability, lag, etc

[Slim Jim]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKoRp05L95c" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKoRp05L95c</a>

nice to meet you, im the best player around here now. All bow to King Slim! 

also make 056b back to track 

Good morning also suckares 

ps. auto ei lähteny käynttii, vapaa päevä=kalsarikännit, mitäs sun päivääs polle??

[joni]

There's pretty active players in clans Emp, aC, ways, bkS, R..

Fixing some issues would sure help getting some new players and older players back here. (Especially making 56b version to new release, would maybe bring few oldies back)

[Jage]

I'd play more :d

[SLak0n]

I would really play this game more, it the lag, reliability etc. was fixed. making it easier to hit for everyone would really make this game better.

[Tafka]

This topic isn't about clans I think.

There's been lots of threads about what the vast majority of players don't like about this game right now. If I understand right you wanna start coding something again? There are yeah, pretty many things, but everyone has different view on it, but the main thing is to make something stable everyone can use equally and the other thing is that there is 1000 functions that are not necessary and make the game too heavy.

I could list a few bigger ones I can remember right now:
*You shouldn't see if you hit enemy or enemy's health-bar
*Lot's of gusanos things
*All those size, speed etc multipliers.
*All the things under "Other" in OLX game settings->unstable
*Rifles, lasers and other mod issues
*Spawning
*Strafe
*Wallshooting

And of course a better looking graphics for levels and skins and mods would always help.

The list was mostly based on my opinion so yeah, don't start arguing about that. I'm not 100% sure who would come back if things got better, RC3 is decent to play with if you try to ignore some things, most players currently play this due to long-lasting relations with the game and other players. There might be lots of players who have quit to feel the old game again if it was bit different, more 0.56-alike.

There still are players, yesterday I hosted was 12 people in my server and 8 or so in other servers.

[Purplehaze]

Speaking as one of the very few people still playing from North America, I think the lag across the Atlantic is a big issue. LX has always been a European dominated game and I think the lag issue turns a lot of the potential North American players off. I get around 150-200 ping (usually 160ish) and I'm pretty close to the east coast, but I've gotten used to playing in lag.

I think graphics are another big issue. You look at how good games have gotten today graphic wise, and even though playability matters much more than how pretty the levels are, I think that's a big turn off for potential players too.

[JasonB]

Interesting
Yeah, been tinkering with LX on & off. Was curious to see if people were still interested in LX, but maybe turned off by lack of OLX development or some of the issues.

To be more specific, about a year ago i rented a Linode server in USA, ported v0.60 server code to linux and tried connecting from Australia. I was getting around 200-250 ping, so i was working with that trying to really improve the net code.
Since then i've just been lurking, seeing if OLX development would ever pick up.

I guess the biggest issue is that v0.56/v0.60 might seem like a step backwards for some people. It doesn't really have all the new mod/level/options things that OLX has added.

On the other hand, focusing on making a really solid online game might also appeal to some people.

[Gaston]

If we say players playing at least once a week...? I'd have to say no more than 100 players. Players playing more than that maybe 50 if I'm lenient.

There is no inherent problem with too many options. The only issue is that they may clutter up the GUI at this point.

Biggest problem with lx: Graphics. Enlarging everything 2x looks ugly. Simple as that. If the game didn't look so ugly, people would be less vary about playing it.

about 0.56: OLX has fixed a lot of bugs from 0.56 and allowed for new features that we couldn't live without trying to go back to 0.56. There may be an issue with the playing experience being different from 0.56 though, and that could be something that could potentially be rectified without cancelling all the progress of 0.56.

The thing is that the more we try to keep the game the same, the more players will quit. Simply because they will get bored of it.  (O)LX needs new stuff to keep the interest up.

How many people will start playing again...? Who knows. But if some of the key issues are fixed, and graphics are upgraded, I'd say the potential is there for around the activity level that was around 2004-2005. At least.

But for that to happen, there needs to be someone taking charge. Trying to please 100's of people at once (most of whom don't even know what they want) is a losing proposition. Some toes will have to be stepped on.


EDIT: In regards to 0.60. That version had potential to be very good (though I don't agree at all with removing the lobby; it allows for a natural break and chat between games.) But it did have a fair few bugs lying around. But if you want to keep programming that and releasing it, pardon my french, BUT DO IT NOW!!!!1oneone. OLX could really use the competition, and who knows OLX vs LX may instigate enough flamewars around here to get a community spirit going.

If nothing else, I'm certain there'd be a few dozen players here ready to test what you've done with 0.60 till now.

[JasonB]

about 0.56: OLX has fixed a lot of bugs from 0.56 and allowed for new features that we couldn't live without trying to go back to 0.56. There may be an issue with the playing experience being different from 0.56 though, and that could be something that could potentially be rectified without cancelling all the progress of 0.56.

Anything in particular that OLX introduced that is a 'must-have'?

[Gaston]

about 0.56: OLX has fixed a lot of bugs from 0.56 and allowed for new features that we couldn't live without trying to go back to 0.56. There may be an issue with the playing experience being different from 0.56 though, and that could be something that could potentially be rectified without cancelling all the progress of 0.56.

Anything in particular that OLX introduced that is a 'must-have'?

Off the top of my head:

- Connect during game (that was part of 0.60 though when I tested it.)
- "Want to join messages" (if a server is full.)
- Ingame chat (through IRC) with everyone who's playing online with the ability to message specific people.
- Weapon lists (saved settings so you only have to load a file to get the bans right.)

Also, if you want, LXA will be very willing to set you up with boards for feedback (bugs, requests etc.)

[JasonB]

In regards to 0.60. That version had potential to be very good (though I don't agree at all with removing the lobby; it allows for a natural break and chat between games.) But it did have a fair few bugs lying around. But if you want to keep programming that and releasing it, pardon my french, BUT DO IT NOW!!!!1oneone.

I think removing the lobby was a good idea, but maybe executed poorly.
Without a huge number of servers, players need to be able to join a game at anytime (even if a game is in progress) or they'll see a list of closed servers & give up.
The game mode 'Last Man Standing' was designed to emulate a lobby, but in game. Kinda like Counterstrike. You joined a server at anytime, chat away, watched the current game & wait for the round to end.

OLX could really use the competition, and who knows OLX vs LX may instigate enough flamewars around here to get a community spirit going.

I don't really want to compete with OLX. Which is the reason i've just been lurking on & off. I was waiting to see if development picked up again, but the last release seems like quite a long time ago now.

[Gaston]

I think removing the lobby was a good idea, but maybe executed poorly.
Without a huge number of servers, players need to be able to join a game at anytime (even if a game is in progress) or they'll see a list of closed servers & give up.
The game mode 'Last Man Standing' was designed to emulate a lobby, but in game. Kinda like Counterstrike. You joined a server at anytime, chat away, watched the current game & wait for the round to end.

I think you'll avoid that problem if you allow people to join during the game. In OLX you can join both in the lobby and during the game now, which means most servers are open as long as they are online. I think the social nature of the game needs for an option of having a breather between games.

I don't really want to compete with OLX. Which is the reason i've just been lurking on & off. I was waiting to see if development picked up again, but the last release seems like quite a long time ago now.

Well, if you're working on a continuation of lx 0.60 you will be "competing" against OLX simply because at the core, the game is pretty much the same. That doesn't need to mean that the competition will split the community or anything. I think it would be a mistake to just wait until OLX finally dies and the community is grasping the last straws before you give it another shot. I think right now (even though there's been a bit of a spike in activity compared to a year ago), the LX community is slowly fading away, and if you want to reignite the fire that once was about the game, there is never a better time to start than right away. Of course you decide what you want to do, but I really don't think that the competition will be a real problem at all. At least not until the community is reignited.

[JasonB]

Good points
I'll see how things go...

[Ruki]

OLX and LX Pro have introduced the ban option, hosting for more than 8 players, team chat, other game types and many more features which I can't even name now because they became so basic they are used every day. If I understand you correctly, JasonB, you want to go back to the unfinished 0.6x version and work on that to replace OLX? If so, that's quite absurd.

[JasonB]

It might be absurd.
At the moment i'm just thinking about firing up an old hobby project and focusing on some of core bits that made LX fun to play online.

[Ruki]

Why not joining OLX project?

[JasonB]

v0.60, while unfinished, structured things a lot differently which makes it easier to expand upon. Things like game modes, the core networking & the new UI engine.

I also spent a fair bit of time overhauling the net code last year. So while it might not have the list of features OLX does, i think it's a more solid platform to build upon.
Plus, i like working on my own code

[Ruki]

Fair enough. I remember old 0.6x versions, I helped testing them and they seemed quite different compared to 0.56b. I know LieroX and 0.60 are your babies but I don't think this community would need 0.6x now. It would also depend entirely on you and even if you manage to create something solid in a short time, it would leave the community with 2 different games. There are so few members left that we can't afford another dividing like that and think about the possible newcommers and their confusion once they see 0.60 here.

[JasonB]

Fair point Ruki.
That is basically why i let it be for a while. I was seeing if OLX development would pick up again. Correct me if i'm wrong, but looking at the forums, it seems v0.59 was released on Jan 2010. 2 years ago.
I havn't followed the RC's, but if they are small enough iterations to not warrant a version change, then not much has changed in the last 2 years?

If i were to do this, i'd probably rebrand v0.60 as LieroX2 or LX2. To try & differentiate it enough from the original and the forked versions.