Multiplayer Options
Posted: Apr 1st '19, 17:00
So I was toying around with the multiplayer in Marathon Infinity, testing a couple multiplayer games between my desktop and my laptop, and I'm wondering if it would be possible to implement a couple features.
(I assume this should be posted on this thread, since this is really about using Aleph One for multiplayer and not the original Marathon build.)
There's really two things that are really bothering me, and a couple incidental ones.
First of all, is there any way to set up a "every man for himself" match to end for BOTH a time limit and a score limit, (Or rather, an either-or,) instead of being just one or the other?
And the second thing, is there any way to set up a map cycle? So that after a match, after the score is displayed for a couple seconds, a new match starts up on a new map? As opposed to just returning everyone to the main menu; just have the game play through matches indefinitely.
The real reason I'm looking for this is because in a couple months I'm going to be hosting a classic games LAN party at a local gaming convention, and I'd like to have Marathon on the list of games people can play.
But the way things are set up at this con makes it extremely inconvenient to set up a new match every ten minutes. People are just coming and going, and most of the people are playing these games for the first time. (Probably especially true for Marathon, I'm sad to admit.) I can't always just leave people to themselves to set up games; it works much better if I can set the games up already and people can just sit down at a computer and play.
Marathon would be great for this event because it has maps designed exclusively for multiplayer, so it has some great multiplayer content that people don't need to be already specifically familiar with. (Unlike Doom and Duke where you'll get lost and miss weapons if you don't know the map already.) But having to babysit each individual match is going to kill that advantage. No one is going to want to wait two minutes for a new match to start when they are in a busy con and could have been playing something else instead.
And I know a (Time || Score) limit doesn't sound like a big issue, but with the way people are just sitting down and joining matches in this environment, it really does make an difference in how much fun they are having and how long they play.
So are these possible, and there are settings that I just missed somehow?
And if these options aren't available, is there someone I could try to coerce into adding them?
Beyond that, there are a number of other changes I'd like to see, although they aren't as significant.
For one, I'd like to be able to assign actions to multiple keys. Most notably, if I could have "use" work with either the E key or Spacebar. Some people default to one and some people default to the other, so it would be nice if they just both worked. Especially since players need to hit this key to respawn.
Also pressing "fire" to respawn is something most people try to do at first as well, so that's one worth considering.
For another, it would be nice if players could join a match ad hoc. If more people want to play Marathon, it would be easier if I could have a computer join an existing match, rather than waiting for a match to end or killing the server just to look for a new player. I suspect this would be a change that would be much harder to implement than any of the other ones I'm asking about, so I understand if it doesn't happen. But I wanted to mention it so it could at least be looked in to.
And on the subject of major changes, a dedicated server would be nice too. I didn't notice any major host advantages so this one really doesn't matter to me, but this seems like a natural evolution from adding ad hoc joining. I guess it would require changing the gathering screen logic though; but it seems weird to me that the host picks players to join anyway. (And in case I wasn't clear on this, I am referring to local network games, not online games.)
Plus, it kinda takes a while for players to be gathered into a multiplayer match. It's not a huge issue, but most games don't take so long to find players in a lobby, or rather, for players to find servers. Maybe a manual refresh button? But it's probably the least important issue.
EDIT: Oh yeah, and while not exactly a multiplayer feature, is it possible to completely remove vertical aiming with the mouse? No matter where I slide the sensitivity to, mouse aiming just doesn't *feel* right. And since the game automatically tracks up and down (right?) is seems to be an unnecessary feature.
So that's the list of things I'm curious about. Can any of these be done already? What are the chances of getting an update to add these other features?
(I assume this should be posted on this thread, since this is really about using Aleph One for multiplayer and not the original Marathon build.)
There's really two things that are really bothering me, and a couple incidental ones.
First of all, is there any way to set up a "every man for himself" match to end for BOTH a time limit and a score limit, (Or rather, an either-or,) instead of being just one or the other?
And the second thing, is there any way to set up a map cycle? So that after a match, after the score is displayed for a couple seconds, a new match starts up on a new map? As opposed to just returning everyone to the main menu; just have the game play through matches indefinitely.
The real reason I'm looking for this is because in a couple months I'm going to be hosting a classic games LAN party at a local gaming convention, and I'd like to have Marathon on the list of games people can play.
But the way things are set up at this con makes it extremely inconvenient to set up a new match every ten minutes. People are just coming and going, and most of the people are playing these games for the first time. (Probably especially true for Marathon, I'm sad to admit.) I can't always just leave people to themselves to set up games; it works much better if I can set the games up already and people can just sit down at a computer and play.
Marathon would be great for this event because it has maps designed exclusively for multiplayer, so it has some great multiplayer content that people don't need to be already specifically familiar with. (Unlike Doom and Duke where you'll get lost and miss weapons if you don't know the map already.) But having to babysit each individual match is going to kill that advantage. No one is going to want to wait two minutes for a new match to start when they are in a busy con and could have been playing something else instead.
And I know a (Time || Score) limit doesn't sound like a big issue, but with the way people are just sitting down and joining matches in this environment, it really does make an difference in how much fun they are having and how long they play.
So are these possible, and there are settings that I just missed somehow?
And if these options aren't available, is there someone I could try to coerce into adding them?
Beyond that, there are a number of other changes I'd like to see, although they aren't as significant.
For one, I'd like to be able to assign actions to multiple keys. Most notably, if I could have "use" work with either the E key or Spacebar. Some people default to one and some people default to the other, so it would be nice if they just both worked. Especially since players need to hit this key to respawn.
Also pressing "fire" to respawn is something most people try to do at first as well, so that's one worth considering.
For another, it would be nice if players could join a match ad hoc. If more people want to play Marathon, it would be easier if I could have a computer join an existing match, rather than waiting for a match to end or killing the server just to look for a new player. I suspect this would be a change that would be much harder to implement than any of the other ones I'm asking about, so I understand if it doesn't happen. But I wanted to mention it so it could at least be looked in to.
And on the subject of major changes, a dedicated server would be nice too. I didn't notice any major host advantages so this one really doesn't matter to me, but this seems like a natural evolution from adding ad hoc joining. I guess it would require changing the gathering screen logic though; but it seems weird to me that the host picks players to join anyway. (And in case I wasn't clear on this, I am referring to local network games, not online games.)
Plus, it kinda takes a while for players to be gathered into a multiplayer match. It's not a huge issue, but most games don't take so long to find players in a lobby, or rather, for players to find servers. Maybe a manual refresh button? But it's probably the least important issue.
EDIT: Oh yeah, and while not exactly a multiplayer feature, is it possible to completely remove vertical aiming with the mouse? No matter where I slide the sensitivity to, mouse aiming just doesn't *feel* right. And since the game automatically tracks up and down (right?) is seems to be an unnecessary feature.
So that's the list of things I'm curious about. Can any of these be done already? What are the chances of getting an update to add these other features?