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Flag Ideas To Convert

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Revision as of 17:03, 30 March 2009 by JeffM2501 (Talk | contribs) (move to new format)

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List of flag ideas to process to new format:

Legend
To be Approved
Approved as a not bad idea, but needs research
Rejected
Claimed (Implementing)
SVN (Implemented, and going to be in the release)
Maybe but there are issues
Name +/- Status Use
No Shooting (NS) - In-game description: Can't shoot. Stay out of trouble!

Description here: Pretty much as it says in the in-game description. You can't shoot. How you would be able to get rid of it in those "kill to get rid of bad flag" servers I'm not entirely sure.

Short Shot (SS) - In-game description: Shots don't go as far. Stay in the fray!

Description here: Not as limited as the No Shooting flag, this shortens how far your shots go before dissipating. Speed stays the same.

Long Shot (LS) + In-game description: Shots go farther. Snipe from a distance!

Description here: The inverse of the Short Shot flag, your shot speed will stay the same but it'll remain on the field longer.

AfterBurner (AB)

or

Rocket Jam (RJ)

- In-game description: Tank can't stop going forwards at high speed. Don't hesitate!

Description here: On pickup (or perhaps after first forward movement) tank instantly starts going forwards (only, no reverse) at high-speed (or faster?). Left/Right turning is still normal. (Perhaps reduced turning circle?)

Makes it easy to crash into walls. Getting stuck in a corner will make you an easy target. However, an alert player could probably hold out with this for long enough to make it quite fun.

Temporary Shield (TS) In-game description: Trigger a temporary shield. Be careful not to hold on too long!

Description here: Akin to the shield on the old Atari 2600/coin-op Asteroids game. "Fire" triggers shield, which remains in place until released, but enabling shield for too long (A short "reload" threshold, 2 seconds?) results in self-destruction. Shots at shielded player could be any of: pass-through, absorb, or deflect -- although the first one is more true to the original concept.

Other notes:

  • Suggested limit of 3-5 uses per flag, although this would be set per-server.
  • This is an implicitly defensive flag -- there's no weaponry when using it -- but could be well suited for advancing a front in a CTF, etc.
Low Ammo (LA) - Description: You will have half of the ammo you originally had. If odd round up with maybe a little longer reload time.
Safe Thief (ST) In-game description: Front and rear shots.

Description here: Shots only go go 1/4 distance of normal shot, can only be killed with thief, SW, & SB, any tank that touches you dies and you get their flag, if they don't have a flag; you still drop your flag.

Front+Rear fire (FR) In-game description: Front and rear shots.

Description here: Fires the default fire and additionally fires at the same time rear-shots.

No Ricochet (NR) - In-game description: Shots don't ricochet.

Description here: Like the Jamming and No Jumping flags in maps that have radar and jumping enabled by default, this flag disables the ricochet ability in maps where ricochet is normally enabled.

Long SB (LSB) + In-game description: Shoot through building, infinite range, long reload time

Description here: SB-- range and speed of L, 2.5 times reload time of normal SB.

Radar (RD) + In-game description: Can use radar.

Description here: Like how in some maps that have jumping flags or ricochet flags when those things are normally disabled, in maps with radar disabled, this would give you radar ability. It would counteract the Jamming flag in normal maps.

Sticky Jump (SJ) + In-game description: Stick to ceeling.

Description here: When you jump when you are under a building, your tank 'sticks' to the ceeling. Pressing jump again would cause you to end up on the top of the building. When a tank is stuck to the ceelimg, it would be incincible to L; and have a form of GM that had 1/4 the range and only locked-on to targets below.

Flat (FL) + In-game description: Tank is flat from sides, but normal size from front and back. Can hide against walls.

Description here: Like Narrow but the forward-backward dimension is where you are flat instead of the left-right dimension if you understand.

Signal Decoder (SD)/Transmission Interceptor (TI) + In-game description: Listen to all messages.

Description here: Any message sent on the server, even ones to a team or individual tank, are picked up. In the case of private messages, it will appear as [SendingTank->IntendedRecipient]. Also, commands show up, such as /set, /me, or /say, as well as their results. Good for detecting enemy strategies.

Carbonite Missile (CM) + In-game description: Shoots a guided missile that slows down tanks near where it detonates. Can kill only with a direct hit.

Description here: The missile is similar to the missile from GM, but it's light blue and has different variables to control its movement speed/turn speed. When it hits something or times out, it creates a light blue shockwave-looking pulse that may leave residual graphical effects in the vicinity and/or on tanks in the area. Instead of doing damage, this pulse temporarily slows down the tanks it hits; the duration of the slowdown is the same as the duration of the residual graphical effects mentioned above. The time that the tanks are slowed down, as well as the degree of the slowdown and the degree of reduction to turning capability (it can slow turning too) are all server variables. There should also be a brief time between shots, and/or an increase in reload time.

Pulse/Plasma Cannon (PC) + In-game description: Fires a burst of plasma capable of shaking buildings. Can kill Phantom Zone.

Description here: Shoots a large, wave-like shot that is bigger and slower than normal shots. Alternately, two shots spiraling around each other. Either way, it hovers in front of you for a short time before going forward, and during that time you cannot fire. If it hits a building, all tanks inside that building via OO or PZ are killed, all shots inside it (such as SB or PZ) are disintegrated, all tanks touching the sides bounce away, and all tanks on top briefly are forced to jump rapidly, like on a trampoline that has a very low jump height.

Mass Driver (MD) + In-game description: Fires a fast bullet that can go through multiple targets and shields. No ricochet.

Description here: The bullet moves about twice as fast as a normal bullet, and has 1.5x range by default, and corresponding reduction in reload time. It kills shielded tanks, and keeps going if it hits a tank to hit other tanks. However, it never ricochets.

Possible addition: A server variable (binary/true or false/trinary) sets whether it shoots one shot from the tank's barrel, one shot alternating between left and right of the tank, or two shots from the left and right of the tank at once, in reference to the Canderous-class Assault Tank from Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption.

Shield (SH) + Description: It's an idea for the improvement of Shield, not a new flag entirely. The idea is that if a person with Shield is hit, they are briefly invincible, and possibly flicker and/or be unable to shoot. This would really help; I remember numerous times when I was hit while equipped with Shield, and was immediately killed anyway because the other guy launched a cluster of shots.
Score Drain (SD) + In-game description: Drains score continuously. Does not kill.

Description here: Shoots a normal bullet with a line (laser sprite) between it and the user tank. When it hits someone, the line attaches to them instead. The bullet vanishes. Then score goes continuously from the tank with higher score to the one with the lower score at a speed determined by the size of the difference of the scores (the larger the difference, the faster the score drains, and obviously it slows down as time passes) as well as server variables; it stops draining when the scores are equal. The tanks have full freedom of movement, but if they get out of range of each other ("range" being the range of a standard shot), or something (either a wall or a tank) gets between them, the line will disappear and the drainage will stop. The tank firing can only have one line out at once, even if it hasn't hit something yet. The range is reduced if the firing tank moves backward or to the side; the line cannot be longer than the range of a shot.

ShotGun (SG) + In-game description: Shoots a large bullet that explodes into smaller ones on contact.

Description here: What this does is shoots a single abnormally large shot using all of your shots. It has reduced range and speed and does not ricochet. When it hits anything, it does not do damage; it releases as many bullets as you have shots; they fly in random directions and are normal range. Server variables control whether they go out in set angles or random, and if they go at random/set/no vertical angles. Note that the big shot does NOT do damage directly; it explodes on contact, but does not kill, but the target usually dies from bursts.

Basic Invulnerability (BI) + In-game description: Immune to normal shots[ and shots from Rogues]. Any altered shot[ from a team] can kill. [Can't kill Rogues.]

Description here: It's immunity to normal shots. ANY other shot, be it GM, SW, from PZ, or even RF, MG, or even ricochet in a non-ricochet map, (but not Burrow, Wings, or vertical velocity shots or similar) can kill the user. This is designed to counter non-shot flag users, non-flag users, and rogues. Some binary switch on the server makes the stuff in [] square brackets appear and immunity to rogues take effect.

Fog Shield (FS) + In-game description: Creates fog nearby for decreased visibility nearby and deflection of Shock Wave and Super Bullet.

Description here: A sphere with extremely thick gray fog. If Super Bullet hits it will bounce off; if Shock Wave hits it the shock wave will cease to exist in the area or bounce off or just totally disappear. Designed as a counter for Shock Wave and Super Bullet.

Cloaking Shield (CS) + In-game description: Causes everything non-permanent nearby to be invisible out-the-window; still visible on radar and Phantom Zone. Blocks OO, PZ, and Laser.

Description here: The in-game description is pretty effective. It generates a sphere of tank and shot invisibility that blocks Oscillation Overthruster, Phantom Zone, and Laser, and is specifically designed to counter Laser. The downside is the double-blindness of those in the shield; they can't see tanks or shots out-the-window. Radius defined by /set variable.

RepulsorLift (RL) + In-game description: Tank floats over the ground. Immune to steamroller. Good for avoiding burrowers and climbing stairs or ramps.

Description here: The tank will lose its treads for a wider hull, hover in the air, and appear to be constantly activating its jump thrusters. If possible, also make it so it moves up and down. Due to this, it is over the heads of those tanks that use burrow, and it can't steamroll them; it can't be shot by them either, but it may be able to shoot them with vertical velocity shots and the up-down automatic movement, and if it jumps and gets close to the ground as it lands. It can change direction in midair, and go up ramps of steepness less than a value (in degrees) defined at the server. Also, it's immune to steamrollering because it floats; it can possibly be squished (if you decide to implement it) only by landing directly on it. Can't multi-jump.

Jamming Shield (JS) + In-game description: Jams radar, communications, and guided missiles nearby.

Description here: Within a radius around the tank, no tank (not even allies or the user) can see on radar. Within this area, communications do not exist; if someone (except the server or observers, or using a non-/me command) says something, no tank in the area will hear it; and if one within the field chats, no one will hear it (except observers and loggers). Projectiles that can be guided (even when not guided as they enter the field) within the field will constantly lock on to random points and therefore be ineffective; but if they leave the field, they will return to their original targeting; if they weren't guided, they will just go straight.

Point Defense (PD) + In-game description: Automatically shoots down incoming missiles.

Description here: When a missile that has a lock (any team's missile, even allied, but not ones fired without locking on first) gets within a certain range of the tank, a laser shoots from the tank (preferably from the top of the tank, under the flag, but if that's too hard to implement, from the main muzzle) to the missile for exactly one frame and destroys the missile. There is a brief reload time between shots, say about double the reload time of MG. This flag is the perfect counter-flag to GM. And don't say Stealth is the counter to GM; it's NOT, it's only as effective against GM as anything else.

AirStrike (AS) + Too complex and confusing for players, too powerful Lock onto a player using right click; firing drops a bullet from the sky onto target. Similar to GM, but useful against people who camp on towers and can't be hit by normal means. (dim3wit)
Shoot Different (SD) - Your tank leaves a "trail" behind about 20 world units long that, if shot, will result in your tank being destroyed by the next shot that travels over the trail. If any tank runs over the trail you will also die. The trail is not visible, but emits a glow that is seen around the borders. The trail is the same width as the tank. When you shoot a tank, it results in that tank killing you. I don’t think you’d want to get this flag because it is BAD, which means you can’t drop it.
Bad Thief (BT) + When you shoot a tank with this flag, the flag is transferred to that tank while a random flag (including bad flags) is transferred to you. If you don’t shoot someone in 1 minute, you die. You can only be killed by SB, L, SW, and GM with this flag.
Evil Tunneler (ET) (mind the abbreviation) + With this flag, you tunnel completely under the ground and you can go up or down as well by pressing V or C, respectively. When you pick up the flag, you go below the ground to a default 50 world units and generates a 100 world units force field for 3 seconds that allows you to go below safely. Your shots travel straight up and if you are in a position that lets your shot travel above the ground (your shots underground have the same range as a regular bullet), you can shoot, and your shots travel straight upwards at a velocity equal to that of a normal bullet, pausing 20 world units above the ground or building it passes through, then traveling downwards at a speed equal to a Burrow tank going forward, and expiring when it hits the ground. You can’t be steamrolled while you have this flag but if a SB or L passes above you at any altitude you die. You can be shot by other ET tanks, if their shots pass within 10 world units of you, you die, and when a GM is fired within 100 world units of you, it goes underground towards you and expires normally, however, if that explodes below any tank, including teammates they die. Your shots show up on radar but they appear a stationery dot with altitude, if the altitude is below ground the entire square is colored purple or some other color like that. You cannot kill PZ or tanks with Wings. The maximum depth you can descend to is 3000 world units, so if you go any lower, you self-destruct. The maximum altitude (literally) you can reach is the same as a burrow tank and in that altitude you can be steamrolled, and as long as your muzzle is above ground you fire normal shots and can be steamrolled. PZ tanks can steamroll you at any altitude. When your shots expire, they explode in a cloud that tags all tanks caught in it with a 20-second time bomb and when the time’s up, the points go to you but only ½ rounded to the nearest even number, excluding 1. You can only fire half the shots allowed between reloads but reload is ½ server set time. Your tank controls are normal and normal speed. When you jump you go downwards instead of up at the server-set jump height, except reversed.
Ghost (GH) +/- no flag combos Combines Stealth and Cloak, but the player who picks up this flag will die in around 20-30 seconds, even if he drops the flag. Only useful if applied well. (dim3wit)
Shot Shockwave (SS) + Like SP, but you can only have one shot.
Dangerous Debris (DD) + When you shoot a tank, their “debris” destroys all tanks they touch on the ground or in the air.
RaDiation (RD) + For 10 seconds, your tank emits a “radiation” that kills all tanks within a 5 world unit radius.
Wind Shot (WS) + Your shots deflect away from enemies when you have this flag. You cannot be shot by regular shots with this flag, and cannot kill any tanks (except PZ).
BadBullet (BB) - Your bullets become guided missiles that loop around and hit you, if there are no enemies in the way (if they get hit they die). Does not kill teammates. Goes slow enough for you to outrun but goes through buildings. Has very long range and cannot travel out of the world. Stops after 3 minutes. Has large turning circle and ricochets off world borders and teleporters. Bad flag.
Jump and Stay (JS) + You jump and when you reach the top of the jump, you stay at that level, but cannot jump further. You can still move and shoot.
Crazy Color (CC) + Your tank looks like a rogue on the hud, radar and scoreboard, but isn't. Prevents teams from knowing which side you're on. Bad flag.
CanYon (CY) + Causes a deep gorge to spread in front and behind you, killing all tanks that fall in. Teammates are not affected. You can't shoot while you have this flag.
Quantum Plane(QP) +/- Basically the bullet behaves like a quantum, where it starts off like a wave and has multiple locations, has the capability of tunneling through boundaries, and when encountered by a tank collapses into a particle resulting in that tank collapsing into a reality where that tank may or may not be killed (like Schrödinger's Cat). When a tank shoots, the shot does not have a specific location, but rather a probability distribution along a plane parallel to the ground at the same altitude the shot was made. This "quantum plane" would have the same color as a bullet, however it would be brighter and more opaque where the probability of the bullet's location is higher, and more translucent and not as bright where the probability is less, in other words it would look like a flat electron cloud. The Bullet would have zero probability of being in an object, so OO tanks are safe, however the bullet can be inside hollow areas closed off from the area where the tank shot the bullet (i.e. rooms), this allows for quantum tunneling. The probability distribution is determined by the boundaries formed from the cross section of the map in the quantum plane, in other words the wave has to be a standing wave that resonates within the boundaries, thus the particular probability distribution would be found by a partial differential equation. When a tank intersects the plane, the probability of that tank being hit by the bullet is calculated by a double integral, where the tank's cross section is the boundary. Then a random number generator determines if that tank is shot or not shot, and the chances of either way is determined by the the tank's probability of being shot. Once it is determined either way, that particular plane collapses for the tank that intersected with it, thus the plane does not affect that particular tank anymore nor does that tank see it, so to that tank the plane doesn't exist anymore, however it can still affect other tanks that have not collapsed the wave function. The Quantum Plane exists until all the tanks intersect with it, or until it expires after the amount of time it takes to reload a regular bullet. It is possible for more than one tank to be killed by the same Quantum Plane, however it is also possible for the QP holder's teamates and even the QP holder itself to be killed. In fact as soon as the QP holder fires, it collapses the Quantum Plane in its perspective, because the holder automatically intersects with the plane.
Teleport Shot + No, no on drop flags, and too complex

UPDATE: It's not on-drop, it means that only one shot is allowed. I clarified the description.

You can only shoot one shot with this flag. When your shot expires, you appear where it expired. Shots don't kill.
Flame Thrower (FT) + Firing a shot emits a short length of flame, which never ricochets. It should get wider as it leaves the barrel, have a duration of half a second or so and have a long reload time. If it could "snake" as the turret turns, even better! There should be a new sound to accompany the firing and some nice graphics for the flame.
Flag Drop (FD) + Firing causes all tanks nearby to drop their flags. Cannot kill with this flag.
Unsteady (US) - When jumping, the tank gets a random angular momentum, like you accidently moved your move while pressing jump.

(This is a resubmit: I submitted this flag along with others quite some time ago, but, unlike the others, this just vanished from the Wiki)

SPinner (SP) - If you turn when you have this flag you can't stop turning. Optional: If you leave the tank turning it slowly gets faster and faster, but probably only to a set speed otherwise it would get too fast.
False Enemy (FE) The opposite of MQ; when you pick up this flag, your teammates see you as from another team.
Long Shot (LS) + Maybe, not a bad idea. Bullets go twice as far but at a slower speed. Possibly N/2 extra bullets.\
Long Reload (LR) - Yes. Reloading weapon takes twice as long.
Don't Stop (DS) - Yes. Tank always moves forward or backwards, it cannot stop.
BackFire (BF) +/- Yes. Shots fire to rear of tank instead of front.
Sensor Echo (SE) - Maybe, not a bad idea. All tanks show up twice (or more) on radar. Echoes behave like the tank they mirror, down to the flag.
Delayed Shot (DS) - Yes. Shots wait some prescribed amount of time (2 seconds?) between clicking and actually firing.
Extra Shot (ES) + Yes. Player gets an extra shot.
SlowMotion (SM) - Yes. Tank moves and turns with half speed.
Score Flags (SF) + Maybe, a multi-player isn't a bad idea. Gives you more than one point for each kill. Maybe randomize between 2 and 5 points. (This could also be used as a handicap for beginners)
Flag Magnet (FM) + When you shoot this, all nearby flags get pulled into it and disappear (Go to phantom zone?)
Flag Changer (FC) + You can give/take somebody bad/good flags. (Zoned flags too?) Dontkillmyimabeg.
Sonar (SO) + When you pick this flag up, your radar is reduced in power. All tanks appear as rogues on the screen, and they are some five or ten bzunits from the actual location. However, you see a yellow marker on the screen wherever the tanks are, and it gets smaller as the target is further away. (A simpler way to do this is to make all tanks five or ten bzunits away from their real location on the radar. This is obviously a bad flag.) (This could be used on no-radar maps as a way to get radar, at the discretion of the map maker.)
SlowShot (SS) - Your shots travel at half speed. (Maybe half range too?)
Variable Speed (VS) - Your shots go at random speeds between .5 and 2 times normal. (Range increased/decreased when speed goes up or down, possibly?)
SLow tank (SL) - Your tank moves and turns at half speed.
ClimbinG (CG) + Your tank can climb walls as a gecko. Sneak tower campers!
RadarUpgrade (RU) + Your radar shows the direction tanks are facing with a small arrow pointing off of their tank in the direction of the barrel.
LimitedSensors (LS) - Your tank's radar is reduced to the smallest of the three basic radiuses (#1), and your vision blanks out at the same distance as the radar stops at.
BadAim (BA) - Your shots go off course left or right by as much as 10 degrees.
HEavy (HE) - Your jump height is halved.
VerticalBullet (VB) +/- Your bullets fall down slowly, as if actually pulled by gravity. They could skip across the ground if ricochet is on.
CrazYshot (CY) - Your bullets will, occasionally during flight, change speed. They might start at the regular speed, then suddenly double their speed, and later halve it back to normal.
Extra Sight (ES) - All world edges are mirrors, so you can see around corners. I thought this might be a bit too little, so the other half of it could be some sort of shimmery ghost-ness about cloaked tanks, like the glow of a cloaked bullet. The other half could also being able to see into drive-through-able objects instead. _