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Ideas

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BZFlag-1.7d9 thumb.jpg This page has facts that are stale, obsolete, or grossly outdated. Please update this page with newer information.

Feel free to make changes and updates to this page whenever possible. If you have any questions, feel free to ask for help. If you wish to make major changes to this page (i.e. remove large amounts of old ideas), please warn us ahead of time.

NOTE: Work is in progress on this page. I'm converting to to a tabular format, and will then clean up and sort the ideas into categories. Please stand by. -L4m3r

NOTE: These are just possibilities. We won't be implementing everything here.
NOTE: Flag ideas should be placed on Flag Ideas. Any other ideas can be placed here.

Status may include personal comments by developers.

Adding ideas

  • All ideas should be categorized and should be prefixed with a *.
  • Sign your idea with four tildes: ~~~~
  • Describe in full and make sense!

General/Gameplay

Idea Status Commentary Submitter Date
Add support for 5 (or more) button mice Great Idea (Unknown) (Old)
Better physics In progress Planning, some changes in CVS. Unknown (Old)
SELF-DESTRUCT BLAST RADIUS: Self Destruct (delete key) should have a blast radius similar to Shock Wave, perhaps larger. If you get shot during the self-destruct count down, that should also trigger the same blast. If I gotta go, I want to take someone with me. (Unknown) BearRiver (Old)
3-second (or however long) 'invulnerability' for incoming tanks - but they can't shoot Idea I could see this backfiring... your spawn attracts opponents to come, wait, and blast you when you lose invincibility. -L4m3r MORPH (Old)
Ability to turn off ricochet for laser flag but allow ricochet for bullets... or let them bounce only n times.. OR implement mirror buildings/walls. Should go for some interesting self-kills when combined with the no-radar/bullet bounce Idea MORPH (Old)
Smart LockOn for GM - won't lock on to your teammates (configurable in server) Idea (M. Jetleb -> I don't like this idea, there should be at least *some* risks to using this weapon. Personally, I think there should be more (not fewer) risks to holding this weapon; I'd like to see the thing overheat and explode (killing the holder) if it's fired too often in a short period of time) MORPH (Old)
Small jumps Idea MORPH (Old)
Server option for genocide flag - if you're killed while you have it, your team dies :^) Idea Feasible with a plug-in, too. -L4m3r MORPH (Old)
for broadband or LAN connections - voice chat for teams Idea I really think that you can do this with another service; I'm not sure if being part of BZFlag would be a good idea due to size and bandwidth issues. MORPH (Old)
Tank avatars (uploadable tank images) - have to think about shapes, though - someone could make a 1x1x1 pixel tank - that would suck - or a tank that looks like a building or pyramid. Clients don't have to accept downloading of avators (just view other tanks in default mode). Or just s-e-l-e-c-t from a certain number of predefined avatars that could come with the bzflag distribution. Or client provides a URL to download their avatar (saves server bandwidth). Idea Might not be implemented. Requires discussion; we may want to consider making the computer force a minimum size or something similar. *How about uploadable flag graphics? MORPH (Old)
'Kamikaze' option for players - can take someone out by suicide Idea Server option if implemented. Implemented with a plugin by Theme97 MORPH (Old)
Server option: everyone is radar-stealthed by default unless you get a 'radar' flag. You can still see all buildings, pyramids, teleports, and arena walls, though. Good idea Make them use their window. ;)(M. Jetleb -> Given the fairly narrow field of view out the window and the time it takes to turn a tank all the way around for a look-see, I think this could be frustrating. How about everyone starts out with minimum range radar instead and gets longer ranges with an appropriate flag?) MORPH (Old)
Option for above: if you pick up GM or Laser, you're visible on radar to everyone whether they've got a radar flag or not Good idea MORPH (Old)
Selectable 'ricochet' fire - hold down shift key or something and your bullets won't ricochet Idea MORPH (Old)
Server option - tanks only have a certain number of times they can jump (gets reset when you get killed) Idea MORPH (Old)
Multiple-shields (server option for shield flags, or can be random - can get hit x number of times) Idea This is pretty much moot now. It's been shot down by the devs at least once, and a similar effect can be achieved by setting _shieldFlight to a very small number. This effectively provides as many hits as _maxFlagGrabs. L4m3r MORPH (Old)
Configurable 'radarless' and/or 'blind' zones in the arena - can't see what's in there on radar or via visuals Idea MORPH (Old)
Tank collisions - why can tanks drive through each other? Weird. Good Idea Lag could be a big problem here. If implemented, it must be impossible for two tanks to get stuck to each other. L4m3r MORPH (Old)
When tanks collide - great opportunity to implement tank damage concept, especially if one of them is moving especially fast, or has momentum flag, etc. Can push a tank off a building if your pushing them from their side. Idea Tank damage won't happen, but the kinetics could be neat, especially for mid-air collisions. It would certainly make "jump dancing" more interesting. L4m3r Morph (Old)
If a tank explodes right next to another tank, the other tank can be destroyed or get damaged Idea Somewhat implemented with the ShockwaveDeath plug-in. It would probably not be too hard to implement something similar without shockwaves. L4m3r MORPH (Old)
Skins or views- In-tank mode, bumper mode, out-of-cab mode, chase mode. (Unknown) MORPH (Old)
Weapon extension packs. (Unknown) Huh? Explain, please. L4m3r iPod (Old)
The ability to choose tanks, but they all die at one shot. maybe the jump height, speed, turn speed, acceleration, size can be preset. (Unknown) iPod (Old)
Option to choose different kinds of tanks. Different tanks could be weighted with different strengths and weaknesses. (almost like having a default flag). Would also need some form of health/damage status measurement, not just single hits. For example, there could be a larger, heavily armored tank that has powerful weapons, but moves slowly, versus a small, light, fast tank which is difficult to hit, but very low armor to protect from hits. (Unknown) Cue (Old)
What about a radar that only covers visible areas (don't passing through buildings/pyramids) ? This would leads to more placement tactics). (Unknown) K'limero (Old)
Always random respawn. Currently in CTF games first respawn is at own base. This can be abused by leaving and rejoining to get near base. This leave/rejoing trick is considered to be a mild form of cheating by many. Always random respawn would make it useless. (Unknown) abli (Old)
multiple (3?) jump stengths mini, normal, max...just the thing to confuse the opponents that expect one and you're off doing the other. (Unknown) kitchen (Old)
Anti camping. The ability to add "no camping zones" to areas of a map or to the entire map. Campers would be messaged that they're in a no camping zone, better start moving and have a prescribe number of seconds to move away or die. If a player returns to the same NCZ (no camping zone) and receives x warnings then he's disconnected. NCZs could be marked by a different color shade from a "normal" spot and could be exempt to a single team (like at their flag base). It's just a rough idea. (Unknown) pherris (Old)
Shield Flag Changes: Give Shield flag a radius, and draw it like a moving less opaque blue shockwave. Any tanks inside the shield radius would be protected, until the shield got hit a certain number of times. (Unknown) YHARG (Old)
At our company, we instituted a voluntary policy of dropping flags after 1 kill. Prevents slaughters and keeps things rolling more. It'd be great to be able to have the game do this for us, plus I'd love to see it turned on at external sites. (Unknown) TomMatelich (Old)
Server option: default powers -- flag(s) that everyone in the game automatically has (this wouldn't count as holding a flag). For example, the current Jumping option would == including Jumping as a default power. (Unknown) NebNamwen (Old)

UI

Idea Status Commentary Submitter Date
Make option to show previous players list Idea (Unknown) (Old)
Make ALL server options available from the menus Idea There are a LOT of server options, and this could add quite a bit of clutter. If you need more than a basic game, you should probably learn to start BZFS from the command line anyway. -L4m3r MORPH (Old)
Separate windows for player messages & server messages Good idea. MORPH (Old)
Message log Good idea. MORPH (Old)
Send message to everyone 'but' specified player (crosses team boundaries, or not) Idea Hmm. Everybody BUT a specified player? [M. Jetleb -> as in: "Let's all get the GM guy" without the GM guy knowing he's facing a co-ordinated attack - I like this idea) MORPH (Old)
The ability to see what the world is like before connecting to the server. (Unknown) iPod (Old)
Multi-monitor support (i.e., radar on one screen, window on another, chat/event log on a third) (Unknown) bhtooefr (Old)
Make a part in bzflag to put up a real server. 1st screen has the flags you want, next page is to find the MAP file that you created on your hard drive, next page pick if you want jumping etc. (Unknown) Colin (Old)

Technical

Idea Status Commentary Submitter Date
Better network handling In progress (Unknown) (Old)
Better robot AI Idea Don't know if players would like it or not in multiplayer game. Pluggable or scriptable robot AI , maybe? - Code must be restructured first (Server side bots are coming! TD-Linux 17:41, 12 March 2007 (EDT)) (Unknown) (Old)
Better positioning of tanks Idea BZFlag already does this, but the algorithm is bad. Needs work. MORPH (Old)
Serious multithreaded design - shouldn't lock up interface while looking for servers, or doing anything else. This program is way-unstable on Windows In Progress We're working on these problems; many complaints are due to people still using old servers/clients. MORPH (Old)
Some type of BZFlag GUID* to ban players who cheat - won't accept players who disable their GUID, etc.

*Global Unique Identifier, sort of like an IP addrss, but permanent. Usually a number. Problem occurs when you lose your GUID (have to reformat your HD, etc. How do you keep someone from hacking their GUID, or setting up a modified BZFlag server for identity theft, etc.

(Unknown) I doubt this is even possible, let alone practical. What about people who play from more than one location? And, because this is an open-source game, it would probably be cracked in minutes. Any verification can be spoofed, or at least altered. there is no foolproof way to permanently ban someone. -L4m3r MORPH (Old)
To prevent cheating - the server determines what flags & abilities each tank has (possible?) Idea Seriously being considered. This would also have the advantage of allowing different versions of clients and servers to work together. Yes, it's possible, but this type of change will mean a change in the network protocols. Being worked on for 2.2 MORPH (Old)
BZFlag for mac in separate data and application files. (Unknown) iPod (Old)
J2ME client (allows one to play on a cell phone), would use radar (Unknown) bhtooefr (Old)
Special 'open source' BZFlag version (server and client) which is guaranteed to be compatible with all other BZFlag versions. (Unknown) BZFlag is already open-source, and making a universally-compatible client is not even remotely practical. Incompatibility is part of why the game breaks off new versions in the first place. L4m3r Orca (Old)

Game Modes, Team Play, and Scoring

Idea Status Commentary Submitter Date
Tounament mode Idea Great Idea? (Unknown) (Old)
When you shoot someone on your own team, instead of both of you blowing up, neither is destroyed, and their score goes up one, while your's goes down one. This would make teamkilling impossible and greatly discourage traitors as well. Idea But then couldn't cheaters spawn two clients and ramp up their scores by teamkilling their other login? --YHARG Trigger Happy Nerd (Old)
A new gameplay mode- Takes two to tank. One to control the (rotating) turret, the other drives. KIA switches positions. "Teamplay" but all in one tank. (Unknown) I see serious lag issues with this... How does Halo do it? ;) -L4m3r MORPH (Old)
Turret mode, If enabled by the server (Can be manditory with automatic grouping). One user drives and the other shoots, Turret mode tanks get double points (But onyl take one from the target). lost double points if killed. Have double ammo, And controllable speed (Max = _tankSpeed * 2 Min = _tankSpeed). Plus it takes 2 shots to kill a turret mode tank. Points gained and lost by turret tanks are divided evenly between the users, Unless the server is all turret mode, in h which case two users are displayed as one. (Unknown) Dogbert (Old)
Ability for a team to vote to 'banish' someone from their team Idea Possibly unfair to newer players. L4m3r MORPH (Old)
There should be a game of cops and robbers. The teams can change after about 10 mins or so. (Unknown) iPod (Old)
A special FFA Game mode "Team by Flags". This means, same Flag = same Team, so if there is a Tank with Rapid fire, and you pick up Rapid fire, you are automatically handled as Team member (this means, killing the other Tank with Rapid fire will be handled the same way as when killing a team member). YHARG: Funky idea: what about a game mode where teams shared flag abilities? Like, each player on a team's flag applies to the whole team. This could make for some interesting combos... (Unknown) Agonizer (Old)
Make life trickier for the Rogue Team; with a mix of Rogues and Colored Teams, the Rogues have more targets. This should also change the effect of the Masquerade flag - perhaps your tank is invisible to Rogues (like Cloaking)? (Unknown) NickGrim (Old)
A server option to make deaths not affect your score unless they were self-inflicted/team (the method used by many online games). This would encourage more aggressive play, because it's worth going out and blasting. As it is, you've got a very good chance by just phantoming/OOing out of the way and keeping you score at zero to stay in the top three places! It would also help fix the rather unfair situation of spawning just below a building on which someone is GM-camping...there's pretty much no way to escape, so you lose a point. (Unknown) LionsPhil (Old)
Don't show individual score in CTF games. This might help teamplay as it reduces the incentive to run around as if it would be FFA. (Unknown) abli (Old)
Give points to the player how captures flag in CTF. (Say, around 4 or so) After all, it is often a bigger job than killing someone. (Unknown) abli (Old)
Ducati/Freestyle "Roles" mode: Make a game mode where players are presented with a list of flag choices (limitable to a few roles, if wanted) at respawn or connect time, and are forced to use this flag for the remainder of their connection/tank life. This would be really useful in the case of stealth vs. seer, where you could choose to be stealth or seer, but couldn't switch between them. Another idea would be high speed vs. quick turn. Or steamroller vs. machine gun... Team play would have the interesting effect of people banding together and people with each role on the team. Especially in stealth vs. seer, where a seer team member could warn the team about enemies! There would be no team flags/bases. (Unknown) YHARG (Old)
New game called tag were someone is it and they shoot someone else and there it and ect. (Unknown) Supermatthew (Old)
Also a new game called "Hide and seek" were everyone is clocked(think thats it, were you don't see them on radar) except one who is it. he needs to find someone and shoot them then hese cloked and who was shot is not. Also when someone is shot there sent back to Ground zero( 0X, 0Y, 0Z ) so they can't shoot who ever just shot them. (Unknown) Supermatthew (Old)

Maps, Mapping, and BZW

Idea Status Commentary Submitter Date
Materials that don't allow OO and PZ to go through Idea Would be nice for multilevel worlds made with the new ability to have objects above the ground. (Sounds awesome! TD-Linux 17:41, 12 March 2007 (EDT)) (Unknown) (Old)
Differently-shaped teleporters (circles, triangles, etc.) Idea probably low priority MORPH (Old)
360 degree teleports - hit a spot on the ground or in the air from any direction and you teleport Idea MORPH (Old)
Configurable random teleporters - teleports to a different location every time Idea Idea is a bit vague... randomized teles are implemented if you use multiple links. Is this what is meant by this suggestion? -L4m3r MORPH (Old)
Triggers in levels (Unknown) Triggers for what? unless you're talking about AI, this could most likely be handled with a server plug-in. L4m3r Dragonstar (Old)
wraparound world - radar remains centered on your current position. Internally, objects leaving the north border reappear to the south, but from the user's radar / visible perspective, you just see to the horizon. I believe this is how the original Battlezone worked. There are some implications: laser would need a range limit. (Unknown) nsayer (Old)

Server Options, Administration, Plug-ins, and the Plug-in API

Idea Status Commentary Submitter Date
Ability to configure server to turn somethings off or on depending on number of players - for instance, turn off ricochet after a certain number of players are connected, turn off GM & laser if a certain number of players aren't playing (GM & Laser with 2 players is kinda ridiculous) Idea MORPH (Old)
Allow custom-made weapons with a Object-Oriented scripting language (sorta like Liero AI uses: http://helios.et.put.poznan.pl/~sskowron/liero/index.html ) (Unknown) Dragonstar (Old)
Preset world weapons that can be fired manually by admins from within BzFlag. (Unknown) Dogbert (Old)

Graphics & Sound

Idea Status Commentary Submitter Date
Sounds of tanks moving. (Unknown) iPod (Old)
Have different tank death scenes for the dying tank point of view. I realize there is some time needed for one to die and respawn, but the jumping effect one sees when killed irritates me to no end! I'd be happier if all faded to black or white or orange and had text across the screen saying ""respawning... please wait"" :) Also, when killed and your tank was moving toward a building, it just falls right thru it until it hits the ground.. wrong physics there! Splatter or tumble or shatter or something :) (Unknown) Robi (Old)
Custom color schemes for rogue players. The turret and body components can be chosen to be one of a predefined set of colors (e.g. red, yellow, black, white, blue, green, purple...). The game prohibits choosing a color scheme that matches a team scheme (e.g. red turret with red body) and the limited set stops someone choosing a shade which is nearly a team color (e.g. 0xFE0000 instead of 0xFF0000) (and also save texture memory, I think). (Unknown) LionsPhil (Old)
Allow a small decal on the back of the top of the tank. (think Half-Life's customizable spraypaint). Possibly also apply it to any held flag? (Unknown) LionsPhil (Old)
wireframe mode! man, this would make the game ten times cooler for nostalgia (Unknown) rjbs (Old)
I'd like to see something more interesting done with the sky... maybe there could be a little ufo (easter egg) that would fly around occasionally? Tux on a ufo! ;) (Unknown) YHARG (Old)
Flag decals: Each flag would have a little icon/decal showing it's type ONLY when held by a player. It's kind of nice to be able to surprise people with an undercover shockwave, but doesn't make sense to have to right click (identify) or check the user list to see what flag someone has. (Unknown) YHARG (Old)
Background music! : (This can be done with an external media player so it shouldn't be the heighest priority, It would be nice to be able to control your music from within BzFlag) (Unknown) YHARG (Old)

List Server and Other Global Services

Idea Status Commentary Submitter Date
Multiple list servers, in case bzflag.org goes down (as it happened around feb. 15. 2004) (Unknown) abli (Old)