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Author Topic: Threadspace: Hyperbol  (Read 1794 times)

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François

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Threadspace: Hyperbol
« on: May 13, 2008, 04:56:45 PM »

Threadspace

SOMEONE OWNS THIS?

...yeah, why? Is this a "SOMEONE OWNS THIS? HIGH FIVE!", or a "SOMEONE OWNS THIS? I PITY YOU!"? Because I can understand it going either way.
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Kazz

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Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #1 on: May 13, 2008, 05:30:43 PM »

Threadspace

SOMEONE OWNS THIS?

...yeah, why? Is this a "SOMEONE OWNS THIS? HIGH FIVE!", or a "SOMEONE OWNS THIS? I PITY YOU!"? Because I can understand it going either way.

Just honest surprise.  I played the beta too, and I was a little interested, but not wildly impressed.  I thought it would be fun if there were a lot of players, but since the free period was practically empty, I figured that it'd be dead once it went commercial.

If there is a community, I'll be into it.  Your three-word choice of "newbie rape ahoy" makes me think that there's a constant influx of shitty players; is there at least always one good game going, or what?


edit: the caps was just to conform with the thread, not any particular emotion
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François

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Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #2 on: May 13, 2008, 06:35:26 PM »

If there is a community, I'll be into it.  Your three-word choice of "newbie rape ahoy" makes me think that there's a constant influx of shitty players; is there at least always one good game going, or what?

Checking the server list now, there's like 6 people total. Granted, it's tuesday evening, but eh. Kind of a shame, it's a great game when you play with people of your skill. That's mostly why I posted on pyoko back then; I hoped to get maybe a couple of people interested so we could make a Thing of it, but it was not to be.

The newbie rape thing is about how there's always (well, for a "back when I was actively playing" meaning of "always") been a small, almost steady trickle of new people, but never enough at one time to give most a chance to practice against others of equivalent skill. Newbies had to choose between fighting bots, which suck royalcore, and fighting the core group of experienced vets with minmaxed ships. The skill barrier to entry is pretty harsh.

I had the good fortune to be there almost from the beginning, and there was a golden age where I became really, really good at what I had chosen to do. That was a time where you could find at least a couple of full servers at almost any time. The problem was, what I had chosen to do (defense and support) was poorly-rewarded, money-wise. I routinely had the biggest bounty on my head game after game, meaning that the game recognized I was extremely effective and helpful to my team, but I barely managed to earn enough credits to swap ship parts around, let alone buy new ones. So that kinda sucked.

Actually I haven't played in a long time. I quit when they added colored trails to the projectiles, not for that reason but because the devs altered a lot of projectiles' properties (mostly major changes to mass and damage) around the same time. I was already playing a little less, and the radical shift in strategies caused me to fall behind the curve then drop off altogether. I keep meaning to try and get back into it because it's a genuinely fun and unique game, but I haven't gotten around to yet.
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Kazz

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #3 on: May 13, 2008, 07:14:51 PM »

Hi.  This is a new topic, which is begging for your help.

Just take an hour of time, the hour that you would otherwise spend spanking to /tg/, and download the demo of Threadspace: Hyperbol.  It deserves far more attention than it ever got.

For a contribution of just ten dollars, you can take home a Hyperbol of your very own.

Call today.

 :sadpanda:
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François

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2008, 08:20:17 PM »

Let me put it simply: at its best, this game feels like the lovechild of Scorched Earth and Team Fortress 2.

If this does not instantly give you a raging boner then you are definitely a female of your species.
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Guild

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2008, 08:32:04 PM »

Let me put it simply: at its best, this game feels like the lovechild of Scorched Earth and Team Fortress 2.

If this does not instantly give you a raging boner then you are definitely a female of your species.

I've never played any of those games.

What does that make me?

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Bal

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2008, 05:23:03 AM »

An unlettered prol.
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James Edward Smith

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #7 on: May 14, 2008, 07:52:25 AM »

Some review for people who care about that sort of thing. I like the look of this game cause it sort of reminds me of Devils In Heaven1. Not so much mechanically, Devils is to be a side scrolling dogfight2 fest, not a top-down strategy game, but in spirit. I say this because I plan for Devils to have the same level of RPGesque elements when it comes to jet customization and of course both games focus completely on round based multiplayer battles. Also, Devils In Heaven will be mechanically a 2d game that has a 3d look just like this game.

1 Name may be changed to "Devils High" to sort of ape on the fighter pilot lingo "Angels High"
2 Simply barbaric... BARBARIC
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Kazz

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #8 on: May 15, 2008, 07:26:04 AM »

My God... there isn't even a Wikipedia page for this game.

How does anyone expect players to find the damn thing without even a Wikipedia page?
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Kazz

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #9 on: May 15, 2008, 10:26:48 AM »

Okay, I played for a few hours today.  The game really is good.  It feels like starship combat; you have a billion options, and reacting quickly and correctly is a challenge.

The first thing a new player needs to work on is the sixth group.  The first two are your best active defenses against incoming projectiles; launching them will deflect enemy weapons.  The last one is a passive defense that will sit there and repel anything incoming; it can also be deployed actively, but it is less reliable in that capacity.  Use it when you're changing positions or if you want to fortify a location.

The best weapons are in the Hyperbol module; the huge, slow bomb and the AOE plasma field thing.  To get rid of plasma, you have to launch the black hole thing.  I forget the name, but it's in the group to the right.

The first group, with the plasma bolt in it, isn't very good.  I don't like the second group, either, but I know that it has some of the best damage potential, and the lasers from turrets can't be deflected like other projectiles.  Focus on the last four.

The game takes practice, but I did get my first kill today.  It wasn't exactly honorable, though; an experienced player had just spawned, and I rushed over to where he was and launched five Hyperbols in his face.  He tried to deflect them, but he had barely had time to spawn any of group 6.  He exploded.  Then, I moved away, he respawned, and he held me down and raped me like a schoolboy.

I tricked out my ship after logging out today; I sacrificed some deployable and shield strength in favor of maxing out projectile build time and projectile speed.  Hopefully, my bombs will be harder to counter.

I'll be buying it later.  This game is very satisfying.


EDIT: Oh, one last note.  Try not to run out of Move if you're near someone.  Also, EMP shuts down deployables well, but it also stops you from moving; try not to get caught in someone's plasma field.

and, don't forget to use Z and C to curve your projectiles.
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François

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #10 on: May 15, 2008, 02:53:55 PM »

The first thing a new player needs to work on is the sixth group.  The first two are your best active defenses against incoming projectiles; launching them will deflect enemy weapons.  The last one is a passive defense that will sit there and repel anything incoming; it can also be deployed actively, but it is less reliable in that capacity.  Use it when you're changing positions or if you want to fortify a location.

You can never have too many of those. At least one gravity module is a must for almost any ship build. A not-often-mentioned aspect of repulsors is that scramblers turn them into attractors, which don't have much defensive use but become far easier to destroy.

The best weapons are in the Hyperbol module; the huge, slow bomb and the AOE plasma field thing.  To get rid of plasma, you have to launch the black hole thing.  I forget the name, but it's in the group to the right.

A cloaked ship with several hyperbols is basically a TF2 spy, able to sneak in and unload at close range for about as close to instant death as you can get in the game. At medium range, HBs can be made exponentially more useful if you detonate a Shockwave right behind them; this gives them a considerable speed boost.

Plasma can also be dissipated by launching repair drones into the cloud. Drones are usually more plentiful than singularities (the black hole things), but they don't work as fast.

You're mistaken about "the group to the right", though. The singularities are in the Impulse module, not Gravity. You're probably talking about the disruptors' ability to collapse singularities. I used to get mixed up all the time about what cancels what, but experience fixed that.

The first group, with the plasma bolt in it, isn't very good.  I don't like the second group, either, but I know that it has some of the best damage potential, and the lasers from turrets can't be deflected like other projectiles.  Focus on the last four.

The first two groups (ballistics and tactical) are only truly effective if you have a good shot power stat, or your opponent has low shields and armor stats. The Tactical module can be brutal in the right hands, and the upgraded Ballistic weapons are nothing to sneeze at, especially if you have enough capacity to stockpile them. If you're out of disruptors, a stream of red plasma bolts is a scary thing to look at, and the upgraded Cluster Bomb does considerable amounts of damage.

The turrets are at their best in objective mode, where you can plant a bunch somewhere and combine their fire.

I tricked out my ship after logging out today; I sacrificed some deployable and shield strength in favor of maxing out projectile build time and projectile speed.  Hopefully, my bombs will be harder to counter.

Sounds like the beginning of an offensive setup; deployable is a common (and perfectly reasonable) dump stat for a direct-fire ship, especially since it seems you want to specialize in hyperbols. You'll need to increase power and/or capacity, however, to make full use of that strategy. Depending on what else you use, area of effect may also be something you can do away with. HBs have an area of effect but it never gets very big.

An unsung aspect of hyperbols is that defensive players hate the upgraded version with a passion. In objective maps, they're basically siege engines; the energy tendrils wreak havoc on wall formations. If the defenders expect upgraded fighters instead, they're likely to have upgraded EMPs available to swat them off, and that's not much use against HBs.

EDIT: Oh, one last note.  Try not to run out of Move if you're near someone.  Also, EMP shuts down deployables well, but it also stops you from moving; try not to get caught in someone's plasma field.

EMPs also drain your shields over time. Being hit by an EMP sucks hard, especially if it's the first projectile in a stream of regular ordnance.
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Kazz

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #11 on: May 15, 2008, 07:24:08 PM »

Purchase made.

Apparently I received a guest pass as well, so anyone who uses up their demo time but still wants to play without buying it should contact me.  I think guest passes are good for a couple of days.
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Kazz

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #12 on: May 17, 2008, 03:43:38 PM »

I've been reluctant to recommend this game to anyone, despite the fact that I think it's good.  It's just dead.  You go on, and you'll be lucky to find any players at all.  If you do find players, they're either unbeatably super-pro, or completely incompetent, with no middle ground whatsoever.

It's sad.  But the developers did it to themselves, frankly.  The game was designed around a huge playerbase from day one, with the modifications and the persistent-world conflict, so on and so forth.  It never got that huge playerbase, and now the divide between haves and have-nots is insurmountable.

A new player gets on with demo, sees that the game is empty, and never comes back.  Not one server can stay populated for an entire day, which means that it takes someone logging on alone and hoping that the super-pros show up within the hour.

I don't regret the purchase, because I feel like the developers deserve the money.  I do regret that the game never had a chance.  Its only hope now is to be given away for free someday soon and build a playerbase that way.

Long story short, I encourage you to try it, but I'm sad to report that you probably shouldn't buy it.
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jsnlxndrlv

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Re: Threadspace: Hyperbol
« Reply #13 on: May 18, 2008, 10:17:52 PM »

Long story short, I encourage you to try it, but I'm sad to report that you probably shouldn't buy it.

Ironically enough, this is the post that convinced me to give it a download, and if I can ever get my bank to send me a new debit card, I'll probably wind up buying it.
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