[mydas]

It appears to me that SHMOD is pretty much dead, as opposed to WC3FT or other mods. I think I know the errors that caused this and how to fix it -- but I need to know I'm not alone.

Vittu, JTP, Freecode - are you guys still visiting this forum ?

[G-Dog]

o.O mydas is back(probably sitting asking who the heck I am)!

I think the biggest reason superhero is showing a decline is nobody is coming up with truly new hero's. Most of the new stuff now is basically a rip of old concepts, just with slight changes like: adding models, different laser sprite, etc. But then again I could be wrong. I believe Vittu is rather active, but haven't seen much of JTP or Freecode.

[Emp`]

Originally Posted by vittu Asskicr hasn't been around for a long time, he served his mandatory military service then I believe he got a job (though he never did much before that anyway). Jtp got so busy with his job and life that working on sh was just counter productive. Freecode got busy with college and if he ever has time to do anything it should be to work on the alliedmods site not sh. I on the other hand never had lots and lots of time because of work so that's why the process with me is much slower than with jtp. All very understandable as none of us are kids. My recent job transfer kind of slowed production on the release, it is finalized and only cleaning code is needed now. And I am hoping to find the time to do so sometime soon.

[mydas]

Thanks Emp`. It's good that we still have you with us; and it's good to be back, G-Dog (who the heck are you ? )

And the reason SHMOD is in freefall is not the lack of novelty - take WC3FT for instance, no new heroes/powers are added; that mod suffered only one big update - from CSwc3 to FT or UWC3 or WC3XP, depends on which one you like most.

Is yang still around ? How about others ?

[Emp`]

Originally Posted by mydas Is yang still around ? How about others ?

yang pops around every now and then. everyone else basically moved on.

[mydas]

I see.

Well, the problem with SHMod is really the fact that the servers are not newbie-friendly at all. I have in mind some ways to solve this, but I need vittu on the most effective one of them.

[mydas]

This is so great. Vittu is the only one left that can take care of the problem, and he's just ignoring the only thread that really wants to take care of the situation.

What are you telling us, vittu ?

[vittu]

I do read the forums, I just don't always get a chance to reply. If you really need me to see something all you got to do is post it or PM me.

Was not ignoring the thread, just didn't feel like replying when you still haven't said what your big idea is... That and the limited time i have...


G-Dog is good he at least understands the code for the most part, he usually helps out in the scripting help section.

[mydas]

I have already PM'd you, that's what was puzzling me. I needed your attention before I could move on.

The main reason SHMod slowly dies is the lack of players.
1. First of the new players quit just because they don't have the time to download x models and y sounds, esp. on slower connections
Solution - Less models and sounds, just enough to keep the people well entertained [this is server-oriented]

2. The next ones quit because they don't really understand what's happening in-game (lots of heroes and effects) - they are just overwhelmed. To make an analogy, I have a subfolder of music that is new on my computer; every song I get, I place there, and once in a blue moon I sort them out into my other folders of music (based on genre). If I have to sort 20 songs, it feels like a piece of cake. If I have to sort 1000, I really feel overwhelmed and can't even get myself to sort 20 of them ...
My point is, I slap my forehead everytime I see someone is not satisfied with their 80 heroes and wants more. For a 20-level server, 50-60 heroes are more than enough.
Solution - Extensive documentation of game mechanics+hero powers, maybe a wiki page or just in-game info that makes the game very noob-friendly; also, one should not lose himself in 100 heroes [this solution is game & server oriented, at the same time]

3. People join SH Servers for fun. The gamemode is ALWAYS savexp 1; that means if you're new, you don't really have a chance to a fair fight. It is not enough that higher level players have MORE heroes (which means more overall strength) - they even have BETTER heroes (because of the level requirement). How unfair is this ? I have only one word for you : Cola_Lover. 100 hp vs 700 hp + a plethora of other powers = GGnothx.
Sheer imbalance is what makes the game un-fun. Heroes like Domino and Abomination are really welcome here, but the main problem are the cvars - SHMod being modular, each hero-maker comes with its own cvars, with no regards to other heroes' cvars.

What good is Flash, when Beast is faster but has so much more ? Makes no sense to me ...

Solution : Seeing that nearly every new SH Server is installed with stock and approved heroes, ALL approved heroes should be balanced one in respect to the other. Not only that, almost every effect should not be so strong, so higher level players are not RADICALLY more powerful - a hero should only give 250 hp tops, in my opinion. *** This is crucial for each new server : give them a very good, balanced default configuration - our players deserve it ! ***

If this all made sense, I'm asking you all active SHMod community members to discuss together the balance of approved heroes, and if we are lucky, vittu will materialize our thoughts.

I really want SHMod to become better. Let me know what you think ...

[Emp`]

that all is up to server owners. nothing we can do about it.