11/15/14 - Aerodrome S.o.R. Episode 3: Attrition's Embrace

[Squidslinger Gilder]

Narrative video should be up by the end of the week but so commanders can start plotting and planning their moves this week, here is the Episode 3 match list.

To resolve problems and confusion on the stream, I'll be on it with Brick to go over stuff when needed. Info cards had been made but for some reason they haven't been used. So, I'll just jump in and give the casters the 411 during the event. Updates have been made to sub rules and also a revision on one of the VIP commander options that was an oversight. Apologies it wasn't amended but no one else had caught it.

Anyways, here we go...

Episode 3: Attrition’s Embrace

Despite a successful flank via Anglea, which forced the vanguard Coalition fleets to withdraw to reinforce it’s rear supply lines, Pact forces have been unable to hold the line. With strikes from opportunistic Coalition fleets taking out Pact leadership in the desert, they have withdrawn to their canyon supply area to set up a new defensive line.

Using the natural terrain to their advantage, The Northern Pact hopes to force the Coalition into a battle of attrition.

Match 1: The Dragontown Bombers vs WoD & Clan Clan
Map: Raid on the Refinery

With Pact forces routed from the desert, the combined fleets of Wings of Deadalus and Clan Clan move fast to secure a frontline fuel depot for Coalition use.

Due the shift in the frontlines, Pact command has recalled Cakewatch’s Dragontown Bombers to protect the newly exposed Refinery from Coalition advance forces.

Will the combined Deadalus/Clan Clan fleets succeed in securing a crucial frontline supply base? Or will the Dragontown Bombers put a stop to Coalition ambitions and slow the advance?

Match 2: Flamefeld Minelayers vs Hydra
Map: Canyon Ambush (BC-VIP)

Regrouping with the main battle group, Hydra returns from it’s icy battle in Anglea for the push on entrenched Pact forces in the Canyons. Recognizing their accomplishments, the Baron of Blackcliff has requested Hydra serve as his personal escort as he oversees Coalition forward positions.

Entrenched with Pact forces, the battle hardened Flamefeld Minelayers fleet has become accustomed to Coalition fleet movements and has thus noticed the shift in Coalition lines which has brought the Blackcliff Baron in striking distance.

Will the Minelayers be able to successfully ambush the slippery Hydra and take this Baron’s life? Or will Hydra set the Minelayers in their place and see their Baron to safety with a haughty laugh?

Match 3: The Storm Ryders vs Crimson Sky Menace
Map: Water Hazard (NP-VIP)

Unable to slay the trade minister, the Ryder fleet found their escape route through the Fjords cut off after Dragontown’s defeat. Caught behind enemy lines, the Ryders did what any brave Anglean based fleet would do...pillage.

Using Black Channel as a temporary base of operations, their guerrilla strikes have become a nuisance that Coalition command cannot allow to continue. However, bounties places on Ryder heads have met with only increased losses and the Coalition leadership recognizes, they need someone who knows the Ryders, to beat the Ryders.

Calling upon the Crimson Sky Menace fleet, they send them into Black Channel to rout out the Ryder forces and put an end of their affront to the Coalition.

In this battle, brother must rise against brother, and former friends must kill one another for the sake of their factions. The dreaded day has come. CSM knew it was inevitable, but they also know the best ways to put a stop their former comrades.

Will CSM be able to successfully rout their former comrades and strike down the commander of Ryder forces? Or will the Ryder’s show them how unwise it is to underestimate them, and punish the Sky Menace for their treason?

Match 4: Green Sun Trading vs SPQR
Map: Fight Over Firnfeld

Riding high off their victories in the desert and Anglea, Green Sun, looking to chase down Hydra, have found themselves over Firnfeld with Hydra no where to be found.

What they didn't know was the slippery Hydra had doubled back to the frontlines and now to meet Green Sun, is the rearmed and resupplied SPQR fleet.

On their way to reinforce the flanks and re-secure territory lost, SPQR has advanced upon Firnfeld, driving out Pact forces on their way back to the frontlines.

With early gains the Pact made vanishing quickly, Green Sun has a monumental task laid before them. To drive off the SPQR fleet and keep the Coalition flanks exposed for Pact forces to exploit.

Will Green Sun succeed in this endeavor? Or will SPQR put a stop to these merchants, turned soldiers, and send them packing back to Pact airspace?

Nitty Gritty

Streaming channel: http://www.twitch.tv/therobanddanshow

Time will be 3pm EST/12pm PST/8pm GMT Saturday. This may help resolve time issues for you: http://www.worldtimebuddy.com/est-to-gmt-converter

Teams are requested to be in game and start forming up 15mins prior if not sooner. Bully Buddies and Scorekeepers will have lobbies preloaded and ready to go well in advance and passwords will be given out ahead of time too. Teams may join in and start filling their lobby at any time during the event, earlier the better. But they will be requested to hold off starting until all clear is given. The match ref/scorekeeper will handle that.

We will continue to use both the Aerodrome Steam Group and the Skype group to communicate between the teams.

Anyone who has not responded to my personal messages regarding either skype or the steam group needs to do so now so I can add you.

The Bully Boys will attempt to have ships ready to fill in but new ships able to join or alliance ships with players interested in flying an extra match, please state interest.

[Squidslinger Gilder]

Just a heads up...week 5 is going to be a CP battle week to maximize points going into the final. There will be new CP related commander options prepped for it so commanders don't need to hold back. They'll be posted beforehand too and in the skype group.

[GeoRmr]

Just a heads up...week 5 is going to be a CP battle week to maximize points going into the final. There will be new CP related commander options prepped for it so commanders don't need to hold back. They'll be posted beforehand too and in the skype group.

Is there some kind of balance mechanism for point distribution between 550 and 600 point cp maps?

[Squidslinger Gilder]

Just a heads up...week 5 is going to be a CP battle week to maximize points going into the final. There will be new CP related commander options prepped for it so commanders don't need to hold back. They'll be posted beforehand too and in the skype group.

Is there some kind of balance mechanism for point distribution between 550 and 600 point cp maps?

Yeah we were talking about that today in the skype group. Think what we'll do is cap points at 550. Then the new bonuses will come into play. We're also working out a solution for the matches too since we only have 3 CP maps and we'll have a 4th match to play. One idea on the table is putting up a community vote for it. Although, lorewise we could run Refinery twice since the map is supposed to be in the Baronies but we've used it for Yesha in the past. Whatever we do, teams will have advance notice on Week 5.

[RunningTree]

Letters from the Sands #3


Here we fly, battle ready
lookouts wide and engines steady
led by eastern waters glow
dressed in wisps of Firnfeld snow

Time we climbed these cliffs again
and tread the peaks of old terrain
with warming gaze and musing eye
recall the flights that bore us high

Remember the blade on which we brothers swore
oaths that crimson-dyed the shirts we wore
Before our ways dispersed with thoughts untold
those memories left in ice long cold

Back home no shifting dunes did last
as Burren sands engulf the past
In cinder dust of ancient wrecks
slept fragile wings and ragged decks

But willing hands do hold together
wistful hopes to dogged endeavour
Till remnants stirred by winds of war
awaken quick to drum and call

Now hulls to mend and hearts to heal
bound by promise and fresh-forged steel
With vision yet toward the skies
from ash a new-born menace rise.

-

[Squidslinger Gilder]

Going to give commander selections an extension to midnight Friday. Original earlier time was to prep info cards and such for the stream. Since they haven't been used, just going to skip it and give commanders a later due date.

[Cadett]

Nonsensical scribbles page three:

[shaelyn]

"Allies:  Green People?"

aaaaaaahahahahaha <3

PS your sketches are awesome

[Squidslinger Gilder]

In light of the problem with Refinery, gotta address it and options being considered. Hopefully it'll be fixed, but if not I'm going to put in a special option for slowmo. Frankly, we need Refinery for the storyline to progress on Week 5 or we're looking at back to back Raiders and Scrap. Kinda want to avoid that for various reasons. Its a shame we don't have the 4v4 CP map in 3v3 cause that would give another option. But, we're stuck.

Now, the first option would be an immediate pause until the slowmo lifts. The problem comes in, what if teams are capturing and are unable to leave a point due to the slowmo? Its free points and someone is no doubt going to be ticked, especially if it costs them the match. Heck, I would. I'd be up in arms about it because I've been there and lost due to game problems like this.

This'll be harder on the scorekeeper but what we could do is just waive the points obtained during the slowmo incident. Now that works on paper but the game engine won't accept it. So here is the problem with that. This option has issues.

Now the other. Since the CP week will take place after Dan's event which means we'll have more time. We could run it a different way. Basically, if slowmo happens, match is called immediately, then restarted with whatever time is left in the previous match carried over. The scores are carried over too. We just write them down and if the 550 is reached, the match is called whether or not in game points equal 550.

So heres an example:

Match 1:

Team A scores 400, Team B scores 250. Slow mo hits with 10 minutes left to play. Match is called back to lobby.
Teams select Refinery again in lobby, Match is restarted with 10 minutes on the timer.
Say Team A in 10 minutes scores 200 and B scores 50.
Match would be officially called when Team A reaches 150.

Trouble with this is, what if slowmo happens a lot? That is impossible to say. Reason I'm bringing this up here outside of the event group is to question if people have been seeing it frequently multiple times or does it generally take time before the slowmo hits? If it takes time, then this could potentially work.

This would tack on more time but I'm a bit more in favor of it than just a pause since it requires less special rules for the scorekeeper to have to remember.

[Wundsalz]

In light of the problem with Refinery

can you elaborate on "the problem with Refinery? The matches I've played on that map recently went smoothly. I take it it has got something to do with slowmo... but what exactly does happen when?

Match 1:

Team A scores 400, Team B scores 250. Slow mo hits with 10 minutes left to play. Match is called back to lobby.
Teams select Refinery again in lobby, Match is restarted with 10 minutes on the timer.
Say Team A in 10 minutes scores 200 and B scores 50.
Match would be officially called when Team A reaches 150.

This would double the start bias. On CK one team tends to have a huge spawn bonus for the first point(s). Often a team can capture a point before the other team has even got a chance to reach it. It is not unlikely that in the scenario you've described team A would get "free" 150 points.

[Squidslinger Gilder]

Yeah good note Wundsalz. Forgot about that.

Unless the first point is made void. That would mean a 200 sec wait until the next is unlocked. And even then thats going to be tricky to enforce. Bah, back to square one.

If you replay the stream you'll see the slowmo in action. It affects all ships and players, even the casters saw it happening. It used to be a much bigger problem that affected all the maps in the game. I think for a time last year it was real bad then Muse fixed it. The netcode fixes which Muse finally did, should have resolved it, but here we had it happen.

I've seen it more happen in long matches. When things are dragged out, there has been the tendency for this to take place. I suspect it is server related. Like there is some kind of buffer that gets overloaded and then needs a minute or two to clear out. But, Muse can answer it better if you ask them.

Either way, I'd like a plan of action for the event that it may happen. Not that it necessarily will, but just have something ready so teams don't feel as much pain of having a battle turn completely thanks to a game issue. At the very least, a time extension on the match for the time lost to the slowmo. Its just, reacting when it happens. Pause is viable but there would be cases when it might screw someone over no matter what.

[Dementio]

Isn't the timer on top of the screen slowed down during slowmo and thus accurate? Instead of redoing the lobby, couldn't the scorekeeper use the in-game capture point timer to calculate the seconds and substract them from the actual timer, which is paused during the slowmo and then continue normally after slowmo?

From my own experience, slowmo usually happens only once per match, if at all.

[Ightrril]

Its a shame we don't have the 4v4 CP map in 3v3

Would it not be possible to have a couple of people sit in the space captain slots and not actually participate? Just leave the ships in a corner of the map?

[James T. Kirk]

And have them be low-poly ships as not to effect performance too badly.

[Moike]

Isn't the timer on top of the screen slowed down during slowmo and thus accurate? Instead of redoing the lobby, couldn't the scorekeeper use the in-game capture point timer to calculate the seconds and substract them from the actual timer, which is paused during the slowmo and then continue normally after slowmo?

+1 to this. Every other option is unfair to one party - as I could rightfully claim we were winning and in a good position at the time of slowmo. Our opponents have an equal right to claim a comeback could have happened - they had a strong start after all.

Fight through slowmo and adjust / disable lobby timer accordingly is the only fair option