The Ur-Quan Masters Discussion Forum

Hey everyone!  I'm new to this forum, so forgive me if this has been discussed before.

I have been a HUGE fan of both SC and SC2 from the beginning!  I happened upon the UQM project around the release of v.50, and have been following it with great interest since then.  It's awesome to see so many people interested in this project!  Obviously with the release of v.60 there is the new net play option for Super Melee, which is like a dream come true for me.  Hopefully it serves to revive some interest in the game, and it also got me thinking.....

I would love to see some sort of online tournament sponsered by this site, or at the very least, some sort of player registration list / forum to make it easier to find online competition.  I think that sort of thing might really demonstrate the support for a new SC sequal beyond the petition that people are signing.  It would also kind of eliminate the need for people to travel great distances to get together to play SC, which is another post that I've seen here.  So, I guess I'm hoping that other players, and more importantly, the site admins read this post and think it's a good idea.  I think that eventually, if there is enough interest, and tournament participation grows, then some of the mods that are circulating could be incorporated into it as well.  Just a thought.

So, tell me what you think....good idea....bad idea?  Even if things do not pan out with the tournament, or the player list / forum, I'd love to hook up with a few people to play online!

Well, there is the #uqm-arena channel on irc.freenode.org (or was it .net?) that is used as a multiplayer lobby.
You can access it more easily on http://irc.uqm.stack.nl (http://irc.uqm.stack.nl).
As to tournaments, there was the Pkunk Plate organized some months ago:
http://uqm.stack.nl/forum/index.php?topic=3455.0 (http://uqm.stack.nl/forum/index.php?topic=3455.0)

Thanks for the quick response!

Is that URL accurate (http://irc.uqm.stack.nl)?  I'm asking because I am unable to find the page.

Also, it seems that the tournament that you refer to has already run.  Not sure what the outcome was, or if it even ran successfully, but it looked fun.  I'm just thinking that if there was a page on this site that you could go to and set things up (rules,dates, etc), and post results, along with maybe a running leader board of stats for those that placed in the top 3, it would be something that would generate more interest and participation, than just the ad-hoc tourneys that are posted in the forums, or the irc channel.  It would also give some sense to newcomers that there is really a big fan base still out there actively playing the game.  Also, the tournament page could be something that is linked to an automated emailer (mailman) that would notify the people that registered of new events being posted.  If there was enough community interest, maybe it's something that could be run on a weekly basis, or something like that, on a more fixed schedule.

I just think that if things stay "underground" (not everyone uses irc), then fewer people are likely to participate.  The easier it is for people to get involved, then the more people will actually play, and I would love to see more people get involved and ultimately generate more support for writing a sequel.  Just my two cents....

Why not try to do something like that yourself? (:)) Implement those ideas and I'm sure people will be interested and helpful.

Hello Galactus!

I welcome your energies into the competitive melee area.

I organised a league (Chenjesu challenge) and a KO tournament (Pkunk Plate). I had plans for a calendar through-out the year based on a league running quarterly and a KO tourney running monthly.

However the entries for the pkunk plate were not great (four in total!). I was going to hold the Utwig Urn in March but i felt that the numbers werent quite right for a meaningful competition. I still intend to hold a league in very early april though so hopefully we can get a few more show up for that (the Kohr--ah Cup!). I have even compiled official results from offficial games (on a spreadsheet no less!). I have tried to goad my brother into building an online home for my tournaament endeavours (with tournament rules/KO trees etc) but he's a slack-ass.

My goal has been to run competition on Saturday afternoon US time, Sat evening europe time. You might have more luck with a league that runs weekday evenings. I cannot do this as I live in a strange time zone and weekday evenings for most people is weekday middle-of-the night for me (i have job).

I fear though that lust for online SC2 is waning as the uqm-arena as been quiet of late.

A forum would be the best way to get people to play. the current route to meleeville is prohibitive to people who cant be assed with IRC. building a forum, however, is a LOT of work and very difficult. I'm sure Meep-Eep could tell you all about this.

By the way, I also agree that online melee would have broad public appeal and be an ideal way to generate hype for a Star Control sequel.

Your posting has spurred me to new levels of motivation. Maybe I'll attempt to hold the Utwig Urn early April

You don't have to make the forum, there are free versions you can download and even sites with forums already hosted on them you can sign up on.
http://www.proboards.com/index.html
http://www.phpbb.com/

Hey there Cedric!

I would not get too discouraged yet, if I were you.  After all, the network melee option has not been out there for too long.  I'm sure that there are tons of avid SC fans out there that don't even know that this project exists, much less the new network melee option.

I love your ideas for monthly tournaments.  Not sure how the league would work, but I'm all for participating in anything that gets me some time playing against actual humans.  I've only had the cyborg opponent to keep me company for so many years.  This network option is like a breath of fresh air.  I feel like a kid again.  So, whatever you are able to organize, you can count me in!  I'm also trying to get one, or two, of my coworkers to get into this.  Just remember, everything worthwhile takes a little work.

Just read jucce's post....that is a thought as well.  We could do the forum thing for the melees, or build a simple site with schedules/results/rankings, or both....

I have a web server that we can use to post results, even if they are in the form of a spreadsheet right now.  I can extract the data and put it into an HTML table.  I think that it would be cool to come up with some sort of ranking system too.  My philosophy is if you build it, than they will come.  I think the movie was right.  If something was there, and crafted with some thought, then people would participate.  The only thing that I have against something like that, is that it gets away from the idea of "one-stop-shopping".  That's why I think that it would be nice if we could post that kind of thing on this site.  However, I guess a link would do for starters.

Anyway, just some thoughts.  Let me know what you think.  I have a job and a new family too, but I'd be willing to put some work into promoting a great project like this one.

We could add a mailing list to the project at SourceForge for netplay talk, if there's enough interest. The advantage of a mailing list is that once subscribed, people get reminded of UQM whenever a mail comes in, while not everyone checks the UQM forum regularly.

As for "a new forum", adding another section for netplay talks is possible, but with the small amount of netplay discussions atm, I don't think we should do it; too many sections makes this forum look less active than it is, and people are less likely to post on less active forums (or so I would think).
A thread in the "General discussion" section is good enough for now imo.

The mailing list could work, but maybe it should be set up for tournament announcements only.  I mean, if it sent an email to everyone on the list everytime that someone wanted to play a game, then that could be too much email.  I guess the reason for the forum would be more for the ad-hoc requests, as an alternative to the irc option.  If that was really the focus of it, I'm wondering if it would matter that there were a lower number of postings?  People could just post their upcoming availabilty for netplay.  The good part about posting availabilty for net play in a forum would be that it stays up there, even when you are not logged in, as opposed to the irc channel.  Also, people could check the forum from work, and companies like mine block access to irc.  I guess if participation was low over time, then the forum could always be removed, am I right?  Again, I think that the netplay thing is still in its infancy, and needs some time to grow.

Would you be willing to try it on a trial basis, meep-eep?

Yeah, a mailing list would not be for individual matchups, or to help people set up their routers for netplay.

IRC being blocked does not have to be a problem; on http://irc.uqm.stack.nl/ (http://irc.uqm.stack.nl/) you can connect to our IRC channel through your browser.

I don't see the point of having a separate board for Netplay-related discussions right now. It's not as if the General Discussion board is overflowing with Netplay-related threads.

OK, so....no on the seperate forum, and a yes on the mailing list for the scheduling of tournaments only.  Is that right?

If so, how soon would you be able to get the mailing list set up?  I think that Cedric is planning another tournament for early April.

I'll talk about the mailing list with the other core team members. If they agree, and there is enough interest (speak up!), creating the actual mailing list doesn't have to take much time.

When you say speak up, what exactly do you mean?  Will they be polling the community to guage interest in the mailing list at some point?  Or, will the mailing list be created, and then the amount of content dictate if it survives going forward?

I think Meep-Eep is banking on enough folks to read this thread and cry out with enthusiasm

I'm always up for sc fun

Maybe we should plan on getting together on the uqm-arena sometime and setup a game.  I've only been logging in there for the last few days, but there always seem to be about 10 people logged in.  Problem is that few if any respond to any chat.  I think that they stay logged in to sort of keep a history of any activity there, and that's about it.

In any case, let me know when you are available to play, and we can plan something.  That goes for anyone else who reads this.  I'm usually available and willing to play a few quick games on any given night, and I'm usually home and up late (due in part to having small children).  I'm in the Mountain Time Zone, but if nothing else, I would be willing to schedule some weekend competition.  Just let me know.

Good to hear. I find that Sunday is a good day to find people on - but it can be hit or miss. Weekday evening would also be i would suspect but i am at work when the world (US/europe)  is having its evening.

There are about 4 or 5 people who are ALWAYS logged in but NEVER do anything. There are a few reliable ones thet pop on every now and play, or say stuff (notibly Tiberian, Shiver, Elvish_Pillager, AusMe, AngusThermopyle, AmigaNut & edmund).

I wont be around this weekend but i will the one after - in fact i will probaly hold a KO tournament then.

Really?  Where do you live?

Yeah, I actually managed to strike up a game with edmund last night.  He was nice enough to endulge me, even though he warned me of the lag beforehand (being that I'm in the States and he is in NZ).  The lag wasn't horrible, but it was potentially annoying.  So, I have a feeling that he didn't give it his all in the interest of ending things a bit more quickly.  Definitely a good player though.  That leads me to a question....

When things are laggy, do you increase the network delay at all, or do you keep it at the default (2)?

In any case, hopefully some of those people get involved in your next tourney.

*Whistles innocently*

The biggest problem with UQM Netplay is, that it's a one-on-one only game. On other games, multiple people can join servers, and that'll make sure that *if* there's activity, it's all concentrated on one server.
Another problem is, that when I *do* want to play, I can't because there's no-one to play against, and if someone asks me to play a round, I've likely already found some other thing to do, thus I won't have 'time' for some Netplay.

To 'fix' UQM Netplay, it'd be nice to concider any of the following:
*Change the way servers are currenty handled: instead of letting one person host and the other join a game, make it so that there are (dedicated) servers where multiple people can join, and from which people will be able to spectate games. Possibly, you could add 'gamemodes' or servertypes:
-Standard one-on-one: Whenever a round ends, all clients are put into spectator mode. As soon as two people decide to 'join the game', a one-on-one round between them starts.
-Credit round: All clients are given a certain ammount of credits (say, 40) when the join the server. Games are being played constantly, and at any time, people can decide to spawn into the game with a certain ship (which they have to buy) after anyone in the game loses their ship. Say, when two people are fighting (Avatar vs. Dreadnought), and one person tends to lose (say the Dreadnought), a third, spectating player can decide to wait in the queue with an Orz Nemesis. Once one of the two dueling players dies (the one piloting the Dreadnought), he is put into spectator mode and the guy waiting in queue with a Nemesis spawns, ready to battle the Avatar. This way, there'll be a non-stop game going. You win credits for destroying an enemy (more credits awarded for every following kill), and every minute or round or something, spectators will get credits so they'll be able to buy ships later on. Disconnecting and reconnecting will not give you the starting moneys again.
*More stuff, but I have to go now.. ;)

Ok, I'll make the mailing list thing a poll.

As for noone being active on #uqm-arena. There are indeed a few people who rarely play there, but there are also those who are waiting for someone to show an interest in playing, but while they wait, they're doing something else, and are not immediately responding. So logging in, waiting for someone to say something, and then logging out again, doesn't work. Also, in my experience, if you want to find people to play against, it helps to announce that you want to play, instead of saying "anyone there?".
And the activity varies with the time of the day. But I agree that it would be better if there were enough players there so that there's always someone there to play against.

Yeah he's my brother as it happens, i'm in NZ too - same town, different suburb.

Looks to be a positive (if embryonic) response to Meep-eep's poll which is encouraging. I'll post info about the next tourney soon.

I wont be around at the arena till about the 31st or 1st regardless.

Yeah, I guess that I thought being logged in to the uqm-arena meant that you were intersted in some net play.  So, it would follow that if anyone was there to respond, that they would be interested in playing a game.  However, I will try being more direct about my interest to play, and see if that helps.

About more people being logged in there, maybe a link to the web/cgi page for that channel would help direct people there, especially those that do not use an irc client.  It is a nice utility, why not advertise it a bit?

Yeah, I haven't seen the poll yet, but I will definitely cast my vote.  Thanks for setting that up Meep-Eep!

Cedric: I look forward to your tournament post.  However, how do you deal with the lag?

About the lag: it is sometimes an issue, usually not though