all blowups mode: overlapped carts can wipe out race leaders

all blowups mode: overlapped carts can wipe out race leaders

Postby krash » 05 May 2019, 02:15

I think it is best explained by example:

Tux, Gnu and Gimp are competing in a race.

Tux is leading the race by a short margin, with Gimp closely behind.
Waaay back, Gnu is trying to recover. Gnu made some early mistakes and is hopelessly behind. Plus, it is Gnu's least favorite track.
Gnu happens to have saved a cake for bad times. In case somebody gets hungry.
Tux has been executing a flawless race so far, and is now closing in on Gnu at a rapid pace. In fact, Tux is about to overlap Gnu.
But hold on a second. Gnu notices Tux. Growingly frustrated Gnu serves some cake. Hey, if I can't win this, why should you? :think:

As a result Gimp is winning the race, while Tux is dropping back to fourth position. Gnu has a terrible day and finishes last anyway.


It could have happened the other way round as well:

Tux closes in on Gnu, fully aware of the potential threat.
Luckily though Tux recently acquired Cake as well. To avoid complications Tux decides to clear the path and fires.
Gnu is now even further behind scratching the head and thinking "What the heck, I was last anyway, was it really necessary?".


What are your thoughts on this?

  • Is it just the nature of the game mode?
  • Is it something that could be tweaked?
  • If yes, how could it be tweaked?


Regarding the last bullet, 2 ideas:

The item distribution could be changed. For example: when more than half a lap behind, blowups are no longer available at all. Instead the player receives items which help to catch up (zippers, plungers).
I realize though that the item distribution is already quite complex and I am aware of the "rework of powerup probabilities" for release 1.0. It certainly would add further complexity.

The second idea would be to have the cake misfire on opponents that are a lap apart (might be tricky to implement though).
A bowling ball could simply bounce off. Both would work like the "circling stars" protecting after being hit.
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Re: all blowups mode: overlapped carts can wipe out race lea

Postby tempAnon093 » 05 May 2019, 02:59

krash {l Wrote}:
  • Is it just the nature of the game mode?


I personally treat the Normal Race as a recreational party mode more than a truly competitive sport like time trial modes, so I value inclusiveness and fun a bit more than fairness. Maybe this could be an issue in ranked.
For normal races I do think it's the nature of the game mode. Being Gnu in that scenario is hardly much fun when you're losing by an entire lap. At this point, interacting with Tux and Gimp (Wilber) is the most fun they could have. I wouldn't take that away from them.

Tux may feel cheated, but Gimp could also have been hit instead. Tux tried to overtake a player and was unlucky. It's always a risk to overtake, even in first place! They could gamble by putting on their brakes and let Gimp overtake and take the cupcake instead (but regret it if Gnu has no items to throw at Gimp :P )

As you mention, there is a reverse which would be quite mean, yes. I don't think that's a big issue though, nor do I think is it very likely to happen.

I see this as a situation which should not be changed.
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Re: all blowups mode: overlapped carts can wipe out race lea

Postby Alayan » 06 May 2019, 00:51

Being exploded by someone a lap behind is very annoying when in a close race against someone else. It happens more often because of someone purposefully trying to attack players in the front than because of someone racing legitimately, however.

And doing a "preventive explosion" of a slow player about to be lapped is also common. I avoid doing it when I think there is no risk of drivers behind catching up, but when there is a risk I go for it. And I assume it's not very fun for the player who is at the receiving end.

Ideally, we'd have some ranked servers with rating limits (max or min) so that strong and weak players don't drive against each other (it's not fun for anybody), but the player base is not big enough to allow it.
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Re: all blowups mode: overlapped carts can wipe out race lea

Postby eltomito » 07 May 2019, 12:44

Any kart you're trying to overtake can blow you up if they have the cakes to do it. What the good players do, as far as I've seen, is put up a bubble gum shield before passing others regardless of their position. I think that even the slower players are part of the race so they should be able to participate in it using the same means as the faster players.
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Re: all blowups mode: overlapped carts can wipe out race lea

Postby tempAnon093 » 07 May 2019, 23:37

eltomito {l Wrote}: What the good players do, as far as I've seen, is put up a bubble gum shield before passing others regardless of their position.


I agree with your position on this. It's worth noting that the concern here more about what happens if they don't have a shield and they only have weapons. A shield is a great way to avoid the issues but it requires some luck and keeping it for a long time (which is a valid strategy I guess) so I honestly don't know if that would happen more or less often then one of them successfully attacking the other.
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