http://hackaday.com/2009/08/28/tradewars-2002-lives/ Last post was in 2009

You and your husband are also IT professionals who create games. I'm not talking about people who can code already, I'm talking about those who's last helper was Twar for Win, or Telemate.

When I first started, it was telnet and a bunch of grid paper taped together on a table mapping out the game. My husband was one of those that used Telix and also used Twar and Telemate. We used TWXProxy to create our server-side scripts. We also learned how to create scripts for our own style of play.

Regardless of who or what we are, we are one of the "older player generation", the ones that were here when this game first came into being. We have seen it grow to where it is now. There have been some great changes, and some that were totally stupid. But it is what it is and we have learned to adjust and work with it.



You have been pointed out that a request will cause a particular issue with a set of scripts and yet you are not really paying attention to that. Instead it is the usual "we want it back in the old days" tirade, etc. Why not try to find a solution that will work for everyone. Has nothing been learned in the last year or so? Is this what Tradewars has become- a debate like a cheap soap opera? If so, then no wonder many have left and not returned.

Haven't we been through all this before? Just another variation of the same things? I'm sure if smack was re opened up we would see all this banter!

Ya but cruncher doesnt listen, there are 5or6 people in this thread that are trying to explain to her, that she isnt the "voice" for returning players. IMO I think she has an ego issue and is trying to drop the skill level of everyone, so she has a chance!!! " If you build it they will come" that isnt the case with TWs cruncher! ROFL

In my opinion she is largely correct. TWX has destroyed Tradewars for newbies and made it difficult for retreads to return.

They log in, and get smoked by CPUs when they leave Fed. Wow, you should all be proud of your prowess. Ugh.

99% of twixie pixies couldnt write the scripts that they use and boast about without the inbuilt TWX database.

Very sad.

Thats why servers have come out with "noob bulider game" to help them get back into the swing of things! By trying to Disabling the rest of us down to that level does nothing for the game!!! Dont get me wrong I dont mind seeing a new version, but limiting everyone is just going to pi$$ everyone off!!!

The TWX database is the key for scripting since many, but not all, scripts query the database.

The fun of scripting isn't smoking the newbies, but using game knowledge to setup a player and then use a script to hit an experienced player (kinda like knowing where a player will be and sitting on the backdoor with a dtorp running). Script wars involving newbies really doesn't prove anything - about game knowledge or the effectivness of a script.

The issue of newbies coming into a hostile game that has been running for a while is a primary issue. The grids are established and corps (or solos) are fighting to protect their grid - even an experienced player will find it difficult to get started. Teach the new/returning players about selecting a game and you will help them more than eliminating delays.

               / Promethius / Enigma / Wolfen /

"A man who has no skills can be taught, a man who has no honor has nothing."

Holy cow, Batman, have we found the answer that we're looking for??


So if this is to be believed, a helper program has destroyed
Tradewars. A free, publicly available helper program, has
ruined the game.

It gives every player the ability to run the same scripts,
or even improve on publicly available ones.
In fact, it kinda makes the game more fair than when only
a handful of people could write, say, Telix scripts... eh Kav?

One toggle, one server, one game...

I really don't see what the harm is, the truely raw newbies aren't using abort display anyway, they don't know how much the game has changed.

I was just going to ask, did anyone give this much resistance when TWX Proxy first appeared? Did people start whining and complaining back then? Did TradeWars get an overhaul to prevent scripting back then?

This argument of how "scripts/TWX Proxy" ruined Tradewars holds the same amount of worth than a pile of cow dung.

This is the problem. You are trying to fix the problem the
wrong way. Making it easier to 'read' a game in progress
and teach how Not to start in a game that is clearly over.

You could, of course, put everything on a toggle in this game.
Most of it already is, but why turn off everything when your
goal is teaching new or returning players.

This is a bad idea.

Nope, no whining, just leaving. You cannot argue that a great many players left '02 - '04.

People jump into advanced MMO games every day. They get shot at, killed, and they go back, try again, and soon they are conquering.
If they can do this in these graphical games, they can do it in Tradewars.
The big thing is in almost all games you can find someone to help you get your feet under you and show you the ropes. But you can't show them all the tips and tricks of the game 20 years ago, and expect them to survive the game today. You teach them the game as it's played today.

They have, but it wasn't because of TWX. It's been around far longer than that.
I think our views on WHY they left, as well as what's gonna bring them back may never come to the same planet.

!