New round changes / updates

[Exousia]

Related to the data file idea? Excellent. 

[Seb]

I'd like to raise a rather important suggestion:
Now that HPD is becoming harder to get, AP is being somewhat limited, hardware is becoming harder to earn, and research is getting diminishing returns,
I think it's time to start thinking *again* about shared servers, the major bonuses being in research.
I think that it will encourage teamplay, and help research along.
now, if research is SUPPOSED to be slower and more tedious now (which could be a good idea!), then by all means, please ignore the statement and tell me. 
Now, if it's not supposed to be TO hard to research, I think shared servers would do well to help it move along, and for once, (heheh) we could 'group research' something effectively, which would be a great incentive to be in a group.

I think it could work like this:
A is in a group with B and C.
A offers a shared server with B.
B gets a message saying something along the lines of:
'A has proposed a Shared Server, for X (HPD) you can accept'
B hits the conveniently placed 'accept' button at the end of the letter and pays X (increasing server costs now, so it's not 10k. :D )
they both pay 50-55% of the price (yes, up to 110% of the orginal price, if for some reason that needs be.)
Then, since C is also in the group, B invites him, he pays 50-55% (or w/e) and joins.

[Now, with 3 people sinking money into ONE server, you need restrictions, I suggest that hardware costs slightly more to buy for anyone part of the server, or research could cost more or something]

A decides to leave the group, and so, clicks 'abandon ownership'
now, B and C run it.

Extras: Localhosts could be distincted as
idea1: LocalHost: person who proposed server
Admin1Localhost1: Accepted the server
Admin2/Localhost2: third owner
etc. etc.
idea2: For each person with ownership,  prices could be increased by a certain percentage: ?%
Idea3: groups of 3 or more could choose to vote off a disruptive  member.

what do you think?

[termul]

- version increase to NPC server with each new server / upgrade is by 0.5 version. Note: On an update the server hardware is updated with the new hardware. If the server has been hit by malware and values are starting values, the server still gets full benefit of a new server with new hardware as the corps upgrade it again. The old hardware is simply removed and replaced with better hardware.

^^ For a second I thought this might be the solution to the HDD overload problem, but wait a minute .... how are we supposed to upload/install malware if HDD is full ?

Guess there's really nothing we can do except waiting for delete missions to finish ...

[Donn]

- version increase to NPC server with each new server / upgrade is by 0.5 version. Note: On an update the server hardware is updated with the new hardware. If the server has been hit by malware and values are starting values, the server still gets full benefit of a new server with new hardware as the corps upgrade it again. The old hardware is simply removed and replaced with better hardware.

^^ For a second I thought this might be the solution to the HDD overload problem, but wait a minute .... how are we supposed to upload/install malware if HDD is full ?

Guess there's really nothing we can do except waiting for delete missions to finish ...

The people who are doing missions now (bots and non-bots) have another advantage..

=> Before completing the delete process, make sure you have a File Share ready to complete download/ get installed.

There are only 200 secret servers (but they are upgraded so overall available Kbs will be even higher than last round I think..) and a lot of servers have too small HDD at the moment to even put Virii on.

If there would be enough active players.. A nice PvP war could get started but now its just divided among 4 or 5 players.. (actually only 2)

Pvp wars are also stimulated by the fact that its so hard to research high protection software and so easy to overload those breaker softwares with the help of your hardware..

(on their own) Protection 0 - 1 Breakers (and Hardware)..

Easy to hack everyone so power to the Log Deleter and Undeleter! All hail the Log Software!

At the moment I don't see a lot of people researching the breakers but mass researching Protection and Log software.

Due to the low activity of HP, the active players barely have any AP left..

All those missions, all those secret servers waiting to be filled with Virii, all those private servers hackable.. Insane..

People think its a boring round but the gameplay has totally changed since last round..

You have the people who research in attempt to be unhackable and people who are just waiting for the researchers to finish..

Even if you have the highest Log Deleter: 1 day you'll make a mistake and they'll know.. New strategies (for me they're new anyway..) have been found to set up traps to get the IP's of the "Untouchables"..

Its too bad for the new players and also for veteran players like me, who missed the early days of HP, that we didn't get the chance to play the game like the core players did in round 1.. Guys like Ebolla and Sovietpride and HJ and..

Before round 2 started, I read those early posts again and it looked so exciting.. Too bad..  

[jager]

just a question to that post. Why would anyone in their good mind use public server to upload a virii for money? Sure, you can gate few k HPD, but eventually in few days server will either:
a) have a mission to delete that virii
b) have someone who will just delete or break it because he/she can
c) have an IP change (sir Emi announced that) and you will loose that virii.

Right now farms are much more efficient. You just have to spend few days investing all you get from virii upgrading that farm and installing more virii That doesn't bring points but in a month - you are full of HPD every day.

Everything else - I agree with what you posted, Donn.

lpJ.

[Donn]

No comment 

[DAcs]

i think this update were brought this game more closer to reality. It was obvious that on reality when workers on a server detect virii they`ll take some measures to stop them and to stop hackers. It`s a cool idea improving fw protect and pw protect, and ip change... it's a measure of that company to protect their servers from hackers.
I think i`m not the only one who thought that this game became to boring. I found secret servers which were worst than a beginner's server due malware bombs.
To get more closer to reality, it should be cost ap any mission which weren`t asked by provider(true soft light) to cost ap. And completing missions for true soft light to provide some ap(small amounts, or direct proportional with the difficulty of that mission). In game your server connection to internet is hosted by True Soft light, and doing traffic on will actually make them spend their resources, that`s why is existing AP to stop a player abuse by true soft light free services.
I`m totally agree with Sir Emi with his updates

And last update wish that hash code which isn`t require for a player to introduce a code when it`s expire is awesome. This is the first game from all i`ve played which doesn`t require to its player to introduce a code, or clicking on a image as an antibot system. Jus clicking on game butons automatly send that hash code to server.

[jager]

Problem now is that you just can not complete some of higher paying missions. Servers resets every 160 hours (+-30 hours), while deleting a v13 decryptor takes much, much, much longer. And after reset your mission just vanished ... gone ... without a trace. Now you see it in your task list, now you don't.

Most of those servers are just existing. Almost no one is using them anymore - they have only one task on them - server reset.
Most of players won't even search and break those servers as it is fruitless - you loose AP for nothing - perhaps you will find a good software on them, most likely not. And if you can't do anything on that server (remember - uploading takes time and time is running out with server reset) - why bother doing any PvP on servers?

Well - at least there is more PvP on gateways now. People hack eachother for software, farms and such. But if that is the whole point - let's just cancel all the public servers and have only gateways. Don't forget to change game description then, though ...

lpJ.

[Araeus]

Secret server IP change has done more to kill PVP than help it, and it was looking so good with the decreased number of secret servers too...

Static secret servers means they are actually worth infecting/running missions on, if it's worth doing it'll be worth it for people to attack you and try to stop you because they want to do the same thing...

Seriously emi, I barely even play the game anymore because of this update... makes it feel like any progress I make except on my own farm and gateway is worthless because it's just gonna be erased in a week anyway...

[termul]

I think the reason for this update was to let starting and/or lower ranking players have a bigger chance to find a place to install their own virii (without taking risks to desinfect or capture already taken servers first). From this point of view this is succesfull update.

On the other hand: I have to agree that the servers disappear to rapidly. There's no point at all to install virii on secret servers, not even for the lower ranking players (their uploads will take even longer due to lower bandwidth).
I hope Emi will do something about this. I would suggest a timer in the region of 500 hours (3 weeks).

[Exousia]

Perhaps we should be splitting the difference and have half the secret servers be static and the other half be dynamic as in this update.

[Sin15698]

I think a 50-50 split would be good, so long as the change was a long time, the 3 weeks between changes sounds good to me. It could take a low level player a week to upload a virus and then they would have 2 weeks to get profit.

[Araeus]

How about this, I don't know the breakup of Secret Servers as far as Truelight vs Corps, but the Corps SS IP's should be static, and the Truelight should jump around as if they are trying to stay hidden and keep the Corps from pinning them down.

In that case you could alter the owners of the servers so 1/3 to 1/2 of them will IP change and the rest stay static.

[Donn]

The moderators are aware of the problems that are caused by this update.

We are keeping a close eye on this topic, hoping that you will help eachother and perhaps find a good idea that could be/should be implemented.

Realize that your new moderators were ordered by Sir Emi, to tell him about anything that should be fixed / implemented urgently.

Feed us with your ideas and information. Please..

[Sin15698]

I don't know if this is urgent... But nobody can make money unless they have a farm...