ClonesGame.com Forums

[rt]

We are excited to announce that Clones will be featured in the upcoming BaseLAN21 event in our home city on May 13th-15th! The Clones Tournament will be configured as double-elimination, 1-vs-1, best 2 of 3 matches. There will be a cash prize for the top players, still to be determined. We are discussing permitting remote entries, although lag may be a factor, please reply if you are interested in this so we can get an idea of the numbers.

To help prepare for the tournament we are planning to hold multiplayer jams each weekend up to the event at the following times:
Noon (CST) - Click here to find your city.
8pm (CST) - Click here to find your city.

You don't need to be playing in the tournament to take part in some multiplayer madness, simply join a server (or start your own) at the times above. Play for fun, play on teams, or create a private 2-player-only server and train your brain. Any way you configure it multiplayer Clones is an exhilarating experience! You don't even need the full game, you can download the demo and join in on selected maps.

As added incentive we will be giving away a free Steam key for the full game for players that enter the Clones Tournament. Quantity is limited so if you live in the area please pre-register today and we'll send you a key once we have confirmed your entry into the Clones Tournament.

[Simon]

I should be able to remote-join the tournament, if they don't mind me exiting and reconnecting after each game. >_>

The weekly jams are Saturday, 17:00 UTC and then Sunday, 01:00 UTC.

-- Simon

[tom]

if they don't mind me exiting and reconnecting after each game. >_>

The v1.30 patch will be released by then that will fix the problem you are having.

[Gemma]

Awesome. I'll join in with the multiplayer jams. I was pretty rubbish at multiplayer last time I tried it but it's a lot of fun anyhow. I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried it yet. It's a nice way to get more involved in the community too.

[rt]

Fyi, i won't be around for the later timeslot but i will be online for the noon (CST) jam tomorrow.

[rt]

We are still waiting for confirmation about allowing remote players into the Clones Tournament next weekend, probably with a token entry fee of ~$5 CND. The prize money is being tentatively set at $100 for 1st, $50 for 2nd, and $25 for 3rd and 4th, depending on the number of entries.

We are in the process of deciding which maps to include for the Tournament, i was hoping for some suggestions (Simon? geoo? Dexter?). We want to select 8 maps, ranging from easy to hard which will be played in sequence up to the finals. Thus everyone's first match will be on the "easiest" map to help players who may not be that familiar with Clones. The final map should be fast paced and fun to watch.

Also, it would be good to know what are the properties that make up a good tournament map in general, and specifically in Clones. If you have any experience in competitive gaming we would appreciate some input. Thanks.

[CCX]

It seems like Octogame has become quite the classic, it's hard not to include it. Simon also once said he thinks "Lurk" is a good educational map.

I quite liked "Arctic Shift" the few times I played it, but I do wonder whether it's slightly better for 2v2 rather than 1v1. So maybe "Seasick" would be a better choice instead. On that note, levels with light clones like "Atomic" are probably not suitable, or at least is hard.

One question is, is it better for the tournament to showcase different gameplay modes, or is that too much for potential "new" players? (Then again, do we really expect people signing up with $$ for Clones tournament and not familiar with the game?) If there is no concern about featuring different game modes, then I think we might want to consider throwing in Cage, Touchdown, and Buccaneers.

A counter-argument to my suggestions may be that many of my suggested maps are perhaps too well-played and would give seasoned players a huge advantage (but then again, it's a tournament!). Nevertheless, on that note, I think you should definitely pick one map that is least played. Possibly even one that is created just for the tournament.

[rt]

It seems like Octogame has become quite the classic, it's hard not to include it. Simon also once said he thinks "Lurk" is a good educational map.

Yes these two are great choices, in fact with Octogame the players can also choose which gravity they want to start at giving a tweak to the match.

I quite liked "Arctic Shift" the few times I played it, but I do wonder whether it's slightly better for 2v2 rather than 1v1. So maybe "Seasick" would be a better choice instead. On

I also like those two, but Arctic Shift is harder for 1 vs 1, perhaps it would make a good final map though?

One question is, is it better for the tournament to showcase different gameplay modes, or is that too much for potential "new" players? (Then again, do we really expect people signing up with $$ for Clones tournament and not familiar with the game?)

I expect at least a few local players who are not familiar with the game because of the free copy incentive. If they have already entered the event for another game then also entering Clones gets them a free game for no additional cost. For this reason, i'd like to stick to Corral The Clone mode for this tournament.

Possibly even one that is created just for the tournament.

We do have a few maps lying around that didn't make it into jam packs yet. I'll post some screenshots to gather impressions.

[geoo]

There's been a bunch of topics I've been wanting to reply to during the last month, but for some reason didn't get around to, like the lag topic, but things seem to be progressing nicely there.

If there's one level I'd recommend to be included, then it's definitely Cage (or its successor Rage to ensure the level doesn't drag along like in that one video , but the behaviour is unexpected the first time playing, so perhaps not...).
In that regard, I remember you suggesting to record a video of the 42-second route to that level with Simon (doesn't matter whether Cage or Rage there, because the Rage effects are only induced after 58 seconds). I'd love to, if I get recording to work and someone uploads it to YouTube and adds the commentary.

Apart from that, I don't have much of a preference with the set of other levels, I remember some good games on Hausdorff, Below, Smores, Lurk and Scorch, though for the last ones it was 2v2 matches and it's also got teleporters whose destinations aren't obvious the first time playing. Though I guess players can be expected to have had a look at the level before playing.
I'd also avoid light clone levels, as they require a lot of attention, which could be a bit too much for new players. Like Touchdown can be fun 3v3 or with even more players, but I wouldn't want to play it one on one.

For the record, this is like the one weekend this semester I'm not at home, so I can't participate. Oh well. Perhaps next time around.
On the upside, you can assume that my level suggestions aren't biased towards one player in particular.

[CCX]

I expect at least a few local players who are not familiar with the game because of the free copy incentive. If they have already entered the event for another game then also entering Clones gets them a free game for no additional cost. For this reason, i'd like to stick to Corral The Clone mode for this tournament.

Hmm, interesting point. But I do worry whether they'd get confused about the controls if they were to jump straight into the matches. I guess other games probably don't fare much better in this regard, on the other hand, unlike popular genres like FPS, there aren't that many other games similar to Clones, so for a new player there may not be a precedent to fall back on for learning the controls. And the only "tutorial" in the game right now is 2 whole CloneMaster sections in the singleplayer pilgrimage, which isn't going to work for the event.

I guess the question is how (or perhaps "if?") we expect the experience to be for someone signing up for the match who's not familiar with the game. Do they get some prep time beforehand to learn about the controls, and if so, how do we expect them to do so? (on their own? with a live person to help with? etc.) While I'm aware the main draw in that case is more to get them hooked to the game than anything else, to increase the chance of that, we should make sure they don't end up getting too hung up over the basics of gameplay and controls to enjoy.