Bombs Away Reloaded - Heat 1 - Game On!

[banjo1985]

I’ve been running this game intermittently for years, time to bring it back yet again.

Bombs Away is a simple game, loosely based on FPS Deathmatch's and the Frag Boardgame, where you must blow the other players to kingdom come to win! I'm looking for 6-10 players to get this Heat underway, and any extra players will be allocated to Heat 2 if there is enough interest to warrant more than one game.

With enough interest, more than one heat will occur at the same time, and a league table or knockout format could be set up for a bit more healthy competition. A knockout would happen if we got enough players for two heats: top 4 players from each heat going through to an 8-player final round. A league table would happen if there were enough heats to make a knockout tournament unrealistic. Rules have been updated after feedback from the last time I ran this, so hopefully the balance will be almost there!

Play will take place on this rather snazzy (hardly) 10x10 grid:

{table]|A_|B_|C_|D_|E_|F_|G_|H_|I_|J_
1||||||||||
2||||||||||
3||||X||||||
4||||X||||||
5||||X|X|X||||
6||||X||||||
7||||||||||
8|||||||X|X||
9||X||||||||
10||||||||||[/table]

X = A wall or other object that blocks line of sight.

To join in just state your interest here and do the following:

Pick a starting square in a PM to me (try to avoid the wall squares), and state the ability you pick from the four below in your sign-up post!

Run Like Hell – You can move two squares per round instead of one.

Cluster Bombs – You can target two adjacent squares with a bomb attack rather than one.

Sniper Bombs – Your bombs have a maximum range of six rather than four.

I’m Bruce Lee! – If you end the turn on the same square as another player, you frag them with your amazing kung-fu skills, then teleport to a random place up to three squares away.

A round will last around 48 hours, depending on my internet access. If you don’t post an action in this time, you’ll just stand around like a lemon.

Each round each player can move one square and shoot at a square a maximum of four squares away, resolved from where everyone begins their turn. Shooting is affected by line of sight, from where you start the turn. Each player will have chosen a starting ability that can bypass these limits in some way, as per the ability choices above. You can move and shoot diagonally, and you do not have to move and/or shoot if you don’t wish too, but you need to post to say that you are taking no action. These actions will be posted in the thread, so that you each know what the others are doing, but not where they actually are, at least not without some educated guesswork and keeping a close eye on the action. Shots will be resolved using starting positions for the turn, not your finishing position.

- Example action: Banjo fires at squares B4 and B5, then moves up one square.

This gives enough information to give the game some tactics, but not enough to give anyone’s exact position away too easily.

If you lose track of where you are at any point, send me a PM.

If you target a space where another player stands you score a frag! You also get to choose one of the starting abilities that you don’t already have as an extra ability.

In the biggest change to the previous game, when more than one player would score a frag on the samte target, only the player who posted first in the round would get the frag. Hopefully this will remove the incentive to wait for other people to post before making your own move.

Kill Streaks

If you kill more than one person without getting fragged yourself, any subsequent kills after the first will not give you an ability from the starting list. Instead you will receive one of the more powerful abilities (allocated randomly) below:


o Fleeing Coward – You can move three squares each turn and still throw a bomb. Prerequisite: Run Like Hell.
o Dragon Breath – Instead of shooting you can hit every square adjacent to you with an attack. Prerequisite: I’m Bruce Lee.
o Super Bombing Arm – Your shots have a maximum range of 8. Prerequisite: Sniper Bombs.
o Machine Gun Bombs – You can target three squares with an attack, all of which must be adjacent to each other. Prerequisite: Cluster Bombs.
o X-ray Specs – Your bombs ignore line of sight.
o Steel Codpiece – You can take two hits before you get fragged.
o Cool Hawkeye Costume – You can shoot twice if you don’t move. This ability stacks with other multiple target abilities, such as Cluster Bombs.
o Anti-Gravity Parachute Pants – You can move onto wall squares and fire from them at your leisure.
o Caltrops – One use only – Deploy caltrops in three adjacent squares to your position. Any opponent that enters one of these squares will not be able to move in their next turn.
o Teleport – One use only. Use instead of moving and shooting to teleport to any non-wall square on the map this turn.
o Proximity Mine – One use only. Drop a proximity mine in an adjacent square instead of firing. This mine will remain in that square even if you get fragged, until an opponent moves into the same square. The mine will explode, killing them, as well as anyone adjacent to them, and scoring you a frag!
o Grenade – One use only. Throw a grenade up to your maximum shooting range. The grenade will frag anyone in the target square, as well as anybody adjacent. This power up can be fired over walls.

When you get fragged you reappear in a randomised respawn location at the beginning of the next round, losing any abilities earnt from previous frags. You will be able to act normally in the round you respawn. Well, as normally as you can manage, anyway.

First to 5 frags is the winner! If two or more players reach 5 frags in the same round, the winner will be the player who died the least. If this is also a tie, the player who spent the fewest turns standing around like a lemon will win.

Want clarification on a specific rules point? Then check The Saposhiente Q&A below for an answer! If it's not there, feel free to ask me!

Also, further answers to other questions can be found in this post.

Spoiler

Show

Is line of sight determined by tracing a line or by counting squares?
A combination of both. You need to be able to both trace a line to your target square from where you start the turn, and be able to count up to four squares to it.

If the latter, can the second bomb from cluster bombs hit a spot that you do not have line of sight to?
Nope, line of sight is needed to every square you fire at, unless you're wearing X-Ray Specs.

Can the second bomb from cluster bombs go one farther than your range?
Nope, all shots must be in your range, whether that's four, six or unlimited squares.

Can you knowingly target an illegal space with a bomb? If so, will there be an announcement? If so, will your name be revealed?
You can if you like. If you do there will be an announcement at the end of turn, saying Some shots this turn hit walls or Some players target squares were out of range. No names will be revealed however.

What about moving in an illegal direction?
If you try and move into a wall space or outside of the confines of the map, then there'll be a note in the turn update, saying Someone walked into a wall, not naming anybody. You can't really move any other illegal way, as you just post your direction of movement and number of squares moved if you can move more than one, so it's pretty easy for other players to see if you're trying to move further than your abilities allow.

Is the distribution of possible squares from I'm Bruce Lee-teleport even? Can you be teleported to your own square by I'm Bruce Lee?
Yes they are, you have an even chance of moving to any square within range after the power activates. You cannot however be teleported to the same square. But you can end up on a square already occupied by another opponent.

Do Cluster Bombs and Machine Gun Bombs stack?
Nope. If you have Cluster Bombs, then frag someone and end up with Machine Gun Bombs, you have three shots, not five. However, the Marksman upgrade would stack, meaning that if you didn't move you could fire a total of six shots in two groups of three adjacent squares.

Can you choose your respawn square?
No, when fragged, players are PM'd with a random square where they respawn. You can't respawn where another player is standing however.

Do Marksman and Machine Gun Bombs stack? What about Marksman and Cluster Bombs?
Partly answered above. Both would stack with Marksman.

So, anyone interested in a silly PM-box friendly game of gruesome death? When we have enough players the game will begin!

Heat 1 – Players 10/10

{table]Player|Ability|Frags|Deaths|Lemons|Upgrades
Zjoot|Cluster Bombs|0|1|0|
Internet Flea|I'm Bruce Lee|2|0|0|Cluster Bombs, Cool Hawkeye Costume
Fleeing Coward|Run Like Hell|0|0|0|
Elemental|Sniper Bombs|0|0|0|
SuperDark33|Cluster Bombs|0|0|0|
Onionbreath|Sniper Bombs|0|1|0|
Amidus Drexel|Cluster Bombs|0|0|0|
HypoSoc|Cluster Bombs|0|0|0|
Heretic|I'm Bruce Lee|0|0|1|
Saposhiente|Sniper Bombs|0|0|0|[/table]

[Zjoot]

I remember enjoying this last time...in!

[Internet Flea]

This looks enjoyable. In.

(I'm eager to see Rakkoon join and use alliances to break the game. )

[Fleeing Coward]

In, I like rigged games where I start with more abilities than everyone else

[Elemental]

Sounds fun. I shall give it a go.

*sends PM with starting permission*

And for an ability, I'll take Sniper Bombs. That can't backfire now, can it?

[super dark33]

It would be an honour to play this game!

[onionbreath]

Sounds awesome. I'll start with Sniper Bombs.

[Zjoot]

I'll take Run like Hell as my ability.

Question: does the range include your square, or is it your square plus four/six/whatever?
And is Run Like hell two squares in the same direction, or could you move, say, southeast and then east?

EDIT: And my starting square is E4

[Internet Flea]

EDIT: And my starting square is E4

What a coincidence, so is mine.

Oh by the way, I'm Bruce Lee!

[super dark33]

Ill start in F6 with the cluster bombs ability.

[Amidus Drexel]

Ooh, sounds like fun! I'll start with cluster bombs.

[HypoSoc]

Starting squares are secret by pm Me thinks. I'd like to join with Cluster Bombs. When do we send them?

[Saposhiente]

How do the Parachute Pants interact with firing at walls and the announcement that happens when you do so?
How do the Parachute Pants interact with line of sight, particularly if you enter square D5?
Do Super Bombing Arms triple bombs all have to be adjacent to each other (i.e. in a triangle) or do you just have to have each bomb adjacent to at least one other bomb (so either a line or a triangle)?
Does square A10 have line of sight to square C8? (The line passes through the exact corner of a wall)
With bombs happening in post order such that faster posters win ties, what if two players are standing on the same space (without IBL) and both bomb their own squares? (If only one person gets a frag, this could lead to unfavorable race conditions, where the person whose schedule is closest to Banjo's wins)
EDIT: Removed some questions because you answered them at http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...1&postcount=30 but forgot to copy them to the OP.

[Zjoot]

That answers one of my questions...and I asked the exact same one last time apparently.

[banjo1985]

Hurray for players! Still two spots left before Heat 2 would need to open, though it looks like interest won't be high enough to make that possible. I'll leave recruiting up for another day or two to see if we get any more.

FC - I think I can guess what starting power you want, but would you mind confirming you want to run around like a headless chicken?

Anyone who hasn't PM'd me their starting square, please do so in the next day or two.

I'll answer questions in the next post, and link it to the OP for quick reference.

[banjo1985]

Question: does the range include your square, or is it your square plus four/six/whatever?
And is Run Like hell two squares in the same direction, or could you move, say, southeast and then east?

As Sapo said, I think thsi got answered in the last game, but I will do so here too for easier reference:

Range does not include the square you stand in, so it's your square +4, +6, or +8 depending on your bombs.

Run Like Hell is two square in any direction, and can be in two different directions if you want. Heck, you can even use the second part of your move to move back to the square you started, though why you'd ever want to is beyond me.

How do the Parachute Pants interact with firing at walls and the announcement that happens when you do so?
Anyone can fire at a space containing a wall, but there's no reason too unless someone gets some Parachute Pants. The only time a shot from a wall space will be obvious from the update is when the firer scores a frag, which will announce it as a 'Death From Above', or some other apt phrase.

How do the Parachute Pants interact with line of sight, particularly if you enter square D5?
Yeah, that square is a doozy, isn't it? The other wall squares will makes whoever's standing upon them see in all directions from the wall. D5 is more complicated, a player standing on that wall will be able to see the left hand side of the arena fine, but can only see the right side along two diagonal lines.

Do Super Bombing Arms triple bombs all have to be adjacent to each other (i.e. in a triangle) or do you just have to have each bomb adjacent to at least one other bomb (so either a line or a triangle)?
Triangle or line, as long as each shot is adjacent to at least one other.

Does square A10 have line of sight to square C8? (The line passes through the exact corner of a wall)
Looks pretty clear to me from the map. No line of sight between those two squares.

With bombs happening in post order such that faster posters win ties, what if two players are standing on the same space (without IBL) and both bomb their own squares? (If only one person gets a frag, this could lead to unfavorable race conditions, where the person whose schedule is closest to Banjo's wins)
Would two players decide to bomb themselves? I guess if they had a Codpiece it could work. Okay, this would be an exception to the prioritisation rule, so that both would get the frag for their opponent. Seems the fairest way of all alternatives.

EDIT: Removed some questions because you answered them at http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...1&postcount=30 but forgot to copy them to the OP.
And now with that link, they will be accessible from the OP, thanks for that.

Saposhiente, why am I not surprised you had multiple questions? Are you going to join?

[Fleeing Coward]

No, I'm Fleeing Coward!
What do you mean I'm not allowed to cheat?
Fine I'm Bru...n like hell...

[banjo1985]

Starting squares are secret by pm Me thinks. I'd like to join with Cluster Bombs. When do we send them?

Now please, as soon as you can via PM, just a message with your starting square.

[Saposhiente]

Saposhiente, why am I not surprised you had multiple questions? Are you going to join?

Java is much more suited to simulating this game than Racket, so, probably! (I don't have enough time to play without a program). Actually, the hardest part of the program is simulating line of sight. Do note that under your current definition of line of sight (line from any corner to any corner), a person hovering above D5, given sufficient range (but no xray), can see and be seen by every space on the board except spaces D1-D3, F5-J5, D7-D10, and the spaces obscured by the walls in the lower corners. If the straight-line shadows don't seem realistic to you, you can also rule that because they are above the walls, they can see and be seen by everyone.

[Zjoot]

Before we begin I'd like to switch my power to Cluster Bombs to avoid repeating past mistakes.

[heretic]

I'm in with I'm Bruce Lee! if there's still room.

[Fleeing Coward]

Before we begin I'd like to switch my power to Cluster Bombs to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Wimp, starting out with the weakest ability and winning is the only way to prove your overwhelming superiority (and luck)

[Saposhiente]

Okay, program almost done. One question, though: Without any upgrades, does square B5 have line of sight to square F8? A line exists between B5's lower left and F8's lower left, however! With the line starting at B5's lower left, it goes B6-C6-D7-E8-F8--five steps! But, B5 can reach F8 in four steps if it starts in the lower right, going C6-D7-E7-F8 . But, this four step distance is not in a straight line! Does the range apply to the line of sight drawn or to the minimum distance between squares (even if the minimum distance crosses walls)?
(ps it'd be really nice if you said it applied to the line of sight drawn because that wouldn't require any additional programming . If you want I can extract the part of my program that calculates line of sight and send it to you for your convenience.)
Hit me up with some Sniper Bombs; I think that analyzing instead of firing at random should make them good.

[Zjoot]

Wimp, starting out with the weakest ability and winning is the only way to prove your overwhelming superiority (and luck)

Starting out with the weakest ability also lets you win a trophy for being "target practice"

[Saposhiente]

Starting out with the weakest ability also lets you win a trophy for being "target practice"

Technically, the difference in the ability of people to kill you is small (which one makes you less of a target varies by situation); it's about the firepower available.

[Tom the Mime]

I am running like hell into this game.

[Zjoot]

Technically, the difference in the ability of people to kill you is small (which one makes you less of a target varies by situation); it's about the firepower available.

And experience shows that early firepower is key to winning, since you can get that snowball effect with well chosen upgrades. Run like hell may be more fun though...it takes much more planning and attention to use where cluster bombs aids the aggressive, "just fire as many bombs as possible until you hit something" style. I may end up flip-flopping again...we'll see.

[Saposhiente]

I never said that the firepower wasn't totally worth it :P
Really, the problem with Run Like Hell is that usually, there's nothing in particular to run *to*. In the occasional case of there being a good hotspot far away, Sniper bombs is usually better.

[Zjoot]

I never said that the firepower wasn't totally worth it :P
Really, the problem with Run Like Hell is that usually, there's nothing in particular to run *to*. In the occasional case of there being a good hotspot far away, Sniper bombs is usually better.

I don't know...It would be tricky, but I think you could really use the walls to your advantage. Really though, the question is do I want to play to win or do I want to play more experimentally and mess around with the game's strategy a little. Both are appealing and we'll see how I feel in the morning.

[banjo1985]

12 players is too many for one heat, so I'll start another.

Saposhiente and Heretic, you take the final two spots in Heat 1.

Tom the Mime and Komodo, I'm holding a place for each of you in Heat 2, which I'll submit for approval today. You can change you starting powers and squares if you want to when you see the Heat 2 map.

New questions will be answered below, then I'll get this heat started.