Documentation for Node Siege, v1.15 By NorahJones, stepjak@yahoo.fr http://nodesiege.tripod.com >>> Contents Contents Introduction Versions Requirements Installation Rules Issues Acknowledgments Terms of Use Contact Info >>> Introduction Node Siege is a gametype for Unreal Tournament 2004. It's a bit like Double Domination or Assault, but it is played on DeathMatch maps. The "node" is placed randomly on the map, and relocates periodically. A team secures the node by having more players in range of it than the other team does, for a period of several seconds. That team then continues to score points until the other team displaces them, or the node relocates. Bots and multiplayer are supported. >>> Versions v0.90 is the first version, released May 15, 2004. v0.90b doesn't really exist. It was released May 16, 2004. v1.02 released May 28, 2004. Changes, in order of importance: - Scoring now matches what these instructions suggest. If the node is your team's color, you're scoring. In v0.90, the defenders' progress towards scoring a point would be interrupted if the attacking team outnumbered them for even a second. I felt this was undesirable since there was no indication when it occurred. - The match now ends prematurely when it is mathematically impossible for the trailing team to win in a game with a time limit. I suppose this is crucial for multiplayer. - The node now relocates prematurely if it isn't secured in 45 seconds, or if it has been secured but has had no one present for 30 seconds. This is an attempt to move the node out of unreachable locations as quickly as possible. - Bots now commit suicide if they can't find a way to the node within 15 seconds. This is useful with maps that are not pathed well. Unfortunately it doesn't work perfectly on all maps that I've tried. (Note that the suicide respawn delay penalty doesn't apply to bots.) - The node now relocates immediately once there is not enough time left in its present location for either team to score a point. - It's now less likely that the node will relocate to a very close location. - Added three console cheats (described below). - Tweaked bots a bit. Bots pick more sensible adrenaline combos. A small bug was fixed. Bots near the node try to ask each other for help. - Spectators now have an objective indicator. v1.15 released June 12, 2004. Changes: - Progress meter added to the indicator, complete with blinking exclamation point. - Attackers lose their progress gradually instead of immediately when interrupted. - The node will not relocate while attackers have some progress. - Conditions for premature relocation (due to inaccessibility) expanded, for example when the node can only be touched briefly, in midair. - A message is displayed when the node moves prematurely, or the game ends prematurely. - You must be no more than 7.2 meters above or below the node to be "near" it. (Formerly it was 14.4 meters in any direction.) - A neutral node can be secured faster. - The distance to the node is not shown when you are in range of it. - The "A" in the ring is gone. - The indicator points to the center of the ring, not the ground where the ring sits. - The node will relocate due to inaccessibility even if Life of Node is 0 (meaning that it should never move). - When a bot cannot find a path to the node, they will try to find a path to a nearby node which is still in range (instead of committing suicide). - Bot frustration due to inability to find the node is now reset when they die (a bug). - Translocators are enabled by default. - Conditions looser for getting 3-point kills. - Almost all NavigationPoints are used as possible node placements now. Generally, the placements are now PathNodes, PlayerStarts (not just as a backup), LiftExits, JumpSpots, and InventorySpots. - Bots may try to intercept enemies headed for the node (instead of just camping). - Bots are able to properly respond to other bots asking for help (bug fix, really). - The game attempts to avoid placing the node in the vicinity of the last ten node locations. - Provided for a rare bug where the node could be moved somewhere where the ring could not even be placed. (I only saw it once.) >>> Requirements I have the unpatched CD version of UT2004, on Windows XP. I hope all you need is UT2004. You're also going to need some Deathmatch maps. >>> Installation The game should come in a .ZIP file with four or so files in it. You can put everything (Siege.u, Siege.int, Siege.ucl, even SiegeDocs.txt) in your UT2004\System directory. That should do it. To install over an old version, just overwrite the old files. You could for instance delete siege*.* in ut2004\system and then install the newer version. If you want to run NodeSiege on a server, it should be adequate to open ut2004\system\ut2004.ini, search for the long list of "ServerPackages=(whatever)", and add in "ServerPackages=Siege" without the quotes. >>> Rules At game beginning, the node appears in a random location. The triangular objective indicator on the HUD shows where the node is if you were to travel in a straight line. Your "path to base" keys (like "N" or "M") will usually be able to show a specific path. The color of the indicator shows which team was the last to score points on the node. It will be green if no one has scored yet, and the node itself will be gray. Otherwise both the indicator and node will be red or blue. There is a progress meter which shows how close the attacking team is to securing the node. An exclamation point will appear if there is some progress there. The indicator becomes semi-transparent and larger once you are close enough to the node to count as being "near" it. The distance figure also disappears. A team scores a point as soon as they change the node's color. They then continue to score points every few seconds (default is 5) until the other team secures the node, or the node relocates. A neutral node (gray with a green indicator) can be secured almost instantly. The node relocates randomly every configurable number of seconds (default is 90), and turns neutral. It will also relocate if there is not enough time left for either team to score another point, or if players are having difficulty reaching the node. Individual scoring is not very important, but you receive 1 point for a kill, 3 points if either you or the victim was near the node, -2 for killing a teammate (if friendly fire is on), and -1 for a suicide or accidental death. If you commit suicide by having an aneurysm (i.e. type "suicide" in the console), there is an eight-second respawn delay penalty during which you can only look at the scoreboard. This penalty doesn't apply to bots. There are three console cheats. "Holdnode" toggles whether the node is prevented from relocating. "Movenode" causes the node to relocate immediately. "Movenodehere" causes the node to move as near to the player as possible. These cheats work only in Instant Action, and using them will cause the player's individual score to lock at -99. >>> Issues The node is often invisible on DM-Gestalt. It seems to be a problem with the map itself, unhappily. I think there's nothing I can do about it. I don't know of any bugs. Report them to me at stepjak@yahoo.fr. >>> Acknowledgments Thanks to my sister Trisha for letting me use her computer for almost everything involved in making Node Siege. Thanks to wang, from the UK, whose insightful commentary (and willingness to play on a dialup server) prevented me from releasing an utterly awful first version. (The node was always gray, you had no indicator, only a Dom compass, and you scored a point for every second that nobody on the other team was near the node.) Thanks to Jagganath aka korozion for pointing out a dumb problem with my initial v0.90 ZIP (a file was missing). Thanks to Ambient-Tao for a lot of help and advice, and in particular for running Node Siege on the www.intelligent-gamers.com server at times. He gave me something else, too. And of course I want to thank anyone willing to take the time to try this thing out. >>> Terms of Use You can play and distribute Node Siege for free, but whoever plays it has to assume the entire responsibility for any damages or inconveniences that using (or trying to use) Node Siege may cause them. You may run Node Siege on a public or private server for free and with no permission. If you distribute Node Siege through email, file-sharing, or on a website, you have to include all the files, including this documentation. But you do not need to include the documentation if transmitting Node Siege from a game server to a client intending to subsequently play the game on the server. You may not modify Node Siege. You can use excerpts from the code if you find it useful, but you cannot call anything you create from it "Node Siege" or "Siege." It would be nice if you could give some acknowledgment to NorahJones if you use the code for something. There is no warranty or technical support. It is possible that the user's efforts to use Node Siege could, for instance, cause UT2004 to stop working correctly. In no event will the author or a distributor of Node Siege be liable to anyone for any kind of damages arising out of the use or inability to use Node Siege. >>> Contact Info If you want to send comments, criticism, bug reports, flames, etc., email me, Kevin Venzke, at stepjak@yahoo.fr. Please put something identifiable in the subject, so I won't mistake it for spam. The webpage for Node Siege is http://nodesiege.tripod.com. I'm unlikely to be able to give you technical help. Of course I am interested if technical problems are really Node Siege bugs. NorahJones stepjak@yahoo.fr