Definition of an LMS server.

[compguygene]

I have heard Phytotron refer to shrunkland as not being an LMS server, although others think that it is. So, just so I, and others here, get a better understanding of what is meant by a "Last Man Standing" server, could we please get a full definition of such. I think that in that last 3 years, the definition has become rather cloudy to those of us that started in servers with zones and such. Part of my reason for seeking this is to finish the scoring on my "LMS Tourney Test Server" and make a tournament that is "true" LMS.

[Lord Pein]

I would assume that a "true" LMS server only awards points for winning the round (being the last man standing); however, it appears that most servers are not "true" to their titles either.

Fortress awards points for kills as well as conquering bases.

Sumo awards points for kills as well as zone collapses. Some sumo servers even award points for winning the round as well.

One of the LMS servers that gets moderate to low traffic (I could be incorrect on that), Nexus9, awards points for kills as well as being the last man standing (I think).

In my opinion, a true LMS setting may be a bit boring. There is no benefit to putting yourself at risk to kill an opponent, so why not just evade other players until they destroy each other?

[Z-Man]

Yeah, game mode == LMS does not make a LMS server. The important thing is the significant award for being the last survivor. The problem is simply that nobody coined a term for a server with LMS mode, but without LMS scoring yet. Deathmatch? No, that would mean you respawn. Dogfight? Unfortunately, taken by game settings and metagame rules. FFA? Maybe, but just means "no teams" if you ask me. Perhaps just Battle?

[Cosmic Dolphin]

You're all wrong. LMS stands for Laughing Maniacal Squid, and you have to avoid the Laughing Maniacal Squid. Whoever lasts the longest wins.

(Back to reality.) Truthfully, I believe LMS would be Armagetron at it's core. Watch the original movie. Was there a scoreboard you saw, where points were added for each kill? Not in my memory. It just mattered which team was still alive.

It's an element that's in every section of arma. Racing awards points if all the racers can't survive the course. Sumo (at least for me) seems to be a fight against your own tail. How many fortress matches have been decided by the last living team?

But, I would believe a true LMS would only award points for survival. Not anything fancy. No "Congratulations for surviving X amount of minutes! You get X amount of points!" Just a few points for being the last man. I would believe teams would be allowed, if you look at the original movie. Killzones might make it more interesting, but I would say no. Just a bunch of cycles in a little box. Get like 15 people at medium speed in a very small arena, and only award points to the one who lives longest, and you have a good LMS server. Teams should be allowed, but I would discourage it. Make the area real small, (and with a lot of people), and you forget about kills. You can't evade anyone else, not even able to evade your own tail. Survival becomes your only goal, and that is how you earn points. That is my idea of what LMS truly is. Feel free to disagree.

[Concord]

rather each match would be one round, and whoever survives is the match winner. None of that scoring stuff.
Cosmic Dolphin is right on the money.

[Phytotron]

Yeah, the description "Last [Man] Standing" should only apply to a game where point(s) are only awarded to the round winner/survivor*. Where the menu "Game Mode" and the defining configuration GAME_TYPE command is concerned, it was my impression that was a vestige from before the game went online, like the ladder, and for similar reasons. It may be worth rewording the menu?

As for what term to use to describe a server like Shrunkland (or BiH, Swampland, Mud Puddle, BoC, goshdarn, even the high rubber servers, etc.), I figure FFA works fine (doesn't it imply "every [man] for [him]self?" (I'd prefer gender-neutral)). If it's teams, then Team FFA (every team for itself). Although, again, there's possibly a menu and config #description discrepancy.


* Of course, there are can be all sorts of mixtures of points types, so at some point you just have to leave it be. I mean, what do you call a server that has scoring along the lines of:

Code: Select all

SCORE_WIN 1
SCORE_SURVIVE 1
SCORE_KILL 1
SCORE_DIE -1
SCORE_SUICIDE -1
SCORE_DEATHZONE -1
SCORE_HOLE 1

Everything Goes?

[Lord Pein]

The terms "Battle" and "Team Battle" are better to describe servers with a LMS game mode, but without LMS scoring systems. "Team FFA" just sounds a bit odd since FFA implies players can randomly kill anyone they choose, when in fact, they cannot.