319443 replies to this topic

[Chyros]

Btw BAR has a pretty complicated history apparently Oo .

Quote

https://springrts.com/phpbb/

Go to the mod subsection and look for balanced annihilation and balanced annihilation reloaded.

Beyond all reason, (BAR) was previously called balanced annihilation reloaded. (BAR)

Back around 2000 a group of programmers created their own game engine to mod total annihilation. This engine was called the spring rts engine.

They then brought over all the graphics and sounds and unit stats from total annihilation into their own engine. Which was a copyright grey area.

Then people made lots of modifications to the original total annihilation using the new game engine.

This spawed a whole heap of mods. Balanced Annihilation was the most popular mod of the original total annihilation.

It tried to keep to the spirit of the original game but balance it to make it better for multiplayer.

The mod team slowly added new units with new 3d models for the new units.

This included all of T3 units with the exception of the one t3 unit that was in the original game.

Then there were also a number of new games made on the spring rts engine, but balance annihilation was always the most popular.

By popular this was about 16 to 20 people online on any one night.

A group of modders got together eventually and decided to create new 3d models and sounds for every unit in the game. This new mod would finally make balanced annihilation be free from copyright infringement.

Over 3 to 5 years a small team remodeled and renamed every unit in the game. Other modders developed the new lobby system. And other programmers worked on the underlying engine to allow it to handle the massive unit numbers with efficiency.

The community thought that Balanced Annihilation Reloaded was not a very good name for a new game, so someone came up with the smart idea to take the initials, BAR, and make it Beyond All Reason.

I think total annihilation came out in 1997, the spring engine with the predecessor for balanced annihilation was developed around 2000 I think.

There has been a direct line of balance developed on balanced annihilation since then, and balanced annihilation was the evolutionary winner out of all the different TA mods.

So its probably 24 years of continuous balance developed in response to constant competitive play testing by the community.

This is why the game plays so well.

I know of no other rts or other game that has been through 24 years of continuous play testing and balance adaptation.

The naval balance in BAR is much better now than it was when I used to play ten to 15 years ago. Back then most people avoid sea maps because the balance was atrocious.

But after a lot of changes and back and forth they made it really workable and balanced with the results of the domains of warfare.

Anyway it's a really cool history and it's awesome seeing the game blow up in popularity now.

[General]

Dyslexic Ents Eeating Tents?

Bob: American Revolution?

[TheDR]

General, on 01 May 2024 - 14:16, said:

TheDR, on 01 May 2024 - 12:46, said:

I finally got diagnosed with Dyslexia! Yay?

Also maybe ADHD.

I might have Dysexia too!

Yay!

[General]

[Chyros]

Cheers everyone for lysdexia!

[General]

Donut make fun of his mysery

[Chyros]

My whole family is mega dyslexic, the phenomenon isn't new to me .

[Alias]

Chyros, on 01 May 2024 - 14:51, said:

Alias, on 01 May 2024 - 13:34, said:

Not really many bugs this time of year no, not south of the tropics.

In Queensland it's bug fiesta all year round, though, so if you are heading any where north of Brisbane there I would suggest at least some bug spray. I would recommend buying both that and sunscreen here as we have the grown up versions of both, your European sunscreen will do nothing here

Out of curiosity, what actually is your itinerary? I can maybe suggest a few things if I know where you're going

One of my friends has made the itinerary, though we are flexible . We're doing Melbourne -> Adelaide -> Alice Springs and then flying to Sydney before flying back. We've got tons of things planned along the way obviously but suggestions are very welcome ^^ .

Definitely doing sunscreen (even in late autumn that's apparently necessary ) but don't know if I need DEET or something to prevent getting killed by mozzies.

Ah nice, funnily enough I've never actually been to Adelaide or Alice before (what possessed your friend putting Adelaide on the itinerary, the joke in Australia is it's a bit of nothing) - I've heard the food in South Australia is genuinely really good though (mainly comes from the part an hour or so northeast from Adelaide). Alice is interesting, and I guess if you want to see red sand and indigenous history it's the best place to do so, it's also literally in the middle of nowhere - I think it's about 1500km from Adelaide, or about the same as from Amsterdam to Rome, but if there was nothing in between but desert.

I can give a mountain of suggestions for Sydney and a decent amount for Melbourne depending on what exactly you want to see/do there.

I assume you want to go to a beach, in that case do go to Bondi, but do the Bondi to Coogee walk along the coast and if you want to enjoy the actual sand/water go to Tamarama or Coogee as those two are actually much better from a beach perspective. The Blue Mountains is a easy cheap day trip on the train, and should be interesting enough for Europeans where rainforest is rare. If you really enjoyed the Bondi to Coogee walk, you can take the ferry to Manly and do the Manly to Spit Bridge walk which will give you very good harbour views.

All transport in Sydney you can pay for with any contactless card (credit or debit, either plastic or on your phone), so you don't need to buy a transit card - I've heard Adelaide is the same but I'm not certain.

In Melbourne it's quite annoying, you will need to buy a Myki which is their version of a transit card. Their tram system is a lot better than the buses here, and because the city there on a plain rather than on a very hilly set of rocks like Sydney, it's pretty pleasant to walk on foot. I've found their buses and trains to be worse, so probably stick to trams for medium distance. So depends on what and where you want to go. I'd suggest at least a tour of the Great Ocean Road as that is a fairly unique thing - better still if you rent a car and drive it yourself, but it's about 250km and 3-4 hours each way so I'd probably only recommend it if you have two drivers if you want to do it in one day. For something a bit closer that's doable with one driver, Philip Island is only about 120km each way.

There are bike rentals and such (at least in Melbourne and Sydney), but the drivers here are generally pretty shit so I wouldn't recommend cycling anywhere unless there's dedicated cycle lanes.

Food wise prices should be similar to what you're used to, but alcohol will be quite a bit more expensive as we have a fairly steep tax based on ABV. The nice thing about that is the shit drinks and the good drinks aren't usually much different in price.

For cuisine choices, I'd definitely suggest any type of Asian food (Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, just about anything is available here - there's some Indonesian but despite their proximity they're one of the least common - although I guess coming from the Netherlands you'd probably be looking for something different) as that is markedly better here than in Europe. The default 'western' food will mostly be random British-ish stuff most of the time - but the seafood here is good, particularly if you like shellfish, so if you like Lobster, Crab or Oysters you're in luck. European restaurants would mostly be Italian or French, and would be nothing special compared to even the most basic you have over there, so if you're looking for something basic probably just go to a pub - there's quite a few decent gastropubs around.

On the sunscreen, yeah - definitely recommended to wear it all the time you will be not under cover (unless it's completely overcast). It's a bit better since they banned CFCs, but we've still got very thin ozone above us here so if there's sunlight, it's probably UV 6+, on an actual 'sunny' day, it's probably UV 10+. The further north you go the worse it will be, so would suggest swimming in a tub of it before you go outside in Alice. Bug spray you probably only need in Alice, everywhere else you should probably be ok.

One final thing, you probably want to bring some warm clothes, even if the forecast is for a temperature comfortable for you (i.e. 15+ degrees daytime, 10+ nighttime), houses/buildings here leak heat by design so you will probably be freezing overnight so if you're staying in anything other than fancy hotels (i.e. in Airbnbs, hostels or something cheaper) have some warm clothes for overnight.

Edited by Alias, 02 May 2024 - 11:56.

[Chyros]

Good tips all! We're probably not going to do much in the cities at all, just staying in them. Definitely no beaches, we're on holiday to see and do things, we never go to beaches. We're mainly doing things around those areas, such as Philip Island, Kangaroo Island, Ayers Rock, bunch of nature parks, etc. My friend has been to Oz before so he's kind of guiding us this time, so we're letting us be surprised by his itinerary (normally we're much more closely involved).

I'll also definitely be checking out local cuisine, we always do that. I'm hoping roo steak every day, but if you've got good suggestions for interesting Aussie dishes, lmk .

As for Sydney, we're spending the last two days there. We'll probably be pretty tired at that point, but suggestions of what to do and see are highly welcome .

Edited by Chyros, 02 May 2024 - 13:00.

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Those sure are some words!

[TheDR]

Chyros, on 02 May 2024 - 12:56, said:

Good tips all! We're probably not going to do much in the cities at all, just staying in them. Definitely no beaches, we're on holiday to see and do things, we never go to beaches. We're mainly doing things around those areas, such as Philip Island, Kangaroo Island, Ayers Rock, bunch of nature parks, etc. My friend has been to Oz before so he's kind of guiding us this time, so we're letting us be surprised by his itinerary (normally we're much more closely involved).

I'll also definitely be checking out local cuisine, we always do that. I'm hoping roo steak every day, but if you've got good suggestions for interesting Aussie dishes, lmk .

As for Sydney, we're spending the last two days there. We'll probably be pretty tired at that point, but suggestions of what to do and see are highly welcome .

Dude, you definitely need to the at least one of the Northern Beaches. The sand is golden, the waves are far beyond your height and the surfers are hot!

[Alias]

Hopefully I didn't kill any dyslexics

Chyros, on 02 May 2024 - 12:56, said:

Good tips all! We're probably not going to do much in the cities at all, just staying in them. Definitely no beaches, we're on holiday to see and do things, we never go to beaches. We're mainly doing things around those areas, such as Philip Island, Kangaroo Island, Ayers Rock, bunch of nature parks, etc. My friend has been to Oz before so he's kind of guiding us this time, so we're letting us be surprised by his itinerary (normally we're much more closely involved).

I'll also definitely be checking out local cuisine, we always do that. I'm hoping roo steak every day, but if you've got good suggestions for interesting Aussie dishes, lmk .

As for Sydney, we're spending the last two days there. We'll probably be pretty tired at that point, but suggestions of what to do and see are highly welcome .

TBH if you're here mainly for nature I probably would have suggested somewhere in the tropics in QLD like Cairns and Tasmania over the others, but you do you

Are you driving from Adelaide to Alice? Definitely stop in Coober Pedy on the way if you are, that is one of the most bizarre places on earth. Everything I've seen of it looks like another planet.

Alice Springs should have some touristy places for meats (emu/kangaroo etc), in Sydney there's a pub (Heritage Hotel in the Rocks I think) that does a coat of arms pizza (emu and kangaroo are our coat of arms), for regular restaurants you probably won't find it unless they specialise in native food ('bush tucker' is the word you'd want to look for if you develop a taste for it, like I did for horse in Switzerland).

In terms of actual 'Aussie' food, tbh there's not much good in terms of the stereotypical dishes - main thing is I've heard pretty much all of our produce (veg, fruits and animals) are pretty good, and pretty much all of it is grown here - so try find good farm-to-table restaurants and they'll be some of the best food you'll eat due to how fresh everything will be, usually these would be western-ish food. The best restaurants in general would be the Asian food as mentioned prior, if you're big on red meat there's plenty of Korean BBQ.

If you're only in Sydney a few days, at the least I'd suggest taking the train to Milsons Point and then walking back over the harbour bridge - that'll give you a good view and some good photo spots and you'll walk back to Circular Quay. The bridge climb is a rip off - wouldn't suggest that, the pylon lookout is a lot cheaper and you get pretty much the same view if you want to see the view from the top - the bridge is quite tall so you get a decent view from the pylon lookout if you choose to do it - walking over the bridge itself is free though - so if you don't care for the slightly higher view you can skip the pylon lookout too.

The drinks and food in the Opera Bar (next to the Opera House) are actually not too overpriced for a tourist area - and the food is a lot better than you get from just about any of the other restaurants in that area, so if you want to eat something around circular quay/the harbour I'd suggest that. Also, even if you're not going to do the Manly to Spit walk, I'd probably still suggest taking the ferry to Manly (the fast ferry takes 20 mins), even if you just go there for an hour or so for a quick drink, bite to eat or a walk - if you like boats the trip is very nice and much cheaper than doing a harbour cruise. If you want some nature close to the city too, North Head next to Manly is quite nice and has some interesting history (old artillery battery and quarantine station), there's a bus that sorta goes to the centre of North Head from the Manly wharf - so you could make a day trip out of going to Manly also if you so desire.

If you don't have time for Manly either, you can take a shorter ferry to Taronga Zoo and then walk down to Bradleys Head, that has just about the most perfect harbour view there is if you just have time for one place.

Edited by Alias, 02 May 2024 - 13:59.

[Chyros]

Coober Pedy was a possibility, the alternative was an outback route. Apparently it's an exclusion zone though, so we're gonna have to see when we get there.

Yes, we'll be driving everywhere except Sydney. Thanks for the tips .

[Alias]

No worries moite, I'd strongly recommend against anything except the main highway route though - most other outback roads will not be paved (may not even have gravel, just dirt) and your options to buy food, drink and refuel will be extremely limited, so unless you're packing days of supply for everyone travelling with you it'd be quite risky. Hopefully that's not closed by the military base, I'm not too familiar with the area but it?s just about the single main north/south route there so hopefully all good.

When are you actually here btw? I'm back towards the beginning of June so if you are in Sydney then I may have time to meet up for a beer

Edited by Alias, 02 May 2024 - 14:24.

[Chyros]

Alias, on 02 May 2024 - 14:15, said:

No worries moite, I'd strongly recommend against anything except the main highway route though - most other outback roads will not be paved (may not even have gravel, just dirt) and your options to buy food, drink and refuel will be extremely limited, so unless you're packing days of supply for everyone travelling with you it'd be quite risky. Hopefully that's not closed by the military base, I'm not too familiar with the area but it?s just about the single main north/south route there so hopefully all good.

When are you actually here btw? I'm back towards the beginning of June so if you are in Sydney then I may have time to meet up for a beer

I'm leaving on the 8th of May, Sydney should be 29th and 30th of May. So I think were just missing each other .

[Alias]

classic.jpg

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

[General]

Thats a lot of words general!

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Pretty sure they've used up the remaining LPTPW budget for the rest of the year.

Very selfish.

[General]

Indeed, no more words for Chyros and Alias

Maybe it is time to introduce microtransactions to lptpw? Seasonal Word Pass!

Edited by General, 02 May 2024 - 15:44.

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

Acid biters are OP. pl0x nerf

[Chyros]

General, on 02 May 2024 - 15:43, said:

Indeed, no more words for Chyros and Alias

Maybe it is time to introduce microtransactions to lptpw? Seasonal Word Pass!

OK I'll use numbers!

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783902091847230498710987123098413701923874109238740123098547109486572345096712309841709438720359487652987643598273469857269483576518764189764312984572649857164511234876109314120379612098374098127098341209812309870897839020918472304987109871230984137019238741092387401230985471094865723450967123098417094387203594876529876435982734698572694835765187641897643129845726498571645112348761093141203796120983740981270983412098123098708978390209184723049871098712309841370192387410923874012309854710948657234509671230984170943872035948765298764359827346985726948357651876418976431298457264985716451123487610931412037961209837409812709834120981230987089783902091847230498710987123098413701923874109238740123098547109486572345096712309841709438720359487652987643598273469857269483576518764189764312984572649857164511234876109314120379612098374098127098341209812309870897839020918472304987109871230984137019238741092387401230985471094865723450967123098417094387203594876529876435982734698572694835765187641897643129845726498571645112348761093141203796120983740981270983412098123098708978390209184723049871098712309841370192387410923874012309854710948657234509671230984170943872035948765298764359827346985726948357651876418976431298457264985716451123487610931412037961209837409812709834120981230987089783902091847230498710987123098413701923874109238740123098547109486572345096712309841709438720359487652987643598273469857269483576518764189764312984572649857164511234876109314120379612098374098127098341209812309870897839020918472304987109871230984137019238741092387401230985471094865723450967123098417094387203594876529876435982734698572694835765187641897643129845726498571645112348761093141203796120983740981270983412098123098708978390209184723049871098712309841370192387410923874012309854710948657234509671230984170943872035948765298764359827346985726948357651876418976431298457264985716451123487610931412037961209837409812709834120981230987089783902091847230498710987123098413701923874109238740123098547109486572345096712309841709438720359487652987643598273469857269483576518764189764312984572649857164511234876109314120379612098374098127098341209812309870897839020918472304987109871230984137019238741092387401230985471094865723450967123098417094387203594876529876435982734698572694835765187641897643129845726498571645

[Slightly Wonky Robob]

[Chyros]

It looks interesting, but not as good as Satisfactory.

Might still give it a go thought ^^ .

[TheDR]

Can I be well again? That would be nice for a bit.