Conflicting missions in Uplink

[JamesL]

It is possible that, during play, Uplink will generate conflicting missions. Something like:

"Destroy server X" and "Copy from server X"

Depending on the order you attempt these, you may leave one uncompletable.

Some think this is realistic, some think it's just plain annoying, so we want your opinions.

[coolsi]

If you look at Uplink as a simulation then it's fine, but as it's intended to be a game rather than a simulation then it's irritating.

[frenchfrog]

There is some underlying problems with letting it be _realistic_.

- There is no mission history, thus no way to view if you ready nuked a server.
- The missions on Uplink Internal server don't say the target server before taking the mission. Also depending on your ranking some are hidden.
- Agents can do mission that are going to conflict with other missions. This means that without doing anything on your part some missions could become impossible to complete. Since most usagers don't know the inner workings of Uplink, they will think it's a bug (was reported as a bug in the past).

There is nothing wrong with letting it be _realistic_, the problem is with the expectations of the users, which is, there is always a way to complete a game _objective_, in this case, a mission.

[Montyphy]

Would it be possible to remove the jobs "Copy from server X" once news of a successful "Destroy server X" is posted on the BBS or completion of mission?

If the user has already accepted to do both a "Copy from server X" and a "Destroy server X" at the same time it should be their responsiblity to handle the situation.

"Copy from server X" missions should be created provided the data exists on server X.

That's my two cents...

[Dimension Jump]

I'm all for choice and customisation. As such, I think it should be a Game Option to allow the player to decide for their game play style as to whether Uplink will generate such conflicts or not. It's a little like a difficulty setting in some respects.

So if it were possible, I think that a check to catch and prevent such conflicts should be written in such a way that it can be toggled on or off (perhaps at the point where you register a new agent?) so that the player can always decide how *they* would like to play; realistically vs fun. That way, everyone is happy, right?

[frenchfrog]

Out of curiosity.

Does it append often that missions conflicts? Once in a game, once in 2 games?

Do people remember the last time they encountered a conflicting mission? (And not a buggy one, like the missions where you must steal files, but the receiving server is too small)

[Babylon5]

It is realistic, but it is also ver, very annoying.