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GunBound

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GunBound (Korean: 건바운드, full name – GunBound World Champion, formerly GunBound: Thor's Hammer) is a freeware, online-only computer game developed in South Korea by Softnyx.

Gameplay

GunBound is similar to the turn-based Worms game series, which is itself based on earlier two-dimensional ballistics-simulation games such as Scorched Earth (IBM PC platform). Players are assigned to opposing teams that take turns firing at their opponents with their "mobiles".

Players can choose from a variety of mobiles, ranging from a giant slug to a spider-like machine. In a turn, players can do all or none of the following:

Turns can be skipped by pressing F8. There is also a wind meter, which affects how the shot travels, and a floating machine known as Thor's Hammer. Although there is no overall time limit, a player's turn is limited to 20 seconds.

Gold, the in-game currency system, is awarded for performing well. It can be used to rent avatar items for one week or one month, or to buy them. These items boost players' statistics in one or more areas, such as attack, strength, defense, speed, but only have an effect on the "Avatar On" worlds/servers with the exception of popularity, which gives players 1% more gold per point in any world/server.

Most recently, for players living only in North America, there has been a new gunbound created, called "Gunbound Revolution." The website is: gunbound.ijji.com

Game types

There are four game types in GunBound, each with different playing styles and strategies.

Maps

A Score game of GunBound in play on the map Miramo Town.
Enlarge
A Score game of GunBound in play on the map Miramo Town.

Currently, there are 21 maps to choose from (including all A-Sides and B-Sides). They are listed below:

Originally, only Nirvana, Cozy Tower and Meta Mine had B-sides, but since the update of GunBound World Champion, all maps have a B-Side with the exception of Cave. Cave is one of the most dreaded maps for most players due to its four "Ignorance" disks (see Moon Disk) and its close quarters layout. This map has given the upper hand to melee mobiles such as Turtle, Trico, and Nak while putting other long-range mobiles such as boomer and mammoth at disadvantages.

GP, gold, and cash

GP is the point system that determines a player's ranking. Gold is one of the currencies in GunBound that is used to purchase avatar items by the players. Both, GP and gold can be won or lost by playing the game.

To earn items faster, a player can pay Softnyx with real-world money, which will be converted into cash. Although most items can be rented with cash or gold, some items are gold-only or cash-only. Gold-only items are usually the most powerful items with the best upgrades. One notable exception to this rule is the cash-only phoenix and its blue-flamed brother, which are also very powerful items.

Cash is also used for the power-user card, a temporary status that makes a player earn gold and GP faster (+10% gold and +20% GP) and enhances the status of the games he hosts to attract more players. The power-user card also gives a host unlimited number of kicks in the game room instead of five and prevents him from losing gold or GP in penalties such as damaging a teammate.

Rewards and penalties

During gameplay, players will be rewarded with gold or GP, or both, for performing good shots, killing their opponents, or dealing large amounts of damage in a single turn or throughout a full game. On the other hand, penalties are given to players who accidentally or intentionally suicide themselves or damage fellow teammates, resulting in a loss of GP and gold. No penalty is given if the damage is less than 50 (since it takes approximately 1000 damage to destroy an avatar-less player) or if the player deals damage to the opposing side during the same turn.

As players earn rewards or incur penalties, a message will appear in the upper left message window naming the player who is rewarded or penalized, and the type of reward or penalty given. The rewards and penalties are listed below:

Reward/Penalty Description Gold GP
Shot of God
(Double Kill)
Killing two opponents in one turn. +500 +4
Bunge Shot Bunging an enemy (causing the enemy to fall off the map). +100 +1
Ending Bonus Killing an enemy by reducing his life to zero. +100 +1
Shot Bonus Dealing between 150 and 249 damage to the enemy in a turn. +10 +0
Good Shot Bonus Dealing between 250 and 499 damage to the enemy in a turn. +25 +0
Excellent Shot Bonus Dealing at least 500 damage to the enemy in a turn. +50 +0
Hurricane Bonus Shot travels through a hurricane/tornado and inflicts over 50 damage to the enemy. +20 +0
High Angle Bonus Shot angle must be at least 70 degrees, have a minimum of 2.5 seconds hangtime, and inflict over 50 damage to the enemy. +15 +0
Ultra High Angle Bonus Shot angle must be at least 70 degrees, have a minimum of 4 seconds hangtime, and inflict over 50 damage to the enemy. +30 +0
Boomer Shot Bonus Shot travels both left and right across the screen. +20 +0
Back Shot Bonus Shot trajectory goes to the left and right of shooter. Bonus only given for the longest distance travelled by the shot for each player. +25 +0
1000 Damage For players inflicting an accumulated total of 1000 damage to the enemy. +100 +1
2000 Damage For players inflicting an accumulated total of 2000 damage to the enemy. +100 +2
3000 Damage For players inflicting an accumulated total of 3000 damage to the enemy. This is a rare bonus, only achieved by very experienced (or lucky) players. +100 +4
Suicide Penalty Killing yourself either by bunge or damage. -50 -1
Team Damage Penalty Dealing at least 50 damage to yourself or teammate without inflicting any on the enemy. -25 -1
Team Kill Penalty Killing a teammate. -50 -2

Whether a player has won or not, they will keep the GP and gold they earned during the game. In addition to the in-game bonuses, rewards are conferred to each player of the winning team after each game:

Players Gold GP
1-on-1 +100 +3
2-on-2 +150 +6
3-on-3 +200 +9
4-on-4 +300 +12

The gold awarded or taken away for bonuses and penalties is affected by the popularity stat on the player's avatar set. The gold values listed above assume the player has a popularity stat of zero.

Ranking

GunBound incorporates a ranking system, called the "World Ranking" system, for distinguishing between new and veteran players. New players are not allowed on the servers for advanced players. Conversely, advanced players are not allowed in the rookie servers. This helps to keep the game fair, as new players do not usually want to play against expert players, and expert players generally dislike playing with inexperienced players. GP, or GunBound Points, are used for determining ranks. New players begin with 1000 GP and earn more by winning games. A player's rank is displayed as a little rectangular icon next to his or her screenname. The basic ranking system up to 6900 GP is as follows:

When a player earns 6900 GP, his or her ranking is no longer based on an absolute scale. The player still continues to earn GP as before, but his ranking is based on the percentile ranking out of all the players of that player's country. The amount of GP required to advanced to the next level constantly changes and is different for players in different countries. Generally, it is more difficult (i.e., requires more experience and more GP) to advance in countries with more players representing. These rankings are as follows:

The top 21 players in each country receive their own special designators to show that they are the elite of their country. Their designators are:

The "Total Ranking" system, first used in GunBound: Thor's Hammer, is identical to the world ranking system, except calculations were based upon the whole GunBound population, rather than a player's country. As of June 6, 2006, the total ranking system has been abolished from GunBound World Champion, but is still present in GunBound Revolution.

Slot items

During a tag or solo match, defeated players receive a slot wheel which automatically spins. If it generates three identical items, it allows them to drop these items or use them on the remaining players. The option of respinning the slot is also available. The drops fall from the very top of the screen and, unless otherwise stated, are affected by wind power and direction. They are as follows:

All items require four turns to fall or activate. A small triangle facing downwards denotes the drop point of origin and counts down from four. Each triangle's color is the color of the corresponding player's team. (A red player's drops will be marked as red triangles and a blue player's drops will be marked as blue triangles.)

Depending on the drop mode selected by the host (basic or attack), gold bonuses are also available through the slots in the form of 10, 50, or 100 gold. This is only available in basic mode; attack mode allows only items.

Avatar items

Avatar items may be earned by spending gold or cash in the avatar shop, being gifted to a player, or by participating in events. Gold-only and cash-only avatars in the avatar shop must be bought with their respectable currencies. There is a male and female version of every avatar item, but players can only purchase items of their gender. Avatar sets are also available for purchase, which contain multiple avatar items at a cheaper price than it is to buy them individually.

Players are able to rent avatars from the avatar shop for one week or one month, or buy them permanently (using the limitless option). Before August 22, 2005, two week and one year options were in place instead of the limitless option, but this was changed due to player demand. In GunBound: Thor's Hammer, there was no option to rent avatars.

A player is able to wear up to six avatars, one for each of the following locations: head, body, glasses, flag, a background EX item, and a foreground EX item. Not only do avatars change the appearance of a player's character in-game, they also provide one or more stat bonuses that can give an advantage or disadvantage in battle. More expensive avatars usually provide greater bonuses and look more impressive than inexpensive avatars. The following is a list of stats that an avatar can modify:

The maximum number of points in any one category is 50. It is also possible to have negative points, which will give the player an opposite effect.

In some game zones, known as avatar off zones, avatar bonuses do not apply, except for the popularity stat. Many people play there with a combination of avatars, called money suits, that give players 50 popularity. Money suits are relatively cheap to buy and help players earn gold faster than in normal gameplay.

Delay

Delay is a considerably important factor when playing GunBound, as skillful management of delay will allow a player to take turns faster than his or her opponent. The numbers in the delay chart/list at the bottom left-hand corner determines the turn order. Delay is determined by the sum of the following four factors:

  1. The base delay of the mobile itself.
  2. The delay of the shot type selected.
  3. The delay of any items that are selected to be used.
  4. How much time a player took to fire their shot.
A timer is set for 20 seconds when a player's turn starts. Previously, in GunBound: Thor's Hammer, the timer was measured in increments of 0.1 seconds, but is now measured in whole seconds. Failing to complete a shot within 20 seconds results in forfeiture of turn, which can also be done without adding any extra delay through the "skip turn" button.

Delay that is added to the shot due to time is calculated as +10 delay per second for all bots, except Turtle, which has +12 delay per second. Equipping avatars that affect either the delay stat or the item delay stat also influence the turn delay. As with most statistics, however, it only applies to avatar on zones.

It is important to note that while the "Turn List" chart on the bottom left shows a player's delay, it does not show the teammates' or opponents' delays directly. Rather, it shows their delay relative to the player's. For example, if a player had 900 delay and his or her opponent's delay was 0, it would mean that they also had 900 delay.

Shooting modes

Slice and dragshot are the two different modes of controlling shot power.

GunBound mobiles and attacks

In GunBound, there are 16 mobiles, and 2 special mobiles. They are grouped into three categories: Machine, Shield, and Creature.

Special mobiles can only be selected through the "random" mobile selection. In the mobile selection screen, the random selection is shown as a question mark. When selected, a player's character will ride an orange hovercraft with a propellor at the bottom—the same thing they would ride if they died in any game type. When the game begins, a mobile will be randomly selected in place of the hovercraft.

GunBound: Thor's Hammer originally featured only 14 mobiles. The Kalsiddon and J. Frog were introduced with GunBound World Champion.

Power-up items

Prior to each game, power-ups can be selected and equipped to take into battle. Each player is given six slots to fill with power-ups, each one taking up one or two slots. Thus, a player may take up to six small items, three large, or any combination of small or larges items they wish. These items offer a variety of benefits to the user, such as "Dual", which allows players to fire two shots in one turn.

Items also add extra delay to the user's shot as a price for using the item. This is commonly mistaken by new players to be a gold cost due to the fact that the delay added is labeled on the item in the bottom right-hand corner (hence many new players, mistakenly, bring all "Bloods" which have no delay cost, but instead require a health penalty). In solo and tag games, players can gain new one-slot items by grabbing treasure chests dropped by defeated players.

Name Slots Delay Effect
Blood 1 0 User loses 8% of remaining health; next attack is 33% more powerful.
Bunge shot 1 50 Next attack does 25% greater land damage (destruction of the land near the shot).
Change Wind 1 150 Changes wind speed and direction to opposite of the current direction.
Dual 2 600 Selected weapon fires twice in one turn.
Dual+ 2 250 After selected weapon is fired, the other non-SS weapon fires also.
Energy up 1 1 100 Regain some health. Creature-types regain an additional 5% health.
Energy up 2 2 300 Recover 25% of maximum health. Creature-types regain an additional 5%.
Power up 1 150 Next attack is 33% more powerful.
Team Teleport 2 50 Switch places with the teammate with the lowest health; ends current turn.
Teleport 2 100 Shoots a projectile that teleports players to its landing spot; ends current turn.
Thunderbolt 2 100 One or more thunderbolts, depending on number of projectiles in the selected shot, hit where the next attack lands.

Moon disk

The Moon Disk, located in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen (or bottom right in new layout for GunBound World Champion, released in November 2005), is a series of icons known as satellites that affect the gameplay. Here is a list of the satellites in the Moon Disk:

When two or more of the same satellite appear in a row, the sunbeam, tornado, or the lightning beam from the previous instance(s) of Force, Hurricane, or Electricity will stay until a different satellite comes up on the Moon Disk.

Sudden death

Sudden Death mode activates after a set number of turns. The owner of a game room is able to set how many turns (40, 56, or 72) and what type of Sudden Death will occur. Each type of Sudden Death has a special effect on shots. In all three variations of Sudden Death, items are deactivated when the sudden death period begins.

In all of the Sudden Deaths, except for "No Death", the music changes from whatever it originally was to a more dramatic tune.

Security

Gunbound within the past has been heavily targeted with scam artists due to their lust of avatar ever since its beginning in late 2003. Softnyx has received numerous complaints regarding scam sites and lost avatar. In response, Softnyx has improved the security system by using the effective functions as shown:

Account IP Security

The main controversy behind the new IP security function is that dial-up users constantly retrieve dynamic IP addresses, which leaves them to the "NONE" security level. Softnyx has also realized that security selections LOW to MEDIUM are often ignored, and that they were removed.

Avatar Hacking Prevention Measures

Mail Q&A Function Game ID Registration Password Cloak

List of slang/shorthand commonly used on GunBound

Gunbound uses much of the same slang as the rest of the internet (see List of Internet slang). There are some, though that are rarely used elsewhere:

Filter

GunBound has a rudimentary profanity filter, filtering a few English swear-words. Screennames are filtered by the Gunbound website at registration, to prevent the use of profanities in a username, although there have been cases of people circumventing the name filter. In chat, players will use misspellings and replacement characters, such as "\", which is displayed as "₩" in-game, or extra spaces to get around the filter for in game chat. The words "Jesus" and "tai" were also banned before, but have now been allowed.

Events

In GunBound at certain times, Softnyx runs events, like Easter Event or Christmas Event. While the events are on the Softnyx website will show what things are happening because of the event. For the Easter 2006 event there were three "episodes": GunBound Events are opportunities for GunBound users to be rewarded by Softnyx and gives the newer players a chance to earn gold.

External links

 


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