Development Cycle Archive
Thread: 19 Answers (6-3-04)
Better Yet make large quantities of fish the main ingredient in mind poisons... You BE's know what I am talking about.
Adalie wrote:
Please tell me you will nerf the CMs before the combat balance in the fall or at least re-evalutate their capabilities. I'm sick of getting a great group together, to be destroyed by combat medics with 600-900 mind ticks. They just do suicide runs from the cloning center and the docs can't keep up.
Here is the big problem:
-Mind is the pool you can't buff or heal easily
-600+ ticks mean that a normal player will be dead in a few seconds. An elite player will be dead within a minute.
-The poison can hit multiple people at once. If you're indoors, such as a GCW base, then everyone will get poisoned. Entire groups fall prey to one combat medic this way.
-Docs can't cure fast enough to keep up with groups. When people just keep making suicide poison runs form the cloning center, you might as well kiss your raid goodbye.
I'm completely sick of taking large groups of 20+ elite players into a city and have them killed by 2 combat medics and 3 riflemen because they spam poison faster than anyone can keep up with and then riflemen finish them off.
If you wont nerf, at least give players better tools to defend against these types of attacks. Give them better poison resist food, or make it so CMs can only target 1 player offensively at a time. Or make it so combat medics can also cure poison from parties.
Right now, beyond a doubt, its what is KILLING pvp.
What is the biggest, meanest, toughest critter in the game, and where does he (or she) spawn?
I believe it's a Dark Jedi Master or Dark Jedi Knight, that spawns on Dantoine. I can tank everything but the Dark Jedi Master.
On the tentative Pub. 9 notes (one on corr. forum) you had put down that the INVISIBLE MARK problem was fixed. Is it fixed and on the publish, but left out from the patch notes?
I checked with QA to make sure this fix was in and we are verifying it on Test Center"
YAWN... I waited how long for this to be the question???
..come on throw us some usefull information... like, whats the point of Fast blast? there are novice marksman shots that do more damage and are more usefull.. what makes this worthy of being a MASTER level shot?
Thunderheart wrote:
Creature Handler
We have been told that there must be a delay on calling pets due to "exploits." However, the existing timer on calling pets after combat seems to negate any possible exploitive behavior already. Further, this creates a problem when running missions in a group... as players usually travel on vehicles (which most pets can't keep up with), causing the Creature Handler to wait 15-45 seconds at each lair for his 1-3 pets to appear. Most groups are unwilling to wait this long at every lair, and start attacking before the CH is ready.
Will you consider removing the timer on calling pets when combat has not recently taken place? And if not, please explain exactly what kind of "exploits" you think are possible that the combat timer alone isn't enough to prevent?
I will never discuss the details of exploit techniques in an open forum. As far as removing the timer on calling pets, it is something that the devs might consider removing, but it is a major hurdle to winning that discussion. The difficulty is measuring when and how combat begins and ends. Controlling that programmatically is a high level challenge. The machine can’t predict when combat is going to begin and end and can only react to it once it has begun and that is usually too late to prevent an unfair player death. When do you stop and start combat? I’m very open to hearing your ideas on how we might solve that issue so I can present the options to the team.
CH pulling out pets is no more of a danger than any other prof pulling out a weapon and armor (with a macro in .1 sec).
Consider the following template I made, and how this delay and inability to pull pets hurts us. Master Doctor, Master CH. If I get aggro, I'm a sittting duck. No defense. No offense. Can't pull my bike. My crafting R2 cons red to me. Combat has begun, and so I can't pull out a pet (or two or three), or a bike. Before any fight, I have to wait at least 45 seconds of pulling out pets before I can do anything (3pets x 15sec). By then, the rest of the group has already wiped out all the lair.
As a CH, pets were my armor and my weapons. As a pistolier, I could switch weapons mid-fight when I realized my foe was 100% resist to heat and acid.
CH gets one chance to get in a fight, and then only if the rest of his team waits for him. As soon as the enemy changes to kinetic resists vs. his pets, he's stuck.
Test it out. Take off the 15 second delay to call and see how little it changes things. Eliminate the combat has started / can't call thing. Just make it such that you can't store during combat. At best, an MCH could send in 3 waves of a single pet, and can't store the others. (3 level 23-24 pets is not a big deal). This way a CH can defend him/herself after they get aggro.
Can you define how a delay prevents unfair player deaths?
1CH) Duel challenge is issued. Before I accept, I pull out my Rancor, and accept duel. UNFAIR?
1RM) Duel challenge is issued while I have my CDEF rifle in hand. I switch to my T21 and accept duel. FAIR?
2CH) Pet is down to 10% health. No delay means I store and pull another from my datapad, right? Well, I can't store or call after combat has started, and for some time afterwards. Now add 15secs of delays on top of that, and it's just down time.
3CH) PvP - My Gurreck is taking heavy damage from a BH who is dealing out LLC damage. I'm in combat, so I can't store. I'm in combat, so I can't pull my Blurrg with Lt. Armor and 80% elec resist.
3RM) PvP - My target is taking heavy energy damage from my T21 in his Mbari Armor. He switches to composite mid fight. I switch to my Jawa Ion Rifle and start laying down stun damage.
If you won't talk about possible exploits with the general public, show them to our CH correspondant. Say "Here is the situation, here is an exploit, let's defeat it."
MrChow_Sai wrote:
Bonus Answer
What is the biggest, meanest, toughest critter in the game, and where does he (or she) spawn?
KzinKiller wrote:Controlling that programmatically is a high level challenge. The machine can’t predict when combat is going to begin and end and can only react to it once it has begun and that is usually too late to prevent an unfair player death. When do you stop and start combat? I’m very open to hearing your ideas on how we might solve that issue so I can present the options to the team.What the heck? How many ways does this game already check and stop you from doing something because you're in combat? The game already makes that determination in a dozen different contexts, and suddenly it's too hard to figure out when combat has begun?One of the least plausible answers ever.
What TH said is that the machine can not predict the future (when combat is going to begin) What we need to understand is what is this "unfair player death" and how is it that only the (once) Mighty MCH can wield this great power. Until we understand this we can not provide any useful ideas. I (We) also do not understand the magic of cities that prevents the "unfair player death" Perhaps we need to extend this magic to all of the galaxy to solve the problem. I sure wish I knew what the "problem" was though.
Now to TH's point. The game *CAN'T* predict the future. Now as to what you (TH) are asking when you say when do I (player?) start and stop combat I start combat when I press the atack key or the chalange to a duel or tell my pet to attack. I stop combat when I press the "peace" macro or when I tell my pets to follow me. I have no idea how to end a duel so can't speak to that. Since we dont understand the "unfair player death" I don't see how I or we can help TH solve the issue. IN fact I dont even know what the "issue" is. I do know that I have to stand around waiting for 15-45 sec for my pets to come out while hoping that whatever agressive creature is getting ready to have me for dinner doesn't *START* combat before my pets are ready thus causing the very "unfair player death" (mine
) TH describes as the reason for the delay to begin with.-Indene- (Who is getting rather tired of hearing excuses where answers would fit so nicely.)
Seshemw wrote:
No, all bleeds were nerfed because you could use them to get too much xp. Of other types.
Prior to the change, you could overlap healthshot1, healthshot2, as an example. Then switch to a gaffi stick for 1h exp.
When the critter died, largely because of dots, you'd get it ALL as 1h xp.
Do the same thing with the big ticket sword bleeds followed up by other weapons (or even grenades, for all-of-it-as-combat xp).
tada!
Thus the too much xp aspect. Now, vastly reduced overtime, and an up-front damage hit to make this a lot less likely.
garvin wrote:
nolan007 wrote:
Why not have a poll for each profession so that the question that is asked is the one that the forum community actually cares the most about?
That's exactly what I do in my community...if you want your Correspondent to do the same, ask them...I'm sure they'd be happy to oblige...remember, TH only answers the questions he gets from the Correspondents...
Unfortunately this week wasa crazy week for questions...You have to take into account that TH, the other Devs, Programmers, etc are all gearing up for Fan Fest...TH practically made this post as he was running out the door...mistakes are bound to happen...and with everyone in travel mode, more detailed answers can be hard to come by...
And personally...after so many disappointments over so many months, I am very happy with the Commando Answer...It confirms that TH has been telling the truth that Commandos will see more then new formulas coming with the Combat Balance...
If you want more specific answers, push for more specific questions...TH doesn't make the answers up on his own, he only brings back the info he's allowed to pass along to us...If he was to pass along some new proposed idea that everyone loved, but the devs later decided to change, can you imagine the flame fest that would cause...so do you really have to question why TH and the Devs have to be vague in some cases?
Garvin, you hold a special place in the correspondent hierarchy, but truly I am amazed that you would hae the huztpah to tell us to ask specific questions.Of course, you may be talking about the Commando's, but the rest of us have been asking specific questions for 9 months and getting nothing back. We can't even get a promised question answered completely when over 5 weeks is taken to deliver it. OMUs, still a problem.
LLJK_Griz wrote:
They delete all the time, especially when it's a non-ass-kissing post on the first page. Most of the players seem to be drooling retards who can't figure out how to use the NEXT PAGE button on the forums or in-game vendors, so they delete posts until the first page is nothing but happy horse**edit** to foolthe idiots into thinking everything is fine.
Squidwalker wrote:
Man I must be smarter then I thought. I posted a big reply here on the first page, stating my disappointment with some of the answers. Only one of which is a prefession I even have. I gave what I thought was constructive critisism and pointed out the flaws in the answers, if you call them that.
Well if you see my reply in here let me know. I just scanned all pages of this thread and I didn't see it. Guess they have the power to delete a single reply from someone that is more intelligent the SOE team, and logically/intelligently points out their flaws and lack of skills developing/maintaining a game like this.
This actually happened to me once before on a TH post, and I just thought maybe it didn't go through or I did something wacky. But now twice my reply doesn't stay in the thread, is to far.
Remember that thread about that crappy crafting patch on In Test? They deleted all the opposing posts, including several from correspondents, and then pushed the buggy, broken system to Live and the correspondents had to deal with players accusing them of doing nothing when in fact they were greatly opposed to the changes, but their opinions were deleted.
How long will it take them to learn that censorship is not the way to fix player discontent? Stop trying to hide the symptoms behind censorship and walls of TH crap and try listening to the players and fixing the problems.
SOE is the Empire incarnate!!!!1!!1one!!1!exclamation1