From A Server Ops Point Of View...
Serrin
Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 2657Members
Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 2657Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Things to change/fix/tweak</div> I run my own server, as a result I'm fairly objective on the game balance. I often switch teams just to keep things even, I always join the appropriate team, I'm an awesome skulk and an above average commander. I enjoy both sides and I agree the game is balanced well overall. Though a bad commander with good troops or a good commander with bad troops often gives people the impression that the game isn't balanced, that's just not true. I've seen my regulars who know what they're doing, or groups of clan members who choose my server to play on put games at stalemates to the point that one side finally just stopped fighting back to end it.
The game is near perfect in it's balance.
This is a short and I'm sure incomplete list of things I've seen from both sides. I'm posting it here so other Op's can add to it. If you can't be objective about team balance and friendly in general please stay off my thread.
The clipping error with the turret factory needs to be fixed, it's far too easy for a skulk to get "inside" the factory and avoid being hit by any turrets that aren't directly behind it and missed much more often than a still standing skulk should be.
While you're at it, change the name of the turret factory to turret generator to keep with the "feel" of the game and reflect the new way it works.
There needs to be a limit on the number of turrets one "generator" can support and a limit on how many can be in an area period. I had a 2 hour stalemate on my server today. On eclipse, the marines lost, the aliens had all three hives, turns out the reason the marines lost is because their commander thought it would be funny to cover the floor of the base in turrets rather than use the resources for practical intelligent things in an attempt to win. The players from both sides were literally having to walk on top of turrets to move inside. I finally had to just change the map.
Gestating eggs should be tested out as "buildings" to see if it's a good idea to do that. I think it would help greatly with people who find "exploitable" areas and gestate into an onos INSIDE the base after making it in as a skulk. If eggs could be targeted by siege turrets it would stop this. It would also help with "walls of lame" as most people who become an Onos have to go to the enemy location before gestating because they can't get down hallways and corridors as an onos. Gorges would have to learn to adapt building techniques to compensate for this and instant blockade walls would become something that annoyed even the other players on their team.
Obviously some bugs need to be addressed, like the bug where commanders suddenly become incapable of selecting any buildings to upgrade or recycle. Occasionally one can work around this bug by getting out and letting someone else get in, but sometimes (many times) that doesn't work either, the bug just attaches itself to the new player who gets in as well. This bug also occasionally persists thru round changes (not map changes, just rounds).
People are getting the hang (slowly) of blinking and have stopped complaining so much about it not working, however I still have a suggestion. What if you made the bounding box for a blinking player very very small while they're blinking, wouldn't that allow it to be a little more "free" from restrictions? I'm not a coder, it's just a conversation I had with a friend who knows a little more than I do and he thought the idea sounded like it might work. If not just ignore this one.
This really doesn't need mentioning as I'm sure you're already very aware of it, but it would be nice if we could stop blinking inside things and getting stuck. Or if getting stuck came with something to make having to kill yourself less painful, like killing you automatically when it happens and refunding the resources you had used to evolve. If it's even possible to detect when it happens.
This one I'm afraid might hurt someones feelings, but it needs to be said. Your manual tells a nice story, it's nicely done and fun to read, I certainly enjoyed reading it while waiting for release, but it is not giving newbies the actual gameplay mechanics they need. Telling someone to go read the manual is not an acceptable response in this mod because reading it still isn't going to teach them that to use blink you need to be aiming horizontally or above, nor is it going to teach them how to build structures or that they need to select a marine and right click on the ground to give him a waypoint or on a structure to order him to guard it, etc. It's well written as plot device or a series of short stories, it's not a very good manual.
Comments and criticism are welcome. Any other balance or bugs or etc that other Ops have noticed are not only welcome but wanted.
-Sam
<!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo-->
The game is near perfect in it's balance.
This is a short and I'm sure incomplete list of things I've seen from both sides. I'm posting it here so other Op's can add to it. If you can't be objective about team balance and friendly in general please stay off my thread.
The clipping error with the turret factory needs to be fixed, it's far too easy for a skulk to get "inside" the factory and avoid being hit by any turrets that aren't directly behind it and missed much more often than a still standing skulk should be.
While you're at it, change the name of the turret factory to turret generator to keep with the "feel" of the game and reflect the new way it works.
There needs to be a limit on the number of turrets one "generator" can support and a limit on how many can be in an area period. I had a 2 hour stalemate on my server today. On eclipse, the marines lost, the aliens had all three hives, turns out the reason the marines lost is because their commander thought it would be funny to cover the floor of the base in turrets rather than use the resources for practical intelligent things in an attempt to win. The players from both sides were literally having to walk on top of turrets to move inside. I finally had to just change the map.
Gestating eggs should be tested out as "buildings" to see if it's a good idea to do that. I think it would help greatly with people who find "exploitable" areas and gestate into an onos INSIDE the base after making it in as a skulk. If eggs could be targeted by siege turrets it would stop this. It would also help with "walls of lame" as most people who become an Onos have to go to the enemy location before gestating because they can't get down hallways and corridors as an onos. Gorges would have to learn to adapt building techniques to compensate for this and instant blockade walls would become something that annoyed even the other players on their team.
Obviously some bugs need to be addressed, like the bug where commanders suddenly become incapable of selecting any buildings to upgrade or recycle. Occasionally one can work around this bug by getting out and letting someone else get in, but sometimes (many times) that doesn't work either, the bug just attaches itself to the new player who gets in as well. This bug also occasionally persists thru round changes (not map changes, just rounds).
People are getting the hang (slowly) of blinking and have stopped complaining so much about it not working, however I still have a suggestion. What if you made the bounding box for a blinking player very very small while they're blinking, wouldn't that allow it to be a little more "free" from restrictions? I'm not a coder, it's just a conversation I had with a friend who knows a little more than I do and he thought the idea sounded like it might work. If not just ignore this one.
This really doesn't need mentioning as I'm sure you're already very aware of it, but it would be nice if we could stop blinking inside things and getting stuck. Or if getting stuck came with something to make having to kill yourself less painful, like killing you automatically when it happens and refunding the resources you had used to evolve. If it's even possible to detect when it happens.
This one I'm afraid might hurt someones feelings, but it needs to be said. Your manual tells a nice story, it's nicely done and fun to read, I certainly enjoyed reading it while waiting for release, but it is not giving newbies the actual gameplay mechanics they need. Telling someone to go read the manual is not an acceptable response in this mod because reading it still isn't going to teach them that to use blink you need to be aiming horizontally or above, nor is it going to teach them how to build structures or that they need to select a marine and right click on the ground to give him a waypoint or on a structure to order him to guard it, etc. It's well written as plot device or a series of short stories, it's not a very good manual.
Comments and criticism are welcome. Any other balance or bugs or etc that other Ops have noticed are not only welcome but wanted.
-Sam
<!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo-->
Comments
1) Get VAC working.
2) Give us a first person perspective view
Nothing helps you pick off hackers like seeing the first person view. Now I know people will complain about how it will ruin it if you can tell where your enemy is and free roam when you are dead, but I'm not talking about if you are playing on one of the teams.. I'd love to see it in observation mode for admins.. then maybe make it so a person can't join a team if you left observation mode for like X secs. Either that or let me do it in HLTV (which would require it to work) (sorry for the poke I know you guys are really working hard to iron out the wrinkles).
Maybe tie it to the admin icons so only they can do it or something.
Anyway.. that's my 2 cents
I would also like to suggest a change to map ns_nancy sometime soon. The pillar behind the command chair <i>or</i> the pillar in the center of the room down the ramp from the command chair needs to be removed. I would not suggest removing them both as this would provide too much room and encourage excessive amounts of turrets, but one or the other needs to be adjusted to allow the marines more room to grow within their initial starting point without making things so cluttered no one can move. Further, once things start being built turret arcs in these rooms beguin to get cut off by structures, causing the need for more turrets which only compunds the problem of moving thru the rooms.
Anyone else?
-Sam