<!--quoteo(post=1937225:date=May 19 2012, 12:31 AM:name=SabaHell)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SabaHell @ May 19 2012, 12:31 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937225"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Ironically, just about everything you posted will be addressed within the next series of patches as they are bumped higher on the to-do list.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1937225:date=May 18 2012, 10:31 PM:name=SabaHell)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SabaHell @ May 18 2012, 10:31 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937225"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Ironically, just about everything you posted will be addressed within the next series of patches as they are bumped higher on the to-do list.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well, then I eagerly await the upcoming patches. =)
its realllllly annoying not being able to sort the servers anymore, having to look through all the 0 people servers to find a good one is terrible... please fix!
So I don't really understand why there was a step backwards made on cysts and balance. When I bought the game back at 198, cysts cost energy. They changed it to cysts costing team res, and now they're back to energy?
As is already stated in this thread, having cysts be so cheap really removes a lot of strategy to the game in my opinion. As a marine, I'd probably not want to bother killing them because energy comes fast and at a rate that has nothing to do with how many Rt's they have. I am wasting time killing the cyst that could be done doing something else - but at the same time it gives the aliens a big advantage to knowing exactly where I am and what i'm doing by not killing it. As an alien, who cares you just killed my cheap cyst? I'll spam 3 more just to spite you - then my friends will come kill you and the last 15 seconds of you spent alive mean almost nothing. As a marine, what was really accomplished?
In 207, you could take down an RT and maybe a few cysts, costing the alien team 10 Team res + 2 per cyst AND a lot of lost time gathering resources from the now deceased extractor. You are also denying them radar in that vicinity. While I admit that was a bit much, the buff to extractors may well be a good enough change to that strategy to not make it so crippling. It's easily countered with one or two aliens playing defense near the area. Aliens had to choose between going all out offensive and killing marine RT's at the risk of losing their own or staying a bit more defensive letting them tech up faster but also letting marines tech up fast.
Now with the harvester health buff and the lack of incentive to kill a cyst, aliens are going to have far too much time to react to an assault in their territory. Given cheap radar and fast speed, if the commander uses the cysts right and the team looks at their map - there should be rare occasions when a harvester is lost. Allowing most if not all aliens to spend every game on the offensive again with no need to be too defensive. This kills marine chances to tech fast enough to keep up with the alien tech.
When cysts cost team res, at least in early games it meant a lot. Aliens had to choose more on getting carapace early or trying to get 3-4 Rt's early (fast expansion). Now aliens can do both. They have all the res in the world to just immediately upgrade carapace while at the same time dropping cysts and RT's at the same rate. Not to mention that augmentation comes even FASTER than it did before - at the 5:30 mark, you've got an alien team with 3-4 RT's, augmentation, carapace, and 2-4 higher life forms.
It's easy to forsee the imbalance of this build in the alien's favor - they have a complete tech tree way faster than marines.
The only reason mantis was ever useful was because of the glitch. I don't know if it had higher DPS on structures, but Fades generally don't take their time to attack structures. You may as well have used it over just regularly going in with a swipe because it increased your damage without any real consequence. But, as said, it's getting removed for something else, hopefully.
<!--quoteo(post=1937232:date=May 19 2012, 02:59 PM:name=simba)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (simba @ May 19 2012, 02:59 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937232"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->So I don't really understand why there was a step backwards made on cysts and balance. When I bought the game back at 198, cysts cost energy. They changed it to cysts costing team res, and now they're back to energy?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Its not a step backwards if you think about the mechanics. It was always better as energy imo because that gave a reason to go for 2nd hive (in unlocked lifeform system). The key point is that mist now has an opportunity cost. I think its a nice change because you now have a system you can tweak to bring about tech/expansion tradeoffs and timings. Keep in mind that hive energy is counterintuitively far more limited than tres.
*edit* as for medpack from armoury energy? :s. Will have to see. Don't like it because theres now no tradeoff for dropping early shotgun to forward marines from commander pres and supplydrops are now detached from resource and map control.
IronHorseDeveloper, QA Manager, Technical Support & contributorJoin Date: 2010-05-08Member: 71669Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester, Subnautica PT Lead, Pistachionauts
edited May 2012
<!--quoteo(post=1937231:date=May 18 2012, 09:58 PM:name=deaglecrazy)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (deaglecrazy @ May 18 2012, 09:58 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937231"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->its realllllly annoying not being able to sort the servers anymore, having to look through all the 0 people servers to find a good one is terrible... please fix!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Definitely being worked on, as mentioned, but in the meantime you can click the category you want sorted AND THEN refresh everything, and it will sort properly. :)
edit: @elodea: i think one of the reasons was if starting pres is lowered, it becomes difficult to assist marines early game, so rather than adjust prices and make it some odd 0.25 cost that would lead to spammed medpacks later, it was moved to a different economy so that it also fits that tradeoff of "Assist" or "beacon" etc, given that nanoshield falls under assist as well, i'd also like to see weapon drops cost energy and just simply FREEZE incoming pres for commanders, as been suggested before. As for dropping early shotgun to forward marines, that wouldnt be possible when pres is lowered. :)
<!--quoteo(post=1937257:date=May 19 2012, 06:52 AM:name=NurEinMensch)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NurEinMensch @ May 19 2012, 06:52 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937257"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I still feel we need a reason for a couple of people to go Gorge and spend pres on stuff.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> This comment kinda bothers me (no offense intended though) because it means people don't think the Gorge is needed. While I have seen games where there wasn't a Gorge the entire time, its really frustrating as a Khamm when your structures don't build fast enough since no Gorge is helping. You've given the Gorge a very important role: lackey? assistant builder? henchman? - all negative terms but whatever you want to call it, but you've given the Gorge nothing in return. I also agree with that post though, as going Gorge is a harsh cut on your effectiveness and your fun - building a hive is an incredibly boring endeavor, even if the marines attack mid-way.. you're still sitting there healing.
That being said, Gorge has had massive improvements imo: Bellyslide works beautifully, exactly how it should. Mini-Cyst removal is a bit strange, wish Gorge had something to do with infestation spreading, but much less annoying/confusing then it was. Building Hydras off infestation is a great idea, but building them is like building a hive (boring as it takes a LONG time). and I'm really looking forward to this in the next build: <!--coloro:#98FB98--><span style="color:#98FB98"><!--/coloro-->Move Bile Bomb to Gorge<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> - been a long time coming.
<!--quoteo(post=1936807:date=May 17 2012, 07:02 PM:name=internetexplorer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (internetexplorer @ May 17 2012, 07:02 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1936807"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Phantasm is a wholly unnecessary, clunky mechanic that will waste a lot of time that could go to other things. Quote this if you're down~<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Not sure I want to +1 this yet, but it does seem.. like a big waste of time. I think Hallucination would work better as an ability that worked in an area for a length of time, rather than permanently with health (how do you kill a hallucination?). Plus the blank eyed stare of the hallucination is kinda pointless when it standing in the Marine base - maybe have it at least attack? or track the nearest target?
Gorge really needs more hydras - or more a powerful version.
3 hydras is ok for the start of a game, you can stop a couple of marines entering one area for a while. But when both teams have expanded, the hydras are not only too weak to deal with upgraded marine weapons, they're simply too few to be useful.
So please UW either let aliens upgrade hydras so over time they can be as effective as a marine sentry gun, or, let us build more of them.
Right now all the gorge can do to help from mid to late game is hold the heal button which is deadly boring.
<!--quoteo(post=1937222:date=May 19 2012, 03:39 AM:name=rantology)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rantology @ May 19 2012, 03:39 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937222"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I know it's a work in progress, as always, but I wanted to cry a little when I logged on to play, super excited to see the fruits of this 2 week long "performance push" only to see little to no change, and to have the game continue to be unplayable.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> There may have been some confusion regarding the wording of the patch 207 notes about a "2 week long performance push". What you are seeing in 208 is not the results of that. What Max has been spending his time on for the past 2 weeks is a much bigger system overhaul that we expect will have much more substantial performance improvements then what was seen in this patch, but will take a significant amount of time to get working properly. The 208 performance improvements were just the result of a little bit of time spent on a few additional smaller optimizations. <!--quoteo(post=1937222:date=May 19 2012, 03:39 AM:name=rantology)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rantology @ May 19 2012, 03:39 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937222"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->[*]<!--coloro:#FFA500--><span style="color:#FFA500"><!--/coloro-->Onos stomp.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> The onos in general is plagued with balance issues- it really feels that while you may have removed Devour this go round, you've effectly made it's counterpart not only AoE with a MASSIVE range, but just as lethal and just as frustrating. A single onos can bring a badly losing alien team back around to a crushing victory just because of how imbalanced it is. He seems to completely revolve around being nothing more than a stomp-bot cappable of making it's appearance a mere 7-10 minutes into the game. And the "tech explosions" only excacerbate this issue when you suddenly have 2-4 onos appearing on the field at once.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Stomp is getting some work done on it to not be quite as frustrating and OP as it currently is. We play the game just like everyone else, and get just as frustrated by the constant Stomp spam. As far as how early the Onos shows up in game and how many show up at one time, we know that is an issue as well, but is the result of some larger systemic issues that Charlie is putting a lot of thought and time into solving. We want to address it for the whole game, and not throw in a quick temporary fix for the Onos. <!--quoteo(post=1937222:date=May 19 2012, 03:39 AM:name=rantology)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rantology @ May 19 2012, 03:39 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937222"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->[*]<!--coloro:#FFA500--><span style="color:#FFA500"><!--/coloro-->The new Menu <!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->- This definately looks like a Work-In-Progress so I'll just list what I would really call the essentials that need to be added: Server sorting by player count/ping/tickrate ect, Mouse sensitivity and volume figures (not just a slidebar), MORE KEYBINDINGS! seriously, fsfod's Menu Mod has keybindings for all vocalizations in-game (medpack, ammo, heal me etc), team joins, and more and that alone is why I find the current menu un-usable. A Favorite Servers list would also be nice ;)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> This has been stated by numerous devs already, but the main menu that you see in 208 is just the basic shell that we needed to get up and running, before we can start adding all the additional features and polish. We know all the things it is lacking and have a lot of plans for vastly improved functionality from what you see now. It will continue to evolve and improve but it will take several more patches to get there.
<!--quoteo(post=1937341:date=May 19 2012, 05:36 PM:name=glimmerman)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (glimmerman @ May 19 2012, 05:36 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937341"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->imo you should have kept the new menu in the dev build, it is FAR too non-functional to release even at a "beta" state.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You wont have to deal with this for very long though. The next patch will probably fix up most of the issues.
Dang, thanks for the lengthy response Cory =) It's a relief to know that only small performance tweaks were pushed, I guess I got false impressions for 208 thinking it would have some of the bigger changes going in and I was a bit confused with what I saw...but that clears it up.
<!--quoteo(post=1937244:date=May 19 2012, 08:15 AM:name=ironhorse)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ironhorse @ May 19 2012, 08:15 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937244"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Definitely being worked on, as mentioned, but in the meantime you can click the category you want sorted AND THEN refresh everything, and it will sort properly. :)
edit: @elodea: i think one of the reasons was if starting pres is lowered, it becomes difficult to assist marines early game, so rather than adjust prices and make it some odd 0.25 cost that would lead to spammed medpacks later, it was moved to a different economy so that it also fits that tradeoff of "Assist" or "beacon" etc, given that nanoshield falls under assist as well, i'd also like to see weapon drops cost energy and just simply FREEZE incoming pres for commanders, as been suggested before. As for dropping early shotgun to forward marines, that wouldnt be possible when pres is lowered. :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm afraid I can click on any category, clicking it then refresh does nothing.. actually for me it always says refreshing..
Also the servers refreshing now is soooooooooooooooooooo slow for me, takes about 15 seconds (maybe less i don't know the actual number) to pull all the server names, and while its doing so I'm not able to doing anything (such as click back), is this just me?
<!--quoteo(post=1937383:date=May 19 2012, 11:19 AM:name=deaglecrazy)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (deaglecrazy @ May 19 2012, 11:19 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937383"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->and while its doing so I'm not able to doing anything (such as click back), is this just me?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1937352:date=May 20 2012, 01:41 AM:name=Obraxis)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Obraxis @ May 20 2012, 01:41 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937352"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You wont have to deal with this for very long though. The next patch will probably fix up most of the issues.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
which is kinda the point I made. Why introduce it now rather than releasing it with the next patch when it's functional?
<!--quoteo(post=1937446:date=May 19 2012, 05:21 PM:name=glimmerman)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (glimmerman @ May 19 2012, 05:21 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937446"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->which is kinda the point I made. Why introduce it now rather than releasing it with the next patch when it's functional?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
because they can get feedback on it now, and improve it in ways they otherwise wouldn't have with the next revision
Good to hear the new menu has work to be done. It feels like a console port menu now in its current state. I also hope we get some cool polish, cause it is deffinately a step backwards from that animated marine, MAC, skulk and all.
In the new Buid the overall performance is much better, but i got a new problem that some times the game freezes for 1 or 2 seconds, its a little bit confusing and sometimes i fell through the ground. Maybe 209 fix this :D
It's also worth mentioning that I am thoroughly impressed with the how this small development company handles everything they do. I have played games of a similar scale with small companies who are never this transparent and communicative. Most of my experience with other gaming companies has been so incredibly frustrating it's led to thousands of lost subscriptions and sales. It's wonderful knowing that the developers are constantly communicating with their player base on their forums, no matter what they share, and that there are constant updates coming to the game every week to two weeks. It does a lot to build customer loyalty.
<!--quoteo(post=1937449:date=May 20 2012, 05:27 AM:name=internetexplorer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (internetexplorer @ May 20 2012, 05:27 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937449"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->because they can get feedback on it now, and improve it in ways they otherwise wouldn't have with the next revision<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Normally I would agree, however it is in *such* an unfinished state that there's not really much constructive feedback to give, it's all very obvious e.g. ability to sort servers.
Games are becoming shorter though and after a lot of matches last night I worry the game is becoming to rushed and the goal for Aliens is getting Onos asap and for Marines GL's and jetpacks. Most things in between are now mostly forgotten. I was able to go Onos in several games last night very quickly. In one game I evolved Onos with aug and Carapace in just over 5 minutes. By 7 minutes we had 4 of them. I know the devs are looking at this but the pace of the game is becoming seriously fast and feels rushed in game. I love the early game expansion by both teams, Skulks v Marines fighting over territory and extractors. Thats over very soon and within minutes I see Fades, GL's and Onos and the game is over....rinse and repeat. Most games won by the Alien side in 10 minutes or so. It feels a lot like combat mode from NS1 atm which I never liked.
Why is the tree for upgrades not in steps? This would stop comms just bypassing everything and going straight for grenades? Make it so you have to get SG then the next in the chain like you do for armour and weapon power upgrades? Lower starting pres is needed and maybe slower res from extractors/harvesters too.
Of all the matches I played last night only two went over the ten minute mark. Games are becoming forgettable and blur into one. Recent builds meant games could last from minutes to hours which imo was great. Feels like depth and strategy are losing to fast paced twitch shooting and combat which is a shame.
Of the two longer games one ended with the Aliens losing as one by one after dying we could not spawn at the hive. I thought this bug had been fixed?!
Now that the Gorge can build off infestation Gorge rushes are common again. Rushing marine base and setting up Hydras at one exit, severely hampering early Marine expansion. All Alien builds should need infestation as it just makes sense and stops the above and is that not the idea of the Alien Garden concept?. Gorges need cysts back and why not make it so Hydras disappear (which I also don't like because if you crash out the game you lose everything by the time you get back in) but not mini cysts?
Good to hear BB could be going back to the Gorge though. Although it might make the lerk less popular as it dies easily and spore kills are not that common and are not very affective for area denial as they once were when they were projectile spores.
Recognize good network improvements which makes it more fluid for not high end machines. Like others said the new menue (alpha) is a joke...i dont think it was good to put it in this build cause it looks very unprofessional for new players.... Hydra limit should maybe gain with more hives or maybe make it as longer you stay gorge as more hydras you can build based on how much hives aliens have...3 hydras is ok for the start of the game but with much more game progress on both marine and alien side 3 hydras is to less. Clogs should be made stronger...at the moment they are useless...maybe make them resistant to grens (a clog could be a material which soaks in slower objects like grens an hold them inside the clog itself till marines shot them with lmg or arcs and after the clog is destroyed the gren which was hold inside will also explode and damage the other clogs) so they can really act as wall / slowing down marines or blocking paths strategical...the clog model itself looks also very ugly... Marines should be able to pick welders after they die like in NS1. Plz change the Alien Vision...it destroys all the beauty of the gfx...make it more like the shade cloak effect or the old NS1 style.
Overall i like the gameplay more then a few patches ago.
Comments
Ironic that you consider that ironic.
Well, then I eagerly await the upcoming patches. =)
As is already stated in this thread, having cysts be so cheap really removes a lot of strategy to the game in my opinion. As a marine, I'd probably not want to bother killing them because energy comes fast and at a rate that has nothing to do with how many Rt's they have. I am wasting time killing the cyst that could be done doing something else - but at the same time it gives the aliens a big advantage to knowing exactly where I am and what i'm doing by not killing it. As an alien, who cares you just killed my cheap cyst? I'll spam 3 more just to spite you - then my friends will come kill you and the last 15 seconds of you spent alive mean almost nothing. As a marine, what was really accomplished?
In 207, you could take down an RT and maybe a few cysts, costing the alien team 10 Team res + 2 per cyst AND a lot of lost time gathering resources from the now deceased extractor. You are also denying them radar in that vicinity. While I admit that was a bit much, the buff to extractors may well be a good enough change to that strategy to not make it so crippling. It's easily countered with one or two aliens playing defense near the area. Aliens had to choose between going all out offensive and killing marine RT's at the risk of losing their own or staying a bit more defensive letting them tech up faster but also letting marines tech up fast.
Now with the harvester health buff and the lack of incentive to kill a cyst, aliens are going to have far too much time to react to an assault in their territory. Given cheap radar and fast speed, if the commander uses the cysts right and the team looks at their map - there should be rare occasions when a harvester is lost. Allowing most if not all aliens to spend every game on the offensive again with no need to be too defensive. This kills marine chances to tech fast enough to keep up with the alien tech.
When cysts cost team res, at least in early games it meant a lot. Aliens had to choose more on getting carapace early or trying to get 3-4 Rt's early (fast expansion). Now aliens can do both. They have all the res in the world to just immediately upgrade carapace while at the same time dropping cysts and RT's at the same rate. Not to mention that augmentation comes even FASTER than it did before - at the 5:30 mark, you've got an alien team with 3-4 RT's, augmentation, carapace, and 2-4 higher life forms.
It's easy to forsee the imbalance of this build in the alien's favor - they have a complete tech tree way faster than marines.
Its not a step backwards if you think about the mechanics. It was always better as energy imo because that gave a reason to go for 2nd hive (in unlocked lifeform system). The key point is that mist now has an opportunity cost. I think its a nice change because you now have a system you can tweak to bring about tech/expansion tradeoffs and timings. Keep in mind that hive energy is counterintuitively far more limited than tres.
*edit* as for medpack from armoury energy? :s. Will have to see. Don't like it because theres now no tradeoff for dropping early shotgun to forward marines from commander pres and supplydrops are now detached from resource and map control.
Definitely being worked on, as mentioned, but in the meantime you can click the category you want sorted AND THEN refresh everything, and it will sort properly. :)
edit: @elodea: i think one of the reasons was if starting pres is lowered, it becomes difficult to assist marines early game, so rather than adjust prices and make it some odd 0.25 cost that would lead to spammed medpacks later, it was moved to a different economy so that it also fits that tradeoff of "Assist" or "beacon" etc, given that nanoshield falls under assist as well, i'd also like to see weapon drops cost energy and just simply FREEZE incoming pres for commanders, as been suggested before. As for dropping early shotgun to forward marines, that wouldnt be possible when pres is lowered. :)
This comment kinda bothers me (no offense intended though) because it means people don't think the Gorge is needed. While I have seen games where there wasn't a Gorge the entire time, its really frustrating as a Khamm when your structures don't build fast enough since no Gorge is helping. You've given the Gorge a very important role: lackey? assistant builder? henchman? - all negative terms but whatever you want to call it, but you've given the Gorge nothing in return. I also agree with that post though, as going Gorge is a harsh cut on your effectiveness and your fun - building a hive is an incredibly boring endeavor, even if the marines attack mid-way.. you're still sitting there healing.
That being said, Gorge has had massive improvements imo:
Bellyslide works beautifully, exactly how it should.
Mini-Cyst removal is a bit strange, wish Gorge had something to do with infestation spreading, but much less annoying/confusing then it was.
Building Hydras off infestation is a great idea, but building them is like building a hive (boring as it takes a LONG time).
and I'm really looking forward to this in the next build: <!--coloro:#98FB98--><span style="color:#98FB98"><!--/coloro-->Move Bile Bomb to Gorge<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> - been a long time coming.
<!--quoteo(post=1936807:date=May 17 2012, 07:02 PM:name=internetexplorer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (internetexplorer @ May 17 2012, 07:02 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1936807"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Phantasm is a wholly unnecessary, clunky mechanic that will waste a lot of time that could go to other things. Quote this if you're down~<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not sure I want to +1 this yet, but it does seem.. like a big waste of time. I think Hallucination would work better as an ability that worked in an area for a length of time, rather than permanently with health (how do you kill a hallucination?). Plus the blank eyed stare of the hallucination is kinda pointless when it standing in the Marine base - maybe have it at least attack? or track the nearest target?
3 hydras is ok for the start of a game, you can stop a couple of marines entering one area for a while. But when both teams have expanded, the hydras are not only too weak to deal with upgraded marine weapons, they're simply too few to be useful.
So please UW either let aliens upgrade hydras so over time they can be as effective as a marine sentry gun, or, let us build more of them.
Right now all the gorge can do to help from mid to late game is hold the heal button which is deadly boring.
There may have been some confusion regarding the wording of the patch 207 notes about a "2 week long performance push". What you are seeing in 208 is not the results of that. What Max has been spending his time on for the past 2 weeks is a much bigger system overhaul that we expect will have much more substantial performance improvements then what was seen in this patch, but will take a significant amount of time to get working properly. The 208 performance improvements were just the result of a little bit of time spent on a few additional smaller optimizations.
<!--quoteo(post=1937222:date=May 19 2012, 03:39 AM:name=rantology)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rantology @ May 19 2012, 03:39 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937222"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->[*]<!--coloro:#FFA500--><span style="color:#FFA500"><!--/coloro-->Onos stomp.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> The onos in general is plagued with balance issues- it really feels that while you may have removed Devour this go round, you've effectly made it's counterpart not only AoE with a MASSIVE range, but just as lethal and just as frustrating. A single onos can bring a badly losing alien team back around to a crushing victory just because of how imbalanced it is. He seems to completely revolve around being nothing more than a stomp-bot cappable of making it's appearance a mere 7-10 minutes into the game. And the "tech explosions" only excacerbate this issue when you suddenly have 2-4 onos appearing on the field at once.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Stomp is getting some work done on it to not be quite as frustrating and OP as it currently is. We play the game just like everyone else, and get just as frustrated by the constant Stomp spam. As far as how early the Onos shows up in game and how many show up at one time, we know that is an issue as well, but is the result of some larger systemic issues that Charlie is putting a lot of thought and time into solving. We want to address it for the whole game, and not throw in a quick temporary fix for the Onos.
<!--quoteo(post=1937222:date=May 19 2012, 03:39 AM:name=rantology)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rantology @ May 19 2012, 03:39 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1937222"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->[*]<!--coloro:#FFA500--><span style="color:#FFA500"><!--/coloro-->The new Menu <!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->- This definately looks like a Work-In-Progress so I'll just list what I would really call the essentials that need to be added: Server sorting by player count/ping/tickrate ect, Mouse sensitivity and volume figures (not just a slidebar), MORE KEYBINDINGS! seriously, fsfod's Menu Mod has keybindings for all vocalizations in-game (medpack, ammo, heal me etc), team joins, and more and that alone is why I find the current menu un-usable. A Favorite Servers list would also be nice ;)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This has been stated by numerous devs already, but the main menu that you see in 208 is just the basic shell that we needed to get up and running, before we can start adding all the additional features and polish. We know all the things it is lacking and have a lot of plans for vastly improved functionality from what you see now. It will continue to evolve and improve but it will take several more patches to get there.
--Cory
You wont have to deal with this for very long though. The next patch will probably fix up most of the issues.
And looking forward to the Onos changes for sure.
edit: @elodea: i think one of the reasons was if starting pres is lowered, it becomes difficult to assist marines early game, so rather than adjust prices and make it some odd 0.25 cost that would lead to spammed medpacks later, it was moved to a different economy so that it also fits that tradeoff of "Assist" or "beacon" etc, given that nanoshield falls under assist as well, i'd also like to see weapon drops cost energy and just simply FREEZE incoming pres for commanders, as been suggested before. As for dropping early shotgun to forward marines, that wouldnt be possible when pres is lowered. :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm afraid I can click on any category, clicking it then refresh does nothing.. actually for me it always says refreshing..
Also the servers refreshing now is soooooooooooooooooooo slow for me, takes about 15 seconds (maybe less i don't know the actual number) to pull all the server names, and while its doing so I'm not able to doing anything (such as click back), is this just me?
No, it's not just you.
which is kinda the point I made. Why introduce it now rather than releasing it with the next patch when it's functional?
because they can get feedback on it now, and improve it in ways they otherwise wouldn't have with the next revision
It feels like a console port menu now in its current state.
I also hope we get some cool polish, cause it is deffinately a step backwards from that animated marine, MAC, skulk and all.
+1 to UWE.
+1
Normally I would agree, however it is in *such* an unfinished state that there's not really much constructive feedback to give, it's all very obvious e.g. ability to sort servers.
Games are becoming shorter though and after a lot of matches last night I worry the game is becoming to rushed and the goal for Aliens is getting Onos asap and for Marines GL's and jetpacks. Most things in between are now mostly forgotten. I was able to go Onos in several games last night very quickly. In one game I evolved Onos with aug and Carapace in just over 5 minutes. By 7 minutes we had 4 of them. I know the devs are looking at this but the pace of the game is becoming seriously fast and feels rushed in game. I love the early game expansion by both teams, Skulks v Marines fighting over territory and extractors. Thats over very soon and within minutes I see Fades, GL's and Onos and the game is over....rinse and repeat. Most games won by the Alien side in 10 minutes or so. It feels a lot like combat mode from NS1 atm which I never liked.
Why is the tree for upgrades not in steps? This would stop comms just bypassing everything and going straight for grenades? Make it so you have to get SG then the next in the chain like you do for armour and weapon power upgrades? Lower starting pres is needed and maybe slower res from extractors/harvesters too.
Of all the matches I played last night only two went over the ten minute mark. Games are becoming forgettable and blur into one. Recent builds meant games could last from minutes to hours which imo was great. Feels like depth and strategy are losing to fast paced twitch shooting and combat which is a shame.
Of the two longer games one ended with the Aliens losing as one by one after dying we could not spawn at the hive. I thought this bug had been fixed?!
Now that the Gorge can build off infestation Gorge rushes are common again. Rushing marine base and setting up Hydras at one exit, severely hampering early Marine expansion. All Alien builds should need infestation as it just makes sense and stops the above and is that not the idea of the Alien Garden concept?. Gorges need cysts back and why not make it so Hydras disappear (which I also don't like because if you crash out the game you lose everything by the time you get back in) but not mini cysts?
Good to hear BB could be going back to the Gorge though. Although it might make the lerk less popular as it dies easily and spore kills are not that common and are not very affective for area denial as they once were when they were projectile spores.
Like others said the new menue (alpha) is a joke...i dont think it was good to put it in this build cause it looks very unprofessional for new players....
Hydra limit should maybe gain with more hives or maybe make it as longer you stay gorge as more hydras you can build based on how much hives aliens have...3 hydras is ok for the start of the game but with much more game progress on both marine and alien side 3 hydras is to less.
Clogs should be made stronger...at the moment they are useless...maybe make them resistant to grens (a clog could be a material which soaks in slower objects like grens an hold them inside the clog itself till marines shot them with lmg or arcs and after the clog is destroyed the gren which was hold inside will also explode and damage the other clogs) so they can really act as wall / slowing down marines or blocking paths strategical...the clog model itself looks also very ugly...
Marines should be able to pick welders after they die like in NS1.
Plz change the Alien Vision...it destroys all the beauty of the gfx...make it more like the shade cloak effect or the old NS1 style.
Overall i like the gameplay more then a few patches ago.
I had little bit fun at public server.. :)