this has probably been suggested someplace before, but when i'm commanding I really wish I had the ability to select all the marines with a key, or create groups. it would be as simple as this;
LOL I just posted two posts: <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=117639" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/in...howtopic=117639</a> and <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=117638" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/in...howtopic=117638</a> that should be in this group. Sorry - I am a lazy noob. Can someone move them or something?
<!--quoteo(post=1922570:date=Apr 6 2012, 07:46 PM:name=paradoxum)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (paradoxum @ Apr 6 2012, 07:46 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1922570"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->this has probably been suggested someplace before, but when i'm commanding I really wish I had the ability to select all the marines with a key, or create groups. it would be as simple as this;
Small suggestion: give commanders different text colour and different voice icon ingame. Makes it easier to tell when the comm is saying something over just teammates.
Why do players need to spam 'need medkit or ammo', wouldn't it just be easier to give the commander an automatic notification once a player is running low on hp or ammo? Maybe even have an icon with all your soldiers their hp and ammo on the UI.
<!--quoteo(post=1926009:date=Apr 16 2012, 04:44 PM:name=Xarius)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Xarius @ Apr 16 2012, 04:44 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1926009"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Why do players need to spam 'need medkit or ammo', wouldn't it just be easier to give the commander an automatic notification once a player is running low on hp or ammo? Maybe even have an icon with all your soldiers their hp and ammo on the UI.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> It might be easier, but I don't think that automated notifications would make the game better. I kind of like how the player is encouraged to interact with the commander, plus sometimes a player is about to die or is in a position where they aren't worth saving. I think it should be kept to the players' discretion when and where *packs need to be dropped.
<!--quoteo(post=1927578:date=Apr 20 2012, 10:18 AM:name=DarkOmen)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DarkOmen @ Apr 20 2012, 10:18 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1927578"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It might be easier, but I don't think that automated notifications would make the game better. I kind of like how the player is encouraged to interact with the commander, plus sometimes a player is about to die or is in a position where they aren't worth saving. I think it should be kept to the players' discretion when and where *packs need to be dropped.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Well, at least the soldier's health should be displayed without having to select them. This is really deterring me from playing as the Marine commander as I am required to actively heal players without easily seeing their health, in order to work towards a victory.
And I second the "Woah, ctrl+12345 / 12345 works?" discovery. This shall make life much easier.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> It's broken if you rebind whatever control is bound to by default (crouch?). Using the rebound button in stead doesn't work either.
<!--quoteo(post=1932249:date=May 1 2012, 11:03 AM:name=Rover)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rover @ May 1 2012, 11:03 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1932249"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It's broken if you rebind whatever control is bound to by default (crouch?). Using the rebound button in stead doesn't work either.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ah! THATS why everyone keeps saying that its fixed, but I keep insisting that they are insane. Welp... hopefully that gets fixed soon-ish. Anyway, I came here to post this suggestion:
-Remove the Cyst abilities from the Cysts and put them on the Khamm's screen next to Mist. When the Khamm activates it, all cysts on screen fire off the desired effect. Also change their AOE to affect any players on screen && on infestation so that they are actually useful, as opposed to only working 5 feet away from the cyst - which no one is paying attention to. (I have yet to see the abilities used by anyone but myself btw.. are they even still in this patch?) Keep the energy use on the Cysts themselves, so the Khamm can do this all over the map if they so wanted, but not in the same place over and over. Not to mention it would keep flamethrowers useful at preventing abilities.
Just a re-post from general ideas and suggestions. However, it would be nice to see this applied to other things like shades/crags for their invis and umbra (or other abilities). Possibly having the "spell buttons" lit up whenever there is the correct structure on the ground, push the button and they fire off. Not near as important as the Cyst idea would be, but would get rid of the 'middle man'.
Another idea would be to have an icon pop up above or under players on the field if they are talking (team-speak, not sound effect) or if they are requesting something. Preferably the icon could also be informing the Comm what they wanted (med pack vs ammo pack, etc). Similarly I'd like to see this same kind of system for Kharaa, in particular with Mist, but also the cyst abilities as well as requesting various structures. At the very least, some sort of FPS player "ping" the RTS player's attention - it is really hard to differentiate people sometimes.
<!--quoteo(post=1922570:date=Apr 6 2012, 02:46 PM:name=paradoxum)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (paradoxum @ Apr 6 2012, 02:46 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1922570"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->this has probably been suggested someplace before, but when i'm commanding I really wish I had the ability to select all the marines with a key, or create groups. it would be as simple as this;
I still think commanding and directing troops is one of the most relevant things to do.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I'm currently attempting to work on an interface mod as my primary project. However, it is extremely difficult as I have never done such a task before and have ambitious goals for it. The features mentioned in your post are something I plan on attempting to do after first release.
I've been trying my hand at commanding lately and I have a few observations / suggestions...
1. Energy indicator As a khamander I was puzzled why I couldn't drop a cyst when it appeared I had more than enough energy to do so, until I realized that the top bar shows personal resources, team resources, and harvesters, not energy / team Res / harvesters like I was expecting. The long-story-short of this suggestion would be that this be revised to show energy / team res / harvesters. I recognize this might be difficult because each structure seems to have its own energy supply - ie., for cysts, they are drawn from the energy of the hive, and I assume having two hives means you have twice as much energy. But this is needlessly confusing, and since everything is linked in together, why not have one single source of energy that applies across the commander experience.
I'm sure there a host of balance and gameplay issues that demand that each structure have its own energy supply, but from a player perspective, all I know is that I want to drop a cyst and I can't, and I don't know why unless I happen to have my hive selected and I can see what its energy level is. Which is not often the case - that's pretty small text.
2. Nutrient mist ... and other related commands - I would like the cursor indicator to show red if I'm not able to use this ability (ie., I'm hovering over something that won't allow me to do it) and turn green if I can. It was really confusing to know where I could use the mist, or not, and again, for the longest time I would stare at the top indicators and think "I have more than enough energy to use this ability!" - all the while not knowing that I'm looking at personal res, not energy.
3. Personal res Why not move it out of the top bar completely? I know when I'm commanding I'm not really thinking about how much personal res I have. It could be somewhere innocuous, perhaps.
<!--quoteo(post=1938985:date=May 25 2012, 10:15 PM:name=Cee Colon Slash)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Cee Colon Slash @ May 25 2012, 10:15 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1938985"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I've been trying my hand at commanding lately and I have a few observations / suggestions...
1. Energy indicator As a khamander I was puzzled why I couldn't drop a cyst when it appeared I had more than enough energy to do so, until I realized that the top bar shows personal resources, team resources, and harvesters, not energy / team Res / harvesters like I was expecting. The long-story-short of this suggestion would be that this be revised to show energy / team res / harvesters. I recognize this might be difficult because each structure seems to have its own energy supply - ie., for cysts, they are drawn from the energy of the hive, and I assume having two hives means you have twice as much energy. But this is needlessly confusing, and since everything is linked in together, why not have one single source of energy that applies across the commander experience.
I'm sure there a host of balance and gameplay issues that demand that each structure have its own energy supply, but from a player perspective, all I know is that I want to drop a cyst and I can't, and I don't know why unless I happen to have my hive selected and I can see what its energy level is. Which is not often the case - that's pretty small text.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> +1: Agreed - Why not make it say "Hive Energy" out of 100 (or however much a hive has) and when you have two it becomes out of 200, etc. Alternately listing each hive and its separate energy could also work as long as they don't get in the way.
<!--quoteo(post=1939289:date=May 27 2012, 03:06 PM:name=botchiball)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (botchiball @ May 27 2012, 03:06 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1939289"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->+1: Agreed - Why not make it say "Hive Energy" out of 100 (or however much a hive has) and when you have two it becomes out of 200, etc. Alternately listing each hive and its separate energy could also work as long as they don't get in the way.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I noticed this as well.
I've played as an alien commander two times now in pub games (209 build), in moments where nobody else would step into the hive. They were both wins, so I guess the alien commander isn't a critical part of the alien team effort (or perhaps, concentrating only on getting upgrades, more extractors and hives and just a few whips is a very sound strategy). Even when I set up previously several private lan games to familiarize myself with the interfaze, there were certain issues.
First was the mentioned lack of an energy meter. I felt that I was placing cysts blindly, though I never ran out of energy and felt like they were free. That compounds with...
Placing cysts can be damned difficult. Second time I played was a new custom map that had many levels, and it was very hard to judge where cysts could be placed. It's a non issue to experienced commanders who know the maps by heart and can place the cyst chain with their eyes closed, but I was constantly puzzled why I couldn't place a new cysts when there was another existing one mere inches away. This is part because the map can't be rotated and the only perspective doesn't allow the commander to juzge accurately some details of the map layout.
Also, I was asked several times to mist people evolving into higher lifeforms and I couldn't locate them. This is something difficult to setup in private practice games; It'd be really cool if there was an easy and quick way to find them.
<!--quoteo(post=1942998:date=Jun 12 2012, 11:04 PM:name=Rowen)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rowen @ Jun 12 2012, 11:04 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1942998"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I've played as an alien commander two times now in pub games (209 build), in moments where nobody else would step into the hive. They were both wins, so I guess the alien commander isn't a critical part of the alien team effort (or perhaps, concentrating only on getting upgrades, more extractors and hives and just a few whips is a very sound strategy).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think the alien commander is less stressful as compared to the marine commander: you don't have to worry about spamming medpacks, ammo and nano-shields / build, you can really just concentrate on building up your structures and evolutions.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->First was the mentioned lack of an energy meter. I felt that I was placing cysts blindly, though I never ran out of energy and felt like they were free.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Apparently energy is going to be abandoned and it will all just be Tres and Pres. Yay!
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Placing cysts can be damned difficult. Second time I played was a new custom map that had many levels, and it was very hard to judge where cysts could be placed. It's a non issue to experienced commanders who know the maps by heart and can place the cyst chain with their eyes closed, but I was constantly puzzled why I couldn't place a new cysts when there was another existing one mere inches away. This is part because the map can't be rotated and the only perspective doesn't allow the commander to judge accurately some details of the map layout.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I feel your pain. I think this could be solved by using an alien-looking variant of the blue grid that marines get when placing structures: when trying to place a cyst, you'd be placing it near another cyst, so the alien grid would show up around that previous cyst.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Also, I was asked several times to mist people evolving into higher lifeforms and I couldn't locate them. This is something difficult to setup in private practice games; It'd be really cool if there was an easy and quick way to find them.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Something akin to the marine "z" key function could be useful here - "Need mist", prompts an alien-she-voice saying "Lifeform requires nutrient mist" and then you can press the space bar, and be automatically directed to the particular alien. Although I do like the gameplay element of needing to coordinate by text or voice, "I'm the egg by the harvester in Cave". Though I've found that by the time the request is made and answered, it's almost a waste of energy to mist, because they're almost fully evolved.
<!--quoteo(post=1942998:date=Jun 12 2012, 08:04 PM:name=Rowen)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rowen @ Jun 12 2012, 08:04 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1942998"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Also, I was asked several times to mist people evolving into higher lifeforms and I couldn't locate them. This is something difficult to setup in private practice games; It'd be really cool if there was an easy and quick way to find them.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
To continue on this:
We need some way to highlight our important structures better. From up above, on top of the infestation, picking out structures in the middle of the "garden" is way to difficult. Hop in the hive after someone else has been doing things and you may as well slap down duplicates. I've ended up with so many extra "shell's" and "veil's"...
I think something akin to the new alien "flashlight" would be very beneficial. I think the dynamic infestation is more detrimental than helpful in this scenario.
A list of upgradeable structures or something maybe that selects and takes me to that structure would be nice too.
And the worst case scenario is when there is a shade in the room. I have to go off memory to find structures. Your own structures shouldn't be invisible to the comm!
Here's another viable option, when a structure is "planted" you choose what evolution you want it to have. As it is, they can only have one anyway. That way then I could plant and forget. The hive, being easily recognizable, is about the only structure that let's us pick multiple evolutions.
I lose track of drifters easily. It's also difficult to see buildings when they have shade applied to them. (Where did I place that shell? Is that an egg or...?) I'd prefer 75% transparency buildings, or purple shaded buildings instead of partially visible, very difficult to see buildings (Cool effect for players on the ground, but difficult for a commander point of view.)
A bar with icons to select units (Macs, arcs, drifters) A side bar to select buildings
Research progress bar. One of the most damaging things to commanders is not getting upgrades as fast as possible.
I've commanded a few times this afternoon, and it was my first time being commander. (Frontiersmen)
Here are some things I noticed: - Sometimes it's a little unclear whether the power is on or off in a room, whether your buildings do or do not work. - The view of the commander sometimes makes it hard to distinguish height or terrain on a certain part of the map. I.e. when I tried to drop a phase gate I accidentally dropped it right in the open where it was killed easily because it was hard to see where it was on a low or high ground, whether it was covered by a wall or corner. - Especially at the start it is very chaotic trying to command your marines. Splitting them up in manageable groups and ordering them to the right destination. I suggest making control groups similarly to Starcraft 2. You should be able to select a marine and use 'Shift 1' to add it to control group 1. Once you press one you should be able to shift click that marine (or his portrait) to remove him from the group again. This will allow the commander to quickly make groups, adjust them when needed and efficiently order marines around. - The current resource flow is... weird. In the beginning you're struggling to afford additional structures, but once you've taken the first 5-6 resource towers and hold them for a short while, you get so many resources that you are quickly starting the last few upgrades you need. It was very common in my games to have 100+ team resources with all the tech researched. I just started making mass turrets and macs/ARCs. Dropped a zillion medpacks and ammo and created armories and infantry portals at each additional base. It's not quite balanced out correctly yet. To fix this I suggest making extractors cheaper and adding an upgrade to increase the resources harvested. This will keep the slow early game tech and you will have to balance out your resources and spend more to build up an economy. This will lead to more resources as the game goes on = faster teching as the game goes on. But it won't lead to all the tech being done after about 10 minutes of play. - Dropping weapons is problematic because you can't drop it on the marines, and it doesn't have a flashy animation (like the medpack). - Once your tech is done, your primary commander objective is moving some ARC's into position and scanning the hive while keeping marines alive. Although this sounds hard on the multitasking, it is actually quite simple and might get boring. You litter every room with as many turrets as you can (you will have the resources after all) and besides keeping an eye on the minimap, you will just be spending all your team resources into dropping stuff for your marines, and making ARC's. This gets a little dull after a while. - Sometimes the menu bugged and I could not drop/build anything for a while. It lasted from 5 seconds up to about a minute. It showed 'constructing' as if I had a constructing building selected, but I could not go through the menu's or select anything else. (pressing qwer did light up the menu button but it did not navigate to the correct page). Eventually it would stop and I could continue commanding. - Infestation does not always show up on your view. Unless you throw a scan. - Infestation should be visible on your minimap if it is in view of your marines/buildings. Same goes for power outtage. It will give a much clearer view of how you are doing. - MACs and ARC's cannot be shift queued right now. I.e. order a mac to repair a power node after which he has to move to a command location to repair the extractor. Currently you cannot click the power node and shift click the command location's extractor. Or you cannot order an ARC to move to a location and deploy there. You will have to wait for them to finish their order (repairing a power node, moving to a location) after which you can order them again (repairing an extractor, deploying the cannons). - As a fix to late game resources building up, perhaps it's an idea to be able to drop a shotgun/flamethrower/grenade launcher pack with team resources at a high price. For example, one pack holds 3 shotguns and costs 90 team res. This way you can keep your lategame resources down while giving your marines the ability to use personal resources for jetpacks. - Alerts could be clearer. "I need some ammo over here" and "waiting for orders" could show up with different colors/size/icons to allow the commander to quickly distinguish situations and decide where his help is needed the most. - ARC's have a ton of HP, even while deployed. Just a random suggestion: how about you give them a shield which is on when it is undeployed. This will allow them to move to a location without being destroyed really fast during it's journey. But once it's deployed it will be an easier targets for the aliens to take out. This enables the Frontiersmen to really put some pressure on the aliens and the aliens will have better means to deal with it. Instead of 2500 hit points, give it 1500 hit points and 1000 shield points. The shield will be disengaged when it deploys. As a trade off you might increase the damage/rate of fire slightly. Urging the aliens to locate and destroy the ARC and allowing them to do so with a bit more ease. Edit: - Once the resource part is balanced out more evenly I can make a better judgement on this; but I liked the scans with energy from the observatories more than a scan with money. First of all, it will make you think twice before scanning because energy can run out, and second of all, it will force you to make more observatories if you want more vision, and that does make sense.
That said, I cannot wait for all the bugs to be ironed out and the final version being released. Really starting to get that NS1 feeling again and I am very much looking forward to it!
Ok, here are my thoughts on alien comm after a few games:
1) Infestation chains are a pain. I honestly don't have a better idea atm (I'm sure someone else does), but having a single marine able to kill a cyst (which takes a couple seconds), thus breaking your chain, costing you rez, and generally wreaking havoc on you as you try to find where it broke, is very annoying. Maybe at the very least something to tell you where the chain is broken so you don't have to spend so much time looking?
2) As was said before, it's hard to tell height and other landscape features as comm.
3) Cyst placement sometimes breaks so that when I attempt to place a cyst, it puts it on cooldown, but doesn't take any rez or place the cyst. The only way I have found to stop this and allow me to place a cyst to go to a different location on the map and place a cyst or come at the same location for a different side and it sometimes works then.
4) The alien tech tree seems to have some problems. It's much more expensive to get mutations than it is to get different weapons (ex. it costs ~55 rez to get carapase while only costing 30 rez to get shotgun). As soon as marines get shotguns, the typical experience is that skulks are regularly 1-shotted, meaning that a shotgun rush typically results in bad things for the aliens. Also, the fact that the alien's MUST have 2 hives up in order to be competitive mid-game is terrible. If you lose 1 hive, you lose all that tech (leap, spikes, blink, etc) and you have a very slim chance of getting that second hive up again in my experience. Also, our mutation buildings having such low hps means that a single marine can waltz into the main hive in early to mid-game and take out the mutation buildings before the aliens can get back. Then, it's another ~30 rez per mutation to rebuild.
5) As an alien comm, I feel completely useless when it comes to active intervention in fights. While the marine comm can drop ammo, med packs, and nano-shields to assist his teammates, I'm stuck sitting there watching my team die. Maybe something similar to the mist except that it is a regen aura? Not sure how well that'd work or be balanced, but something needs to be given so that the alien comm can help his team.
6) Just a general note on pub play atm: It seems like rushing right off the bat is the best way to win. Aliens rush to marine base and take out the power. If they're able to kill the marines, the marines can't re-spawn and the aliens win. Marines rush the alien base, killing eggs and if they can kill the aliens, the marines win. I don't know if this is just a problem with pubs and inexperienced players or with the game itself.
Sorry for not having any good ideas for how to fix these probs that I see, but the main thing I'd say that'd be an improvement for the alien comm is allowing them to have a more active role in combat by giving them something to support their team.
Welcome to the forums (And I'm assuming the game as well)!
<!--quoteo(post=1958660:date=Aug 7 2012, 03:31 PM:name=Samus1111111)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Samus1111111 @ Aug 7 2012, 03:31 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1958660"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Ok, here are my thoughts on alien comm after a few games:
1) Infestation chains are a pain. I honestly don't have a better idea atm (I'm sure someone else does), but having a single marine able to kill a cyst (which takes a couple seconds), thus breaking your chain, costing you rez, and generally wreaking havoc on you as you try to find where it broke, is very annoying. Maybe at the very least something to tell you where the chain is broken so you don't have to spend so much time looking?
*** I think these are a lot less annoying then losing a power node as it takes about 2 seconds and 1 res to fix a chain. Also a lot of the time marines waste ammo/time playing with cysts.
2) As was said before, it's hard to tell height and other landscape features as comm.
*** Yes but that will change once you get to know the maps.
3) Cyst placement sometimes breaks so that when I attempt to place a cyst, it puts it on cooldown, but doesn't take any rez or place the cyst. The only way I have found to stop this and allow me to place a cyst to go to a different location on the map and place a cyst or come at the same location for a different side and it sometimes works then.
*** Never seen this but could be a bug.
4) The alien tech tree seems to have some problems. It's much more expensive to get mutations than it is to get different weapons (ex. it costs ~55 rez to get carapase while only costing 30 rez to get shotgun). As soon as marines get shotguns, the typical experience is that skulks are regularly 1-shotted, meaning that a shotgun rush typically results in bad things for the aliens. Also, the fact that the alien's MUST have 2 hives up in order to be competitive mid-game is terrible. If you lose 1 hive, you lose all that tech (leap, spikes, blink, etc) and you have a very slim chance of getting that second hive up again in my experience. Also, our mutation buildings having such low hps means that a single marine can waltz into the main hive in early to mid-game and take out the mutation buildings before the aliens can get back. Then, it's another ~30 rez per mutation to rebuild.
*** The gameplay of Aliens is all about expansion to gain new abilities. Marines really just need to keep all their tech in one central location (Except to get jets). You can expect that Aliens will need to get 2-3 hives in addition for everygame. Keep in mind that cysts give away marine locations so Marines who rambo are a product of poor teamwork of you team (communication is vital) and you not paying attention.
5) As an alien comm, I feel completely useless when it comes to active intervention in fights. While the marine comm can drop ammo, med packs, and nano-shields to assist his teammates, I'm stuck sitting there watching my team die. Maybe something similar to the mist except that it is a regen aura? Not sure how well that'd work or be balanced, but something needs to be given so that the alien comm can help his team.
*** It does seem frustrating but your job is also to scout areas and determine where the team should focus its efforts. You also relay important info to the team to help win the fights.
6) Just a general note on pub play atm: It seems like rushing right off the bat is the best way to win. Aliens rush to marine base and take out the power. If they're able to kill the marines, the marines can't re-spawn and the aliens win. Marines rush the alien base, killing eggs and if they can kill the aliens, the marines win. I don't know if this is just a problem with pubs and inexperienced players or with the game itself.
*** Being as you know this strategy, perhaps you can come up with ideas on how your team can avoid/prevent it?
Sorry for not having any good ideas for how to fix these probs that I see, but the main thing I'd say that'd be an improvement for the alien comm is allowing them to have a more active role in combat by giving them something to support their team.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's all good my friend. NS2 is a process right now and part of that process is people like yourself coming in and talking about it. The game will continue to evolve and change long past these issues but for now we play the cards we are given.
<!--quoteo(post=1958660:date=Aug 7 2012, 09:31 PM:name=Samus1111111)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Samus1111111 @ Aug 7 2012, 09:31 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1958660"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Sorry for not having any good ideas for how to fix these probs that I see, but the main thing I'd say that'd be an improvement for the alien comm is allowing them to have a more active role in combat by giving them something to support their team.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
They designed the Alien Commander to be more of a gardener. Not giving active immediate help in battle, but guiding and sustaining the aliens so they can do their individual job.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2) As was said before, it's hard to tell height and other landscape features as comm.
*** Yes but that will change once you get to know the maps.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
With more map knowledge it certainly gets easier, but I think the commander view should still display features more clearly.
<!--quoteo(post=1958660:date=Aug 7 2012, 08:31 PM:name=Samus1111111)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Samus1111111 @ Aug 7 2012, 08:31 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1958660"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->3) Cyst placement sometimes breaks so that when I attempt to place a cyst, it puts it on cooldown, but doesn't take any rez or place the cyst. The only way I have found to stop this and allow me to place a cyst to go to a different location on the map and place a cyst or come at the same location for a different side and it sometimes works then.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ok this one I can get (sometimes) for instance in mineshaft it can be hard to cyst up the central drilling RT (the high one).
But this is less game mechanics and more a mapping issue. It can be a pain sometimes to keep the cyst chain with staircases as the cyst will only follow a physical path. Again after comming for a longer time you get used to this.
<!--quoteo(post=1956750:date=Aug 3 2012, 06:57 PM:name=Darkomicron)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Darkomicron @ Aug 3 2012, 06:57 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1956750"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I've commanded a few times this afternoon, and it was my first time being commander. (Frontiersmen)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Thanks for your great thoughts Darkomicron. Angelusz pointed me here and I'm glad I read.
- I tried an upgrade system for extractors like you mentioned, but it felt a bit tedious. I think it could be made to work well if we had visual upgrade levels for the Extractor and Harvester though, and this is something I think we should look again at post v1.0. - We've just gotten rid of pres for comms, and now all commanders to spend tres for weapons and evolving eggs, so this is close to what you suggested. - We are trying to make power a lot more clear. We've made the effect more obvious, but we are also going to draw some intermittent "electricity" through the entire room when it's powered (we will likely remove portable power nodes). This was one of the big problems that Total Biscuit had too. - ARCs actually do lose their armor when they're deployed, but it isn't a big percentage of their total HP. - Shift-queuing, infestation on minimap and some of your other suggestions sound like things we should definitely get in after v1.0. We have so little time left!
oldassgamersJoin Date: 2011-02-02Member: 80033Members, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow
edited August 2012
Please no upgrade extractors , that was so horrible in the early beta stage once it was tested out by the community and it will still be bad if you had it before 1.0 .
I'm still hoping that you guys change the MAC's auto-weld functionality to something that is toggle-able when you right click on the weld icon. It is so incredibly frustrating to have to nanny your macs away from structures that are being bile bombed, especially when after they move where you told them to, they go right back in the bile to repair the building you just told it not to stay away from.
<!--quoteo(post=1964184:date=Aug 17 2012, 01:21 AM:name=Flayra)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Flayra @ Aug 17 2012, 01:21 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1964184"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->... - We are trying to make power a lot more clear. We've made the effect more obvious, but we are also going to draw some intermittent "electricity" through the entire room when it's powered (we will likely remove portable power nodes). This was one of the big problems that Total Biscuit had too. ...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> You're gonna remove power packs over f-ing Biscuit??? HE PLAYED THE GAME FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME FFS! Besides, you do realize that the power pack and sentry thing, he was mostly goofing around being "funny" like all the other YT:ers... If somebody had given him a basic rundown of the game which included a part like here below (or let him take a quick glance at all the structure costs), he wouldn't be so confused!
<b><i>"To function, every marine structure requires the area it is built in to be "powered". To be powered, each area has it's own power node which needs to be socketed and built. If a structure is unpowered (due to destroyed or not finished PN) a power pack can be built, to power one single building each."</i></b>
In any case, you were gonna add in a 'power indicator icon' on the building preview for comm! Why not add a pulsating/flickering/flashing icon on the PN itself to indicate it's not functioning???
edit: There would not be any ninja pg possibility nor any ability to have backup power in a base for crucial things like PG, arms lab, observatory, etc. This is huge!
<!--quoteo(post=1964184:date=Aug 17 2012, 01:21 AM:name=Flayra)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Flayra @ Aug 17 2012, 01:21 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1964184"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Thanks for your great thoughts Darkomicron. Angelusz pointed me here and I'm glad I read.
- I tried an upgrade system for extractors like you mentioned, but it felt a bit tedious. I think it could be made to work well if we had visual upgrade levels for the Extractor and Harvester though, and this is something I think we should look again at post v1.0. - We've just gotten rid of pres for comms, and now all commanders to spend tres for weapons and evolving eggs, so this is close to what you suggested. - We are trying to make power a lot more clear. We've made the effect more obvious, but we are also going to draw some intermittent "electricity" through the entire room when it's powered (we will likely remove portable power nodes). This was one of the big problems that Total Biscuit had too. - ARCs actually do lose their armor when they're deployed, but it isn't a big percentage of their total HP. - Shift-queuing, infestation on minimap and some of your other suggestions sound like things we should definitely get in after v1.0. We have so little time left!
Thanks for your expert feedback.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My pleasure, I'm glad I could help!
I love playing commander on both sides and will definitely continue to do so and speak my mind in this thread.
Edit: I understand upgrading extractors might be tedious to do. What might be a more <i>simplistic </i>solution is to simply make extractors cheap (or free) and and reduce the resource flow a little bit. This increases your early game options because you don't have to afford your extractors, you can tech to shotguns fast and rush, or get some quicker upgrades, etc. But the reduced resource flow will make very quick 3-3 upgrades a lot harder. Same thing goes for aliens though, once you've secured 2 hives and 5 RT's, suddenly you can afford every mutation and class ability, whereas before you secure that you struggle to get carapace out together with leap.
This solution is easier, but I do like how upgrading the resource flow adds a more in-depth economy element to commanding. There is not always enough to do as a commander.
Comments
CTRL+A = select all marines
CTRL+1/2/3/4 create group
1/2/3/4 = select group
CTRL+A = select all marines
CTRL+1/2/3/4 create group
1/2/3/4 = select group<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The CTRL + 1/2/3/4/5 is already there.
The CTRL+A option is a great idea. I second that emotion.
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=117680" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/in...howtopic=117680</a>
Reference - knowing which marine asked for ammo or a medpack.
oh wow, I had no idea, never thought to just try it. thanks!
Maybe even have an icon with all your soldiers their hp and ammo on the UI.
Maybe even have an icon with all your soldiers their hp and ammo on the UI.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It might be easier, but I don't think that automated notifications would make the game better. I kind of like how the player is encouraged to interact with the commander, plus sometimes a player is about to die or is in a position where they aren't worth saving. I think it should be kept to the players' discretion when and where *packs need to be dropped.
Well, at least the soldier's health should be displayed without having to select them. This is really deterring me from playing as the Marine commander as I am required to actively heal players without easily seeing their health, in order to work towards a victory.
And I second the "Woah, ctrl+12345 / 12345 works?" discovery. This shall make life much easier.
And I second the "Woah, ctrl+12345 / 12345 works?" discovery. This shall make life much easier.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's broken if you rebind whatever control is bound to by default (crouch?). Using the rebound button in stead doesn't work either.
Ah! THATS why everyone keeps saying that its fixed, but I keep insisting that they are insane. Welp... hopefully that gets fixed soon-ish. Anyway, I came here to post this suggestion:
-Remove the Cyst abilities from the Cysts and put them on the Khamm's screen next to Mist. When the Khamm activates it, all cysts on screen fire off the desired effect. Also change their AOE to affect any players on screen && on infestation so that they are actually useful, as opposed to only working 5 feet away from the cyst - which no one is paying attention to. (I have yet to see the abilities used by anyone but myself btw.. are they even still in this patch?) Keep the energy use on the Cysts themselves, so the Khamm can do this all over the map if they so wanted, but not in the same place over and over. Not to mention it would keep flamethrowers useful at preventing abilities.
Just a re-post from general ideas and suggestions. However, it would be nice to see this applied to other things like shades/crags for their invis and umbra (or other abilities). Possibly having the "spell buttons" lit up whenever there is the correct structure on the ground, push the button and they fire off. Not near as important as the Cyst idea would be, but would get rid of the 'middle man'.
Another idea would be to have an icon pop up above or under players on the field if they are talking (team-speak, not sound effect) or if they are requesting something. Preferably the icon could also be informing the Comm what they wanted (med pack vs ammo pack, etc). Similarly I'd like to see this same kind of system for Kharaa, in particular with Mist, but also the cyst abilities as well as requesting various structures. At the very least, some sort of FPS player "ping" the RTS player's attention - it is really hard to differentiate people sometimes.
CTRL+A = select all marines
CTRL+1/2/3/4 create group
1/2/3/4 = select group<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Strongly agreed
I still think commanding and directing troops is one of the most relevant things to do.
I still think commanding and directing troops is one of the most relevant things to do.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm currently attempting to work on an interface mod as my primary project. However, it is extremely difficult as I have never done such a task before and have ambitious goals for it. The features mentioned in your post are something I plan on attempting to do after first release.
1. Energy indicator
As a khamander I was puzzled why I couldn't drop a cyst when it appeared I had more than enough energy to do so, until I realized that the top bar shows personal resources, team resources, and harvesters, not energy / team Res / harvesters like I was expecting. The long-story-short of this suggestion would be that this be revised to show energy / team res / harvesters. I recognize this might be difficult because each structure seems to have its own energy supply - ie., for cysts, they are drawn from the energy of the hive, and I assume having two hives means you have twice as much energy. But this is needlessly confusing, and since everything is linked in together, why not have one single source of energy that applies across the commander experience.
I'm sure there a host of balance and gameplay issues that demand that each structure have its own energy supply, but from a player perspective, all I know is that I want to drop a cyst and I can't, and I don't know why unless I happen to have my hive selected and I can see what its energy level is. Which is not often the case - that's pretty small text.
2. Nutrient mist
... and other related commands - I would like the cursor indicator to show red if I'm not able to use this ability (ie., I'm hovering over something that won't allow me to do it) and turn green if I can. It was really confusing to know where I could use the mist, or not, and again, for the longest time I would stare at the top indicators and think "I have more than enough energy to use this ability!" - all the while not knowing that I'm looking at personal res, not energy.
3. Personal res
Why not move it out of the top bar completely? I know when I'm commanding I'm not really thinking about how much personal res I have. It could be somewhere innocuous, perhaps.
Otherwise, really enjoying it so far!
1. Energy indicator
As a khamander I was puzzled why I couldn't drop a cyst when it appeared I had more than enough energy to do so, until I realized that the top bar shows personal resources, team resources, and harvesters, not energy / team Res / harvesters like I was expecting. The long-story-short of this suggestion would be that this be revised to show energy / team res / harvesters. I recognize this might be difficult because each structure seems to have its own energy supply - ie., for cysts, they are drawn from the energy of the hive, and I assume having two hives means you have twice as much energy. But this is needlessly confusing, and since everything is linked in together, why not have one single source of energy that applies across the commander experience.
I'm sure there a host of balance and gameplay issues that demand that each structure have its own energy supply, but from a player perspective, all I know is that I want to drop a cyst and I can't, and I don't know why unless I happen to have my hive selected and I can see what its energy level is. Which is not often the case - that's pretty small text.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
+1: Agreed - Why not make it say "Hive Energy" out of 100 (or however much a hive has) and when you have two it becomes out of 200, etc.
Alternately listing each hive and its separate energy could also work as long as they don't get in the way.
Alternately listing each hive and its separate energy could also work as long as they don't get in the way.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I noticed this as well.
I've played as an alien commander two times now in pub games (209 build), in moments where nobody else would step into the hive. They were both wins, so I guess the alien commander isn't a critical part of the alien team effort (or perhaps, concentrating only on getting upgrades, more extractors and hives and just a few whips is a very sound strategy). Even when I set up previously several private lan games to familiarize myself with the interfaze, there were certain issues.
First was the mentioned lack of an energy meter. I felt that I was placing cysts blindly, though I never ran out of energy and felt like they were free. That compounds with...
Placing cysts can be damned difficult. Second time I played was a new custom map that had many levels, and it was very hard to judge where cysts could be placed. It's a non issue to experienced commanders who know the maps by heart and can place the cyst chain with their eyes closed, but I was constantly puzzled why I couldn't place a new cysts when there was another existing one mere inches away. This is part because the map can't be rotated and the only perspective doesn't allow the commander to juzge accurately some details of the map layout.
Also, I was asked several times to mist people evolving into higher lifeforms and I couldn't locate them. This is something difficult to setup in private practice games; It'd be really cool if there was an easy and quick way to find them.
I think the alien commander is less stressful as compared to the marine commander: you don't have to worry about spamming medpacks, ammo and nano-shields / build, you can really just concentrate on building up your structures and evolutions.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->First was the mentioned lack of an energy meter. I felt that I was placing cysts blindly, though I never ran out of energy and felt like they were free.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Apparently energy is going to be abandoned and it will all just be Tres and Pres. Yay!
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Placing cysts can be damned difficult. Second time I played was a new custom map that had many levels, and it was very hard to judge where cysts could be placed. It's a non issue to experienced commanders who know the maps by heart and can place the cyst chain with their eyes closed, but I was constantly puzzled why I couldn't place a new cysts when there was another existing one mere inches away. This is part because the map can't be rotated and the only perspective doesn't allow the commander to judge accurately some details of the map layout.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I feel your pain. I think this could be solved by using an alien-looking variant of the blue grid that marines get when placing structures: when trying to place a cyst, you'd be placing it near another cyst, so the alien grid would show up around that previous cyst.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Also, I was asked several times to mist people evolving into higher lifeforms and I couldn't locate them. This is something difficult to setup in private practice games; It'd be really cool if there was an easy and quick way to find them.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Something akin to the marine "z" key function could be useful here - "Need mist", prompts an alien-she-voice saying "Lifeform requires nutrient mist" and then you can press the space bar, and be automatically directed to the particular alien. Although I do like the gameplay element of needing to coordinate by text or voice, "I'm the egg by the harvester in Cave". Though I've found that by the time the request is made and answered, it's almost a waste of energy to mist, because they're almost fully evolved.
To continue on this:
We need some way to highlight our important structures better. From up above, on top of the infestation, picking out structures in the middle of the "garden" is way to difficult. Hop in the hive after someone else has been doing things and you may as well slap down duplicates. I've ended up with so many extra "shell's" and "veil's"...
I think something akin to the new alien "flashlight" would be very beneficial. I think the dynamic infestation is more detrimental than helpful in this scenario.
A list of upgradeable structures or something maybe that selects and takes me to that structure would be nice too.
And the worst case scenario is when there is a shade in the room. I have to go off memory to find structures. Your own structures shouldn't be invisible to the comm!
Here's another viable option, when a structure is "planted" you choose what evolution you want it to have. As it is, they can only have one anyway. That way then I could plant and forget. The hive, being easily recognizable, is about the only structure that let's us pick multiple evolutions.
A bar with icons to select units (Macs, arcs, drifters)
A side bar to select buildings
Research progress bar. One of the most damaging things to commanders is not getting upgrades as fast as possible.
Here are some things I noticed:
- Sometimes it's a little unclear whether the power is on or off in a room, whether your buildings do or do not work.
- The view of the commander sometimes makes it hard to distinguish height or terrain on a certain part of the map. I.e. when I tried to drop a phase gate I accidentally dropped it right in the open where it was killed easily because it was hard to see where it was on a low or high ground, whether it was covered by a wall or corner.
- Especially at the start it is very chaotic trying to command your marines. Splitting them up in manageable groups and ordering them to the right destination. I suggest making control groups similarly to Starcraft 2. You should be able to select a marine and use 'Shift 1' to add it to control group 1. Once you press one you should be able to shift click that marine (or his portrait) to remove him from the group again. This will allow the commander to quickly make groups, adjust them when needed and efficiently order marines around.
- The current resource flow is... weird. In the beginning you're struggling to afford additional structures, but once you've taken the first 5-6 resource towers and hold them for a short while, you get so many resources that you are quickly starting the last few upgrades you need. It was very common in my games to have 100+ team resources with all the tech researched. I just started making mass turrets and macs/ARCs. Dropped a zillion medpacks and ammo and created armories and infantry portals at each additional base. It's not quite balanced out correctly yet. To fix this I suggest making extractors cheaper and adding an upgrade to increase the resources harvested. This will keep the slow early game tech and you will have to balance out your resources and spend more to build up an economy. This will lead to more resources as the game goes on = faster teching as the game goes on. But it won't lead to all the tech being done after about 10 minutes of play.
- Dropping weapons is problematic because you can't drop it on the marines, and it doesn't have a flashy animation (like the medpack).
- Once your tech is done, your primary commander objective is moving some ARC's into position and scanning the hive while keeping marines alive. Although this sounds hard on the multitasking, it is actually quite simple and might get boring. You litter every room with as many turrets as you can (you will have the resources after all) and besides keeping an eye on the minimap, you will just be spending all your team resources into dropping stuff for your marines, and making ARC's. This gets a little dull after a while.
- Sometimes the menu bugged and I could not drop/build anything for a while. It lasted from 5 seconds up to about a minute. It showed 'constructing' as if I had a constructing building selected, but I could not go through the menu's or select anything else. (pressing qwer did light up the menu button but it did not navigate to the correct page). Eventually it would stop and I could continue commanding.
- Infestation does not always show up on your view. Unless you throw a scan.
- Infestation should be visible on your minimap if it is in view of your marines/buildings. Same goes for power outtage. It will give a much clearer view of how you are doing.
- MACs and ARC's cannot be shift queued right now. I.e. order a mac to repair a power node after which he has to move to a command location to repair the extractor. Currently you cannot click the power node and shift click the command location's extractor. Or you cannot order an ARC to move to a location and deploy there. You will have to wait for them to finish their order (repairing a power node, moving to a location) after which you can order them again (repairing an extractor, deploying the cannons).
- As a fix to late game resources building up, perhaps it's an idea to be able to drop a shotgun/flamethrower/grenade launcher pack with team resources at a high price. For example, one pack holds 3 shotguns and costs 90 team res. This way you can keep your lategame resources down while giving your marines the ability to use personal resources for jetpacks.
- Alerts could be clearer. "I need some ammo over here" and "waiting for orders" could show up with different colors/size/icons to allow the commander to quickly distinguish situations and decide where his help is needed the most.
- ARC's have a ton of HP, even while deployed. Just a random suggestion: how about you give them a shield which is on when it is undeployed. This will allow them to move to a location without being destroyed really fast during it's journey. But once it's deployed it will be an easier targets for the aliens to take out. This enables the Frontiersmen to really put some pressure on the aliens and the aliens will have better means to deal with it. Instead of 2500 hit points, give it 1500 hit points and 1000 shield points. The shield will be disengaged when it deploys. As a trade off you might increase the damage/rate of fire slightly. Urging the aliens to locate and destroy the ARC and allowing them to do so with a bit more ease.
Edit:
- Once the resource part is balanced out more evenly I can make a better judgement on this; but I liked the scans with energy from the observatories more than a scan with money. First of all, it will make you think twice before scanning because energy can run out, and second of all, it will force you to make more observatories if you want more vision, and that does make sense.
That said, I cannot wait for all the bugs to be ironed out and the final version being released. Really starting to get that NS1 feeling again and I am very much looking forward to it!
1) Infestation chains are a pain. I honestly don't have a better idea atm (I'm sure someone else does), but having a single marine able to kill a cyst (which takes a couple seconds), thus breaking your chain, costing you rez, and generally wreaking havoc on you as you try to find where it broke, is very annoying. Maybe at the very least something to tell you where the chain is broken so you don't have to spend so much time looking?
2) As was said before, it's hard to tell height and other landscape features as comm.
3) Cyst placement sometimes breaks so that when I attempt to place a cyst, it puts it on cooldown, but doesn't take any rez or place the cyst. The only way I have found to stop this and allow me to place a cyst to go to a different location on the map and place a cyst or come at the same location for a different side and it sometimes works then.
4) The alien tech tree seems to have some problems. It's much more expensive to get mutations than it is to get different weapons (ex. it costs ~55 rez to get carapase while only costing 30 rez to get shotgun). As soon as marines get shotguns, the typical experience is that skulks are regularly 1-shotted, meaning that a shotgun rush typically results in bad things for the aliens. Also, the fact that the alien's MUST have 2 hives up in order to be competitive mid-game is terrible. If you lose 1 hive, you lose all that tech (leap, spikes, blink, etc) and you have a very slim chance of getting that second hive up again in my experience. Also, our mutation buildings having such low hps means that a single marine can waltz into the main hive in early to mid-game and take out the mutation buildings before the aliens can get back. Then, it's another ~30 rez per mutation to rebuild.
5) As an alien comm, I feel completely useless when it comes to active intervention in fights. While the marine comm can drop ammo, med packs, and nano-shields to assist his teammates, I'm stuck sitting there watching my team die. Maybe something similar to the mist except that it is a regen aura? Not sure how well that'd work or be balanced, but something needs to be given so that the alien comm can help his team.
6) Just a general note on pub play atm: It seems like rushing right off the bat is the best way to win. Aliens rush to marine base and take out the power. If they're able to kill the marines, the marines can't re-spawn and the aliens win. Marines rush the alien base, killing eggs and if they can kill the aliens, the marines win. I don't know if this is just a problem with pubs and inexperienced players or with the game itself.
Sorry for not having any good ideas for how to fix these probs that I see, but the main thing I'd say that'd be an improvement for the alien comm is allowing them to have a more active role in combat by giving them something to support their team.
<!--quoteo(post=1958660:date=Aug 7 2012, 03:31 PM:name=Samus1111111)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Samus1111111 @ Aug 7 2012, 03:31 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1958660"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Ok, here are my thoughts on alien comm after a few games:
1) Infestation chains are a pain. I honestly don't have a better idea atm (I'm sure someone else does), but having a single marine able to kill a cyst (which takes a couple seconds), thus breaking your chain, costing you rez, and generally wreaking havoc on you as you try to find where it broke, is very annoying. Maybe at the very least something to tell you where the chain is broken so you don't have to spend so much time looking?
*** I think these are a lot less annoying then losing a power node as it takes about 2 seconds and 1 res to fix a chain. Also a lot of the time marines waste ammo/time playing with cysts.
2) As was said before, it's hard to tell height and other landscape features as comm.
*** Yes but that will change once you get to know the maps.
3) Cyst placement sometimes breaks so that when I attempt to place a cyst, it puts it on cooldown, but doesn't take any rez or place the cyst. The only way I have found to stop this and allow me to place a cyst to go to a different location on the map and place a cyst or come at the same location for a different side and it sometimes works then.
*** Never seen this but could be a bug.
4) The alien tech tree seems to have some problems. It's much more expensive to get mutations than it is to get different weapons (ex. it costs ~55 rez to get carapase while only costing 30 rez to get shotgun). As soon as marines get shotguns, the typical experience is that skulks are regularly 1-shotted, meaning that a shotgun rush typically results in bad things for the aliens. Also, the fact that the alien's MUST have 2 hives up in order to be competitive mid-game is terrible. If you lose 1 hive, you lose all that tech (leap, spikes, blink, etc) and you have a very slim chance of getting that second hive up again in my experience. Also, our mutation buildings having such low hps means that a single marine can waltz into the main hive in early to mid-game and take out the mutation buildings before the aliens can get back. Then, it's another ~30 rez per mutation to rebuild.
*** The gameplay of Aliens is all about expansion to gain new abilities. Marines really just need to keep all their tech in one central location (Except to get jets). You can expect that Aliens will need to get 2-3 hives in addition for everygame. Keep in mind that cysts give away marine locations so Marines who rambo are a product of poor teamwork of you team (communication is vital) and you not paying attention.
5) As an alien comm, I feel completely useless when it comes to active intervention in fights. While the marine comm can drop ammo, med packs, and nano-shields to assist his teammates, I'm stuck sitting there watching my team die. Maybe something similar to the mist except that it is a regen aura? Not sure how well that'd work or be balanced, but something needs to be given so that the alien comm can help his team.
*** It does seem frustrating but your job is also to scout areas and determine where the team should focus its efforts. You also relay important info to the team to help win the fights.
6) Just a general note on pub play atm: It seems like rushing right off the bat is the best way to win. Aliens rush to marine base and take out the power. If they're able to kill the marines, the marines can't re-spawn and the aliens win. Marines rush the alien base, killing eggs and if they can kill the aliens, the marines win. I don't know if this is just a problem with pubs and inexperienced players or with the game itself.
*** Being as you know this strategy, perhaps you can come up with ideas on how your team can avoid/prevent it?
Sorry for not having any good ideas for how to fix these probs that I see, but the main thing I'd say that'd be an improvement for the alien comm is allowing them to have a more active role in combat by giving them something to support their team.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's all good my friend. NS2 is a process right now and part of that process is people like yourself coming in and talking about it. The game will continue to evolve and change long past these issues but for now we play the cards we are given.
They designed the Alien Commander to be more of a gardener. Not giving active immediate help in battle, but guiding and sustaining the aliens so they can do their individual job.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2) As was said before, it's hard to tell height and other landscape features as comm.
*** Yes but that will change once you get to know the maps.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
With more map knowledge it certainly gets easier, but I think the commander view should still display features more clearly.
Ok this one I can get (sometimes) for instance in mineshaft it can be hard to cyst up the central drilling RT (the high one).
But this is less game mechanics and more a mapping issue. It can be a pain sometimes to keep the cyst chain with staircases as the cyst will only follow a physical path. Again after comming for a longer time you get used to this.
Thanks for your great thoughts Darkomicron. Angelusz pointed me here and I'm glad I read.
- I tried an upgrade system for extractors like you mentioned, but it felt a bit tedious. I think it could be made to work well if we had visual upgrade levels for the Extractor and Harvester though, and this is something I think we should look again at post v1.0.
- We've just gotten rid of pres for comms, and now all commanders to spend tres for weapons and evolving eggs, so this is close to what you suggested.
- We are trying to make power a lot more clear. We've made the effect more obvious, but we are also going to draw some intermittent "electricity" through the entire room when it's powered (we will likely remove portable power nodes). This was one of the big problems that Total Biscuit had too.
- ARCs actually do lose their armor when they're deployed, but it isn't a big percentage of their total HP.
- Shift-queuing, infestation on minimap and some of your other suggestions sound like things we should definitely get in after v1.0. We have so little time left!
Thanks for your expert feedback.
- We are trying to make power a lot more clear. We've made the effect more obvious, but we are also going to draw some intermittent "electricity" through the entire room when it's powered (we will likely remove portable power nodes). This was one of the big problems that Total Biscuit had too.
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You're gonna remove power packs over f-ing Biscuit???
HE PLAYED THE GAME FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME FFS!
Besides, you do realize that the power pack and sentry thing, he was mostly goofing around being "funny" like all the other YT:ers...
If somebody had given him a basic rundown of the game which included a part like here below (or let him take a quick glance at all the structure costs), he wouldn't be so confused!
<b><i>"To function, every marine structure requires the area it is built in to be "powered".
To be powered, each area has it's own power node which needs to be socketed and built.
If a structure is unpowered (due to destroyed or not finished PN) a power pack can be built, to power one single building each."</i></b>
In any case, you were gonna add in a 'power indicator icon' on the building preview for comm! Why not add a pulsating/flickering/flashing icon on the PN itself to indicate it's not functioning???
edit: There would not be any ninja pg possibility nor any ability to have backup power in a base for crucial things like PG, arms lab, observatory, etc.
This is huge!
- I tried an upgrade system for extractors like you mentioned, but it felt a bit tedious. I think it could be made to work well if we had visual upgrade levels for the Extractor and Harvester though, and this is something I think we should look again at post v1.0.
- We've just gotten rid of pres for comms, and now all commanders to spend tres for weapons and evolving eggs, so this is close to what you suggested.
- We are trying to make power a lot more clear. We've made the effect more obvious, but we are also going to draw some intermittent "electricity" through the entire room when it's powered (we will likely remove portable power nodes). This was one of the big problems that Total Biscuit had too.
- ARCs actually do lose their armor when they're deployed, but it isn't a big percentage of their total HP.
- Shift-queuing, infestation on minimap and some of your other suggestions sound like things we should definitely get in after v1.0. We have so little time left!
Thanks for your expert feedback.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My pleasure, I'm glad I could help!
I love playing commander on both sides and will definitely continue to do so and speak my mind in this thread.
Edit: I understand upgrading extractors might be tedious to do. What might be a more <i>simplistic </i>solution is to simply make extractors cheap (or free) and and reduce the resource flow a little bit. This increases your early game options because you don't have to afford your extractors, you can tech to shotguns fast and rush, or get some quicker upgrades, etc. But the reduced resource flow will make very quick 3-3 upgrades a lot harder.
Same thing goes for aliens though, once you've secured 2 hives and 5 RT's, suddenly you can afford every mutation and class ability, whereas before you secure that you struggle to get carapace out together with leap.
This solution is easier, but I do like how upgrading the resource flow adds a more in-depth economy element to commanding. There is not always enough to do as a commander.