Well: drifter spam is hella effective. Both at winning games and bringing down servers.
I don't see how having more than three drifters per hive is useful for anything but drifter spam attacks. Similarly for MACs, actually. I would actually tie the number of MACs to command chairs.
edit: and 15 drifters @ 300 hp will still be abused / misused.. i think 3 per would be more than enough for their intended purpose<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I would agree but drifters AI is still so incredibly bad. If I rally them somewhere far away they almost always get stuck in walls and ceilings and if I could only get 3 of them per hive and I had 2 out of 3 get stuck I think I would tear out my hair. =P
If they added a suicide button on the drifter or improved the AI I agree that 3 would be more than enough.
Instead of capping the count I like the idea of exponential cost. For example the first drifter/mac on the field would cost 1 res, second costs 2, then 4, then 8 etc. Numbers could be tweaked as needed and you avoid any hard limits.
<!--quoteo(post=1973228:date=Sep 7 2012, 03:31 AM:name=Sops)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sops @ Sep 7 2012, 03:31 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1973228"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Instead of capping the count I like the idea of exponential cost. For example the first drifter/mac on the field would cost 1 res, second costs 2, then 4, then 8 etc. Numbers could be tweaked as needed and you avoid any hard limits.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
But why is a hard cap bad do you think? It accomplishes the same thing and it's more intuitive than having the cost of it exponentially increase imo.
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
<!--quoteo(post=1973228:date=Sep 6 2012, 06:31 PM:name=Sops)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sops @ Sep 6 2012, 06:31 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1973228"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Instead of capping the count I like the idea of exponential cost. For example the first drifter/mac on the field would cost 1 res, second costs 2, then 4, then 8 etc. Numbers could be tweaked as needed and you avoid any hard limits.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Hard to communicate that clearly and easily Compared to red text similar to the upgrades that say "Requires Two Hives".. very easy to read "Drifter: Maximum Three Per Hive"
Hardcapping is capping fun. I've yet to see this become a real issue. 100% of the time khamm/comm spam MAC's/Drifters it's because they've nothing really important to do anymore. They're just waiting for their underlings to win the game.
Sure, there are games that can be won with cheesy stuff like this - One game, I was khamm and marines surrounded our only hive. They just camped, held back by the occasional skulk or two. So, for 10 minutes I just built drifters. In the end, I sent them all to attack the marine CC, and they happened to have only one, so they lost. Was fun, was RARE, sure did cause some rageys and giggleys, but sure as hell don't warrant a hard cap.
Yup, 300hp couldn't possibly be the problem. Lets hardcap. yup, unlimited potential incoming weld-rate or ability to be repaired while taking damage isn't the problem. Lets hardcap. yup, hydra res cost for power was too cheap, lets hardcap.
I think 3-5 seems reasonable for their intended purpose. I'm really good at knowing intended purposes and lording it over people like that.
whats next? yup, all fade team too powerful, lets hardcap. sheesh.
Not really. 300 HP is more than enough to make them supremely effective meatshields. A swarm of Drifters would cause enough havoc (on top of restricting the Marine's movements and force them to waste ammo) for other lifeforms to rush in and break everything.
Comments
Robofactory = no cap
I don't see how thats fair.
Anyway I think UWE are trying to keep away from hard caps, instead keep things balanced in a fashion that means spam is ineffective.
I don't see how having more than three drifters per hive is useful for anything but drifter spam attacks. Similarly for MACs, actually. I would actually tie the number of MACs to command chairs.
5 Macs/Drifters per Hive/CC.
Also 5 Arcs per CC.
5 Macs/Drifters per Hive/CC.
Also 5 Arcs per CC.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yep that sounds reasonable to me.
edit: and 15 drifters @ 300 hp will still be abused / misused.. i think 3 per would be more than enough for their intended purpose
edit: and 15 drifters @ 300 hp will still be abused / misused.. i think 3 per would be more than enough for their intended purpose<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I would agree but drifters AI is still so incredibly bad. If I rally them somewhere far away they almost always get stuck in walls and ceilings and if I could only get 3 of them per hive and I had 2 out of 3 get stuck I think I would tear out my hair. =P
If they added a suicide button on the drifter or improved the AI I agree that 3 would be more than enough.
But why is a hard cap bad do you think? It accomplishes the same thing and it's more intuitive than having the cost of it exponentially increase imo.
Hard to communicate that clearly and easily
Compared to red text similar to the upgrades that say "Requires Two Hives".. very easy to read "Drifter: Maximum Three Per Hive"
Hardcapping is capping fun. I've yet to see this become a real issue. 100% of the time khamm/comm spam MAC's/Drifters it's because they've nothing really important to do anymore. They're just waiting for their underlings to win the game.
Sure, there are games that can be won with cheesy stuff like this - One game, I was khamm and marines surrounded our only hive. They just camped, held back by the occasional skulk or two. So, for 10 minutes I just built drifters. In the end, I sent them all to attack the marine CC, and they happened to have only one, so they lost. Was fun, was RARE, sure did cause some rageys and giggleys, but sure as hell don't warrant a hard cap.
Lets give it a while.
yup, unlimited potential incoming weld-rate or ability to be repaired while taking damage isn't the problem. Lets hardcap.
yup, hydra res cost for power was too cheap, lets hardcap.
I think 3-5 seems reasonable for their intended purpose. I'm really good at knowing intended purposes and lording it over people like that.
whats next?
yup, all fade team too powerful, lets hardcap. sheesh.
Hard cap of 3 would severely limit my kham style, and yes I use them legitimately.
Not really. 300 HP is more than enough to make them supremely effective meatshields. A swarm of Drifters would cause enough havoc (on top of restricting the Marine's movements and force them to waste ammo) for other lifeforms to rush in and break everything.