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Post by rob on May 20, 2015 14:15:22 GMT -5
Welcome to build 143! Here are this week's changes:
* Change Thunderbolt mode toggle cooldown from 5 to 20 seconds
* Make escape (Z) be client-side in dungeons
* Make dungeon complex for warp gate (Contagion)
* Fix wrong size tank pictures in menus
Due to an exploit (use Dragon fire, switch to Thunderbolt for fast cooldown, switch back to Dragon, repeat) we increased the cooldown on the Thunderbolt's mode toggle.
Tim built client-side escape for dungeons. It was super easy! Now it should be 100% lag free to quit a dungeon.
The Contagion-class Despoilment Annex was the king of a small, boring dungeon, accessed by warp gates and surrounded by reused overworld enemies. Now he's in a slightly less boring dungeon complex, surrounded by his own special minions, with a random element. His loot is also increased: he drops an implant and a stimpack and has a chance to drop a second shield. The new minions are pure trash. All the loot is on the main boss.
Tim spent a good deal of time this week on the Maker, our internal content building tool. He's taking a long long weekend and we'll not see him again until next Tuesday. I'm still banging away on anti-cheat code and with the US Memorial Day holiday on Monday, next week's build will probably be light on user-visible changes. But all this work on sharpening our tools should pay off in the coming weeks, as it's easier than ever to add content (enemies, dungeons, etc) and someday we'll have anti-cheat in good enough shape to get rid of the invite codes.
Thanks for all the testing help. You folks are great!
Rob & Tim
Jetbolt Games
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Post by lemnisweet on May 20, 2015 17:46:19 GMT -5
I honestly think that a 20 second cooldown is a bit absurd. Being able to switch from close to long range efficiently is key for T bolt. Plus if the cooldown on dragon (0 or the 1 ability, Isophasic Plasma Cone) is 10.5 then why would you increase Tbolt (0 or the 1 ability, Battlemode Toggle) to 20. Why not just 10.5?
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Post by Crunch on May 20, 2015 18:59:03 GMT -5
I honestly think that a 20 second cooldown is a bit absurd. Being able to switch from close to long range efficiently is key for T bolt. Plus if the cooldown on dragon (0 or the 1 ability, Isophasic Plasma Cone) is 10.5 then why would you increase Tbolt (0 or the 1 ability, Battlemode Toggle) to 20. Why not just 10.5? I agree, 20 seconds is excessive. Vind's and Herc's first triggers are 10 second cooldowns, I think that's probably a decent value for the Tbolt too. And, while I'm thinking about the Tbolt's first trigger: Can the we make the server store the info about which mode the Tbolt is in (or some other work-around)? Every time the game loads (dungeon, hq, dc, refresh, etc.) the first trigger's mode defaults to sniper. This wasn't an issue when the trigger's cd was 5 seconds. But, if the cooldown is 20 seconds, it matters quite a bit. Lastly, extra triggers get put on cooldown every time the game loads (similar to tbolt's first trigger switching back) even when you haven't changed tanks. I'm not sure if this is intentional, but it feels awkward. |
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Post by rob on May 22, 2015 7:49:08 GMT -5
You guys make a good argument that 10.5 would be better than 20.
About storing the Thunderbolt battlemode state and the 5th trigger cooldown state: I agree it would be good but we've prioritized other things for now.
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Post by Crunch on May 22, 2015 12:08:22 GMT -5
About storing the Thunderbolt battlemode state and the 5th trigger cooldown state: I agree it would be good but we've prioritized other things for now. Completely understandable. Just putting it on your radar.
I also wanted to say that I really like the new dungeons. I especially like the color/shape coordination. It's solid work. Themed dungeons seem like a really organic progression for this game, it might even give an opportunity to tailor encounters to specific tank classes... Anyway, the Maker must be pretty good, if you're churning these out as quickly as you seem to be. I did have one critique of the new gate/contagion dungeon, though. I like the nature of the RNG portals, but it would be nice if there was a guaranteed boss gate on the opening floor (1/4). Last night, we had to do the opening level three times before we made it to the boss (and we did make it to all 4 corners, each time). Clearing to 10 portals, in a single run, is a lot of work for the shield drop, considering the dungeon isn't very friendly for lowbies. |
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Post by rob on May 22, 2015 14:15:26 GMT -5
Contagion dungeon complex weights are 1 for boss room, 5 for atrium. So each portal has a 1 in 6 chance of being the one you want. You got unlucky.  I'd prefer to avoid guarantees about the portals. They're supposed to be random! If the loot isn't worth the fighting required to get it, then I imagine people will vote with their feet and not run those dungeons. In theory, the hypercompetent game dev (that's me) notices and adjusts loot or difficulty or portal weights.... |
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Will
Intrepid Tester
(n/2)(n)(100) is the equation for how much exp your tank has when "n" = tank level.
Posts: 129
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Post by Will on May 22, 2015 23:11:30 GMT -5
Okay, here's what I think about the Tbolt nerf and the causation for this nerf:
1. On the topic of 'exploits' I'm sorry to sound disrespectful but there is no reason the Tbolt should not have precedence over the Dragon when it comes to changes. It is a level 5 tank. The Dragon is a level 4(?) and if any tank will get changed it should be the Dragon.
2. Fixing an exploit is a lot different from fixing a glitch. There is no immediate need to fix an exploit because exploits are something that players CHOOSE to abuse. If you want this exploit to be fixed, simply ask that players don't exploit it as an act of courtesy until you can find a solution that doesn't ruin a tank's play-ability.
3. This is the worst fix I have ever seen for anything in this game. Come on Rob, you're better than this lol.
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sirnull
Very Brave Tester
Posts: 14
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Post by sirnull on May 23, 2015 14:31:57 GMT -5
Dear Jetbolt,
I am a longtime fan an a scissors enthusiast. Please revert your recent nerf to my favorite class. If anything will get changed it should be rock!
Sincerely,
xXxScizzorsKiddxXx
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Post by amitp on May 24, 2015 11:25:18 GMT -5
Dear Jetbolt, I am a longtime fan an a scissors enthusiast. Please revert your recent nerf to my favorite class. If anything will get changed it should be rock! You have chosen the wrong team. Spock vaporizes Rock, crushes Scissors. GO SPOCK! |
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Post by Crunch on May 26, 2015 11:21:56 GMT -5
Two bugs: Escaping to Origin does not proc teleport cooldown.
Repro: Join ally at any point of map outside of Origin > Escape to Origin > Notice ally's tank is not red and can be teleported back to. Teleporting to any other location seems to work as intended. Hurricane's lightning guns can fire beyond their 'aggro range'.  Description: As shown, Hurricane can hit targets at a further distance than normal *if* there are closer targets which are near enough to aggro. The first image shows that the Excluder Unit is outside of the effective lightning range. Even when in overdrive, the Hurricane does not aggro. The second image shows that once provoked into firing, however, the Hurricane is able to attack the Excluder. The distance/angle between the Excluder and the Hurricane is the same in both images. Repro: Find any location where mobile enemies may wander across Hurricane's location > Using overdrive (trigger 1), determine max range of lightning gun on static enemy > Wait outside of range for wandering enemy > When enemy enters effective range, use overdrive > notice previously out-of-range enemy is taking lightning damage |
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sirnull
Very Brave Tester
Posts: 14
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Post by sirnull on May 26, 2015 12:44:34 GMT -5
Dear Jetbolt, I am a longtime fan an a scissors enthusiast. Please revert your recent nerf to my favorite class. If anything will get changed it should be rock! You have chosen the wrong team. Spock vaporizes Rock, crushes Scissors. GO SPOCK! A strategically interesting variant that's common around here adds water and fire to the regular trio. Fire beats rock, paper, and scissors, while water beats only fire. Unlike many others, this version is asymmetric, which puts a bit more importance on the psychological aspect of the game. (Apologies for straying off-topic.) |
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zub
Courageous Tester
Posts: 42
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Post by zub on May 26, 2015 15:32:39 GMT -5
I enjoy the lack of teleport cooldown after escaping a lot. I wanted to report it after I summarize arguments for keeping it this way, but I haven't been satisfied with it yet.
Afaik teleport cooldown was implented to prevent a cheesy strategy to escape, heal and quickly teleport back. Imho it only supports much more cheesy strategies in its stead and deepen unfairness of the game. The game provides indirect rewards, there's usually a lot of work with hardly any reward and then lavish gifts for making last step. I can do 99% of the work, but if I am not there for the completion, I get nothing. That's not fair and teleport cooldown only makes it worse, because it prolongs the time when I can't make any mistakes or I will miss the reward. And as it is, those who are helping as much as they can make more mistakes than those those helping only to certain extent. So they don't miss their rewards, players adopt this careful playstyle, which goes directly against the co-mob spirit of the game.
Here are some cheesy strategies encouraged by teleport cooldown:
* not helping a more powerful player to kill a convoy because it's dangerous and if you leave you miss loot
* waiting for other player to do some damage to a convoy, because you can't safely kill it in one go and are afraid it dies when you are out
* waiting for a convoy to enter wilderness before finishing it so weaker players leave and can't come back
Teleporting out of fight is enough of a punishment, because you lose track what's happening where you want to be. Teleporting back isn't nice experience either, because you are either zoomed out too much to know what's going on after teleport (teleport by clicking) or you don't know where you are actually teleporting (teleport by command) or you have to teleport more times to get something between. You also don't heal miraculously in origin, it takes time and if you rush, you die or escape again. And in case you fail, there's no artificial barrier in the game to blame, only yourself.
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Post by amitp on May 27, 2015 22:30:01 GMT -5
A strategically interesting variant that's common around here adds water and fire to the regular trio. Fire beats rock, paper, and scissors, while water beats only fire. Unlike many others, this version is asymmetric, which puts a bit more importance on the psychological aspect of the game. Cool! I love asymmetry. That's why there's one player tank in this game I especially like ;-) |
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♥.
