@fanatic: Thanks for your feedback! For us, recreating the Combat mode was more of a learning exercise than an attempt to make a 'perfect game'. There are definitely problems with what we've got right now, but it is also fun to play and crucially it doesn't stray so far from vanilla NS2 as to be useless for competitive practice and learning the combat mechanics of NS2.
As a team we've learned lots about the engine and how to get things done in Spark, furthermore we are planning to address a lot of the issues that we ourselves have with the game when we release our next project, which might be a new version of Combat with vastly different game mechanics or maybe even something totally different. We're still working out the details and high-level design right now.
I'd be interested to hear where you think the game is deficient and what we could have done better. Send me a PM with your email address and I'll add you on Steam, maybe we could have a chat about it.
fanaticThis post has been edited.Join Date: 2003-07-23Member: 18377Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited January 2013
It's possible I owe you guys an apology, in that case. Admittedly that post was frustration-fueled, as I'd just tried playing public combat again, and wasn't happy with the result.
I tried to make some suggestion in this thread earlier, when NS2 was still in the middle of the beta stage, and your response then was pretty much "nope not interested, go away". I don't hold grudges though, and would be interested in helping out any way that I can. Jibrail sent me a pm, so I'll add him to steamfriends when I get around to it.
<!--quoteo(post=2067933:date=Jan 28 2013, 05:03 PM:name=fanatic)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (fanatic @ Jan 28 2013, 05:03 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2067933"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It's possible I owe you guys an apology, in that case. Admittedly that post was frustration-fueled, as I'd just tried playing public combat again, and wasn't happy with the result.
I tried to make some suggestion in this thread earlier, when NS2 was still in the middle of the beta stage, and your response then was pretty much "nope not interested, go away". I don't hold grudges though, and would be interested in helping out any way that I can. Jibrail sent me a pm, so I'll add him to steamfriends when I get around to it.
I've edited out my post in the meanwhile.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> It might have been a little frustration fueled but its essential for us to hear the harsh truth so we can improve, I have been playing and observing enough games to realize that the Combat "formula" isn't working, case and point stuff we were forced to put in place to force it to a better direction balance wise like putting a hard cap on Exos and some of the life forms, and other problems related to spammy player behavior and realized that in order to fix it we must steer away from that formula and come up with a better more functional base.
I hope to get the chance to talk to you soon I have a couple of ideas to run by you and would absolutely love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
It doesn't quite reach the fever pitch insanity of NS1 combat, but fun, for sure! I miss gorges carrying offense towers and level 10 uranium ammo heavies!
Keep up the good work MCMLXXXIV and other contributors!
Fix compatibility with build 238 (rounds will now start!)
Fix spawn protection nano shield effect not always playing correctly for marines.
New features
Added new icons for Tier 2 and Tier 3
Removed annoying chat messages when you gain XP
Added a countdown that prevents you from buying an Onos/Exo too quickly after the last time. This encourages you to share the Onos/Exo slots with the rest of the team or actually survive when using them and should reduce their dominance in the late game!
I can't quite put my finger on it but it feels like something is missing compared to the NS 1 combat mode. I remember playing the old combat intensively and this new one just doesn't feel entirely the same way. Maybe I've just grown old and no longer appreciate the setup as much, who knows. I do wish there was a little more depth to its gameplay.
The latest version works good! Except for a small issue where the "Team Resources: 50" is shown on the scoreboard.
Also, I went on the server console and typed 'status' in the middle of a combat match on assault, and the server crashed... Not sure if its specific to combat but I haven't experienced this on my ns2:classic server.
I like combat. But I detest the timelimit. I am sure you added that for a reason, but it is just frustrating. Why not implement a vote at a round start to disable it completely or choose which team has to "defend"? Together with the onos/exo cooldown and 24 player servers, this leads to situations were the rines own 80% of the map but they can't finish off the aliens because the reinforcements have to run all the way towards the battlezone whereas the aliens just spawn next to it. Then you wait for enough firepower to overcome the last barrier and...and....you lose because the time is over. The CC is still standing, you own 80% of the map and the fight came to a climax -> its over - you lose! That is just frustrating...
Same old problem with devour. In ns1 I was active on 187combat, I wrote an old amx script that flagged devour and would increase spawn to 30s if death wasn't completed by the devour (with breakout for onos death)
new timers are ok, stops exo/onos hogging but does slow things down a bit. Then again, if you are speccd for onos/exo then you need to buy/respend etc so it is a bit silly.
Can't wait for gorge crag building or marine sentries/arcs!
@Norton, we could maybe add a new feature to enable/disable on a per map basis. We can add new config options to CombatConfig.json and we can currently enable/disable the mod dynamically from within our lua code.
I'll add it to the list of jobs but it might not get done quickly!
new timers are ok, stops exo/onos hogging but does slow things down a bit. Then again, if you are speccd for onos/exo then you need to buy/respend etc so it is a bit silly.
Unless I am mistaken, Onos doesn't even have stomp anymore in Combat Mode. Why don't they just give them a Skulk's health too and have done with it?
@Norton, we could maybe add a new feature to enable/disable on a per map basis. We can add new config options to CombatConfig.json and we can currently enable/disable the mod dynamically from within our lua code.
I'll add it to the list of jobs but it might not get done quickly!
Yes I think it could be good!
It works pretty well in the meantime, so no worries for the time it's going to take, anyway thank you for the work already done!
help please, when i try to connect to combat servers, it reaches "downloading mod" then i get disconnected back to menu saying "require mod"
i've updated steam/ns2/deleting clientregistry then i realize under MODS, it says Combat mode is unavailable wtf?
The problem might be that if you evolve tier 3 abilities, the onos starts with devour and you have to switch back to the normal attack and stomp. Could you make the normal attack + stomp standard after evolving tier 3? Lost 2 Onos because I tried to devour Exos >.>
help please, when i try to connect to combat servers, it reaches "downloading mod" then i get disconnected back to menu saying "require mod"
i've updated steam/ns2/deleting clientregistry then i realize under MODS, it says Combat mode is unavailable wtf?
Had this happen to me the other day but restarting Steam fixed it. I think it's a Steam problem more than an NS problem.
Steam workshop (where the mods are downloaded from) is terribly unreliable. Same thing happens on all modded servers. Usually just takes a reconnect or a game restart to fix the problem for me. Also if you figure out which mods a server runs and subscribe to them so they are downloaded before you even join the server, you are less likely to have issues connecting.
As a player - remove the damn onos/exo timer! This really messes with balance by making those classes half as useful! Running around with 5 pts saved just because I couldn't spend them with my current build is ridiculous, and EXO already have to change in base.
As a mapper - is there any way to create an entity that will use the dynamic infestation in combat mode, but will be invisible & invincible to players? I'd like half my map to have dynamic infestation, but I don't think there is any way to do that right now (only what the hive spreads in its radius).
I am loving this mod. But I do agree with a couple of people that the time limit is a little frustrating. It's not the fact that there is a time limit but the fact that it is a count down to a marine loss and constantly reminds you how many minutes are left until you lose...kind of negative. The timer is good but maybe change it so that its a little more neutral.
Ideas & Suggestions
- Scope for LMG
- Another point or two for reload (Not saying it should be instant)
- Same thing for the ammo and health drop more points would be nice (timer)
Combat is a fun and fresh alternative to the normal experience. Keep it up!
Comments
As a team we've learned lots about the engine and how to get things done in Spark, furthermore we are planning to address a lot of the issues that we ourselves have with the game when we release our next project, which might be a new version of Combat with vastly different game mechanics or maybe even something totally different. We're still working out the details and high-level design right now.
I'd be interested to hear where you think the game is deficient and what we could have done better. Send me a PM with your email address and I'll add you on Steam, maybe we could have a chat about it.
I tried to make some suggestion in this thread earlier, when NS2 was still in the middle of the beta stage, and your response then was pretty much "nope not interested, go away". I don't hold grudges though, and would be interested in helping out any way that I can. Jibrail sent me a pm, so I'll add him to steamfriends when I get around to it.
I've edited out my post in the meanwhile.
I tried to make some suggestion in this thread earlier, when NS2 was still in the middle of the beta stage, and your response then was pretty much "nope not interested, go away". I don't hold grudges though, and would be interested in helping out any way that I can. Jibrail sent me a pm, so I'll add him to steamfriends when I get around to it.
I've edited out my post in the meanwhile.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It might have been a little frustration fueled but its essential for us to hear the harsh truth so we can improve, I have been playing and observing enough games to realize that the Combat "formula" isn't working, case and point stuff we were forced to put in place to force it to a better direction balance wise like putting a hard cap on Exos and some of the life forms, and other problems related to spammy player behavior and realized that in order to fix it we must steer away from that formula and come up with a better more functional base.
I hope to get the chance to talk to you soon I have a couple of ideas to run by you and would absolutely love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
It doesn't quite reach the fever pitch insanity of NS1 combat, but fun, for sure! I miss gorges carrying offense towers and level 10 uranium ammo heavies!
Keep up the good work MCMLXXXIV and other contributors!
Fixes
New features
Also, I went on the server console and typed 'status' in the middle of a combat match on assault, and the server crashed... Not sure if its specific to combat but I haven't experienced this on my ns2:classic server.
Beside that I really like what you did
Is it possible to configure this mod to be enabled on some maps, and disabled on others?
I would like the mod does not run continuously, and maintain normal games in addition to combat games, in the same cyclemap.
I tried many ways without success, such as it:
Here, the customer has an error "no files found"
"time": 30,
"mode": "order",
"mods": [ "5f4f178", "5fd7a38" ],
"maps":
[
"ns2_docking",
"ns2_mineshaft",
"ns2_refinery",
"ns2_summit",
"ns2_tram",
"ns2_veil",
{ "map": "ns2_co_Core", "mods": [ "57f5f9a", "5f35045" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_co_stargate", "mods": [ "6523544", "5f35045" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_pulsecombat", "mods": [ "57c685f", "5f35045" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_summitcombat", "mods": [ "4fd7fd4", "5f35045" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_co_down", "mods": [ "5faeac4", "5f35045" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_co_veilcombat", "mods": [ "662442f", "5f35045" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_chuteout", "mods": [ "55e90a3, "5f35045" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_co_faceoff", "mods": [ "4d41f11", "5f35045" ] }
]
}
And here, the mod is active on all maps :
"time": 30,
"mode": "order",
"mods": [ "5f4f178", "5fd7a38", "5f35045" ],
"maps":
[
"ns2_docking",
"ns2_mineshaft",
"ns2_refinery",
"ns2_summit",
"ns2_tram",
"ns2_veil",
{ "map": "ns2_co_Core", "mods": [ "57f5f9a" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_co_stargate", "mods": [ "6523544" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_pulsecombat", "mods": [ "57c685f" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_summitcombat", "mods": [ "4fd7fd4" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_co_down", "mods": [ "5faeac4" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_co_veilcombat", "mods": [ "662442f" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_chuteout", "mods": [ "55e90a3" ] },
{ "map": "ns2_co_faceoff", "mods": [ "4d41f11" ] }
]
}
Thank you for your help !
new timers are ok, stops exo/onos hogging but does slow things down a bit. Then again, if you are speccd for onos/exo then you need to buy/respend etc so it is a bit silly.
Can't wait for gorge crag building or marine sentries/arcs!
I finally found a solution by emptying the consistency checking, but it is not ideal ... maybe someone has another solution?
I'll add it to the list of jobs but it might not get done quickly!
Unless I am mistaken, Onos doesn't even have stomp anymore in Combat Mode. Why don't they just give them a Skulk's health too and have done with it?
Yes I think it could be good!
It works pretty well in the meantime, so no worries for the time it's going to take, anyway thank you for the work already done!
i've updated steam/ns2/deleting clientregistry then i realize under MODS, it says Combat mode is unavailable wtf?
It will make NS keep you up to date on combat mode so you don't have to download it when you join a server. Seems to be more reliable that way.
Had this happen to me the other day but restarting Steam fixed it. I think it's a Steam problem more than an NS problem.
As a player - remove the damn onos/exo timer! This really messes with balance by making those classes half as useful! Running around with 5 pts saved just because I couldn't spend them with my current build is ridiculous, and EXO already have to change in base.
As a mapper - is there any way to create an entity that will use the dynamic infestation in combat mode, but will be invisible & invincible to players? I'd like half my map to have dynamic infestation, but I don't think there is any way to do that right now (only what the hive spreads in its radius).
Ideas & Suggestions
- Scope for LMG
- Another point or two for reload (Not saying it should be instant)
- Same thing for the ammo and health drop more points would be nice (timer)
Combat is a fun and fresh alternative to the normal experience. Keep it up!
why does this say combat mode unavailable?