Well at least one indirect balance effect this patch has is that less gorge players will now be able to go onos due to the extra toys they get to play with. I do think some more changes are very much warranted, the game isn't magically going to fix itself if you simply throw more stuff in.
Good to hear the next patch is a balance priority one though, definitely going to be looking out for that. The new gorge toys are cool and descent is a pretty sweet map so well done on that
Nice changes. Pg rate, bile bomb weapons, new content.
Although something has occurred only to me now, with the official release. Rail guns can one shot skulks fully charged, more than one shot on gorges and lerks. How is that any better than a 20 res shotgun?
I haven't played yet. I'm in class. Reading and daydreaming. Can the rail gun hit at distances and is it easier to hit with? If so, I hope to see it become meta
Makes sense to not adjust balance much since new things (that alter balance) were just added. Honestly, anyone expecting major balance changes before a major content patch was not being realistic.
ths hugh ths ns2 developer team, ths comunity, i really love this game and i aprectiate so much every update for minor it is. Love new maps and the new weapons for aliens and rines and the new changes in maps including start locations, give it more value in strategy way. My pc is a lil old but i like very much to command so i can enjoy very much this game comanding. Ths ths i apreciatte it very much , keep doing ths.
IronHorseDeveloper, QA Manager, Technical Support & contributorJoin Date: 2010-05-08Member: 71669Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester, Subnautica PT Lead, Pistachionauts
edited March 2013
@Doppy :
Some playtesters (myself included) tried to make that one happen, (got close too! also with lerk spores) but it became a big balance discussion as alien vision always does.
There's a new, easier method to apply which item is orange now, its no longer based on bones but instead material, so it CAN be changed afaik... but like i said that's probably the longest balance discussion in the history of these forums, dating back to the first time AV was implemented. Trade offs etc. (definitely dont wish to derail this thread into that discussion so if you want you can start a new thread)
fanaticThis post has been edited.Join Date: 2003-07-23Member: 18377Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited March 2013
Curious patch, with many small, but potentially significant in sum, balance changes that were not all mentioned in the changelog. Going to be interesting to see how this affects gameplay over the coming weeks.
All the new content looks and sounds amazing, I should add. The exo railgun visual effect is particularly awesome, and the sounds the babblers make is pretty much the best thing ever. Descent looks incredible, but the jury's still out on how well it plays.
I am not sure if it is just me, but some of the maps seem a bit brighter. Were light counts fine tuned for performance at all? Sorting in Mineshaft in particular seemed much brighter.
Yep, and it sucks. Totally disagree with this change.
Also, A MASSIVE PERFORMANCE HIT.
First impressions are that this change makes total sense. Not only does wall jumping actually look like it belongs now—from an animation perspective—this change also NEEDED to happen. Hitting Skulks as a Marine is just way more difficult than the vice-versa scenario. It was a needed change, especially for new players.
JektJoin Date: 2012-02-05Member: 143714Members, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow
First impressions are that this change makes total sense. Not only does wall jumping actually look like it belongs now—from an animation perspective—this change also NEEDED to happen. Hitting Skulks as a Marine is just way more difficult than the vice-versa scenario. It was a needed change, especially for new players.
Bunny hopping has the advantage of being both fast and predictable. Was expecting it.
I felt like the skulk was slower but just assumed it was my imagination. As a lerk I think my hitbox was much larger / easier to hit - I got killed many times from using old tactics where I would normally survive in the distance - seems like marines can pick off lerk much easier now at range.
Strange that so many people are reporting lower framerates, I've experienced the exact opposite with this patch. It's more stable and generally higher than it used to be.
A new content upgrade is always nice, thanks UWE. The new map is big and looks really nice.
Anyway, I dont understand the new cloak technique. When in alien vision mode I dont see if i am cloaked or not. I also dont know whether i am still cloaked when moving. Do I get visible when I am moving with Camouflage now?
JektJoin Date: 2012-02-05Member: 143714Members, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow
edited March 2013
It's a brutal shift in performance for me, with a 4.4Ghz processor. 60-80fps from 100+ in the early game. Anything past 4 minutes when things start to tech up I don't get much above 40. Ouch.
Cloaking off the shade was behaving bizarrely in my last match. Structures and players would randomly decloak instantly then slowly cloak again almost like a pulse. It made it difficult to tell what was actually cloaked as a comm and was just plain annoying to look at.
It's a brutal shift in performance for me, with a 4.4Ghz processor. 60-80fps from 100+ in the early game. Anything past 4 minutes when things start to tech up I don't get much above 40. Ouch.
Same here. Well I grew to expect these things with every patch so what can we really do. At this point significant increases are unlikely on lua so I am unsure of what to expect in the future.
Skulks definitely feel slower, maps feel brighter, slight performance hit, new refinery is much better but smelting marine start is horrible once bile is out, rails are kind of cool, sad to see no dual rails out, alien win rate will plummet in the next week while half the alien team is gorged throwing babblers at each other.
Comments
Good to hear the next patch is a balance priority one though, definitely going to be looking out for that. The new gorge toys are cool and descent is a pretty sweet map so well done on that
Although something has occurred only to me now, with the official release. Rail guns can one shot skulks fully charged, more than one shot on gorges and lerks. How is that any better than a 20 res shotgun?
I haven't played yet. I'm in class. Reading and daydreaming. Can the rail gun hit at distances and is it easier to hit with? If so, I hope to see it become meta
It works at range and goes through stuff. having been the 3rd skulk in a row to get zapped in testing a few times it is p nice.
Some playtesters (myself included) tried to make that one happen, (got close too! also with lerk spores) but it became a big balance discussion as alien vision always does.
There's a new, easier method to apply which item is orange now, its no longer based on bones but instead material, so it CAN be changed afaik... but like i said that's probably the longest balance discussion in the history of these forums, dating back to the first time AV was implemented. Trade offs etc. (definitely dont wish to derail this thread into that discussion so if you want you can start a new thread)
All the new content looks and sounds amazing, I should add. The exo railgun visual effect is particularly awesome, and the sounds the babblers make is pretty much the best thing ever. Descent looks incredible, but the jury's still out on how well it plays.
Maybe I am just insane.
Yep, and it sucks. Totally disagree with this change.
Also, A MASSIVE PERFORMANCE HIT.
First impressions are that this change makes total sense. Not only does wall jumping actually look like it belongs now—from an animation perspective—this change also NEEDED to happen. Hitting Skulks as a Marine is just way more difficult than the vice-versa scenario. It was a needed change, especially for new players.
If they made skulks slower, they need to remove the ability for marines to jump backwards and maintain speed when they cant walk backwards at full.
Bunny hopping has the advantage of being both fast and predictable. Was expecting it.
Profile in console.
Anyway, I dont understand the new cloak technique. When in alien vision mode I dont see if i am cloaked or not. I also dont know whether i am still cloaked when moving. Do I get visible when I am moving with Camouflage now?
edit: This was probably tick rate related.
http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/128488/vsync-in-full-screen-window-mode#latest
Same here. Well I grew to expect these things with every patch so what can we really do. At this point significant increases are unlikely on lua so I am unsure of what to expect in the future.