Game is too frustrating

lncabinlncabin Join Date: 2013-07-10 Member: 186024Members
edited July 2013 in NS2 General Discussion
I'm fairly new to NS2 but I played NS1 so I get the jest of how this game worked.

I've been playing for a couple of weeks now and figured out how everything works.

Concerning the server list. It seems like ~75% of the servers are over 100ms, which are servers I dont consider to play on. Half of the remaining <100ms servers employ some sort of ridiculous reserved slot, 16/20, get-kicked-system. Another few rotate you back and forth between their 2 open slotted servers. This usually leaves me with like one or two servers to even pick from.

It seems like servers with over 20 players suffer from lag even if my ping is decent.

I'm Sli'ing two 550ti's and get around a constant 50-60 fps everywhere but for some reason the game feels so choppy. Like I'm getting 20 fps.

The balance in this game seems completely off. Marines, in the beginning of the round, feel way too fragile. Late game, once they reach exos, they feel way too powerful. Advanced armory items are way too easy to get and GLs and FTs are too cheap compared to their power.

Playing as an alien is extremely frustrating. The smallest bit of lag seems to fuck me over. I've witnessed a number of times that I was running behind a marine and seemed to bite him like 20 times for me to just to get owned in the end. Bit connections dont feel right at all and this becomes exacerbated when you get players that like to spam the jump button. Jumping on a marine needs a cooldown timer, seriously.
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Comments

  • tummy_yummytummy_yummy Join Date: 2013-05-01 Member: 185073Members, Reinforced - Gold, WC 2013 - Supporter
    edited July 2013
    This is not the way to help new people! - GISP
  • GISPGISP Battle Gorge Denmark Join Date: 2004-03-20 Member: 27460Members, Playtest Lead, Forum Moderators, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, Squad Five Gold, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Onos, WC 2013 - Gold, Subnautica Playtester, Forum staff
    @Incabin UWE is working on the reserved slot issue, so you no longer will load the map and stuff and then it checks if there is free space.
    As for balance, alot of work have gone into patch 250, and its alot more balanced then before, but some tweeks will allways be needed.
    Allso, please remmeber that NS2 have a vary high skill cealing and vary much cater to the hardcore gamer, and not you average "omg im rambo" cod player. It takes time and practice to pwn in NS2 :)
  • MaximumSquidMaximumSquid Join Date: 2010-07-20 Member: 72593Members
    edited July 2013
    If you're having trouble with Marine during the early game try posting up in a room and ambushing the Skulks

    Here have a look:
    ibvFWSDNijiN21.png

    If your team goes to Central Drilling after taking Water Pump you can stay behind and guard it
    Letting Aliens take the right side of the map is ok because you Cavern is undefendable and you can cream the long Cyst Chains
    Once your team has Central they can go for Crusher and cut the map off in the other direction

    All you gotta do is prevent them from having Water Pump which is easy when you are shooting unmoving targets that have your back to you

    If all else fails and you still aren't getting a positive score by playing the map you can always ask your Commander for early mines

    For Aliens there are styles to get kills even with intense lag. . . I recommend you hop on a Combat server and find these out for yourself
  • YMICrazyYMICrazy Join Date: 2012-11-02 Member: 165986Members
    edited July 2013
    GISP wrote: »
    Allso, please remmeber that NS2 have a vary high skill cealing and vary much cater to the hardcore gamer, and not you average "omg im rambo" cod player. It takes time and practice to pwn in NS2 :)

    Was this UWE's intention from the start? I mean NS2 being different from the usual instant gratification frag games we get like tf2, bf, cod etc is a good thing but that will always mean it will be limited when it comes to attracting players population wise. If UWE intended for it to be like this then I see no issue but being a business and all I thought they would want as many players as possible even from the casual side.

    Either way despite the amount of builds this game has, the unavoidable issues with NS2 makes it one of those games that does not forgive a losing team which I assume most people find frustrating. Whether it be losing an expensive lifeform you saved up for or marine gear most people seem to dislike this as they have to go back to a skulk or lmg marine and potentially get stomped until they lose or concede. The game also relies heavily on having competent team mates. So when you get people who do not understand the meaning of teamwork or the game mechanics the game suffers. Or a bad com as well as one opponent who is obviously skilled enough to make matches one sided. NS2 just has so many variables involved that it is easy for most games to be a bad experience depending on the players familiarity with the game and how nice/nasty they are or if they decide to stack.

    Didn't really help that they sprung 250 without up to date tutorials leaving new players who do not want to read forums or go out of their way to look into the changes limited or confused in utilizing the changed movement to it's full potential. With tutorials at least the people that disliked the fact that their old movement system was changed could learn how to really make use of the new ones before deciding it sucks because it is different. With proper tutorials new players could learn how to spend their time practicing the correct way instead of being dropped clueless and wrecked in a game where the experienced players already know the hidden mechanics of the game. Gotta wonder what direction UWE will take their next game.
  • RicezRicez Join Date: 2013-04-13 Member: 184784Members
    I guess it depends on where you are located and what times you play, but there's loads of EU servers with <100 ping, I regularly see at least 1 full page of 20 player+ servers full. There is only 1 server I've played in that has major tickrate issues (that 24 player CO server that starts to die at 16 players - hey, it runs blackmesa)
  • ZaggyZaggy NullPointerException The Netherlands Join Date: 2003-12-10 Member: 24214Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Onos, Subnautica Playtester
    edited July 2013
    Across servers and players gameplay can vary greatly, I've seen single players carrying teams (going 40-5), one kharaa team rushing marines and killing them, marines with exceptional aim, ninja fades and lerks.
    Although this makes for very interesting and challenging gameplay it's also quite a learning curve for new players.
    My advice: keep playing, you'll get the hang of it, do not give up after a couple unsatisfying games.
    Still hoping the community can create something of a trainingmap or campaign to learn the game.
  • BicsumBicsum Join Date: 2012-02-27 Member: 147596Members, Reinforced - Gold
    Have you tried playing without SLI? Afaik it causes micro-stutter.
  • joshhhjoshhh Milwaukee, WI Join Date: 2011-06-21 Member: 105717Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester
    On a side note, I doubt you are getting much of a bottleneck with the SLI'd cards. It is probably your CPU.

    Anyway carry on gentlemen.
  • FrustrationFrustration Join Date: 2013-01-19 Member: 180628Members
    Zaggy wrote: »
    Across servers and players gameplay can vary greatly, I've seen single players carrying teams (going 40-5), one kharaa team rushing marines and killing them, marines with exceptional aim, ninja fades and lerks.
    Although this makes for very interesting and challenging gameplay it's also quite a learning curve for new players.
    My advice: keep playing, you'll get the hang of it, do not give up after a couple unsatisfying games.
    Still hoping the community can create something of a trainingmap or campaign to learn the game.

    It is better to keep a hang of it, when everyone has an equal footing and they can learn together.
    Not to mention as soon as those same newbies turn into pro players themselves, the first thing they will do is not give damn how frustrating they are to play against.And since the got demolished as newbies, they will demolish newbies themselves as revenge.
  • Rich_Rich_ Join Date: 2012-11-05 Member: 167152Members
    edited July 2013
    turn off atmospherics. turn off vsync. lower the texture quality to medium or it'll run past the 1gb vram your 550ti's have. r_stats 1 in console use that to adjust
  • joohoo_n3djoohoo_n3d Join Date: 2012-10-30 Member: 164703Members, Reinforced - Onos, WC 2013 - Supporter
    ns2 is less frustrating than ns1 - remember how everyone wanted to save for fade or onos and nobody ever wanted to gorge and drop a rt?
    meanwhile all the marines wanted was jetpacks and shottys and would wait until they had them before ending the game...unless the aliens got their stuff together ;)
  • CrazyEddieCrazyEddie Join Date: 2013-01-08 Member: 178196Members
    GISP wrote: »
    UWE is working on the reserved slot issue
    They are?

    AWESOME!

    [happy dance]
  • joshhhjoshhh Milwaukee, WI Join Date: 2011-06-21 Member: 105717Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester
    No more auto-kick after loading. No more redirecting.

    A much needed addition to the server side of ns2. :)
  • Kouji_SanKouji_San Sr. Hινε Uρкεερεг - EUPT Deputy The Netherlands Join Date: 2003-05-13 Member: 16271Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
    edited July 2013
    CrazyEddie wrote: »
    GISP wrote: »
    UWE is working on the reserved slot issue
    [happy dance]
    Pics Animated gif or it didn't happen :P
  • CrazyEddieCrazyEddie Join Date: 2013-01-08 Member: 178196Members
    That's me.

    I'm the one on the right.
  • HolyTealHolyTeal Join Date: 2011-03-09 Member: 85427Members
    For your framerate's problem i suggest you to keep everything on but to turn off the shadows, that's how i personaly kept my game beautiful and gained easily 30 fps ! You may think that NS2 without shadows is silly but not at all because with ambient occlusion (SSAO) it makes appears some fake shadows everywhere so in the end it's really not noticable and you have a mega fps boost ! Give it a try, you will see ^^
  • IronHorseIronHorse Developer, QA Manager, Technical Support & contributor Join Date: 2010-05-08 Member: 71669Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester, Subnautica PT Lead, Pistachionauts
    edited July 2013
    @holyteal eh.. I would turn off AO before touching shadows, any day.
    AO (high) consistently steals 20 fps across most hardware and also introduces some mouse delay due to it's very nature.

    I'm curious what video card you have that you saw such gains from disabling shadows though .. Should only result in a 5-10 fps loss.

    Ambient occlusion is more GPU demanding than most shadow implementations, almost universally across game engines. (mostly because its newer tech compared to shadows)
  • HolyTealHolyTeal Join Date: 2011-03-09 Member: 85427Members
    edited July 2013
    HD 7850 => tried all the combo to have a good framerate and the best graphic, the first one i tried was actually disabling AO but while i had a good framerate everywhere i still had big lag over some massive fights, then i tried disabling shadows and while i don't get as max fps everywhere as before, the game now runs smooth even in big teamfights ! And btw it looks better without just the shadows off than shadows on and AO off. ^^
  • IronHorseIronHorse Developer, QA Manager, Technical Support & contributor Join Date: 2010-05-08 Member: 71669Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester, Subnautica PT Lead, Pistachionauts
    edited July 2013
    Bicsum wrote: »
    Have you tried playing without SLI? Afaik it causes micro-stutter.
    Sli has a history of micro stuttering in ns2.
    Use the latest drivers and some users have reported success with using the console (~ key) command: maxfps 120 or whatever number you want as your maximum fps. Some match their vsync with that command. (both 60)

    Feel free to start a tech support forum on the matter


    Also, be sure to use SFR, not AFR.
    here's why:
    Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR), the second rendering method. Here, each GPU renders entire frames in sequence – one GPU processes even frames, and the second processes odd frames, one after the other. When the slave card finishes work on a frame (or part of a frame) the results are sent via the SLI bridge to the master card, which then outputs the completed frames. Ideally, this would result in the rendering time being cut in half, and thus performance from the video cards would double. In their advertising, NVIDIA claims up to 1.9x the performance of one card with the dual-card setup. While AFR may produce higher overall framerates than SFR, it may result in increased input latency due to the next frame starting rendering in advance of the frame before it. This is identical to the issue that was first discovered in the ATI Rage Fury MAXX board in 1999.[1] This makes SFR the preferred SLI method for fast paced action games.
  • SeeVeeSeeVee Join Date: 2012-10-31 Member: 165206Members
    lncabin wrote: »

    I'm Sli'ing two 550ti's and get around a constant 50-60 fps everywhere but for some reason the game feels so choppy. Like I'm getting 20 fps.

    Some games just don't perform well with SLI. I used to have an SLI setup and with almost every game I had much better FPS with single card setup. Try taking out the SLI connector and assign the 2nd card to handle physx and see what you get. May be better :)
  • _Necro__Necro_ Join Date: 2011-02-15 Member: 81895Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    I recommend to disable AO before shadows too. Hitching in huge fights is probably more of a CPU problem anyway but should be smaller since 249.
  • Cannon_FodderAUSCannon_FodderAUS Brisbane, AU Join Date: 2013-06-23 Member: 185664Members, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    Below all the frustration, and rage, a beautiful game Lerks.
    You can nom nom nom on all the Gorgeous team work plays,
    But don't Skulk, when you lose
    Because everyone Onos, this game is very bitter sweet,
    So don't let your frustration Fade your commitment.
    There is fun to be had in the end.
  • HolyTealHolyTeal Join Date: 2011-03-09 Member: 85427Members
    clap clap! not bad =D
  • Cannon_FodderAUSCannon_FodderAUS Brisbane, AU Join Date: 2013-06-23 Member: 185664Members, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
  • GISPGISP Battle Gorge Denmark Join Date: 2004-03-20 Member: 27460Members, Playtest Lead, Forum Moderators, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, Squad Five Gold, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Onos, WC 2013 - Gold, Subnautica Playtester, Forum staff
    edited July 2013
    GISP wrote: »
    Allso, please remmeber that NS2 have a vary high skill cealing and vary much cater to the hardcore gamer, and not you average "omg im rambo" cod player. It takes time and practice to pwn in NS2 :)

    Was this UWE's intention from the start? I mean NS2 being different from the usual instant gratification frag games we get like tf2, bf, cod etc is a good thing but that will always mean it will be limited when it comes to attracting players population wise. If UWE intended for it to be like this then I see no issue but being a business and all I thought they would want as many players as possible even from the casual side.

    Either way despite the amount of builds this game has, the unavoidable issues with NS2 makes it one of those games that does not forgive a losing team which I assume most people find frustrating. Whether it be losing an expensive lifeform you saved up for or marine gear most people seem to dislike this as they have to go back to a skulk or lmg marine and potentially get stomped until they lose or concede. The game also relies heavily on having competent team mates. So when you get people who do not understand the meaning of teamwork or the game mechanics the game suffers. Or a bad com as well as one opponent who is obviously skilled enough to make matches one sided. NS2 just has so many variables involved that it is easy for most games to be a bad experience depending on the players familiarity with the game and how nice/nasty they are or if they decide to stack.

    Didn't really help that they sprung 250 without up to date tutorials leaving new players who do not want to read forums or go out of their way to look into the changes limited or confused in utilizing the changed movement to it's full potential. With tutorials at least the people that disliked the fact that their old movement system was changed could learn how to really make use of the new ones before deciding it sucks because it is different. With proper tutorials new players could learn how to spend their time practicing the correct way instead of being dropped clueless and wrecked in a game where the experienced players already know the hidden mechanics of the game. Gotta wonder what direction UWE will take their next game.
    Oh it its indeed on purpose that NS2 isnt a frag fest, where you can rambo into a room guns blazing.
    NS2 rely so much more on teamplay and communications, unlike "modern military shooters" such as BF and CoD.
    And you wont ever see a single marine walk into a room whit a shorgun, take down 4 fades solo screaming yolo.

    Im sure that uwe realize that it could have made the game like that, and double its income. But at the cost of 10 years of loyal fans...
    Right now its "hard to learn, hard to master". But UWE is working on *secret stuff edited* and other things to welcome new players, and making NS2 "ease to learn, hard to master".

    But as any other game, you simply cant cater to everyone liking. Some people like that you can go directly into a match, after first time installing it, and go around noscoping people.
    While others want a more complex game, where you have to work a team to reach your goals. NS2 is such a game. It might not be for all, but for the hardcore player that takes pride in becoming good at something difficult, NS2 can fill that space.
  • SpiritMasterSpiritMaster Join Date: 2002-11-07 Member: 7580Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited July 2013
    My biggest complaint with NS2 is that when they finally get the builds up to something resembling good balance, somebody comes along, completely rewrites the mechanics to play the game, the entire system becomes unbalanced, and the whole process stars all over again. Now don't get me wrong the game is great I've been a loyal fan since the original Half-Life mod, but i've lost track of the number of builds I've just stopped playing becuase they've compltely screwed over the balance and made it frustrating to play.
  • lncabinlncabin Join Date: 2013-07-10 Member: 186024Members
    So, I've given this game more time. I fixed my stuttering issue by messing with some nvidia control panel settings. And as far as the rest of the issues facing me, as a newer player, havn't changed.

    This game is horribly balanced IMO. Aliens have the upper hand in the beginning and Marines have the upper hand after a longer period of time. What I mean is that if the Aliens can't win in the first few minutes or unable to keep the Marines down to a couple of RTs then the Marines inevitably are granted the upper hand due to game mechanics. If the game has been pretty even from the beginning than the Marines are just able to deux ex machina with virtually unstoppable Exo pain trains. The sustainability of the Exo pain train is outrageous. Every non exo Marine has the ability to heal the Exos on top of MACs. Marines that are wielding Exos and have become impossible to kill. This situation of all Marines being able to sustain the Exos and one another, being extremely mobile with jetpacks, and having powerful fire support makes the Exo pain train completely OP. Add in powerful and easily researchable AOE weapons into the mix doesnt help.

    The entire research line and skill required to be a Marine commander is nothing compared to the Aliens. Having more than one Comm chair isnt even really necessary to win a game as a Marine. They dont have to deal with cyst chain management and nearly all upgrades only require building one structure for the research option.

    But, still, the number one thing I hate about this game is the Marine's ability to completely shut down skulk bites by bunny hopping. It becomes overly frustrating when every fight turns into a bunny hop circle jerk around each other. Its especially frustrating when I'm able to sneak up, land a bite only for the Marine to jump (and sometimes being able to do a second jump off the top of my head) while none of my bites seem to connect even though my jaws could be wrapped around their face.
  • NailoNailo Join Date: 2013-05-06 Member: 185138Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
    honestly, if skulks were real, I'd be running and jumping around like a madman to avoid it so I'm fine with the bunny hopping, I just move to keep up with them. ^_^ the best thing to do if you see an exo/arc train moving out, is to ignore it and push with your entire team to the enemy base and wreak it. The main problem with exo's is that they weaken your base defence dramatically if they leave the base, at all.
  • douchebagatrondouchebagatron Custom member title Join Date: 2003-12-20 Member: 24581Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    lncabin wrote: »
    This game is horribly balanced IMO.


    I'm not going to say balance is perfect, but the problem I see in games isn't that the game is unbalanced, it's that pub games don't have the communication and teamwork that it takes to counter some strategies.
    lncabin wrote: »
    Aliens have the upper hand in the beginning and Marines have the upper hand after a longer period of time. What I mean is that if the Aliens can't win in the first few minutes or unable to keep the Marines down to a couple of RTs then the Marines inevitably are granted the upper hand due to game mechanics.

    Many marines take a pretty defensive stance early in the game, worrying that skulks will take down any RTs so they opt for more conservative approaches instead of expanding quickly. This doesn't work out most of the time. Skulks are fast and can be everywhere at once, and RTs are likely to be lost, but a big part of the early game is more than keeping RTs up, it's also map dominance. if you push forward and get good map control, you can replace RTs later. If you can take out alien RTs they can be without for even longer since alien RTs take more time to construct without a gorge. It's not obvious but marines usually need to push harder than they do early game.

    lncabin wrote: »
    If the game has been pretty even from the beginning than the Marines are just able to deux ex machina with virtually unstoppable Exo pain trains. The sustainability of the Exo pain train is outrageous. Every non exo Marine has the ability to heal the Exos on top of MACs. Marines that are wielding Exos and have become impossible to kill. This situation of all Marines being able to sustain the Exos and one another, being extremely mobile with jetpacks, and having powerful fire support makes the Exo pain train completely OP. Add in powerful and easily researchable AOE weapons into the mix doesnt help.

    newer aliens typically try to pressure exo trains head-on, but that's probably the worst way to do it. Exo's can't be beaconed. that's a huge weakness that can and should be exploited. too many exos? just take out the base. one exo with lots of support? force a beacon and let the other team take out the exo.

    lncabin wrote: »
    The entire research line and skill required to be a Marine commander is nothing compared to the Aliens. Having more than one Comm chair isnt even really necessary to win a game as a Marine. They dont have to deal with cyst chain management and nearly all upgrades only require building one structure for the research option.
    lots of ways in which they are different. I've actually heard the opposite of this. since alien tech is quite a bit simpler. the recent updates might have changed that though.
    lncabin wrote: »
    But, still, the number one thing I hate about this game is the Marine's ability to completely shut down skulk bites by bunny hopping. It becomes overly frustrating when every fight turns into a bunny hop circle jerk around each other. Its especially frustrating when I'm able to sneak up, land a bite only for the Marine to jump (and sometimes being able to do a second jump off the top of my head) while none of my bites seem to connect even though my jaws could be wrapped around their face.

    following a marine is a lot tougher than if you jump off walls and act erratic. don't attack from the ground, come from the walls and ceiling
  • TheriusTherius Join Date: 2009-03-06 Member: 66642Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
    lncabin wrote: »
    But, still, the number one thing I hate about this game is the Marine's ability to completely shut down skulk bites by bunny hopping.

    Marines cannot bunnyhop.

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