News: New Patch Notes - Test Server 13-06-13

[Malorn]

I mentioned this on FNO a few weeks back, but here's a quick recap now that you have the context of the tutorial and the map tutorial...

The map tutorial is a prototype for a more robust in-game help. The viewer is rather simple with just cycling pages, but if you imagine an index and some additional navigation tools there can be a lot more content in there and then it becomes more of a universal help browser. Then various help buttons in the UI are linked to the appropriate page in the browser. Adding additional pages, topics, and links is then fairly straightforward and more can be added over time. Simple and easy is important here, the fancier it gets the longer it takes and potentially the more confusing it can be. Simple and consistent.

That's where we'd like to go with it, so if concepts or topics are missing that you'd like to see, let me know and I can see about adding it in.

The big picture is that the interactive tutorial when you make a character teaches you the game fundamentals (with vehicles, generators, jump pads, turrets, shields coming Soon to that). When you're done with that you should know how to do the basic things in the game, capture facilities, switch classes, get vehicles, respawn, and instant action. With that you can get in and start having fun relatively quickly after starting a character.

Then to compliment that and support additional learning over time you have in-game help reference like the map tutorial. Now expand that to experience, certs, marketplace, loadouts, etc.

The idea is to allow players to discover the game and easily find help about the game concepts and the UI but to do so at their own pace. Trying to put too much information at a player in the tutorial will just be information overload. That's why the tutorial is fairly short, and more complicated concepts like how to read the map can be provided as reference for them to pick up on their own pace.

No promises on when (or if) any of that will get added in, but that's the general idea. The Map Tutorial is the first step to the in-game help manual side of things.

[HitbackTR]

ZOE nerf, who didn't see that coming, seriously. Won't stop VS maxes being effective though if they are being used by good players, ZOE or not.

[Whiteagle]

Hey Malorn, since you're still around...



...What the FUCK is this?

[Chewy]

Originally Posted by Whiteagle

Hey Malorn, since you're still around...



...What the FUCK is this?

I like that. It limits the no mans lands around a tower base. As is on live a good chunk of the towers back is a no go for any vehicles or get hit from people behind the shields, same with the vehicle bay. You also couldn't get to the stairs without having to watch for shield campers. Some good shots can hold on both stairs without having to be in any risk.

Tower shields are safe spots at 3 places for defenders to camp. 2nd floor is easy to avoid and the top is a pain for air but needed to stop tank spam. Defenders don't need one at the ground floor as well. The portal is still there and still has a shield so you can still get down safely but can't use it as a crutch anymore.

[Whiteagle]

Originally Posted by Chewy

I like that. It limits the no mans lands around a tower base.

Yeah, I can understand the reasoning BEHIND the change, but as it is the shield might as well not be there!

Right now you just have the teleporter and a killzone, you are just going to have a single attacker camp that exit and completely negate it as a means of moving to ground level while under attack.

What I would do is consolidate the Vehicle Balcony stairs into a single staircase, put the teleporter under that, and have shielded exits into two Infantry tunnels running from either side of stairs to the outside.

BAM, now we've got a safer exit for defenders but they can't abuse it to camp attackers!
You can't be lazy with this sort of thing though, you have to be willing to do more remodeling then switching where the shield is, else you end up with shitty open sheds and set pieces instead of fuctional shooter maps...

[Chewy]

Originally Posted by Whiteagle

Yeah, I can understand the reasoning BEHIND the change, but as it is the shield might as well not be there!

Right now you just have the teleporter and a killzone, you are just going to have a single attacker camp that exit and completely negate it as a means of moving to ground level while under attack.

What I would do is consolidate the Vehicle Balcony stairs into a single staircase, put the teleporter under that, and have shielded exits into two Infantry tunnels running from either side of stairs to the outside.

BAM, now we've got a safer exit for defenders but they can't abuse it to camp attackers!
You can't be lazy with this sort of thing though, you have to be willing to do more remodeling then switching where the shield is, else you end up with shitty open sheds and set pieces instead of fuctional shooter maps...

The point of defending a base is to stop the enemy from getting inside the base. Once the attackers get inside the main tower the defenders already lost a LOT of ground from not defending the entire base and shouldn't have an easy time to get them out. Once attackers get inside a base they can use the defenders own cover against them and have earned to right to do so.

It's cheap as hell for 2-3 defenders to camp behind those shields and stop any vehicles from being able to use an entire side of the tower and the main vehicle bay. You can't go anywhere around those shields with anything without counter camping them. Those shields on a tower give spawn safety abusers 5 places to camp from. Tower top, balcony, 3rd floor doors, main bay, and the back yard.

Limiting the ground floor camping is a good thing if you ask me. Defenders will still have 4 spawn exits to use in safety. Top, balcony, 3rd floor, and now just a single door on ground floor.

You're not defending a base if you let attackers in the base.

[Whiteagle]

Originally Posted by Chewy

The point of defending a base is to stop the enemy from getting inside the base. Once the attackers get inside the main tower the defenders already lost a LOT of ground from not defending the entire base and shouldn't have an easy time to get them out. Once attackers get inside a base they can use the defenders own cover against them and have earned to right to do so.

Originally Posted by Chewy

You're not defending a base if you let attackers in the base.

You mean the towers with four huge Vehicle Doors and one man-door on the remaining side that's got an entire wall covering it from only OTHER routes down?

Have you ever actually DEFENDED a tower before?
The fucking ground level is a damn nightmare if you don't have Zerglings constantly streaming out of it in Armor, because of how open it actually IS!
Hell, the fight ends up automatically LOST if they get a single Infiltrator in there to hack the Terminals because that cuts off the Zerglings Tanks and allows the Attacker to Spawn or roll a AMSunderer right into the Garage...

Originally Posted by Chewy

Those shields on a tower give spawn safety abusers 5 places to camp from. Tower top, balcony, 3rd floor doors, main bay, and the back yard.

...Clearly you haven't, or else you'd know that those third floor exits are usually the ones GETTING camped since their placement requires one to expose themselves to a hallway filled with crossfire just to get a shot off.

Hell, the only other shields I can see being exploited like that is the Balcony Exit, because you can actually SEE a bit of ground from there, and the Top for Burster MAXes...

[Chewy]

Originally Posted by Whiteagle

You mean the towers with four huge Vehicle Doors and one man-door on the remaining side that's got an entire wall covering it from only OTHER routes down?

Have you ever actually DEFENDED a tower before?
The fucking ground level is a damn nightmare if you don't have Zerglings constantly streaming out of it in Armor, because of how open it actually IS!
Hell, the fight ends up automatically LOST if they get a single Infiltrator in there to hack the Terminals because that cuts off the Zerglings Tanks and allows the Attacker to Spawn or roll a AMSunderer right into the Garage...


...Clearly you haven't, or else you'd know that those third floor exits are usually the ones GETTING camped since their placement requires one to expose themselves to a hallway filled with crossfire just to get a shot off.

Hell, the only other shields I can see being exploited like that is the Balcony Exit, because you can actually SEE a bit of ground from there, and the Top for Burster MAXes...

If you would get out of the tower and meet the enemy in the surrounding buildings and fields then they shouldn't be able to get to the main tower. You can't defend ANYTHING without first starting to defend it BEFORE an attack happens. If you wait till after the attack happens then you are not defending the base, you are counter attacking to make back lost ground.

Once you let the enemy inside the tower it is time to call for help because you failed to defend. By then it is only a matter of time for the attackers to force up the stairs and get the tower or just sit back and wait the defenders out from having 2/3 of the points if able. Either ask another group to pull armor from a base back in the lines and pick off the enemy vehicles and spawn points or have the backup attack the enemies base to prevent them from getting a cap on your tower.

You do know that if you can turn a point then no one can turn another point linked only to that base? Say there are bases a, b, c. If you have base A and its point is turned then you can not turn base Bs point until you get back base As point. Use that to stop an attack cold. Then once the enemy splits to backcap use that time to push. But to do this you need to defend the ENTIRE base and not just the tower.

Iv attacked, defended, and counter attacked plenty of bases/outpost in my 300+ hours. You have to know when to defend and know what it means to to defend before shit hits the fan. Wait till after and you failed to defend before even starting.

[Rolfski]

Originally Posted by Malorn

The idea is to allow players to discover the game and easily find help about the game concepts and the UI but to do so at their own pace. Trying to put too much information at a player in the tutorial will just be information overload. That's why the tutorial is fairly short, and more complicated concepts like how to read the map can be provided as reference for them to pick up on their own pace.

Well that's exactly my problem with the current map tutorial. While the info on the topics is brief, it doesn't FEEL short for me as a new player because the way it is presented right now. I have to wade to 13 pages of explanations to learn about basic game concepts and the map. For me as a player that is information overload, I'm lost after page 3.

The reason being that when I read that hovering over territory will show additional region info, I want to instantly try that out. But now I have to shut down the tutorial to experience it myself and then reboot it again. That's just annoying. This problem can be easily solved by making the tutorial a regular multi-task window that just sticks on top of the map, can be dragged around but still allows for the player trying stuff out on the go while he reads about it in the tutorial.