GriefPoint bug/handicap

Iceman · 2003-09-02, 10:12 PM

Well, it was bound to happen...

I got a very interesting bug happen to me, which in any case, is very hard to reproduce outside of a test laboratory.

It concerns Grief points and it got me up to 1000+ grief point in a matter of a few minutes, and now, 'Cause of that, i won't be able to play for a last 3 days, waiting for the grief points to go down.

here it is:

I was driving a MagRider and i aimed (and ramed) a TR MAX unit (can't tell which kind). At the exact moment i rammed him, i was also shooting with the driver's pulse cannon, and a 'lag' pop-up window appeared saying there was a connection problem. At the exact same time, i was hitting a friendly player who was fighting with the MAX at the time. This of course should've caused around 10-20 damage/grief. But instead, as the lag was occuring, the damage/grief kept going up until it hit around 415 damage points/grief (which is impossible to do on a single person).

The lag lasted for around 3-4 seconds.

Of course, due to my very high 250 grief point i was carring from a previous fight + the current fight for Gunuku (where else) got me up to 780ish Griefpoints in a matter of seconds. It wasn't long before i busted the magic number.

Normally, i wouldn't complain about it, because ramming people with a Mag is not necessary rocket science and sometimes, there casualties. Also, with the use of the Thumper with PLasma... it doesn't help either (if not everyone was so into 'getting the kill' by rushing...). anyways.

While i was in the 1000+ world of grief points, i also got to notice that by having our weapon locked (cannot shoot), it is impossible for the player to perform 'good' deeds as well. I couldn't heal myself or others, nor repair.

I understand the Grief point is especially designed for TKers, but what about accidents - This Is a BattleField - and people who can still be in the fight - In Their Squad - by healing and repairing technicals and Body armor?

well thats it. Now i can't play a game i pay for montly because of a very nice bug. damnit.

Paingiver · 2003-09-02, 10:17 PM

that sux dude

321 · 2003-09-02, 11:21 PM

Yeah that sucks if I would ever reach 300 I would stop playing for a couple of hours. But the highest I've ever gotten was 25 or a bit lower. I have no clue how I've managed to keep my grief points so low over the past 2 months but I have. I just don't grief that mcuh I mean I've accidently hit another flying vehicle and ran someone over before but I've never gotten that much grief. I understand how you got 1000 cause of that lag bug or whatever it is but I can't understand how some people got 1000 without purposily griefing or without getting a bug. And I don't understand how you had 250 even before and how after you had 600+ greif points how you could get to 1000.

Iceman · 2003-09-02, 11:51 PM

well... 250 grief is fairly low... in a warfare scenario. Especially with people not looking in a crossfire. So many times have i hit people running in front of me while i was shooting in one direction. And its not like its not easy to notice Vanu Pulsar glowy projectiles. (???). But, since people don't really care, and just always 'run-in-for-the-kill'... shit happens.

Like i said previously, in my squad, i'm the Grenadier and use the Thumper with Plasma 'nades (mostly). heck, Maybe I shouldn't presume that people will see the plasma trails (from the grenades) and wait until i unload the 6 rounds of the thumper before going down.

Other exemples of situations where heavy griefpoints are accumulated:

In a Siege, a big gathering of players are at a gate entrance to a base, shooting in all directions - in - the compound. (most players are zoomed in to maximize hits) Out of nowhere, i group of players decide to cross this field of fire to gain access to the inner compound of the base. What happens? Massive grief points to the shooters - who are doing the best they can to suppresse incoming/respawning enemies. In since they are mostly zoomed in, they don't see on their 9/3 and so, they get grief points for doing their job. The players to blame are the ones who didn't respect their unit cohesion and stormed throught the field of fire. Yet, the suppressers are griefed for that.

Believe it or not, but on an assault on Gunuku island, while i got 2 Br ranks out of a 2 hours long assault on the base, i got over 300 griefpoints by people rushing in my field of fire -and others- while i was doing the good job of keeping respawning enemies from pushing us off the siege.

We Won. I got 2 Br levels and over 300 GriefPoints which could've been avoided if peoples would be a little more careful.

Compared to a real situation, people running in other's line of fire would die, and that would be the end of it. Their mistake would be their demise. In planetside, their mistake is 'our' (the shooters) demise.

I totally understand the point of Grief systems which is by far better then Votes which work only 20% of the time. And by god i agree with it. But nevertheless, unless people pay attention to their surrounding, this type of problem will keep on happening. And that makes me sad as firefights and sieges like the one from Gunuku 2 weeks ago are an amazing experience.

Madcow · 2003-09-03, 11:24 AM

Originally posted by Iceman
well... 250 grief is fairly low... in a warfare scenario. Especially with people not looking in a crossfire. So many times have i hit people running in front of me while i was shooting in one direction. And its not like its not easy to notice Vanu Pulsar glowy projectiles. (???). But, since people don't really care, and just always 'run-in-for-the-kill'... shit happens.

I play the Pounder MAX, I've used the Thumper for extended periods of time, I have the Prowler cert and regularly steal Magriders. I've spent tons of time bombing from a Lib at the flight ceiling. I've never cracked 100 grief. Maybe, just maybe, you should take a look at how you're playing instead of blaming people for running in your way. Supression fire is useless if you aren't going to allow teammates to then rush the door you are pushing the enemy back into. Yes, accidentally shooting team mates in a massive firefight will happen. 350 grief worth? Only if you're being extremely careless. Then a bug happens that gives you 400 grief, okay that sucks. Then you're unable to actually play without accruing another 250? Sorry, I can't feel real sympathetic. The grief system is put in place for the people purposely ruining other's gaming experiences, but if it also teaches somebody to alter careless gameplay I'm all for it.

Rightwing · 2003-09-03, 11:44 AM

Just /appeal it, I had the same issue at Gunuku (similar anyway), I was driving my AMS off the vehicle bay when a zerg of friendly standard exos started charging at me (our other AMS got nuked), and many were left gearless.

And since I just got it, it was still set to empire, so I was going to charge out of the base because I was on a mission to set it up at Faro.

But once I got off the pad, and accelerated, some moron jumped in front of me and deployed my AMS for the greater cause, this deployed the AMS and rendered the cloaking bubble, but I was still moving at 50 kph, so I plowed through the courtyard of friendly MAXes, cloakers, you name it, and then I had some packet loss and said I wasn't able to connect.

So it connected back to the game, and I was still plowing friendlies, apparently I was moving back in forth of the front entrance, mowing those who came out.

It would not stop, and the flashing red constantly was flashing on my screen, so I Alt+F4ed and came back with 2238 grief.

I appealed it and they checked my story out, and my grief was reducted back to the original 21.

So it pays to /appeal.

Indecisive · 2003-09-03, 12:03 PM

Originally posted by TheRealPSJunkie
Just /appeal it, I had the same issue at Gunuku (similar anyway), I was driving my AMS off the vehicle bay when a zerg of friendly standard exos started charging at me (our other AMS got nuked), and many were left gearless.

And since I just got it, it was still set to empire, so I was going to charge out of the base because I was on a mission to set it up at Faro.

But once I got off the pad, and accelerated, some moron jumped in front of me and deployed my AMS for the greater cause, this deployed the AMS and rendered the cloaking bubble, but I was still moving at 50 kph, so I plowed through the courtyard of friendly MAXes, cloakers, you name it, and then I had some packet loss and said I wasn't able to connect.

So it connected back to the game, and I was still plowing friendlies, apparently I was moving back in forth of the front entrance, mowing those who came out.

It would not stop, and the flashing red constantly was flashing on my screen, so I Alt+F4ed and came back with 2238 grief.

I appealed it and they checked my story out, and my grief was reducted back to the original 21.

So it pays to /appeal.

Iceman · 2003-09-03, 12:29 PM

hmmm i didn't know you could /appeal. I'll check that out.

As for MadCow, Since i'm trying to be constructive in my post and you juust bash me down like i'm some worthless scum who doesnt know how to play (and considering i have live-fire experience), maybe you should restrain yourself from posting if yer not gonna bring something constructive to this conversation. I asked for help, not to be flamed 'cause i have 300 grief points.

If you are so good and don't have any griefpoints, good for you - you do not have anything to say on this regard in here.

Thank you very much.

Madcow · 2003-09-03, 12:36 PM

Originally posted by Iceman
hmmm i didn't know you could /appeal. I'll check that out.

As for MadCow, Since i'm trying to be constructive in my post and you juust bash me down like i'm some worthless scum who doesnt know how to play (and considering i have live-fire experience), maybe you should restrain yourself from posting if yer not gonna bring something constructive to this conversation. I asked for help, not to be flamed 'cause i have 300 grief points.

If you are so good and don't have any griefpoints, good for you - you do not have anything to say on this regard in here.

Thank you very much.

You have 600 grief points that are not due in any way, shape or form to a bug. I am being constructive, you're better off being less careless while you're playing. If you consider that a flame, you really haven't seen many of them. Not having grief points has nothing to do with being good, it has to do with being careful and being aware of your surroundings. Seriously, 600 grief points that are all on you which allows a bug that gives you 400 to lock you. You don't see any problem with carrying 600 grief around? Somehow that's all everybody else's fault for running in front of you? That's weak.

Mudflap · 2003-09-03, 01:04 PM

Sorry cow, but people run infront of me all the time, and it has nothing to do with my skill, or my choice of places to fire from. I've been sniping from a remote location and had people run infront of me right before I shoot. With the sounds of battle everywhere, and being zoomed in, I can't see them. Besides, I'm on a freakin cliff, but the still find a way.
I've been in a Max, leading the charge into a room, see an enemy MAX, and someone decides to run past me while I'm firing. With the lag in the game, there's very little one can do to not get grief points.
Admittedly though, I've only gone above 150 grief once, and that was becuase I was dealing with a griefer. But I have hit friendlies with decimators several times, even when shooting at air targets, because they never watch. they just zerg.

Indecisive · 2003-09-03, 01:09 PM

Thumper = bad.

I had to sell it, for a little while anyway. Ow. 700 grief.

Nades SUCK

Madcow · 2003-09-03, 01:16 PM

Originally posted by Mudflap
Sorry cow, but people run infront of me all the time, and it has nothing to do with my skill, or my choice of places to fire from. I've been sniping from a remote location and had people run infront of me right before I shoot. With the sounds of battle everywhere, and being zoomed in, I can't see them. Besides, I'm on a freakin cliff, but the still find a way.
I've been in a Max, leading the charge into a room, see an enemy MAX, and someone decides to run past me while I'm firing. With the lag in the game, there's very little one can do to not get grief points.
Admittedly though, I've only gone above 150 grief once, and that was becuase I was dealing with a griefer. But I have hit friendlies with decimators several times, even when shooting at air targets, because they never watch. they just zerg.

I agree, I've said as much. There is absolutely no way to go through the game with 0 grief. As I said, I don't think I've topped 100. You admit to never topping 150, and that was a special scenario. He had (at least) 600 grief that was all his own as the bug only accounted for 400. Heck, you blow up an enemy AMS and you can pretty much guarantee that at least one friendly will be standing too close and get dusted, dropping friendlies who run into your fire will happen as well. Happen often enough to accrue 600 grief? That's carelessness, plain and simple.

Mudflap · 2003-09-03, 01:27 PM

I have noticed something odd though. The one time I topped 150 grief, I was in a pounder max, and firing a couple shots at a griefer, with nobody else around, I got over 100 grief. I don't know if the pounder has some kind of special grief point system or what, but I racked up grief in that thing way too fast. I saw +100 several times, and I am 100% positive that I was only shooting a single friendly, on foot. So it is possibly, however likely or unlikely, that he racked grief up through a couple stray shots in a pounder or somesuch. I've just seen a couple ways it is possible to rack up grief, no matter how skilled you are.

Madcow · 2003-09-03, 02:00 PM

The grief you are talking about was included as of a patch about 3 patches ago. Basically a stray bullet will cause very little grief, but repeated damage multiplies the grief in a hurry. The Pounder (and Thumper) seem to be the main things impacted by this as they can have so many rounds lobbing in the air before the first round (and grief points) become visible. This can be worse if you're blindly firing the secondary shots down a stairwell. Basically if you aren't paying attention (or aren't using audio implant which seems a critical error with those weapons) you'll be spamming a stairwell with grenades and suddenly the red numbers come up.
+4
+12
+36
or whatever. If you had a lone grenade frag somebody, and then a minute later had another frag somebody you'd only have 8 grief in that scenario, but hitting the same guy(s) 3 times in a row triggers the multiplier and suddenly you're looking at 52. I'm sure that's what caused the Magrider bug he's referring to because I've heard a few stories of people getting vehicles stuck together and the grief locking them in a few seconds as both vehicles take damage.

Ziegfried · 2003-09-03, 02:07 PM

Its natural ppl run in your fire its happened to me several times on almost all assaults ive had. Its simple to fik just wait till they reload and then run or run behind em.
I dont use grenades so my Grief has never got over a 100