490 replies to this topic

[Distemper]

I don’t believe that the Gauss change was made to make it a role specific weapon, it was made in an attempt to destroy PPC/Gauss builds.

IF the Gauss change was made to make it a role specific weapon then why not just give it a minimum range? The new mechanic will just see players removing the Gauss from the builds.

Also consider the new players the game badly needs. How does it make sense to have a weapon that doesn't actually fire when you press the fire button?

/despair

[xXBagheeraXx]

If they just played with the rate of fire a bit it would be perfect....It shouldnt fire as fast as it did, In mechwarior 4 if you ganked a gauss/PPC toting mech in soemthing carrying a few lbx cannons and heavy mediums or heavy large lasers, you ate his butt for breakfast....in the time it took him to fire off mabe 2 salvoes and POSSIBLY core you (probably overheating in the process) you and your lbx cannons will have stripped him bare...What i see here is "Oh thats inbalanced...HMM LETS FIX IT OUR WAY INSTEAD OF THE WAY IT HAS WORKED NEARLY PERFECTLY IN THE DOZENS OF GAMES MADE BEFORE THIS!"

[HRR Mary]

Quote

Testing has proven that while the mechanic takes a bit to get used to, it is very effective at defining the Gauss Rifle as a long range sniper weapon. The charge time is easy to get used to, due to its short (0.75 second) delay. While it is meant to be a long range weapon, the Gauss Rifle is still usable at short range. It just requires a much higher skill shot rather than a simple point and click.

Mkkkay... You really should look into the actual gameplay instead on relying on your "testers", who have missed twice "LRMgeddon", and other major glitches.

Let's take the case of a PPC boat, at 800 meters, hiding behind a hill, popping to the side, shooting, then returning to cover. By the time I spot him, start charging, and release, he's back in cover. Likewise, against a poptart, he can pop, shoot, and I can't return fire, especially at long range (and he can charge while he jumps and still fire).

That mechanic is bad, and Gauss is no longer a "long range weapon", nor a "short range weapon". I predict it will only be used by people that think that "charging" a weapon makes it full of l33t.

Don't get me wrong, I got used to it's borky mechanic after 2 matches, but I will shelf that weapon for one that let's me fire when I need it.

Again, PGI, and Paul, stop "Nerfing" weapons that work, just buff weapons that don't.


EDIT : Also, by "pulling all the levers at once" in this patch (changing Gauss, PPC, and HSR) you basically can't confirm which fix has actually worked. I'm pretty sure that if you only modified PCC, the balance state would have changed in the same direction.

Edited by HRR Mary, 03 September 2013 - 11:27 PM.

[3urningChrome]

Morderian, on 03 September 2013 - 04:08 PM, said:

2: you can no longer bind it to keyboard thx to hold to charge because some keyboards dont like pressing mor then 3 buttons the same time

This is an issue for me. With only a 'normal' mouse, I have always had several weapon groups bound to keys.

Usually ammo limited weapons like gauss and missile.
While not an insurmountable issue, it has removed options while increasing the need for additional groups

[Stormwolf]

I actually like the fact that there's different types of weapon behaviour, this sort of thing should have been introduced far earlier.

Although I really think that the game needs a cone of destruction type fire system to get the most out of it.
Mechs in the BT universe have targeting and tracking systems to help with aiming, this could be represented with a simple cone. The more weapons the larget the cone, this would reduce the efficiency of boating a ton of weapons instead of introducing things like ghost heat.

Weapons like pulse lasers would have a smaller cone then their normal and ER counterparts because they are more accurate for example. Gauss rifles could maintain a smaller cone due to their charge firing style.

[Karl Streiger]

I like the current changes - although I don't like "too much" changes in a single moment - but I will give you a try.

I didn't played for months and this patch can bring me back to game.

[Viscount Hood]

I tried out the new guass changes on my twin guass mounted CTX-4X.

I thought it was pretty good so far. I found the delay helps you aim the shots exactly and if you are not sure you can easily recover and save the ammo. Since ammo is limited this is a great feature.

[Theer]

worthest balance patch ever. or may be next worth after spring lrm's trajectory patch
It completly destroys my DragonSlayer configuration. Cant use Gauss at right hand due to this changes, cant use AC20 at hand too, becouse of 9 free slots in hand... I fell myself like an ***** coz bought that mech for MC(
And thats only one of my mechs. Just have no time to look others mechs configurations, like a Dragon etc...

Edited by Theer, 03 September 2013 - 11:37 PM.

[Eduard Scorylo]

I like this patch even though I mostly play a CTF-3D poptart. Changes to the Gauss means it takes more skill to play well. Changes to the firing projectile of PPC and Gauss mean they are less likely to hit the same spot of the target is moving. Not sure about PPC heat increase but we'll see.

Please oh please make the UAC5 skill based as well instead of RNG. Some internal heat mechanic or something the pilot can control.

[Der_Goetz]

I think they should put up the speed for erppc to 2000m/s. The heat of 15 compansate the velocity. So we get the ppc for mid-range and the erppc for sniper.Like the AC 10 and Gauss.

[Wintersdark]

So many tears! The gauss rifle still works just fine. In my opinion, its a net buff to the weapon, not a nerf. The projectile speed change makes it nearly a hitscan weapon and the charge time is only a minor hassle quickly adapted to.

But that 2km/s speed is HUGE.

[MustrumRidcully]

I would generally advise against giving weapons handling-related special mechanics. That just encourages boating weapons even more.

It's okay to manage one type of special mechanic for a weapon, like the Gauss charge. But if multiple weapons you use have this mechanic, it creates a mental overheat that complicates matters, making it a lot easier to avoid mixing weapons all together.

Just like people tend to avoid mixing different ballistics - the mechancis are pretty much the same, but each ballistic needs a different lead time and has a different cooldown rate. So mixing requires you to get a feeling for the lead time needed for each weapon seperately, and always keep in mind which bleongs to which, and then you also have to coordinate the cooldowns to not waste damage potential.

Most shooters have you use only one weapon at a time, and don't expect you to switch from using your rocket launcher to a laser rifle to a mini-cannon within a 5 second timespan. Such shooters can afford different shooting mechanics for each weapon and truely add variety this way. But Battlemechs are armed with multiple weapons, and you won't see varied builds if the easiest option is to only mix identical weapons.

[Vassago Rain]

6/10 for forcing people to get closer, and making all the misery owners mad.

[Arguss10]

I have a issue with the gauss patch , being that I am no longer able to chain fire my Gauss Rifles now. It will only fire the same gauss over and over again and not move to the other gauss. Still don't understand the change, as I would have thought that in 3049 weapons would only need a press of the trigger. PGI please understand that I am from Australia , and we already have a delay and get told about it all the time, delaying weapons like this doesn't help us here. I hope you fix the chain fire soon and would be happier if you change gauss back to what it is. You are still doing a good job and keep up the good work. A longer charge time and a more distinct charge sound would make this change more useable , as hard to hear in thick of battle.

Edited by Arguss10, 06 September 2013 - 05:58 PM.

[Sarevos]

Helsbane, on 03 September 2013 - 03:32 PM, said:

The charge mechanic added to the gauss rifle did absolutely nothing. All I have to do is lift my middle finger while pressing my index finger. It's a simple finger rolling action. My ERPPCs and Gauss are still firing together, just as they always have. Basically, it did NOTHING to uncouple them aside from make me prep for targets by a fraction of a second instead of twitch shooting with them. If anything it helped me take a split second the get my lead right for targets at range, making my 2xERPPC / Gauss build even more accurate. It didn't even affect my jump sniping. Charge on the way up, let off the jump jets, then the gauss trigger.

Foolish and ineffective change, same as always. At least your track record is untarnished in that respect...

So the heat change and gauss charge didnt alter your play style in the least the masses are happy with the nerf and you complain?.... I dont understand shouldnt we be glad?

[Sarevos]

MustrumRidcully, on 04 September 2013 - 12:40 AM, said:

I would generally advise against giving weapons handling-related special mechanics. That just encourages boating weapons even more.

It's okay to manage one type of special mechanic for a weapon, like the Gauss charge. But if multiple weapons you use have this mechanic, it creates a mental overheat that complicates matters, making it a lot easier to avoid mixing weapons all together.

Just like people tend to avoid mixing different ballistics - the mechancis are pretty much the same, but each ballistic needs a different lead time and has a different cooldown rate. So mixing requires you to get a feeling for the lead time needed for each weapon seperately, and always keep in mind which bleongs to which, and then you also have to coordinate the cooldowns to not waste damage potential.

Most shooters have you use only one weapon at a time, and don't expect you to switch from using your rocket launcher to a laser rifle to a mini-cannon within a 5 second timespan. Such shooters can afford different shooting mechanics for each weapon and truely add variety this way. But Battlemechs are armed with multiple weapons, and you won't see varied builds if the easiest option is to only mix identical weapons.

you cannot use lrms effectively with small pulse lasers or ac 20s due to their locking and arming mechanic but thats ok... so i dont understand the issue here... you speak In favor of alpha builds

[Sarevos]

3urningChrome, on 03 September 2013 - 11:15 PM, said:

This is an issue for me. With only a 'normal' mouse, I have always had several weapon groups bound to keys.

Usually ammo limited weapons like gauss and missile.
While not an insurmountable issue, it has removed options while increasing the need for additional groups

i can actually see that being unfair. but the same can be said of people who dont have a good enough graphics card not being able to see as much or as fast as someone with an optimal computer. however this doesnt mean we should ADD to the disparity with complicated mechanics =|... that can go either way and i wouldnt have any complaints

[sarkun]

Paul, on 03 September 2013 - 02:50 PM, said:

[...]
I've also asked Dave to take a look at lights the same way mediums were addressed. Stay tuned for more information on that.

Please, please, PLEASE don't tell me that you are done with increasing the viability of medium mechs. They turn a little faster. Die as fast as before.

[SkyHawkOne]

Well,

This is a first for me, as I have NEVER posted on a game before, in all the years that I have been playing any game.

I think this is the worst mistake since i been playing some months ago. I understand the need to make the game balance. But how do you speak of balance when there are MANY times in which a LRM boat will blast me from 1000M away and I cannot do anything about it. You make the sniper weapon harder, but the LRMs easier? I dont understand the balance.

Anyway, if this is what you guys call balance, then I just might stop playing.

I think it is a great game, and I am sure that it is hard to find a balance. My prayers are with you.

SkyHawkOne

[BOWMANGR]

Wow! This is the first time that I'm really really happy after a new patch. I wasn't extremely disappointed with the game as other users posting in the forums but I wasn't happy about the seemingly "dumbing down" of the gameplay mechanics with 3pv and lack of tonnage limits info.

I really enjoy this game but I play it because it requires more skill than point and click. So any change that REMOVES those kind of players from the player base or forces them to adapt is a good thing for me.

I was extremely happy to see PPC get a much needed nerf and it was frustrating to see some people defending PPC with arguments that I could have used against them!!! Specifically, they were telling others to adapt and learn to play against PPC!!! Wow. Now that PPC is nerfed and needs more skill to use it effectively, WHO NEEDS TO LEARN TO PLAY? Yes, you! Not me. YOU. You know who you are point and click player also known as 'easy mode' player.

People used a powerful and skillless combo on their builds and telled others to "learn to play" in the forums. wow...


As for the Gauss change. I like it. It's yet another change that forces people to use SKILL in this game. I like it. I also really like that they are seriously trying to give each weapon its own niche. This sounds more like a simulator and less than "fancy weapons doing essentially the exact same thing" which we had before.

Keep up changing the weapons to make them ALL interesting and diverse enough and we can finally see a battlefield that has many different strategies used. Of course something has to be done about the frequency of Assaults. They either need to be reduced with tonnage limits or you need to create other game modes that promote different roles OTHER than straight up fighting. Mediums got a buff but it doesn't really show because most of the time you still need to fight head to head mostly. Fighting head to head with 3+ Assaults is not a viable option for a Medium pilot. I believe that Assaults should have less frequency on the battlefield of each drop so that team need to keep them alive by supporting them, which is exactly what Medium mechs excel at.

I agree about revisiting Flamer and maybe you need to revisit Single Heatsinks too. Give them a reason to exist in a mech. You can also increase Time To Kill {which is always a good thing in a simulator of giant mechs} by implementing minor Heat penalties BELOW 100%. Players will have to manage their heat better. You can also tie this one with Single Heatsinks changes.

Overall, I now enjoy the direction that you try to give the game towards more skill and piloting and less point and click shooting and I don't mean just brawling, I mean sniping too. It needs more skill now and its not such an 'easy' mode anymore. Some so called sniper build could be used extremely effectively for brawling too!!! This was frustrating and needed fixing.

Edited by BOWMANGR, 04 September 2013 - 12:58 AM.