490 replies to this topic

[Sinthrow]

I like the change to the Guass. My only complaint is that it didn't happen last Sep

nice job Devs

[Kunae]

Arguss10, on 04 September 2013 - 12:43 AM, said:

I have a issue with the gauss patch , being that I am no longer able to chain fire my Gauss Rifles now.

If you're chain-firing gauss... well... you're doing it wrong.

[Sable]

My feedback for you sir.

The Gauss rifle - This just feels awkward to use with any other weapon system except another gauss rifle. I don't mind the delay but i find i end up watching my weapon group charge bar more than the actual target in order to use it. I would find it more friendly to use If when you clicked the fire button the gauss would have a short charged up and then fire automatically when it was ready instead of me having to choose when to release it this would smooth out its ease of use. Or possibly increase how long you can hold a charge. I'm sure you guys will smooth it out over time. You haven't disappointed me yet.

Glad Flamers are getting looked at, Personally i think if you have enough flamers you should be able to shut someone down. They don't do much damage themselves so a support mech could really do their team a favor by keeping an enemy overheated. I'm sure that could be annoying but then again if you have to use 6 flamers to do it, you're giving up quite a lot to run in a supporting role.

I have always liked the UAC5 and have been using 3 on my muromets for the last 6 months along with 3 medium lasers for back up while they unjam themselves. The most recent change made them even better. I hope with whatever tweak you're looking into that they remain a viable choice.

Edited by Sable, 04 September 2013 - 12:06 PM.

[Xoxim SC]

In regards to the Gauss rifle, in my opinion, it would have made more sense to have the PPC have a charge up timer since it's an energy based weapon, but that's just me.

As for light mechs and tuning, the first thing that needs to be done is to fix their hitboxes and read collision. Right now light mechs are far too powerful. Due to the very small frame of the spider, it can at times be impossible to hit, or the hits simply don't register. I think stuff like this needs to be addressed first before giving them a "buff".

[Andr3wR3dburn]

Personally, the change to the GR has nixxed all of my Assault mechs.
I've lost my major weapon on all 3. To be frank it was unwarranted and from what I can tell was aimed at making the weapon suitable for only the most hardcore players. Back to AC20's and ER Large lasers for me. Disappointed, as a long time follower of all the fluff, GR was my fave wpn. Having just recently re-read the novel series, I didn't note any mention of the weapon taking time to change... The 1 second window to release the shot also reduces the weapons utility. As an example... I'm sniping at a moving target 900m away. this means that I have to identify the target, charge the weapon, workout the motion of the target, apply the correct amount of lead and release the weapon.
Maybe I'll get used to it maybe not, but it does remind me of the bombast laser, a weapon I never managed to get the best out of on MW4Mercs.
Perhaps getting us used to the charging time and then introducing the release window? Or as stated below, make holding the charge something that has consequences...

Edited by Andr3wR3dburn, 04 September 2013 - 12:53 PM.

[Corvus Antaka]

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 nothing has changed gameplay wise for you, your friends or the people you play against with these changes? I take it from these statements that the change was completely ineffective and you can snipe and pinpoint 35 dmg alphas of dual ppc and 1 gauss with zero difficulties whatsoever?

While I find this hard to believe, having observed many gauss ppc snipers now struggling, I would more importantly be interested to know in how you would fix this better than the current solution.

[Cest7]

I had an epiphany regarding the gauss rifle.. I hope Paul reads this one. What if the gauss rifle could stay charged indefinitely, but if hit when charged, explodes.
This would:

• Allow the gauss to actually feel like its charged.
  
• Remove the 1 second shot window.

When charged, it has a 100% chance to explode if damaged internally. When not charged, still the same 35% chance. Staying charged would also allow the click-charge, click-fire mechanic which has been thrown around the forums.


This changes it from a weapon that requires stupid timing (which is easily bypassed with a macro) to more of a risk/reward weapon. Adding .75 to the cycle time acted as a huge DPS nerf. Pre patch it was 3.75, now it is 3.16. I am not quite happy with the overall changes to the gauss rifle. With the annoying one second shot window, I feel the Charge time should be subtracted from the cycle time in order to keep the DPS the same.

Edit: The hold charge mechanic would work better for overcharging PPCs to negate minimum range with a chance of failure.

Edited by Cest7, 04 September 2013 - 12:41 PM.

[Viktor Hannan]

funksoulbrother, on 03 September 2013 - 04:19 PM, said:

being colour blind I find it really difficult to see when the guass is ready to go as all the grrens and reds just look the same I have to physically look at the bar to see, by then my target has moved, not a huge fan of the change as it stands I would like to see a guass ready icon or something easy to see on the HUD something not in green or red please

This statement just needs bumped. I'd never considered the challenges faced by those with colorblindness when it comes to computer games, but I definitely think the game should enable their participation. Perhaps a design pass should be made to consider all areas where colorblindness places someone at a disadvantage.

[Dewil]

The Gauss Rifle change have one big drawback. It is now impossible to cycle fire it.

[Obscurity99]

Personally I will probably never use the GR until it's fixed(If you didn't catch it.. you just broke it). Who has ever heard of any gun charging? You don't charge a pistol shot.. why a rifle shell? Of all the games I've played in my life.. a charging sniper rifle just doesn't make any sense.. Next is what? Ac2 charging? The energy weapons seem like a better fit for this kind of function. And on a more serious note, better nerf irelia while were here.

[MustrumRidcully]

SteelPaladin, on 04 September 2013 - 11:24 AM, said:

But if weapons don't stand out in some fashion, what's the incentive to mix? To address the most recent change (not weighing in on it's actual effect; just the concept), why do I even want to carry a backup weapon w/a gauss rifle if it is deadly at all ranges? The cooldown rate is only a bit slower than the combined burn/cooldown of an ML (and you can only jack the cooldown so high before you the "gameplay is too slow" and/or "it's not useful at all" threshold) That's just tons I could have spent on more gauss rifles/ammo/armor/speed.

That's the catch-22. Perhaps each individual weapon doesn't need to be a unique snowflake, but they all need to be firmly seated in some form of role where they are very good at what they do, or they'll just gather dust in the mechbay.

ice-cold practical reasons. You can install 2 Gauss, but you can't install a third. So you install a Medium Laser. Or a SRM. Whatever.

You don't stop using the Gauss at close range. You just add the Medium Laser, or SRM, or whatever. Your firepower doesn't compete with someone only using short range weapons, but at least you don't suck entirely and if you're caught in a melee situation you at least have a bit extra to hurt your enemy.

You install 2 PPCs and 2 ER LL because that ends up to work more heat efficient then 4 PPCs and more destructive then 4 ER LLs, and you think that's exactly the mix of efficiency and firepower you need.

Stuff like that.

The incentive to install another weapon is that you still have tonnage and space left for them but not tonnage and space for something else.
Special weapon mechanics are the reason you don't mix weapons, because you can't work them into your firing rotation and even, will likely lose precision so much that you might as well not have them.

[Wrenchfarm]

Sable, on 04 September 2013 - 12:03 PM, said:

Glad Flamers are getting looked at, Personally i think if you have enough flamers you should be able to shut someone down. They don't do much damage themselves so a support mech could really do their team a favor by keeping an enemy overheated. I'm sure that could be annoying but then again if you have to use 6 flamers to do it, you're giving up quite a lot to run in a supporting role.

Don't know why people still float this idea. I can think of nothing more ruinous and less fun in the game than a 4 flamer Jenner keeping my Atlas in perma-stun while his teammates blast me. It's a "ha ha, I got within 100m, you lose" button.

[ArcDemon]

I have enjoyed the weapon balance changes and with some of the changes in the last 3 patches have been making the battlefield look a lot more like it should, with a wide variety of mechs in different roles.

With regard to balancing or tuning the roles of lights I'd have these observations to make, at least for the PUG environment.

• After the various fixes the Raven 3L seems pretty balanced. As new modules become available it seems they will help solidify its role as an electronic warfare platform rather then an uber light.
  
• The other ravens aren't useless, but apart from grinding to unlock skills they only seem to be appear for rare specialized builds. They might be due a small buff down the road to make them interesting compared to the 3L.
  
• The Jenners seem to be the most balanced of the lights right now. While the K is slightly under utilized it's extra module slot will likely bring it forward in the future.
  
• The Spider seems mostly balanced, though it does grind on a lot of pilots how hard to hit it is. I wouldn't count this as a major negative, the spiders ultra light weapons load balances with it's thin, difficult to hit profile. As long as there are no legitimate hit detection bugs I'd leave it as is, though the 5V might need some kind of buff to put it on the battlefield (is it out the question to add 1 energy hard point to the left arm? I think that would create an interesting choice then between the 5D and 5V).
  
• Personally I think the Commando and the upcoming 20 ton lights (Flea and Locust) are where the most balancing might need to be done. The Commando can carry enough weapons to be a threat, but with HSR and almost no armor it is something of a death trap regardless of pilot skill. Perhaps tighten up the hit boxes to emphasize that this is a very small mech like the Spider and improve the turning rate so it can dodge fast. Without battlefield experience I can't say what might improve the 20 tonners which seem to lack fire power - certainly turning rate could be taken to the max to help them stand out.

[Airic Gryphon]

Enjoying this patch so far. Few points tho:

1. Gauss Mechanic: Neither love it or hate it. As a joystick user it would be nice to have an extra 0.5 - 0.75 seconds to take the shot. Think this is a none issue for mouse users, but with a js I need that little bit of extra time.

2. Gauss Sound: Not sure if anyone else would like this but would be cool to have a sound similar to a sidewinder lock for the gauss. For example: you hear a growl while the capacitor is charging then a solid higher pitched tone while the weapon is hot. For me this would be more intuitive then watching for the green light.

3. UAC5: Nervous about any changes to the uac5. It seems to be in a decent state right now. Tho I'd love to see it become a burst fire weapon with a chance of jamming if a second burst is fired before cool down. Something like:

UAC5: 5 rounds @ 1 dmg each, low recoil, low jamming chance (15%)
UAC10: 5 rounds @ 2 dmg each, medium recoil, medium chance of jam (30%)
UAC20: 5 rds @ 4 dmg each, large recoil, high chance of jam (60%)

Numbers could be tweaked as nessesary.

Thanks again for a great patch.

[Merata Crunt]

I feel that the Large Pulse Laser should be a 6 ton weapon, instead of a 7 ton weapon. It doesn't seem right that it weighs the same as a PPC and ER PPC, while the Large Laser and the ER Large Laser are 5 ton weapons. A middle ground (6 ton) LPL would really spice up weapon tonnage specification, and allow for that much more customizable freedom, without breaking anything.

Edited by Merata Zouh Ihinimtah, 04 September 2013 - 03:41 PM.

[Ronious]

I tried it and I really don't like it. It definitely does the job of making the gauss rifle less effective at short range. The problem is it also make the weapon less effective a long range. I would like to see more time after the charge to take a shot. Lining up a long distance shot can take a lot more than 1.25 seconds. In game, time after time, I would release the fire button to silence. The charge had run out and the target got away. If the intention is to place the gauss rifle in a strictly sniper role the pilot needs the time to formulate a proper firing solution without being rushed.

[Bront]

Gauss doesn't feel too bad, but I think it needs some minor tweaking. .5 Charge (.75 feels too long), 2 second hold charge, and 3 second refresh.

Role based changes aren't bad, but the Gauss's role seems suddenly rammed down our throat. True, in TT, the Gauss had a minimum range (though it was miniscule) but the current changes make the weapon unreliable, and since you can't even choose to, say, hit the button to let it charge, then tap again to fire, you're relegated to a firing system that is not only unlike anything else in the game, but is also counter-intuitive with everything else in the game. That's fine as it makes it something different, but why not let it be fired in a somewhat more intuitive way? Or at least let it be an option.

I had to change up one of my favorite builds, because the Gauss just doesn't work in it anymore. Fine, that happens, but I'm irked because one of my favorite TT weapons has become something I now can't use in the builds I enjoy, and that's a shame.

[Sable Dove]

Very good job with the Gauss. It performs excellently in its role as a dedicated sniper platform. Now please change the role of the PPCs so that they don't simply do the same role, but better.



"That being said, Flamers and a revisit of the UAC/5 are currently being looked at."
Undo the last UAC5 buff. It was well balanced, and didn't need a buff. Would be nice if flamers actually did something though.


"I've also asked Dave to take a look at lights the same way mediums were addressed. Stay tuned for more information on that."
So... Mediocre changes that do nothing to address their actual needs?
Lights don't need buffs like Mediums do. Lights are already better than Mediums.

[ArcDemon]

Airic Gryphon, on 04 September 2013 - 02:02 PM, said:

2. Gauss Sound: Not sure if anyone else would like this but would be cool to have a sound similar to a sidewinder lock for the gauss. For example: you hear a growl while the capacitor is charging then a solid higher pitched tone while the weapon is hot. For me this would be more intuitive then watching for the green light.

I would like to second this, audio cues in general are very helpful.

Audio cues are used in real life military and civilian systems not just because they let the operator focus their eyes on other things, but because there is a great deal less 'lag' for audio information to reach the brain (visual information lags by about 100m/s, though the brain plays some tricks that predict the motion of moving objects so it doesn't seem that bad).

[Dantiger]

please don't mess with the UAC5, make the AC5 good instead
and give the PPCs some real electronic scramble effect, and not just disable the ECM, to make them usefull even with high heat

Edited by Dantiger, 04 September 2013 - 04:07 PM.