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Pts 2.1 Doesn't Go Far Enough, Imo.


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#121 Tesunie

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Posted 11 October 2018 - 10:12 PM

View PostYeonne Greene, on 11 October 2018 - 07:43 PM, said:

Having an easier time staying within the hard limit doesn't do squat as long as the output under there is still worse and it takes longer to back away from that limit once you do butt up against it. The DPS part also isn't mitigated by cover; having more DPS means that the exploitable window of opportunity maneuver against you is smaller and it gives you the option to apply pressure, knowing that if you do you have the output advantage.


Last I knew, one of the main things "pro players" tend to delve as advise when someone says something like (for example) Dual HG is too strong, is to "twist the damage around" (I don't know how you can twist 50 PPFLD once it's already hit...) and to "use cover".

Cover can mitigate a DPS advantage if used properly. You poke out, shoot, then tuck back into cover. The mech with better DPS shoots back when you shoot, then can't press that DPS value because you are behind cover. AKA: Can't get a second shot off.

Of course, this is dependent upon the situation. Say, it's mid/long range and it's poke and hide. DPS isn't going to out perform a high alpha mech who delivers their alpha and then hide/cool/recycle their weapons. Then again, if it's a brawl and the DPS mech can chase and press the high alpha mech, a DPS mech might (depending upon build) be able to out DPS it's counterpart.

Of course, are we considering DPS as in damage that can be deal before overheat? Or DPS as in damage over time potential? A high alpha build (burst damage) may be able to kill a DPS build, even if the DPS has constant ability to shoot, simply because by the time the high alpha build is threatening to overheat it's already out DPSed (burst damaged) the DPS within that short amount of time (killed the target), where as the DPS build needs longer times to actually out DPS. (This excludes stare time some DPS mechs have, such as AC2s, RACs, etc.)

Overall, it depends upon the build, the situation, etc. A DPS build of UAC10s can continue to throw damage out quickly over a high alpha build. A DPS build that has heat endurance longevity (can shoot for a long time) may be able to out last an alpha build, but might be lower in the "burst damage" category.
Rock, meet paper.
Paper, meet scissors.
Scissors, meet rock.

The real problem becomes when rock beats scissors and does very well against paper (beats paper). Right now, high alpha builds tend to do very well...


For the record, I'm trying to stay away from specific build/situation arguments. They tend to just go round and round achieving nothing much.

#122 Quicksilver Aberration

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Posted 12 October 2018 - 09:53 PM

View PostTesunie, on 11 October 2018 - 07:32 PM, said:


I refer to a lot of balance as "feels", because sometimes "spreadsheet warrior" doesn't entail the whole story.

Who says this is just spreadsheet warrior? I have the experience of playing competitive for 3 years just within MWO to backup what I say. If anything people suggesting a 40 heat cap and the removal of ghost heat are the true spreadsheet warriors because they neither understand the point of ghost nor the point of capacity and just how close dakka is to being the next poptarts.

View PostTesunie, on 11 October 2018 - 07:32 PM, said:

As far as heat scale possibly addressing tech imbalance, it could. Part of the "core game mechanics" should have made this rather obvious I would have thought (something you recently accused me of not knowing a few posts ago...). Clan weapons produce more heat when used compared to IS weapons (as an average).

They also do more damage when used compared to the IS weapons, which is exactly why it won't fix the imbalance. The actual fix is to make the IS do more damage for the heat they produce either through better dissipation per DHS than the Clans or colder weapons. Heat scale isn't going to fix the problem.

Even then, Clan dakka is better than IS dakka (which along with ML boats is what happens when you lower the capacity to 30-40) and neither produce enough spike heat to suddenly make the IS magically better.

View PostTesunie, on 11 October 2018 - 07:32 PM, said:

As a game design, the faster dissipation with lower threshold (or at least some kind of locked cap) means that players are more active. Move active means they get to do more things more often.

That's not how that works. Just because you are "forced" to be more active doesn't mean you have more options. You think people have issues with deathball now in solo queue? I can't wait to see what happens if PGI is ever dumb enough to implement heat neutral spam builds with a 30-40 heat cap. If you wanted a more nuanced shooter then devolving strategies further into the push strats is not going to fix that. I swear bad players are like the Clanners of lore and think anything but zerg rushing the enemy with bracket builds spamming a bunch of incoherent weapon combinations until eventually both players mindlessly circle each other is horrible and unacceptable ways to play.

View PostTesunie, on 11 October 2018 - 07:32 PM, said:

One of my goals with balancing is to remove some parts that have failed as a balancing mechanic. One such point is quirks. Quirks should have been used to help under performing chassis and to provide flavor. Instead it's been toted around as a source to balance IS vs Clan, hence a common argument with Clan vs IS balance is "but IS has so much health from quirks". But, that leaves some mechs like the Riflemen out, and some Clan mechs like the Linebacker in... So that still isn't entirely true...

No disagreement here, but to fix that you have to address the imbalances that the better equipment of the Clans created. That means fixing the engine balance and the fact that IS simply have less crits and less tonnage to work with and appropriate bonuses to compensate with their equipment.

View PostTesunie, on 11 October 2018 - 07:32 PM, said:

Another point is GH. With a lower, or at least hard, cap to heat thresholds, many of the GH restrictions could be removed or lessened. Some points of it just wouldn't be needed anymore, but I've already mentioned that.

Removing many or lessening some of GH limits does NOT make it a good change. It means it's a bandaid. It mitigates the symptoms but fails to address the root cause. This is the thing you people don't seem to get through your thick heads. It DOESNT FIX the problem, it hides it. This is why this is a failed design solution, even ignoring the unintended side effects it would have on gameplay and the delicate balance between burst and sustained builds.

View PostTesunie, on 11 October 2018 - 07:32 PM, said:

On the note of Clan still having more DPS, that may be true, but between cover and typical MW:O play, it would be mostly mitigated unless everyone was standing out in the open.

I love when people say this when most good players are running Clan mechs over IS mechs for laser vomit (not that laser vomit is a huge thing outside of dual Gauss vomit). SRM brawling and dual Heavy Gauss is basically the main thing to use IS mechs for at the moment. Everything else is done better by the Clans (and that includes laser vomit, poptarts, and dakka).

View PostTesunie, on 11 October 2018 - 07:32 PM, said:

Most times, a fight becomes determined after one or two alphas.

Lolno, this is such an oversimplification it's not even worth responding with more than this.

View PostTesunie, on 11 October 2018 - 07:32 PM, said:

On the farther point, balance should be achieved for all game modes. Though I do agree that QP probably shows imbalance less than some other possible modes (simply due to the randomness of the mode), it does show it. We should strive for better balance, even if everything "appears good". As mentioned before, just because it's good doesn't mean it might not need improvement.

You're not going to achieve that balance because of the differences in play between coordinated environments and the mess that is QP. For example harassers and lights are naturally better in QP than they are in coordinated environments because coordination is the counter for these mechs. These mechs are the best at taking advantage of bad positioning of an enemy (for example isolated mechs) so of course these mechs do better in QP. This is the exact reason why many players in QP complain about lights so much while comp players feel they are the weakest class, because they are best when played as opportunists (aka vultures) and those kinds of mechs shine more in chaotic environments.

Edited by Quicksilver Kalasa, 12 October 2018 - 09:54 PM.






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