8 replies to this topic

[D V Devnull]

Title: Unable to Test Streak SRMs on MechWarrior Academy's Weapon Damage Testing Turrets

Description: When attempting to Equip Streak SRMs on a Mech and then go to the MechWarrior Academy for a Sustained DPS Damage Test through use of the Weapon Damage Testing Turrets, the Streak SRMs on a player's Mech are impossible to test there because the MechWarrior Academy's Weapon Damage Testing Turrets are not able to be targeted with a Lock-On by the player's Mech. This can result in confusion on whether Streak SRMs are properly functional or not within the MechWarrior Academy area, and a possible presumption of non-function on the actual battlefields.

Location: Home > Academy > Explore Academy

Reproduction Rate: 100% ... Literally impossible to not reproduce on Live MWO Game Client...
.................................. (I wish this were a joke, but it's really & seriously not....... Sorry.)

Steps to Reproduce:

• Once logged into the Game Client interface, go to "Home"
  
• Make sure that your chosen Mech has some Streak SRMs equipped, via any way you wish
  
• Return to the "Home" Screen and the view of your Streak SRM Equipped Mech
  
• Then go to "Academy" on the left side
  
• Now go to "Explore Academy" in the dialog
  
• Click "OK" on the dialog
  
• Once loaded into the MechWarrior Academy area, click "Continue" to take control of your Mech
  
• From where you start and have Captain Adams directly in front of you, go to the left
  
• Move your chosen Streak SRM Mech over to where the Weapon Test Turrets happen to be
  
• Attempt to get a Lock for the Streak SRMs which you have equipped on your Mech
  
• Find that the Streak SRMs are unable to even start the Lock-On Process and can not be tested there

What currently happens now: Streak SRMs unable to be tested due to not being able to Lock-On to the Weapon Damage Testing Turrets

What really should happen: Streak SRMs get to Lock-On to the Weapon Damage Testing Turrets and the player gets to begin firing, allowing them to start their testing

Comments: This particular Bug/Issue ultimately affects ALL Lock-On Weapons in the grand overview of things. However, Streak SRMs are the most severely hurt here as they are totally unable to be tested on the Weapon Damage Testing Turrets in any way. Worse, this negatively affects the New Player Experience as well, because New Players are not going to be able to understand a Weapon which requires Lock-On being unable to ever fire, and they likely may therefore presume the Weapon has some kind of fault and should never be used out on the actual battlefields. On top of that, the Streak SRM Weapon being unable to Lock-On here is also perpetuating the toxicity of those who would want Lock-On Weapons removed from MWO completely, and that toxicity is something which needs to be permanently stopped.

Also of note, I've repeatedly verified my Game Client Install with the MWO Repair Tool several times, once for every Game Patch Update, and everything checks out as being confirmed uncorrupted on my end. This particular Bug/Issue is extremely long-standing, and well beyond overdue for receiving a Fix to repair it. I probably should have reported it a long time before now, and apologize for not having done so, as this has been going on for way more Game Patches than when I first ran into this problem. Being that I am now posting this Bug Report on the matter, all that I can do here is to patiently await Dave Forsey's (and anyone else who works on the MechWarrior Academy as well) return, and therefore await whatever their Fix will be for this problem-causing issue.

~D. V. "Streak SRMs not working on MechWarrior Academy's Weapon Damage Testing Turrets" Devnull




(p.s.: I'll probably be sulking & mumbling in a corner, like down in MechWarrior Academy's 'D6' tunnel area, until this one gets fixed & repaired...)

[Aidan Crenshaw]

Solution: drop into the Testing Ground instead of the Academy

[D V Devnull]

Aidan Crenshaw, on 16 September 2021 - 01:31 PM, said:

Solution: drop into the Testing Ground instead of the Academy

I get you're trying to be funny (thanks anyway, even though the timing doesn't work)... but, there is one problem with that. You don't get to see Damage Numbers when you reach the end of a testing cycle. Also, you don't get to see a static point where you can stop and say things were more of a success with the design than one would think. So we really do need the MechWarrior Academy to get Fixed & Repaired when they can get around to it.

~D. V. "I just hope they're not waiting for a 'Round Tuit' before they will Fix & Repair the MechWarrior Academy" Devnull

[Aidan Crenshaw]

I don't think this is a particular Academy problem. I'm not sure, but I believe turrets can't be locked on in live games, either. I know for sure that buildings on incursion can't be missile locked, rendering a pure streak boat completely useless for damaging the enemy bases.

[D V Devnull]

Aidan Crenshaw, on 16 September 2021 - 09:15 PM, said:

I don't think this is a particular Academy problem. I'm not sure, but I believe turrets can't be locked on in live games, either. I know for sure that buildings on incursion can't be missile locked, rendering a pure streak boat completely useless for damaging the enemy bases.

I will not argue about whether the scope of this exceeds the Academy alone, as I already know you're spot-on about that part of the matter. All that I am trying to accomplish here is Fixes & Repairs to the functionality of the Academy's Testing Turrets themselves, and as a reasonable starting point to affect Constructive & Positive Changes into the MWO Live game at some eventual point in the future. That would then at least allow Streak SRM Tests to occur in the Academy area, even if nothing happens to the ones in normal Quick Play games.


As it stands, all those Stationary Buildings & Turrets (including Incursion & Domination Modes, along with Faction Warfare's Siege Mode) which can not be targeted by normal Radar-Shared Lock-On should have been designed so that they could always be TAG'd and/or NARC'd to enable establishing a Lock-On to the target. That way, the Streak SRMs would not be rendered useless, but at least the issue with not wanting Indirect Fire to be easy on Stationary Targets would still remain essentially solved. (And I could at least manage to avoid stepping on the toes of those Anti-Constructive, Anti-'Lock-On' Toxic Whiners in the process!) I think we can both agree that the previous Balance Handlers went too far on the nerfing back then, right?


~D. V. "trying to start with smaller steps, by reasonably making Streak SRMs work in the Academy first" Devnull

[The Basilisk]

D V Devnull, on 16 September 2021 - 11:20 PM, said:

I will not argue about whether the scope of this exceeds the Academy alone, as I already know you're spot-on about that part of the matter. All that I am trying to accomplish here is Fixes & Repairs to the functionality of the Academy's Testing Turrets themselves, and as a reasonable starting point to affect Constructive & Positive Changes into the MWO Live game at some eventual point in the future. That would then at least allow Streak SRM Tests to occur in the Academy area, even if nothing happens to the ones in normal Quick Play games.


As it stands, all those Stationary Buildings & Turrets (including Incursion & Domination Modes, along with Faction Warfare's Siege Mode) which can not be targeted by normal Radar-Shared Lock-On should have been designed so that they could always be TAG'd and/or NARC'd to enable establishing a Lock-On to the target. That way, the Streak SRMs would not be rendered useless, but at least the issue with not wanting Indirect Fire to be easy on Stationary Targets would still remain essentially solved. (And I could at least manage to avoid stepping on the toes of those Anti-Constructive, Anti-'Lock-On' Toxic Whiners in the process!) I think we can both agree that the previous Balance Handlers went too far on the nerfing back then, right?


~D. V. "trying to start with smaller steps, by reasonably making Streak SRMs work in the Academy first" Devnull

Your pure Intentions and beeing spot on right is duely noted by the community as far as it still exists and uses the forum for MWO purposes.
Alas I doubt that the devs will have the time or ressources to be bothered by it or even give a sour bit of owl... about it since this line of endevour is not likely produce any bit of monetary turn over.

[D V Devnull]

The Basilisk, on 25 September 2021 - 02:34 AM, said:

Your pure Intentions and beeing spot on right is duely noted by the community as far as it still exists and uses the forum for MWO purposes.
Alas I doubt that the devs will have the time or ressources to be bothered by it or even give a sour bit of owl... about it since this line of endevour is not likely produce any bit of monetary turn over.

Actually, that's where we'll beg to differ. I can actually see fixing this as something having a result of monetary return. Why, you would ask? Imagine that a rather fresh New Player comes in, and they complete the initial tutorial. Picture in your mind that they play long enough to get their first choice of Mechs while a Sale is going on, and that at least one of them can equip Streaks (or of course, any other Lock-On Weapon in existence) to be used. Now, try thinking of a situation where they do equip those Streaks (or of course, any other Lock-On Weapon in existence) and go to the Academy functions and the Weapon Damage Testing Turrets which exist there. This can result in things primarily going one of two ways, which I'll get to below...

In one instance, where the MWO Live Game is right now, they find themself unable to get their Mech to initiate a Lock to shoot with. That player would therefore think that the game has problems which should not remain present, and should not be encouraged to exist through PGI gaining some Real $$$ to operate on. The end of this situation is the player possibly walking away again, never to return. Or if they stick around, then they probably will never pay PGI any useful amount of Real $$$ to exist on. This is a scenario which PGI does not need and/or never wants to have happen, particularly when it comes to the thought of their Business Bottom Line and therefore their survival financially. After all, we don't want EG7 ("Enad Global 7") to come along, decide they're shutting MWO down, and liquidate PGI out of existence, right?

On the opposite side of the proverbial coin, there's a different way that things can go. Imagine that this issue with Lock-On functions in the Academy would somehow get fixed, and that the New Player can get a Lock established to start shooting with. They may then think that the game is together and polished enough, and that they should further want to spend Real $$$ into PGI's hands on getting something which that particular New Player will enjoy. From there, it stands that PGI then is being encouraged to go around and fix & repair various Bugs and such. A perpetual path of positive reciprocation can then ensue, including from others, and comes out positive for the Business Bottom Line of PGI and survival of MWO well into the future for everyone to enjoy.

Therefore, this is a situation where I'm left to think we can probably agree that PGI should realize the need to get this fix & repair done. There really is not a choice ultimately as to whether they do the fix & repair on this or not, as having such a hole in the game design is completely detrimental to MWO and its' survival. If they value keeping the whole Player Base & Community happy about things, and want people to be spending more Real $$$ on such a company as what PGI happens to be, then this issue with the Academy Turrets absolutely must receive positive change. Knee-jerk types of things like Feature Removal can literally only hurt them now, and I would personally prefer that they avoid doing such awful things.

~D. V. "Pointing out the Academy Turrets Issue in terms of PGI's Business Bottom Line" Devnull

[Cyrilis]

TLDR
havent Strak and LRM locks on turrets and structures been disabled globally some longer time ago? I remember reading something in patch notes

[D V Devnull]

Cyrilis, on 30 September 2021 - 11:20 AM, said:

TLDR
havent Strak and LRM locks on turrets and structures been disabled globally some longer time ago? I remember reading something in patch notes

That, the negative effects on the Academy area, and the New Player Experience are all exactly why this Bug Report has been filed. If you had paid attention to all of the above discussion which has been going on, you would see that I'm aware of this exact problem and the repercussions which it has had. The knee-jerk reaction taken by previous balance-handlers & engineers upon Streak SRMs because they thought it would be the most easy action ended up being exactly the wrong thing to do. We're now at a point where this ugly sin needs to be undone to an extent, and Streak SRM interaction with Stationary Turrets & Targets needs to be done right. In this case, that ultimately means enabling TAG/NARC as a required item to establish the Lock-On to such targets, so that areas like the Academy's Turrets can be used and modes like Incursion & Siege are possible to be completed by players who desire making use of Streak SRMs in their Mech's configuration. At the moment however, I am focusing purely on the New Player Experience and the ability to utilize Streak SRMs upon the Academy's Turrets for exactly the purpose which those Turrets have been made available because of. The insanity of leaving New Players (and by extension, everyone else) unable to properly utilize part of the Academy needs to stop, and I'm making the first steps on doing that here.

~D. V. "I'm aware... Academy Turrets need to be useful with ALL Weapons... Streak SRMs should not be excluded." Devnull