72 replies to this topic

[wanderer]

Bryan Ekman, on 04 November 2012 - 09:48 AM, said:

It was an example... I can make jokes too.

At the moment, we're a little sore at you over the whole DHS thing. You may want to put a *KIDDING* in there or *just joking* so the more pained amidst the group don't end up snapping at all and sundry when they hear that sorta thing. Besides, it's like FFXI. They went "No 3rd party stuff"- and players promptly went around it, because if it doesn't cause direct gameplay effects, we're going to do it.

Getting rid of a graphics effect that causes performance issues is in that range, don't ya think?

[Frosted]

Kaboodle, on 04 November 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

>>Implying a "Creative Director" would actually know anything about service and support issues.

well maybe he shouldn't answer then?!

[Wardn]

Even if novels are canon, they end up contradicting themselves. Not sure I can count the number of novels that have the "glass" of the cockpit darkening so lasers and such don't blind the pilot, and I know of at least one that goes out of its way to describe the cockpit glass as actually that: super-reinforced plastic/glass/polymer that's see-through.

And as creative director of MWO, Mr. Ekman would know about this, right? Right?

[wanderer]

TheCerv, on 04 November 2012 - 10:07 AM, said:

After finishing the first Battletech book last night (Decision at Thunder Ridge) I understand why the film grain is there in the first place.

As a safetly measure for the pilot of a 'mech, there are no actual windows. what the pilot sees is a screen projection intended to emulate the appearance of windows. Think about it. There is no glass capable of withstanding a gauss or autocannon shell or for that matter, any armament on an enemy 'mech. So the film grain, I would assume, is for the immersion of piloting a battlemech.

Same thing with the new polarizing effect when hit in the cockpit area with lasers, or when looking at a 'mech that's glowing super bright close by.

Actually, 'Mech armor can and is made in a "transparent" version- which is what they use for 'Mech cockpits. There's layers of the armor that polarize when hit by high amounts of energy to prevent lasers and the like from blinding pilots on head hits.

[TheCerv]

Wardn, on 04 November 2012 - 10:41 AM, said:

Even if novels are canon, they end up contradicting themselves. Not sure I can count the number of novels that have the "glass" of the cockpit darkening so lasers and such don't blind the pilot, and I know of at least one that goes out of its way to describe the cockpit glass as actually that: super-reinforced plastic/glass/polymer that's see-through.

And as creative director of MWO, Mr. Ekman would know about this, right? Right?

Like I said, I had just finished reading the first one, so if later novels contradict this, I wouldn't know about it. On another note, shhh no spoilers please! So far i'm really enjoying the novels (Working on "The Sword and the Dagger" now) :D

[Morang]

If you want something of canon, give us shrinked 360 degrees view then.

PS Did they completely discarded the magnitometer view mode they told so much about back then? I forgot when was it mentioned for the last time in upcoming features.

[Vlad Ward]

Despite the fact that they're totally nerfing my favorite Mech into the ground with DHS changes, I'm still not getting the hate in this thread.

Developers are allowed to change their stance on 3PP whenever the heck they want. It's not a democratic process. It's not a right. It's "We'll allow you to mess with our stuff, just this once, for now, and reserve the right to say no whenever the heck we want." And they did say no. So that's pretty much that.

Harmless or not, now that the game is open to the public it sets a dangerous precedent to allow community-submitted data file modifications - and especially to allow/encourage players to download files created by third parties and posted on the forums. This is absolutely not a liability issue PGI wants to deal with.

Anyone who wants to tweak this stuff will always find a way to tweak this stuff. Just don't post download links to third-party game files on the forums. That's just asking to get slammed with the ToS.

PS: I know what a .dds file is. That doesn't mean 80% of the game's forum population has the slightest clue what the differences between .dds, .exe, and .cfg are. PGI has to protect all of their users, even the computer illiterate ones.

Edited by Vlad Ward, 04 November 2012 - 10:52 AM.

[1ceTr0n]

Epic mod here to make the game MUCH more enjoyable. Do it. Now.

Bryan Ekman, on 04 November 2012 - 07:24 AM, said:

Third party apps. Bad. Violate TOS. However, noted. I'll talk to the config guys and see if can be an option!

Then catch a clue please, 95% HATE the film grain!!!!

[Super Mono]

That explains the film grain on the environment, but there's also film grain inside the cockpit.

The reason for that is because the neural helmet is hooked up to a 8mm camera which records and then projects what it sees onto the inside of your visor.

Since it's a projection of a projection it causes really muddled blurry visuals, which most people mistake for really lazy graphics design. It also introduces a visual delay before most actions which gets mistaken for lag and ballistic delay.

[sirius89]

TheCerv, on 04 November 2012 - 10:07 AM, said:

After finishing the first Battletech book last night (Decision at Thunder Ridge) I understand why the film grain is there in the first place.

As a safetly measure for the pilot of a 'mech, there are no actual windows. what the pilot sees is a screen projection intended to emulate the appearance of windows. Think about it. There is no glass capable of withstanding a gauss or autocannon shell or for that matter, any armament on an enemy 'mech. So the film grain, I would assume, is for the immersion of piloting a battlemech.

Same thing with the new polarizing effect when hit in the cockpit area with lasers, or when looking at a 'mech that's glowing super bright close by.

Personally, I like it.

However, I do understand the frustration of those having problems because of it. By using this modification, how has it effected your game? Performance? FPS increase? Generally speaking, you just like it better without the grainy effect?

Immersion or not,it just hurts the eyes.It's a horrible graphics feature no game should ever use.Definetly a 1000 times better without it.I'am cool with a effect that emulates a window but please come up with a different effect that doesn't give you eye strain and dizzyness.

Edited by sirius89, 04 November 2012 - 10:52 AM.

[CMDR Sunset Shimmer]

Bryan Ekman, on 04 November 2012 - 09:04 AM, said:

I'm sorry officer, I feel that 50km/h is too slow, that's why I was speeding. You really should make it 70, because we don't like going so slow.

First off Brian, you're not a cop, nor is PGI or the guys doing the programming, at the end of the day, you can put TOS over everything, it doesn't stop people from modding your game.

You REALLY want to throw a fit here, do it on the asshats that are devloping hacks. Turning off a crappy filmgrain filter and adjusting bloom on something that "Your guys" screwed up in the first place? And you're going to throw a fit over that?

You know I was going to send you a PM but I'll settle my beef right here, and right now with you.

You, Bryan Ekman, are the Community Manager, you are the face of PGI to the masses here playing your game. And right now, that face looks like Pennywise the Clown on a bad day.

Regardless of how this community has backlashed against your game, you DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to come in, and speak down to the community.

I'm honestly shocked you still have your job truth be told, after some of the things you have said and done here on the forum. Some of the things you alone have said have resulted in further backlash of this community, not to mention people demanding refunds and issuing chargeback orders based on FRAUD against PGI/IGP!

Bryan, you used to be someone I felt I could trust, hell I didn't ask for a refund when I started feeling like this game was tanking, and more and more, it feels like this game is going to tank, but you know, I'm leaving that 120 with you. In the hopes that maybe, just maybe you guys can unscrew this game. But honestly, at this point I'm counting my money as a technical loss.

[Wardn]

Vlad Ward, on 04 November 2012 - 10:46 AM, said:

Despite the fact that they're totally nerfing my favorite Mech into the ground with DHS changes, I'm still not getting the hate in this thread.

Developers are allowed to change their stance on 3PP whenever the heck they want. It's not a democratic process. It's not a right. It's "We'll allow you to mess with our stuff, just this once, for now, and reserve the right to say no whenever the heck we want." And they did say no. So that's pretty much that.

Harmless or not, now that the game is open to the public it sets a dangerous precedent to allow community-submitted data file modifications - and especially to allow/encourage players to download files created by third parties and posted on the forums. This is absolutely not a liability issue PGI wants to deal with.

Anyone who wants to tweak this stuff will always find a way to tweak this stuff. Just don't post download links to third-party game files on the forums. That's just asking to get slammed with the ToS.

PS: I know what a .dds file is. That doesn't mean 80% of the game's forum population has the slightest clue what the differences between .dds, .exe, and .cfg are. PGI has to protect all of their users, even the computer illiterate ones.

Sure, they're allowed to change their stance on stuff at a moment's notice. We are likewise allowed to get pissed about it.

[Bryan Ekman]

Way off topic now.

Film Grain may or may not affect performance. I'll talk with Matt about this.
It's not considered key to gameplay.
This is partially a "I like blue/I hate blue", personal taste opinion. We won't make everyone happy.
It should be an toggle option.
We do not encourage users to modify the user.cfg file, however there are known tweaks that can be made to improve performance. This is not a violation of the TOS.

Extracting game files and modifying them is a TOS issue and I don't recommend doing this. You can seriously bugger your game up.