Codewalker
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Posts
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Quote:Given that healing is just damage with a positive number, I don't see any reason why a heal over time couldn't have been implemented on launch day. The only possible way I can think of to make it not work given what we know about the combat engine requires such a convoluted mess of shortcut spaghetti code that I shudder to even consider the possibility. I know it has some warts, but I refuse to believe it's that bad.Originally Posted by Zwillinger
I could be wrong, but I recall Black Scorpion telling me that it required new tech just to make the "DoT go backward". This was not something our systems were capable of before.
Keep in mind that many mechanics are developed for other things, such as Incarnate content, which are sometimes used for things like new powersets. Generally speaking, we try to get as much use as we can out of new tech.
Unless what Black Scorpion meant was that the powers team had to test such an effect to make sure it actually works as expected in all conceivable circumstances.
Now, Time Manipulation does include a few mechanics that we haven't had before. I hesitate to call it "new tech", since it's been possible to make powers react differently based on arbitrary conditions for quite some time, but it is the first set given to players that takes advantage of it so extensively. Part of it no doubt is figuring out how to balance a powerset that has variable performance.
Titan Weapons on the other hand required programmer time, which is a very rare and valuable commodity. -
Quote:Do you really think that Statesman dying in Ep. 5 is going to be the "big twist" of the signature story arcs?Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha
That's not the point. This has completely ruined what I assume is quite a big 'twist', or what would have been if it hadn't been totally spoilered.
I mean, come on, this is the same writing team who gave us such gems as big reveal at the end of the Minds of Mayhem trial... The one about Calvin Scott, that was obviously planned from the very start and carefully woven into the stories up to that point.
</sarcasm off> -
Well, look at it this way: Killing Statesman the character, even if it were a symbolic gesture in the meta-game context (which I don't believe it is, regardless of how people feel about Jack), does nothing but strengthen the character in the game's lore.
Just because the character model isn't standing around in Independence Port doesn't mean that Statesman is absent from the game. He becomes a legend, a symbol that all heroes of Paragon City will not forget. The rest of the Phalanx, no matter who is leading them, will likely use his name as a rallying cry for years to come.
Hardly the thing you'd want to do to a character if your intent was to cheese off the man who created it. -
Okay, since it's not cool to shoot something down and not present any alternative ideas, and since I do like the idea of Detention Field (and Sonic Cage/Black Hole/Dimension Shift) being toggles, here's what I came up with:
For brevity, Temporary_Powers is shorthand for Temporary_Powers.Temporary_Powers
Detention FieldType = Toggle
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Accuracy = 1.4
Range = 80'
Time to activate = 2.07
Recharge time = 30 seconds (cut in half since it's a toggle)
Attack types = Ranged_Attack
Effect area = Character
Entities affected = Foe
Target = Foe
Effect #1Application Type = On Activate
Effect #2
Target = Target
Duration = 5
Attribute = Grant Power
Power = Temporary_Powers.Is_Caged
Display Float = Detention FieldApplication Type = On Activate
Effect #3
Target = Target
Duration = 99999
Attribute = Grant Power
Power = Temporary_Powers.Detention_Field_TargetApplication Type = On Activate
Target = Self
Duration = 99999
Attribute = Summon
Entity = Pets_Detention_Field_Helper
Priority Lists = Pet.Follow
Temporary_Powers.Detention_Field_TargetType = Auto
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Activation Period = 2 second
Effect area = Character
Entities affected = Self
Entities autohit = Self
Number allowed = 1
Effect #1Application type = On Tick
(effects #2 and #3 are as above, but OnlyAffectsSelf and Immobolized. Add PvP versions as necessary)
Type = Magnitude
Target = Self
Attribute = Mag 4 Ranged_Immobolize Untouchable
Stack Type = Replace
Duration = 2.25
Requires = Temporary_Powers.Is_Caged target.ownPower?
Effect #4Application type = On Tick
Target = Self
Attribute = RevokePower
Power = Temporary_Powers.Detention_Field_Target
Requires = Temporary_Powers.Is_Caged target.ownPower? !
Entity: Detention_Field_HelperUntargetable pseudopet
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Class_Minion_Pets
Puddle model
Power: Pets.ResistAll.ResistAll
(this is a standard psuedopet power that applies mag 100 Untouchable and Fly)
Power: Pets.Detention_Field_Helper.Detention_Field_HelperType = Auto
Activate Period = 2 seconds
Effect area = Sphere
Radius = 160
Shoot through untouchable = True
Entities affected = Foe
Entities autohit = Foe
Target = Caster
Max Targets Hit = 255
Target Requires = Temporary_Powers.Detention_Field_Target target.ownPower?
Effect #1Application Type = On Tick
Target = Target
Stack Type = Stack
Attribute = GrantPower
Power = Temporary_Powers.Is_Caged
Duration = 5
Temporary_Powers.Is_CagedType = Auto
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Activate Period = 9999
Effect Area = Character
Entities affected / autohit / target = Caster
Number Allowed = 2 // <---- Important!
Effect #1Target = Self
Attrib = Null
Duration = 1
So there you have it. It's somewhat complex, but that doesn't do anything that existing powers don't already do, and should be possible to implement without any code changes. It also limits the ability to affect normally unaffected targets to a pseudopet, and even then only uses it to grant a harmless marker power that does nothing. A mode could be used instead, but I'm not sure if running out of mode bits is a concern. Consider it a first draft.
Though if I were going to implement something like this for real, I'd first check to see if powers granted by toggle are automatically removed when the toggle drops; if so then that would be a simpler way to implement it, just grant Temporary_Powers.Detention_Field_Target directly from the toggle with a long duration, and the requires checks and RevokePower effect removed. Since the granted power is used by the enemy, it should be able to affect itself despite being untouchable (if not, it can be safely flagged to ignore untouchable since the target check has already happened). -
Quote:The only problem is that it's risky. If they set Detention Field to shoot through untouchable, it would allow players to use it on any enemy in the game, even those that are already untouchable, whether due to phase shift or something else.Originally Posted by Oathbound
It actually it workable, and already exists in the game, just not in any Player powers.
Hamidon has a tag on his attacks so that they ignore phase. Player Intangible powers could have the [Ignores Phase] tag added. That would allow them to be applied to already phased/intangible targets.
So you'd be able to cage an enemy Phantom Army or Decoy Phantasm...
Not to mention scripted NPCs set to be untouchable that clever players would probably find a way to exploit. -
Quote:For Hasten it's a little arguable, I think. Though I calculated an average global recharge value based on the % uptime of Hasten, that only truly applies to powers with a long recharge. In reality you still have the "down" period where everything is recharging like molasses.Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle
With something like dull pain, and indeed hasten itself, you don't actually lose anything by having a gap in its permanence.
So while the aggregate performance can be figured across the gap, it may be desirable to minimize it for subjective reasons. Short-recharge survivability powers can also be negatively affected by the gap, in a way that isn't easy to reduce to raw numbers.
Edit: Aggregate performance? Subjective reasons? Holy crap I'm starting to sound like Arcanaville... I need to get away from this thread
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Quote:*IF* you can put in an extra LotG, the math backs you up here.Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle
All right, I confess it has been a while since I built anything that needed to worry about permaing dull pain. I might have been including spiritual or something. My point remains however that two to five seconds of hasten is not going to have an impact on something like that in practical circumstances. This is particularly true when you consider the cost of that third slot. Assuming level 50 common IOs, it's giving you something like 15% recharge just in hasten. If you don't have five lotgs already, that slot would be far better spent on another one of those.
Assuming a build with 4 LotG +Rech, 2 Level 50 Recharge IOs in Hasten, and no other global recharge bonuses:2-slotted Hasten, 4 LotG (Baseline)
Putting a third Recharge IO into Hasten gives you:
Hasten: 120 seconds up, 51.6 seconds down.
Average Global Recharge: 78.96%3-slotted Hasten, 4 LotG
However, slotting a 5th LotG instead results in:
Hasten: 120 seconds up, 39.8 seconds down.
Average Global Recharge: 82.58%2-slotted Hasten, 5 LotG
If you can manage to squeeze and extra slot out of another power and 3 slot Hasten with 5 LotGs:
Hasten: 120 seconds up, 45.7 seconds down.
Average Global Recharge: 88.18%3-slotted Hasten, 5 LotG
Whether or not an extra few percent of recharge is worth it depends heavily on your build. If you absolutely need long recharge powers up often (perma PA for instance), it probably is. In a recharge-heavy build, a 5th LotG does outweigh a third slot in Hasten. If you already have 5, though, it's only worth giving it up if you can get a recharge set bonus > ~3.5% out of the deal.
Hasten: 120 seconds up, 34.7 seconds down.
Average Global Recharge: 91.8%
The equation changes a bit once you have a lot of global recharge. but the results are similar. Remember that because recharge ends up in the denominator, it has built-in diminishing returns the higher you go.
The optimal slotting for Stamina is two endmod IOs and a Perf Shifter: +End proc, which gives more than .05% EPS. If you actually need max recovery is build-dependent, of course.Quote:Even if you can't translate it directly into another lotg, I wonder if you couldn't shave a few more extraneous slots from the average build that does things like three slotting hasten, since it seems to me that the person who thinks two to five extra seconds of hasten is mandatory may also find .05% extra EPS appealing and have stamina three slotted, for instance. Being the tanker forum, another option most builds here could probably integrate is taking mocking beratement from four to six slots, gaining a lotg sized bonus in the process. 15% recharge in one power, even hasten, is worth a damn sight less than that. -
Wow, that's unfortunate, for us at least.
You'll be missed very much Avatea, by players and developers alike.
Best of luck to you in your new adventure. I hope you get more of the excitement part and less of the challenge. Don't forget to say 'hi' every once in a while! -
Quote:All of this was answered at the pummit. They're account wide, and once you unlock them, they get removed from the drop pool, thereby slightly increasing the chances of everything else.Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
So what happens when a player gets two of the same costume piece?
Is it "Oh you got a duplicate you can't use? Sucks to be you. Go buy another pack."
Or are these costume pieces only usable by the character that opens the pack?
If the costume piece can only be used by one character, can it be traded to another that can use it before being claimed?
If the costume pieces can be traded before being claimed, will they be account bound or tradable between players?
If they are tradable between players how long do you think it'll be before people start selling them for real money outside the game? (That's one of the current problems STO is having with the ultra rare starship in their xmas grab bag)
There was a half mention of possibly considering making the costume unlocks tradeable, maybe. I kind of doubt there's a way to make that happen in the time frame they're looking at, but if it were done then all bets are off on the above.
Still agree with 1 and 2 though.Quote:IMHO items like costume pieces should not be in these packs unless 1. they aren't ultra rare , 2. there is an alternative method of getting them, and 3. players aren't screwed out of points if they happen to get duplicates they can't use. -
I've noticed when looking at mostly everyone's build posted on this thread, it seems as if no-one knows that slotting only 2 slots/recharge enhancements on Hasten, Rage and so forth does not fully enhance the power. Any power that indicates buffed numbers from enhancements in "Green" will give a false reading on the actual numbers because of underenhancement. Green normally means good, but in mids it means BAD. For an example, two slots in Hasten with recharging enhancements will highlight in "Green", but yet you are only enhancing it 83%. When it shows "Red" it is at 99%. That's 15% more recharge that you are wasting by not slotting for it!
So remember, when you see green, you can still shave 19 seconds off Hasten, 10 seconds off Rage, and 77 seconds off Burnout!!!
Just sharing great info. -
Quote:True, all they said was that "Statesman will die in Issue 5. Of 7."Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
My interest in mystery stories thrillers leads me to believe this is probably a red herring or a way to throw us off the scent. And it's the comics, too, so is he "dead" or "dead dead?" I'm guessing the former. No matter what, I'm doubting this is quite the spoiler some are thinking it is.
What they didn't say:
Statesman will stay dead.
No other member of the Phalanx will die.
Statesman is the answer to the question: "Who Will Die?" -
Quote:Not to mention that his Praetorian counterpart was able to upload himself into a freakin' War Walker without issue. So apparently he can run on a wide variety of hardware.Originally Posted by DumpleBerry
He's already been destroyed before, and his backed up files were uploaded into Horatio's armor. If he dies, it'll be due to another forced hand-wave.
Can't say for sure without a screenshot, but I'm betting that poster is seeing the erased version of Whiteboard 3 and over-analyzing it. Whiteboard 3 is the one with small text that says "Where do we go from here? What changes might be made? Who can best rep the product? When can we get it done?". The erased version still has half a W and part of a couple of the question marks visible. Those whiteboard textures have been in the game since 2004, though, and show up in random office maps.Quote:You keep saying that. This thread is about speculation. So put some evidence on the page--no one deliberately coming in here is going to be spoiled.
There are clues in the SSAs, but not in the stock props that show up in just about every map.
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Quote:Go into the SG base editor and place whiteboard 1, 2, and 3 on a wall. Zoom in close.Originally Posted by Lulipop
Each whiteboard has something new on it, especially the list of names with lines through them and two in specific scratched out, and one with a question mark beside it. Check each SSA there qmoar.
I'm telling you those have been there for years.
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Quote:LOL, that whiteboard has been in the game since what... launch? Issue 6 at the very latest.Originally Posted by ThePill
Man, I can't read most of the whiteboard and the desk image is really really tiny. What are we supposed to be seeing?
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Quote:It makes sense. If they want to stuff her in the fridge, they've already set up a way to prevent her mind-hopping.Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
Sister Psyche or Manticore make the most sense out of the possibilities. I'm leaning toward Sister Psyche because there are more interesting story lines that could spring up from her death than anyone else. And it could also lead to an opportunity for a complete character re-design, since she is by far the most dated looking character in the CoH universe. If she mind-hopped to a different body she could look any way they want her to.
It's a perfect comic book plot, too. After all: she broke the cardinal superhero rule by killing Malaise out of anger. That's not something that you just get away with.
Think about it, what if he left something behind? A psychic land mine, or even a part of his personality hidden deep in her subconscious. Maybe merging or working with the angry Aurora fragment. Lying dormant until the Phalanx is in a vulnerable position and then taking over, forcing her to betray them.
It could lead to a very tense climax, where she's about to kill one of the other heroes, or open a dimensional portal and empower Rularuu to devour them all. Manticore has his bow drawn and Psyche, realizing that she's out of control and that Malaise-Aurora won from the start, tells him to shoot. He can't bring himself to do it, but the other heroes are pinned down, and she begs him to put an end to her torture. Arrow through the heart, tearful goodbye, cue the waterworks. She doesn't mind-ride because she's been corrupted by Malaise and can't risk that part coming with her, and dies For Real(TM). At least as permanently as anyone every really dies in a comic book multiverse.
I'm definitely thinking some kind of heroic sacrifice. On that front, Psyche and Positron are the two top contenders, and the most likely to have some resonance on the player base. Brawler is the only other one with any real personality to speak of, but it probably won't be him for reasons covered by others. And as much as Statesman annoys me, I don't think they'll kill him off, simply because it would be too obvious. -
Quote:In order for extensive phasing with combat areas like is done in AP and Mercy to work, the zone has to be designed with it in mind.Originally Posted by Ultimus
In order for phasing to work, a zone has to built from the ground up with it. (Hence why they had to revamp the two starting zones to support phasing)
Praetoria zones also were built with it.
To phase out one contact in a zone that otherwise doesn't need phasing, that's easy. Kid stuff at this point.
As for RSF, well, they won't need to use phasing there if, oh say, a newcomer joins the Phalanx and takes the place of whoever dies...
Maybe there are even some hints in the SSAs that have been released so far.
And who's to say the mission couldn't spawn a different hero depending on if the mission holder has a certain badge or not? We've seen other conditionals like that before, no phasing required... -
Quote:Ah, a whole page including someone else noticing this has appeared.Originally Posted by Trickshooter
Doesn't Personal Force Field offer Base Defense outside of PvP?
That's what I get for typing something long and double checking my facts.
EDIT: Cool video
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Quote:I count repurposing something that's not used as "adding".Originally Posted by Arcanaville
1. Its not easy to add attack types or damage types to the game. Having said that, the Toxic_Attack type was added a couple of years ago, but it hasn't really been used. No defense power I'm aware of offers protection to that type, which makes the type essentially meaningless at the moment.
2. The toxic damage type wasn't exactly added to the game, rather the game engine originally supported over a dozen damage types, some of which were not (and still are not) used. One of those was renamed "toxic" and then used, and protection powers given resistance to that type. That's what made it easier to add than adding a whole new type. That could also be interpreted as:
"It's easy to add damage and attack types to the game, until they run out of spare types, then it becomes difficult."
A bit of CoH archeology: At launch the engine supported 24 damage types, and 24 attack types. Today it supports 20 of each. Over the years new things have been added that required space in the attribute structure (Fury, PVP Stealth, Placate, etc), and it was easier to steal some space from those unused types rather than expand the structure.
Obviously, it's possible to expand it, as was done when Elusivity was added, but it no doubt requires a lot of work and careful testing to do so.
Of those 20 damage types, currently 13 are being used. Those include the normal 8 damage types, the Healing damage type, and 4 "special" or "unique" types for various mechanics. Two of those are effectively "claimed" as far as resistible mechanics go, since Ambrosia inspirations provide resistance against Unique1, and Essense of the Earth resists Special.
Of the 20 attack types, only 11 are being used. The standard 7, Toxic_Attack (which as noted above shows up in a few places but has no powers that defend against it), and the three positional types.
Personal Force Field still provides base defense in PvE. We'll see how long that lasts now that it's been pointed out.Quote:[...] At the beginning of time, some actual defense powers offered base defense including Elude, but now no player defense buff offers this (because it would then work against untyped attacks like Hamidon). (though I vaguely remember you campaigning to get that changed before, but I could be mistaken)
Vet combat pets also give you a whopping 2.5% base defense.
It doesn't apply to players directly, but MM pets can gain base defense from the Edict of the Master and Call to Arms enhancements.
They missed one. The DoT portion of the version of Ripper used by several enemies still does Special damage: Crey Paragon Protectors, Longbow Wardens, Tsoo Copper Serpents, Dr. Aeon clones from the STF, and a few random unique enemies.Quote:[...] power designers had to go through the game's power database and change all these special damage effects to toxic, and then decide how they were going to add toxic resistance to the players. This took significant time.
Not bad considering how many attacks needed to be changed.
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Rikti Crash Site is definitely still there. I think the old Faultline is as well.
I know the "real" galaxy city is still there -- the echo is a copy of it with NPCs removed and things like the arena interior disabled. For a while the arcane base teleport beacons would take you there instead of the Echo.
The old Galaxy has a field that boots you out to Atlas after a couple seconds. I'm not sure if RCS or Old Faultline do as well. Presumably Paragon Dance Party at least doesn't as there are reports of characters parked there able to run around in it.
It's too bad they changed from allowing higher level characters to mission teleport into Outbreak if a level 1 invited them and set the door mission. It could become a cool and obscure hangout if that still worked
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Quote:For procs, however, the level of the enhancement doesn't matter, as the proc always functions even when exemplaring, and does not scale with level.Originally Posted by Chyll
AFAIK, all the 'shop bought' are attuned - which means they are always equal to your playing level. So if exemp'd for a task force, they adjust with you. If you sk up for a task force, they adjust up with you.
It could easily be argued that they are superior to crafted versions.
Crafted procs are indeed usually superior to the SBEs, as the store bought versions all use a PPM (Procs-per-minute) mechanic to limit how often they can fire, effectively neutering their use in AoE attacks in many cases.
And yes, set bonuses do function even if you mix crafted and attuned enhancements. The only possible advantage of the SBEs is that they'll scale down to keep the set bonus, but if you can get your hands on a low-level crafted version of the proc it isn't an issue. -
Quote:AFAIK, there's no reason a new damage type couldn't be added. In fact, there already IS an attack type for toxic, and a few rare attacks are tagged with it:Originally Posted by Schismatrix
Sadly the defense system for whatever reason cannot have more defense types/tags added, so the defense flags/types that were in there at launch are it.
Hellfire Gargoyle - Hellfire Aura
As well as a few others such as DUST's Toxic Burst and several of Maelstrom's attacks (from tip missions, not TPN).
There are, however, no powers in the game that actually give defense against it.
I always thought the reason toxic defense was never added was for flavor, and also to not upset the balance of typed defense vs. positional defense equalities, S/L/Melee, Energy/Neg/Ranged, Fire/Cold/AoE. That's a little ironic since it gives positional an edge over typed, but what can you do. -
Quote:The GM tools I'm sure can affect other people's accounts -- GMs kind of need to be able to do that in order to do their jobs. Chances are it's online rather than offline -- directly editing backend databases is a risky prospect in a complex system like an MMO.Originally Posted by Shadowe
Which would seem to imply that the development/mod/GM/community character modification tools can (theoretically, at the risk of their job) be used by them on their civilian accounts.
Which means that they can either use them regardless of what account they're on in-game, or that the tools are offline and affect the character database directly. I sincerely hope it's the latter.
I'd guess that the access that devs / CSRs have includes that as well as more.
I think that what Zwillinger was implying was something like one (on their work account) using a "Grant powerset to this other account" ability on their personal account.
I would certainly hope that use of dev commands on live servers is logged and audited. Not only in case one goes rogue (pun intended), but to guard against someone accidentally or intentionally gaining more access than they're supposed to have. -
Quote:Fury is an inherent power that counts the number of times you activate a click power or are attacked by an enemy in a given server tick and sets an attribute on your character.Originally Posted by JayboH
How do you explain how fury works then?
A second inherent grants you a damage buff based on the value of that attribute. A third inherent constantly reduces the amount of that attribute to make it decay.
That's how fury works. ;-)
An inherent could be designed that is granted to characters which have Titan Weapons as a powerset, but AFAIK there's no way to count activations of only certain powers, so you'd have the issue of things like Brawl or Air Superiority giving you momentum... -
Quote:Concept wise getting momentum from misses makes sense, and I don't think they believe it's a balance issue. It's more of a technical limitation, since there's not a direct way for a power to give you a buff if it misses.Originally Posted by JayboH
...although, I do kind of agree that it is silly that you don't get Momentum if you miss when it comes to theme. I don't think the set would be OP if it always granted Momentum after a slow attack if it misses or not.
The only way I can think of to do it is to make all the powers autohit and play games with the effect requirements, but that's a bit of a hack and may cause other issues. -
Quote:The fact that all of the Incarnate trial bosses have Mag 1000 protection and 10,000% resistance against all Mez effects tells me that the devs have absolutely no idea how to make stackable mezzes useful and balanced in large-team content.Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
We can kill an enemy who has 100 000 hit points and ridiculous resistances AND regeneration on top of that even though our attacks don't break 400-500 damage, yet we can't really ever be expected to break through 100 mag protection, can we? I mean, seriously - what would you need in order to stack 100 points of status effects all at the same time, and how long could you keep this up?