SkeetSkeet
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:That's exactly what it is.Originally Posted by DoctorWhat
I always figured it wasn't so much a 'reward' for poor play, but allowed the defender to pull the team out of a bad spot, or keep them alive when something goes wrong. -
Quote:They also highlight the drawback of fallout... it's a gimmick. Unless you spend most of your time on teams that are themed specifically to make use of fallout it will rarely be useful.Originally Posted by Commando
Faithful Fans of Fallout for Repeat Offenders makes a strong case for it.
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I was having similar connection issues. Priority change on test server made them go away. YMMV.
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Quote:Yes, it changes its priority on the fly. If the focus is on the game, it sets itself to Above Normal (10). If the focus is off the game it changes itself to Below Normal (6). I've still got a screenshot left over from when I was dealing with tech support:Originally Posted by Norty_Morty
Actually, I just checked, and my LIVE game is running at BelowNormal priority!
If the game was running at AboveNormal, that would answer a LOT of qestions, but mine (live) is running at a LOWERED priority.
You said it was lowered on Test to 'normal'. Is your live game really running at AboveNormal priority?
-Morty
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/3717/cohcpu.jpg
The latest test update runs at Normal (8) priority when the game has focus and Below Normal (6) when it doesn't. -
Quote:Check out the test server. The current update there has the game running at a lower (Normal, lowered from Above Normal) priority that may fix your issues.Originally Posted by Norty_Morty
Small Update:
for me, hitting CTRL+ESC pulls up the windows menu / taskbar much faster now.
Also less trouble alt-tabbing.
I'm not sure what patch did it, or if it was something I changed on my system.
Anyone else see this clear up at all?
TeamSpeak is still funky.
I have to run the TS Server at AboveAverage Priority.
One of my friends needed to run the CLIENT at high priority
(TS2 client has an option for this in-program)
Note: I am not running any hotkey pollers of any type.
SIGH... Has anyone sent in a support request?
If I get an answer for my problem I'll be sure to post it here.
-Morty -
Quote:Originally Posted by GavinRuneblade
Yup, I know what it does, and I know it's useful and important. I just forget it exists and that I have it. I rarely use buildup on my scrappers and blasters, I rarely use domination on my doms, etc. I click my attacks and debuffs, remembering to click anything else is very iffy.Quote:
On the offensive, I typically open with Sleet (or Ice Storm or whatever it's called) counting on the knockdown to mitigate some incoming fire. Then I benumb and infrigidate and frost breath. If someone is weak I'll hit them with my bolts, otherwise I'm running and infrigidating all but one trying to thin them out so I can fight one on one. but it usually takes so long to drop anyone that this kinda just slows the fight down.
If I try to focus on my AoE's, I only have three: the two rains and frostbreath, and they all have very short range, DOT damage, and very long recharge. So I often get killed while rooted or while the enemy is having damage tick away on them.Quote:I can pretty much confirm this. =) But it's not the alpha that gets me as much as being worn down over time.
Putting 2 and 2 together over the course of this thread, the single most effective thing you can do is to develop new play habits. Slow down, concentrate on remembering to use the abilities that turbo charge your damage output. Put a post-it note on your monitor, electro-shock therapy, whatever it takes.
This is the difference between dropping 1 or 2 of them at the start to tip the fight in your favor... and taking so long to get your first kill that the group wears you down. -
Quote:It's the first one. DR is always applied to the bottom line number after all the other bonuses or debuffs.Originally Posted by Garent
On the topic of DR, I'm 90% sure that further buffs over the DR soft cap will act as a buffer against debuffs. I'm not positive though. It depends on if the math goes:
Buff - debuff = total(DR-ed)
or if it's:
Buff(DR-ed) - debuff(DR-ed) = total -
Quote:^Not this. If you pvp in zone at all, you will end up teamed with all kinds of builds. +HP and by extension, FW, is very useful.Originally Posted by Turbo_Ski
Sorry but if you are seriously PvPing, then you're already at HP cap or close enough to it to not even matter. Sure, Frostworks has it's uses on "Fail" pvp teams but that doesn't mean by any stretch that the power doesn't suck. Cold shields have better use in PvP than FW, and that's pretty pathetic on FW part considering how much +Def sucks in PvP.
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Quote:No. The DR dropoff is not nearly as severe as you're making it out to be.Originally Posted by TwilightPhoenix
Defense sets will DR off the cold shields like crazy. A character with PvE softcap has about 33% defense in PvP. I once got bubbled by a FF Defender in a zone when I was messing around on my soft-capped BS/SR Scrapper. I got an additional 1%ish defense.
Resist sets would be the reverse. Hybrid sets, like Willpower, will DR BOTH aspects of the buffs.
Frostwork stacks with other +HP and isn't significantly reduced by DR.Quote:Frostworks... not so sure how it works in PvP. Is +HP affected by DR? My Rad/Sonic's PvP build and my BS/SR's AV solo build don't lose HP in PvP zones, but they aren't capped either, so I can't say. Is it reduced by other +HP buffs being on? If you buff a non-capped perma-DP Tank with Frostworks, will the benefit be reduced? Someone with a high level Cold would have to look into that.
Faster recharge is of course, better. That's only one factor to consider and is weighed against the actual effects of a power. A crippling debuff that gets someone killed is worth having and using even if it takes a couple minutes for it to come back around.Quote:Unless you're doing PvP where you start each fight fully recharged and don't need to worry about being attacked by a new person while your powers are on cooldown, they'd probably rock. But really, faster recharging powers are generally "better" in PvP, mostly because they're available more often. -
Quote:Looking at it from a zone pvp perspective...Originally Posted by TwilightPhoenix
In PvP, if you're interested in that, Rad wins hands down. Buffs get DRed into crud under the current ruleset, so Cold's buffs suffer.
This bears some further examination. If you are a squishy AT, +def and +res buffs are likely to be pretty worthless because of DR on the def and the presence of near-cap resists on most squishies with an epic shield.
However, a melee can take full advantage of these buffs.
Then there's frostworks. While some squishies will have near-cap +hp builds for pvp, many won't and adding a few hundred hp to them makes a big difference in survivability. Most melees won't be near their cap and also benefit from a huge chunk of extra hp.
Infrigidate has a fairly short recharge. Benumb and heat loss are pretty long. If you are the unlucky soul to get all three of them landed on you, well, enjoy staring at the tiny dots on your power tray from all the -recharge. Not too many sets outside of SR have enough def debuff resist to avoid getting their defense crippled by all the -def.Quote:Infrigidate, Benumb, and Heat Loss are probably quite effective, but I don't know the recharge times. If they're long recharges, then that's not going to be so hot.
Sleet is... situational. That is, you have to look out for opportunities to make use of it and exploit them, as opposed to targetted debuffs you can fire off whenever you please. I wouldn't say that makes it worthless.
Snowstorm has its use, for -fly. With temp fly being standard issue, there's always some clown in the air you'd rather have on the ground. -
Quote:I just gave it a try--turned up the music and sound effects, zoned a few times, did a little street sweeping in PI. It cleared up all my previously reported symptoms. Game, sound and wireless all playing nicely together, smooth green netgraph. Added a little multitasking stress just to be sure and it handled it just fine.Originally Posted by The Television
Could those of you experiencing this issue try the build on PTS and see if you're still having trouble there? Please let me know.
Don't know what else may have changed under the hood but the difference that I can see is the game now runs at Normal (8) priority when it has focus. -
Quote:^ Solid.Originally Posted by Energizing_Ion
I use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware for the malware program/issues and AVG for anti-virus.
Works good for me
Also this. A flashblocker of some kind is available for just about any browser you like. Use it, enable flash for the sites you use. Keep your browser, flash and windows current with the latest patches.Quote:Originally Posted by True GentlemanOn the topic of browser security, one hacker advised, "There probably isnt enough difference between the browsers to get worked up about. The main thing is not to install Flash!" If one must install Flash, then the manual override plug-ins ClicktoFlash for Safari and Flashblock for Firefox are very helpful.
Do all of the above and you'll strike a reasonable balance between being safe and being practical.
No matter what, there's still a chance you might step in it so keep a bootable anti-virus CD handy in case the worst does happen. Free ones are available from Avira, F-Secure and others. -
Quote:I agree with the overall sentiment there, but it's also true that there are workarounds which suppress the disconnect problem in some cases enough to make the game more or less playable until they fix it.Originally Posted by NGrfx
Okay people, quit messing with your own client settings, in hopes it will correct a server side issue. All kinds of people are getting booted like this, red side and blue side (now), with tons of different settings and hardware configurations. During I17 beta, they posted that they were trying out a new server configuration, exactly what that means, I don't know. but the market crash(and subsequent shutdown for a week), and now these disconnects, are server problems. All we can do is report them, and cross out fingers for a prompt fix.
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A game tutorial, similar to what you get to introduce you to the invention system would definitely be helpful, considering how PVP is essentially a completely different game from pve.
What I see happen all the time is people venturing into a pvp zone for the first time with no clue about DR, TS, HD, mez changes, etc. A lot of people hit this wall, see confusing numbers (Dude, where's my defense?) and after fumbling about for a bit give up in frustration and don't come back.
Unless you're kind of a forum junkie or have a photographic memory for patch notes there's no way to know what to expect going into pvp.
As user experiences go, this is pretty much a complete dev fail. -
Did the standard email ask for a response of any kind? If so, they close the ticket after 72 hours if you don't respond.
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Quote:You can access a support ticket--which is opened every time you petition and get one of those automated emails--directly without using mail.Originally Posted by Guen
Until now, when the automated e-mail robot started bouncing my e-mails back to me, insisting that I reply between two lines. Except I can't reply between two lines, because my reply button gives me a nice blank e-mail body to type in, sans whatever I'm replying to. Yeah, I'm computer illiterate, so I was pretty stuck.
Go to the main cityofhereos.com page and click the Support Center button on the left hand side. This will take you to the NCsoft support page where you'll see a list of links and three tabs that say Answers, Ask a Question and My Stuff.
Click on My Stuff and you'll be prompted to login or create an account if you haven't already.
Now you'll have a list of every ticket you have opened and can click on any of them to update/view them. -
Another update...
Playing around with it a bit more, I found that the conflict seems to be a three-way interaction between wireless, audio and the game. If the game sound/music volume is set above zero or any other audio source is active (like an mp3 player in the background, for instance), the connection goes bad.
Set the game volume to zero and the connection problems go away. Or, use a wired connection and I can play with the sound on no problem.
While this isn't a fix and does nothing to change the indication that the root issue is the game's elevated priority, it is at least a workaround to allow gameplay over wireless for now.
Of course, since the side effects of that elevated priority seem to vary from one configuration to another, YMMV. Worth a shot anyway. -
Quote:According to tech support the game used to run at Low priority.Originally Posted by The_Cheeseman
I find it hard to believe that the devs didn't have an inkling that this priority issue was causing some problems on certain machines, but it appears the engine changes implemented with UM have caused it to become evident to a much wider range of users than previously. Maybe the increased publicity of the problem will prompt more rapid response, but I am guessing that if it was an easy fix, it would have been made by now.
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So it looks like I've finally got an answer. Process priority is the problem.
While changing the process priority of the game was one of the first things tech support had me try, what wasn't known at the time is the game doesn't allow you to override its priority and attempts to change it are just silently ignored.
So what is actually happening? When you first launch the game, it starts at Normal (8) priority. When it finishes firing up, it bumps itself up to Above Normal (10) priority where it remains--unless you switch away from the game or click off it in windowed mode in which case it sets itself to Below Normal (6) priority. Return focus to the game and it bumps itself right back to Above Normal.
Why is this a problem? The game, being greedy as it is for every last cpu cycle you've got, will elbow aside everything else it shares a priority level with like a fat kid at the buffet, leaving nothing but scraps for everything else. At Above Normal (10) priority it is at the same level as lots of other essential things. Things like input handlers, some network operations, assorted device drivers, etc.
This one root cause is a plausible explanation for a wide assortment of problems--the lag/packet loss (and the way it disappears when focus is off the game), the ventrillo conflict, the ATI hotkey poller bug, some cases of inexplicably slow framerates. The exact symptoms you see--or whether you see any at all will vary based on the horsepower of your CPU, what else you have running, how exactly other drivers on your system work, etc.
So what's the answer? Tech support says the devs are aware of the task priority issues and are looking at it. No time frame was offered for a possible fix.
The good news, for me anyway, is I can stop beating my head against this particular wall I'll enjoy my vacation from the game with some confidence that a fix will be forthcoming.
If you have a band-aid that works, like a different machine or wired connection or disabling a service... stick with it until they get around to sorting things out and try to pass along this info to others as they trickle into the support forums wondering why the game's not working quite right. -
Quote:On further consideration, this could be the whole issue right here. Did the game always run at Above Normal (10) in the past? A casual survey of other processes seems to show that only things like device drivers and core system processes run at above normal. Other applications, including other resource hungry things like other MMO games, run at Normal (8) priority.Originally Posted by Eldrath
I've also tracked process priority this time. When CoX has focus, it's setting itself to "Above Normal" when it doesn't it's "Below Normal." This makes sense. The fact that it uses more CPU at Below Normal than Above however doesn't.
If it is indeed a mistaken setting causing the game to shove aside other Above Normal processes like device drivers, etc) that would be a plausible explanation for a wide variety of problems (the wonky framerates, wireless network conflicts, ventrillo conflicts, ATI hotkey poller, etc) and it would make sense as to why the symptoms manifest a little differently depending on the particulars of your system setup. -
Quote:The thing is though, the minimum system requirements haven't really gone up. The game is just broken in certain environments.Originally Posted by Starjammer
And while I don't want the system requirements to go up, unfortunately it's just a possibility that they may not be able to retrofit these features onto code that was first written something like nine years ago without consequence. That figure includes both lifetime of the game and a standard guess of ~3 years pre-release development time.
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Quote:The game doesn't display the same static frame over and over when it's in the background though. It continues to process updates. If you're standing where you can see activity you can still see it going on, updating with people moving, fighting, etc while the focus is off the game.Originally Posted by Starjammer
When the game goes to the background, the graphical engine is just rendering the same static frame over and over. Yeah, it does that a lot faster, especially when the game "knows" that it's not going to get any meaningful updates, because the app is in the background. It's still keeping track of the data the game server is sending it but it's not displaying it because it knows you're not paying attention to it.
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Quote:I don't understand the similarity. Staring at a wall or a loading screen takes objects out of your field of view which quite logically leads to a lower rendering load and higher FPS.Originally Posted by FitzSimmons
Similar reason why you get higher fps when staring directly at a wall or your FPS goes up when there's a loading screen.
With the same amount of activity and objects in your field of view, what's the mechanism where having the focus on the game vs taking it off is similar to staring at a wall or loading screen? -
Quote:Yes... and the apparent paradox is that higher priority + more resources = lower performance.Originally Posted by FitzSimmons
Because it has focus. Any applicaiton that's given focus has higher priority and takes more resources.
A similar effect is also apparent here. -
Quote:Not to rain on the hyperbole parade but there's a limit on how many people can be in a zone at one time. Beyond that it creates a new instance. I don't recall what that number is off the top of my head, I'm sure someone else can chime in with the figure, I think it's in the neighborhood of 50 people.Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
Not everyone is going to be in a mission at all times. If everyone was all lumped together there would be dozens, if not hundreds of people traveling through zones, standing around talking, dancing, etc. When you zone in somewhere your computer has to know what's going on in the entire zone all at once. If there are 90 people in that zone....I'm going to lag and possibly crash. And just because it isn't rendering them doesn't mean your computer doesn't know they are there. It has to in order to know whether or not it NEEDS to render them.
Excepting events where there's a concentration of people all firing off powers--hami raids, rikti invasions, mothership, etc--if your computer is giving up the ghost just trying to travel across a zone where there are quite a few people, it's time to take a look at your setup and see what can be improved because that really shouldn't happen.
I'm not talking about going out and buying new hardware either, but rather tuning up your software. I speak from experience in this regard, having spent a good deal of my playing time on a vintage 2003 laptop.