Energy Aura -- min. FX option needed
By
Anti_Proton,
Posted on: 2010-03-03 07:58 in Suggestions and Ideas
From how the discussion for Min FX on dark went, I get the impression that the Dev have no intention of giving Elemental sets that option.
You only get Minimal FX (rather, FX in PvP Only) for powers with graphics that are iconic, rather than descriptive. In other words, only for powers that would normally not have any visual component. Being tough does not require any sort of glowing, so whatever sparkles we get for Invulnerability powers are only iconic representations that a power is, in fact, currently on. Powers that represent actual physical phenomena like fire, ice or, yes, even energy, do not get the option to disable visual effects. Their visuals are descriptive, in that they describe HOW this power works and what it does. These effects are not and should not be allowed to be disabled.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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Really, in short, Power Customization is for aesthetics, not performance tweaks.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
You only get Minimal FX (rather, FX in PvP Only) for powers with graphics that are iconic, rather than descriptive. In other words, only for powers that would normally not have any visual component. Being tough does not require any sort of glowing, so whatever sparkles we get for Invulnerability powers are only iconic representations that a power is, in fact, currently on. Powers that represent actual physical phenomena like fire, ice or, yes, even energy, do not get the option to disable visual effects. Their visuals are descriptive, in that they describe HOW this power works and what it does. These effects are not and should not be allowed to be disabled.
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What the OP is looking for is SuppressCloseFX.
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Ian -- thank you for that suggestion. I will give that a try.
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Meh. They also at one point said they'd never put a store in Kings Row due to the lore of the city and that's how that zone was supposed to be. They also said at one point they'd never fix The Hollows from the noob death trap that it was.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
You only get Minimal FX (rather, FX in PvP Only) for powers with graphics that are iconic, rather than descriptive. In other words, only for powers that would normally not have any visual component. Being tough does not require any sort of glowing, so whatever sparkles we get for Invulnerability powers are only iconic representations that a power is, in fact, currently on. Powers that represent actual physical phenomena like fire, ice or, yes, even energy, do not get the option to disable visual effects. Their visuals are descriptive, in that they describe HOW this power works and what it does. These effects are not and should not be allowed to be disabled.
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I've swapped PMs with BAB in the past regarding this power set and the problems it causes. If they're not going to offer a min. FX option, then it needs to be fixed. There is not one other power set or combo of power sets in this game that eats up that much graphics processing as Energy Aura.
Arc# 92382 -- "The S.P.I.D.E.R. and the Tyrant" -- Ninjas! Robots! Praetorians! It's totally epic! Play it now!
Arc # 316340 -- "Husk" -- Azuria loses something, a young woman harbors a dark secret, and the fate of the world is in your hands.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
You only get Minimal FX (rather, FX in PvP Only) for powers with graphics that are iconic, rather than descriptive. In other words, only for powers that would normally not have any visual component. Being tough does not require any sort of glowing, so whatever sparkles we get for Invulnerability powers are only iconic representations that a power is, in fact, currently on. Powers that represent actual physical phenomena like fire, ice or, yes, even energy, do not get the option to disable visual effects. Their visuals are descriptive, in that they describe HOW this power works and what it does. These effects are not and should not be allowed to be disabled.
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Which is a shame, because a lot of people would really like a Min FX Energy Manipulation set.
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I have an EA brute, and have never really noticed the troubles you mention. Thermal effects however kill my performance under nearly all circumstances. You ought to be more careful in your absolute statements.|
Originally Posted by Defenestrator
Meh. They also at one point said they'd never put a store in Kings Row due to the lore of the city and that's how that zone was supposed to be. They also said at one point they'd never fix The Hollows from the noob death trap that it was.
I've swapped PMs with BAB in the past regarding this power set and the problems it causes. If they're not going to offer a min. FX option, then it needs to be fixed. There is not one other power set or combo of power sets in this game that eats up that much graphics processing as Energy Aura. |
As for the devs saying they'll "never" do things: You're exaggerating. In my experience they don't do that. They say they haven't considered it before, will consider it in the future, etc. but they almost never say they won't do something. I especially don't recall them being that specific about King's Row or the Hollows.
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But... if you took away Energy Aura's ability to be pretty it wouldn't have anything. 
It's the airhead supermodel of sets.
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No, they've never said this. And I've been keeping track.|
Originally Posted by Defenestrator
Meh. They also at one point said they'd never put a store in Kings Row due to the lore of the city and that's how that zone was supposed to be. They also said at one point they'd never fix The Hollows from the noob death trap that it was.
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| I've swapped PMs with BAB in the past regarding this power set and the problems it causes. If they're not going to offer a min. FX option, then it needs to be fixed. There is not one other power set or combo of power sets in this game that eats up that much graphics processing as Energy Aura. |
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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If I could dig up the Jack Emmert quote, I would.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
No, they've never said this. And I've been keeping track.
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| If the problem is technical, then ask for a technical solution, not a cosmetic one. As others have pointed out, you can suppress player effects when close to the camera, as that's really the only time that creates a problem. I suppress my own, for instance. |
If you don't wish to help, bugger off.
Arc# 92382 -- "The S.P.I.D.E.R. and the Tyrant" -- Ninjas! Robots! Praetorians! It's totally epic! Play it now!
Arc # 316340 -- "Husk" -- Azuria loses something, a young woman harbors a dark secret, and the fate of the world is in your hands.
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They were both Jack Emmert specific examples. The dark days are long over. We have a much better dev staff currently.
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Originally Posted by Lemur Lad
As for the devs saying they'll "never" do things: You're exaggerating. In my experience they don't do that. They say they haven't considered it before, will consider it in the future, etc. but they almost never say they won't do something. I especially don't recall them being that specific about King's Row or the Hollows.
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Arc# 92382 -- "The S.P.I.D.E.R. and the Tyrant" -- Ninjas! Robots! Praetorians! It's totally epic! Play it now!
Arc # 316340 -- "Husk" -- Azuria loses something, a young woman harbors a dark secret, and the fate of the world is in your hands.
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This helps performance, but my character still looks like a Christmas tree.|
Originally Posted by IanTheM1
Really, in short, Power Customization is for aesthetics, not performance tweaks.
What the OP is looking for is SuppressCloseFX. |
A Min. FX option would still be greatly preferable but this seems to be a decent workaround.
EDIT: after some more tweaking, I no longer look all glowy...Ian... you are the man. I had no idea that command existed.
Arc# 92382 -- "The S.P.I.D.E.R. and the Tyrant" -- Ninjas! Robots! Praetorians! It's totally epic! Play it now!
Arc # 316340 -- "Husk" -- Azuria loses something, a young woman harbors a dark secret, and the fate of the world is in your hands.
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The problem is one of aesthetics and things that make sense. An option to remove the physical effects of a physical set is no more justified than removing the shield in Shield Defence because you didn't like the look of a character using a shield. If you want to play a powerset without visual effects, the game provides you with plenty of those.|
Originally Posted by Defenestrator
I'm asking for a cosmetic solution. Is there a real problem with having an OPTION IN THE GAME. If you don't want to use it, don't use it. This is a suggestion forum. You are not the arbiter of suggestions.
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| If you don't wish to help, bugger off. |
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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I you don't wish to listen to people then stop posting in public forums.
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Originally Posted by Defenestrator
If you don't wish to help, bugger off.
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Color coordination lessons? Seriously, if you don't want to look like a Christmas tree, don't use red and green in your powers/costumes together >_>
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Originally Posted by Defenestrator
This helps performance, but my character still looks like a Christmas tree.
A Min. FX option would still be greatly preferable but this seems to be a decent workaround. |
Here is a dev post on the costumes theme of energy cloak in energy aura. The discussion is actually about people wanting the min FX option for energy cloak such that they won't be invisible, so it is slightly different from what you're asking.
I prefer more options for energy aura, so I think the OP suggestion is ok. I guess people here are jrangering not because of the suggesiton itself, but the motivation. In principle, if you have problems with lagging graphics, the solution should be turning down your graphics quality or tuning some graphics options in your machine. On the other hand, I understand that it is a shame to turn down the quality just because of some graphics-intensive powers. I seldom hear people complain about energy aura graphics causing lag though, usually it is the fire shields. For the time being, if you don't want low quality graphics, you can seek help in the technical forum and see if something can be optimized for your machine.
How about some cooler energy aura effects?
"Samual_Tow - Be disappointed all you want, people. You just don't appreciate the miracles that are taking place here."
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That I can get behind. I'm sure the current ones are more realistic in terms of the kind of visuals actual energy would have (or rather not have), but they just look very understated to me. If I could, I'd pick red forcefields any day.
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Originally Posted by Anti_Proton
How about some cooler energy aura effects?
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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I don't know if this is in the works, but even after all this time and after computer upgrades, the Energy Aura power set still bogs down my computer system.
I actually really enjoy this power set, but sadly I have to turn down the graphics options in order to play it.
Is there a "minimum FX" option in the works at the tailor? If not, can there be?
Please?
Arc# 92382 -- "The S.P.I.D.E.R. and the Tyrant" -- Ninjas! Robots! Praetorians! It's totally epic! Play it now!
Arc # 316340 -- "Husk" -- Azuria loses something, a young woman harbors a dark secret, and the fate of the world is in your hands.